THE

\

INDIA REVIEW

’h '

AND

JOURNAL OF FOREIGN SCIENCE

EDITED BY

FREDERICK CORBYN, ESQ.

AS WE SHALt ALWAYS BE CONSCIOUS THAT OUR MISTAKES ARE INVOLUNTARY, WE SHALL WATCH
THE GRADUAL DISCOVERIES OF TIME, AND RETRACT WHATEVER WE HAVE HASTILY AND ERRO-
NEOUSLY ADVANCED. Johnson.

PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY G. WOOLLASTON, AND SOLD BY MR. HUSBAND,
ALLAHABAD ; MR. PHAROAH, MOUNT ROAD, MADRAS ; AND MR. MALVBRY,
MEADOW STREET, BOMBAY.

9m^Bru

/

V

4. £ Asia

TIC-

i/1

PREFACE.'

A year has now elapsed since we commenced the periodical the first volume
«)f which is completed. The grounds on which we ventured on fthis scientific
enterprize were not derived from a belief o^ our own fitness, for such an un-
dertaking ; but from the circumstance that others, possessing superior talent,
greater erudition, and being better adapted inv’every respect than ourselves, had
not come forward: and when on the one hand, we took into consideration th®
vast extent of this empire, and the strides which education was making
among all classes of the people, and on the other, that no work, calcu-
lated to diffuse the light which discoveries and improvements in Europe
were hourly shedding through the medium of science and the arts, had been
offered to the public; we considered ourselves justified in stepping forward,
humble as our pretensions were, to prove the utility of a Journal exclusiv’^ely
devoted to the review of works on science, embracing foreign science and
the arts; and, by shewing the extensive influence which their dissemination
must necessarily have in promoting the welfare of this country, and laying open
those resources of knowledge which at all times have formed the basis of
national power and prosperity, endeavour to awaken a general spirit of research.
We had another objectinview. There are at the present moment rpwards of 700,
accomplished and highly educated medical men scattered over the vast territories
of our eastern possessions. The duties of many consist in simply attending'^4‘ew
sick in a solitary hospital, and the British Government of India has not yet
discovered the admirable advantages which would accrue from employing
these able men out of the immediate sphere of their profession. Now there
is scarcely a medical man in India who has not acquired some knowledge of
chemistry — a knowledge which, it does not require much penetration and inge-
nuity to prove, might be applied to improve the arts and manufactories now
going on, in the great cities and marts in this country. What soil in the whole
world is so rich in productions as this, and so calculated to yield all that
is now obtained from foreign countries ? Observe what the genius of che-
mical science has done for France and England, and what may it not do for
India !

We are aware that we might be charged with encouraging an indulgence
in speculative refinement, which has in some instances led men out of the line
of useful industry, and, by the loss of property, to the ruin of their families.
Such has been the result, it is true; but, generally speaking, to the artist only,
seldom to the man of science. The chemist is better able than one who is
only a mechanic to predict, from an experiment on a small scale, the probable
issue of more extensive attempts. Watt, by a clear insight into the doctrine
of latent heat, resulting from his thorough knowledge of chemistry, and
seconded by mechanical skill, taught the way to bring the steam engine into

PREFACE.

perfecuon. Wedrrewood, by the same knowledge, advanced the arts of
manufacturing porcelain ; neither must we forget Scheele’s discovery of oxy-
genized muriatic acid, and Bethollet’s instructions in its application to the art
of bleaching, nor Sequin’s and Davy’s chemical processes, which brought
into perfection the art of tanning and preparation of leather. Chemistry
is the foundation of those arts which furnish us with saline substances,
an order of bodies highly useful in the affairs of common life. The success-
ful manufactory of glass and various kinds of pottery depend upon a know-
ledge of the nature of the substances employed, of their fusibility, as affect-
ed by difference of proportion, or by the admixture of foreign substances, and
of the means of regulating and measuring high degrees of heat. The
chemist Bergman taught the most successful manufactory of brick and tiles.
The art of malting is most successfully taught by the chemist. Dyeing and
printing, as we have already shewn, are a tissue of chemical operations, and in
short we should tire our readers by giving further illustration, to shew the
utility of this department of our labours to medical men who are generally
chemists. If national prosperity in Britain has arisen, in an eminent degree,
from a superiority in the production of her arts, ought they, we enquire, to
be neglected in British India? If not, we may boldly put the question — were
we not, as having the welfare of India at heart, bound to promote it by a due
discharge of our duty, by diffusing discoveries in the mechanical arts, among
ihedical men as the means of communicating them to the natives ?

The character of our work differs however from any other of a similar kind
in the variety of its objects ; possessing as it does the character of Thom-
son’s Records of Science, and Jameson’s Philosophical Journal, it also assumes
the appearance of the Mechanics' Magazine, and Repertory of Inventions and
Arts, as well as a Review of Science in India, 'and Register of new di'^coveries.
Our reason for giving to our periodical this character proceeded from our
knowledge, that recently six Scientific Journals were published in Great
Britain : these have been reduced to two; one of which is published monthly
in London, the other quarterly in Edinburgh. Since 1835, an additional work
has been published, viz., “ Records of Science ; and since then, another
on Popular Science: how long these last ably-conducted Journals will exist,
it is impossible to say; but it is obvious, there must be some cause for
this want of success in works of science. We ourselves believe the cause
to have arisen, from the articles having generally been too abstruse and
subtle. It is true, they were full of refined and speculative knowledge
and recondite reasoning; replete with physical and metaphysical sub^
jects; but, then they were more adapted to the deep thinking philosopher,
than to the general scientific reader : hence a want of subscribers. This
failure in Britain of periodicals which have been devoted solely to the diffusion
of general science, was a warning to us to consider well the grounds on which
we anticipated success in our new undertaking. In a country like India where

PREFACE.

iii

the British sojourners and their descendants are comparatively few, the means
of education as regards science is but in its infancy; and therefore the import-
ance of periodicals, purely on the mere abstract branches of science, is not felt.
It is principally on this account that we determined to blend with purely
scientific matter, articles on the mechainical arts, and such other interesting
subjects as regard improvement in manufactures^ commerce, agriculture, &c„
in order to suit the taste and promote the benefit of all classes, by which we
should be able to admit subjects which embrace abstruse investigation into the
causes of physical changes, and determine the nature of bodies, reducing them
to their elements, ascertaining their mutual actions and relation, and to apply
the knowledge, thus ascertained by demonstrative science, to the improvement
of arts which supply the wants as well as the comforts of life.

The grave philosopher and the man of science may not delight in articles of
the former description ; but, by attending to our explanations, he would find
that our object is to secure extensive circulation,tending greatly to support that
portion of our work which is to be devoted to the latter articles which he de-
sires to see. Our great object was to be the means of leading to important local
and national improvements of promoting traffic by rivers, roads, and canals*
by steam communication and rail-road transit ; in which to excite individual
enterprize for large interest on capital, and to shew that such improvements
call imperatively for the immediate attention of Government for liberal appro-
priations. That stupendous machine, the steam engine, has already undergone*
in its progress more than two hundred different modifications. It was our
desire to give every new improvement in their motive forces from water, ether,
alcohol, essential oils, the liquifiable gases, atmospheric air, &c. The prepara-
tion of that invaluable and important metal, the chief material of nearly all
machinery — iron, as well as the various manipulations and mechanism em-
ployed in the great staple commodities, cotton, silk, woollen, and linen ; the
construction of engines, mills, railways, carriages, ships, boats, docks, canals,
bridges, furnaces, boilers, gas machinery, looms, presses, pumps, paddles,
ploughs, water works, illustrated by lithographic sketches, together with an
account of the various important processes of dyeing, distilling, bleaching,
brewing, and tanning. While to the chemist and mechanic we hope to be
of essential service, we shall do our utmost to meet the wishes of the natura-
list. The extravagant price of standard works in this department has been to
discourage the naturalist in his interesting study. We have been able to glean
from the numerous works which have been published, and from papers in the
transactions of learned societies during the past year, all that is novel and
valuable for this class of our readers.

The question remaining to be considered next is, what benefit will such in-
telligence afford to a country like this, containing 1,116,000 square miles, equal
in size to Great Britain, France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Germany, Hungary,
Poland, and Turkey, put together ; the number of people who inhabit it being
computed at 100,000,000 souls. When the riches of other countries have

w

PREFACE.

been ascertained and made known through the chemist and geologist, may we
not reasonably expect that they will excite a spirit of enquiry, and a desire for
scientific education in the people here ; and that they will soon learn that this
is the largest empire in the world, — the repository of the most valuable and
precious ores, — the greatest repository of diamonds hitherto discovered; a
country rich in spices, drugs, colours, silk, cotton, saltpetre, saffron, coffee,
sugar, rice, &c. ; that its manufactures in silks, embroidery, and cottons, have
long since excited the admiration of Europe ; that its animal and vegetable pro-
ductions, its metals, minerals, and valuable natural productions are scarcely yet
known ; and that science and the arts have yet to develope these internal re-
sources, which will ere long raise its character ? Is it extravagant to hope under
British rule that it will become the greatest commercial nation in the world?

The realization of these objects, however, depends materially upon the policy
which the government of India may adopt in regard to its revenue. \¥hether
it endangers manufactures and population, or whether with the constant exten-
sion of boundary it takes measures to improve the soil, realize millions
of acres which are now covered with forest, brush-wood, and stagnant waters ; j
whether it facilitates inland navigation, by deepening harbours, constructing 1
docks, and encouraging ship-building, — the whole depends upon the adoption
of a system of national policy, by which the advantages to the Government and
^he community may be reciprocal. It is during the times of peace that the
great work of national improvement should go on, not as a matter of expedi-
ency, but of positive necessity. If we desire to erect the fabric of our rule
and future prosperity on a permanent basis, while we are giving encouragement
to trace out the unexplored gifts of nature and bring into action the hidden trea- i
sures of the land, we must concilitate public regard, by promoting the pros-
perity of the people. A specific sum might justly be appropriated to objects
of national improvement, which, besides giving encouragement to ingenuity i
and merit, and employment to the industrious, would promote the circulation '

of the specie throughout the country; increase the demand for various articles |

of inland manufacture ; and finally produce in their operation an annual equi- '
valent equal to the whole amodht of the original outlay, and most probably i
exceed it.

But we must hasten to a conclusion — we have only to state how far our views
have been supported ; this may be seen by the size of our publication and
numerous plates which embellish it. It commenced with 32 pages and has pro-
gressively increased to 64, without additional cost to subscribers ; and we trust, so I
soon as we experience a mitigation in the post office regulations, we shall be able
to add numerous improvements, tending not only to increase the interest but the
value'of the work, on receiving additional support, which is essential to bring to
perfection a periodical of the kind we have described.

)V, )

FOREIGN SCIENCE AND THE ARTS.

EMBRACING MINERALOGY, GEOLOGY, NATURAL HISTORY,

PHYSICS. &c.

MINERALOGY.

PLAGIONrf E.-Tiie crystals of this
mineral belong to the obliqae rectangular
prismatic system of Beudant. If we consider
the faces belonging to an octahedron for the
punvictur form, then the faces parallel to the
plane of the two axes are trnncatures of the
anterior angles. They are implanted in
quartz. Fracture conchoidal. G. Rose has
termed it plagionite, from (^jfXayw^ obli-
que) in consequence of the oblique form and
inclination of the axis, which measures 107^
32'. It consists, accordinor to Rose of Lead
40‘..52 Antimony 37.94 Sulphur 21.53, Total
99,99.

Besides simple sulphuret of antimony, in
the Wolfsberg antiraonial veins, there are a
great many combinations of sulphuret of anti-
mony and sulphuret of lead in ditferent pro-
portions, viz ; zinkenite, 3 Sb. su. “L Pb. su.
Plagionite, and Federerz, Bournonite. The;
two first have only been found at Wolfsberg.
f Poggeiidorjf, xxviii. 421 .)

16. NATIVE LITHARGE has been found
half way up the volcanoes of Popocatepetl
and Iztacictualt in Mexico, corresponding
exactly in appearance and composition with
that derived from the lead furnaces, (Ann,
des. Mines, vi,)

17. ARSENICAL PYRITES has been
analyzed by E. Hoflinann from four locali-
ties :

Schnee-

berg.

Slaclming.

Hartz.

Reichen-

stein.

Sulphur . .

0.14

5.20

1 1 .05

1.94

Copper . .

0..50

99

99

Bismuth . .

2.19

60.41

65.99

Arsenic . .

71.30

.53.60

Nickel . . .

28.14

13.37

30.02

99

Cobalt ....

,,

5.10

0,56

28.8

Iron

,,

13.49

3.29

Serpentine

2.17

102'27

97.57

98..52

98.18

the Uralian Mountains, in limestone, where it
is accompanied with vauquelinite, phosphate
of lead, quartz, and galena ; colour between
cochineal and hyacinth ; compact ; crystals,
rhomboidal prisms, with two large faces,
which gives them a tabular appearance ;
edges, translucent ; streak, brick-red ; sp. gr.
5 75. Before the blowpipe fuses easily into
a brown mass, which assumes a crystalline
structure on cooling. In the reducing flame it
is converted into oxide of chromium and
metallic lead. It consists of Oxide of lead
7o.36 Chromic acid 23.61, Total 100.00.

It is obviously, therefore a subsesqui-chro-
mate of lead. ( Poggendorjf, xxviii.)

21. CHROME IRON ORE, from Balti-
more, was found by Abich to contain, (Pog-
gendorff, 1831.)

Silica

Crystallized.

AmorpliouJ

00.83

Alumina

... 11.85

13.85

Oxide of chromium

.. 60.04

51,91

Protoxide of iron..

... 20.13

18.97

Magnesia

9.96

Total

. . 99.47

98.52

22. WHITE ARSENI ATE OF IRON,—
Kersten found a specimen of this mineral
from Freiberg, to consist of Arseniate of iron,
70,70, Water, 23.50, Total 99.20. (Schweig-
qer Seidel’s Jahrhuch, vi. 182.)

23. POLYBASITE. — H. Rose has ana-
lyzed this mineral from the following locali-
ties

Guarisamny,

Mexico. Scliemnitz. Freiberg.

Sulphur 17.04

Antimony . 5.09

Arsenic 3.74

Silver 64.29

Copper. .

Iron. . . .
Zinc. . . .

9.93

0.06

0.00

16.83

0,25

6.23

72.43

3,04

0.33

0.59

16.35

8.39

1.17

69,99

4.11

0,29

0.00

18. ARSENIC GLANCE.-Karsten found

the composition of a specimen from Marien-
berg, in Saxony Arsenic 93.785 Bismuth 3.0 tl
Total 99.786. (ScJiiveig. xxiii. 390.1

19, STERNBERGitE.-Zippa finds this
composed of Silver 33.2 Iron 36.0 Suh)hur
30.0, Total 99,2, equivalent to 4 F Su. + Ag.
Su. (Poggendorff) Ann. xxvii.)

20 M ELAN OCHROITE.— This mineral
is found in the neighbourhood of Bere.sow, in

Total.... 100.15 99.70 100.30

(Poggendorjf, xxviii. 156.)

24. VOLTZITE — This mineral is found
at Pont Gibaud, in Puy de Dome, It pos-
sesses a pearly lustre ; colour rose-red, or
of yellow ; granular ; fracture irregular ;
softer than glass ; sp. gr. 3.6B. It consists of
Sulphuret of zinc, 82.92, Oxide of zinc, 15.34,
Peroxide of iron, 1.84, Total 100-10. (Pog^
gendorjf, xxxi.)

25. CARBONATE OF LEAD AND
ZINC, comes from Mount Proxi, iri Sardinia
in the form of small crystals, irregularly
grouped together in rock quartz ; white and
translucid ; hardness equal to calcareous

B

3

RECENT DISCOVERIES IN MINERALOGY.

spar ; sp. gr. 6.9. It contains Carbonate of
lead, with traces of chloride of lead 93.10,
Carbonate of zinc, 7,02, Total, 99 12.
(Jahrbuch, 3o?, 1833, p. 333.)

26. G A UNITE, according to the analysis
of Abich, consists ofSilica,3.8f, Alumina .35.14
Magnesia, 5.25, Peroxide of iron, 5.85, Oxide
of zinc 30.02, Total 100.10.

The specimen was from Fahlun.

27. BLUE ARSENIATE OF COPPER,
from Cornwall, consists, according to Trolle
Wachtmeister, ofOxide ofCopper, ^3. 19, Alu-
mina, 8.03, Peroxide of iron, 3,41, Arsenic
acid, 20.79, Phosphoric acid, 3.6 1, Silicaand
quartz, 6.99, Water, 22.24, Total 100,26,
(Jahrhuch, 1st, ’833. p. 73.)

28. PLATINUM, in Siberia, is found in
fine sand. A piece was obtained at Nischne
Tagil, weighing 4 Kilogrammes (8 lbs. 13 oz, 4
dr. avoird.) in 1827, and three bits in I831-33,
the two first weighing 8 kil. (17 lbs 1 1 oz. and
thethird5kils. 11 Ibs.loz.l dr.) It is accom-
panied with gold,osmium,iridium, magneticiron,
chromium, brown oxide of iron, oxide of titani-
um, epidote garnet, rock crystal, and sometimes
diamonds. The sand is composed of jasper,
quartz, andgreenstone, and likewise small yel-
low crystals of rhomboidal, dodecahedrons, re-
sembling chrysoberyl, the nature of which is
not known. Among the rocks which accompany
platinum in the Uralians, serpentine is the
most remarkable. Gold appears generally to
exist in the same rock with platinum. (Jour,
f/e St, Petersburg, 1833)

29. OSMIUM AND IRIDIUM.— Two
minerals have been obtained in the Uralians,
composed of these two metals. One found at
Newiansk possesses a compound crystalline
form, consisting of the combination of a double
pyramid with six faces, with a right hexago-
nal prism. It possesses a blue metallic lus-
tre. Hardness nearly that of quartz.Sp.gr,
39-386 — 19-471. Before the blowpipe, on
charcoal, it does not decompose. In the
matrass with saltpetre a feeble smell of osmium
is observable. It is found in the auriferous
sand of Newiansk, 95 versts to the north of
Katharinenberg. It is also observed at Bi-
limbajewsk and Kyschtim, and several other
places in the Urals. The crystals of the va-
riety from Nischne Tagil have the same form
as the preceding. The colour is bluish-gray,
analogous to that of sulphuret of antimony.
Hardness about that of quartz. Sp. gr. 21-118.
Before the blowpipe, on charcoal, becomes
black, and looses its lustre, and disengages a
pungent smell of osmium, which acts upon
the eyes. It is found in the platiniferous sand
of Nischne Tagil. It is never associated with
gold.

These two combinations of osmium and iridi-
um, possessing the same shape, G. Rose con-
siders that the idea of the isomorphism of the
two metals is confirmed. The Nischne Tagil
variety, which contains more osmium than
that of Newiansk, having a higher specific
gravity, it follows that osmium is heavier than
iridium. Osmium ought then to have a higher
specific gravity than 21-118, Hence, it is
oWious that Berzelius’ sp. gr, 10 is quite er-
roneous. ( Poyyendorff Ann. xxix,4o2.)

30. NATIVE IRIDIUM has been found
at Nischne Tagil, accompanied with gold and
platinum. It is in grains of the colour of sil-
ver, verging towards yellow, possessing a
strong metallic lustre, and is extremely hard,
Sp. gr. 23-5 — 23-6. Insoluble in acids. It
is combined with some osmium, and may be
easily fused, (Breithaupt in Schweigg
Journ. 1833,;

31. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF
NATIVE GOLD, PAR FICULAI^LY UR-
ALIAN GOLD. — Gold is never found in the
earth in a pure state, but is always combined
with more or less silver.

Fordyce examined a specimen from Kons-
berg, in Norway, which consisted of 28 gold,
72 silver in the 100 parts. Klaproth obtain-
ed gold from Schlangenberg in the Altai, 64
gold, 36 silver ; and Lampadius, from an un-
known locality, procured 96-6 gold, the re-
mainder being silver and iron. Boussingault
analyzed gold from difterent places in Colom-
bia, and found it combined with silver in vari-
able quantities, but always in difinite propor-
tions, viz. : one atom of silver with 2, 3, 4, 5,
6, 8, and 12 atoms gold. (Ann. de Chimie,
xxiv. and xlv.) G. Rose, while travelling in
Siberia with Baron Humboldt, made a collec-
tion of gold ores for the purpose of deter-
mining the truth of the French chemist’s po-
sition.

In the Uralian Mountains, gold is found in
rocks and distributed among sand. Previ ms
to 1819, it w'as extracted from rock veins,
but after this period, the discovery of sand
containing it occasioned the abandonment of
working the I’ock mines. Gold in rocks is
found always in quartzose veins : atBeresow,
occurring in the form of crystals, and at
Newdansk, in plates, while at Czarewo Alex-
androw'sk, pieces are met with which weigh
from 13 to 24 livres, (18 lbs. to 9Q lbs. troy.)
Gold produced by the different workings is
assayed in the mints of Katharinenburg, and
St, Petersburg.

The following table exhibits the composi-
tion of gold from different localities, all being
richer than gold from Colombia and Siebeu-
burg:—

1

Gold.

Silver.

Katharinenburg . .

sand

93-01

6-99

Hiel

rock

87-40

12-60

Miask

sand

93-0

7-00

Bogowslowsk

—

88-80

11-20

Kuschvva

—

90-30

9-70

Werch Isetsk ....

92-70

7-30

Nischne Tagil

—

90-73

9-27

Kaslinski

91-97

8-03

Newiansk

91-42

8-58

Do

rock

92-95

7-05

Sisersk

sand

91-78

8-22

Ulaley

91-45

1 8-55

Schaitansk

95-10

4-90

Biiimbajeusk

—

93-54

6-46

Do

91-24

8-76

Bewdinski

93-33

6-67

Usewoledski . . , . . .

I

89-01

10-99

Bissersk |

— 1

88-72

11-28 i

IMPORTANT CONSEQUENCES DEDUCED FROM ANALYSES OF GOLD. 3

Before the blowpipe, pure gold and pure
silver are readily distinguished by their fus-
ing into a transparent and colourless glass,
with salt of phosphorous in the exterior
flame. In the interior flame, if the quantity
of silver is small, the glass is opaline and yel-
lowish, but if great, altogether yellow and
opaque. The native allo5's ant in the same
manner, but an alloy which contains only ^
per ceut. of silver has no action on salt phos-
phorous.

When the quantity of silver is small, which
can be easily detected by the golden colour
of the alloy, the metals may be dissolved in a
covered capsule, in aqua regia. The greatest
portion is converted into chloride of silver.
Decant the solution and remove the chloride
by the aid of a glass rod, and add a new dose
of acid. If the alloy contains more than 20
per cent of silver, the chloride sticks to the
glass, and gives rise to inaccuracy. The two
acid solutions should then be diluted. The
first is only slightly muddy ; for, it appears
that a saturated solution of gold does not dis-
solve a notable quantity of chloride of silver ;
the second, on the contrary, deposits a con-
siderable quantity of this substance. When
the whole chloride has been deposited it
should be filtered and weighed, after being
dried and fused in a porcelain crucible. Eva-
porate the liquid in a porcelain crucible, to
drive otf the excess of chlorine, and when
fumes cease to be given off, treat it with
oxalic acid. Place the liquid in a glass de-
fended by convex cover, in order that no gold
may be mechanically removed with the car-
bonic acid, and allow the glass to remain for
24 hours in a warm place. Filter the liquid,
evaporate to dryness, and pass a stream of
sulphuretted hydrogen through the solution of
the residue in muriatic acid. A trace of cop-
per is thus separated, and the iron may be
removed by hydro-sulphuret of ammonia.

When the gold contains more than 20 per
cent, of silver, the correct plan is to assay the
alloy in a cupel with lead and silver, and to
treat the new alloy with nitric acid, which
takes up the silver only. Gay Lussac shewed
that a loss of silver i.s sustained to a small ex-
tent in this way, and G. Rose, to obviate the
inadequacy of this plan, tried a number of
others, and at last hit upon one which he con-
siders better than any other yet devised.
Fuse the native gold in a small porcelain cru-
cible with lead, by means of a lamp supplied
With a double current of air. Digest the
mass in nitric acid ; detach it from the cru-
cible, and place it in a glass vessel, adding
a new portion of nitric acid diluted with
water, in order to dissolve the nitrate of lead ;
wash the residue ; dissolve it in aqua regia ;
precipitate the chloride of silver dissolved,
diluting the liquid with water ; filter the li-
quor and evaporte to dryness. Dis.solve in
water, and precipitate the gold by means of
muriate of iron. Sulphated protoxide of iron
does not answer for the precipitation, because
the gold in solution may still contain a little
lead. Dilute the nitric acid solution with
much water ; then treat it with chloride of
lead, and not with muriatic acid, which may
drecipitate part of the lead in the state of

B 3

chloride. Place the liquid in a warm place, to
favour the precipitation of the chloride of
silver, and when the solution has become clear
collect the chloride upon the filter which was
used to filter the solution of gold. The mi-
nute portion of iron cannot be appreciated, on
account of the quantity of lead.

Rose has never found platinum and gold
associated. He deduces from his analyses
several imoortant consequences.

1. ■ Native gold does not contain gold and
silver in definite proportions.

2. Gold and silver being thus combined
in indefinite proportions, he concludes that
they are isomorphous, an inference which can-
not be deduced with the same certainty from
the identity of their crystals.

3. Native gold always contains silver, cop-
per, or iron. The smallest quantity of silver
was in a specimen from Schabrouski, which
contained 16 per cent, of silver, but 35 per
cent, of copper were present.

4. The specific gravity is in the inverse
ratio of the proportion of silver contained in
the minex"al.

In general, fused gold has a greater density
than native gold, which, however, may be
owing to cavities in the latter.

5. Different specimens from the same loca-
lity vary in composition.

6. Gold found in veins varries in different
parts of the same mine.

7. He finds that the gold from sand con-
tains more silver than that from veins. The
proportion in the former being 89-7 per cent,
of silver, and in the latter, 79-1 a fact com-
pletely contrary to the determination of the
Russian government, for the mining of gold
has entirely yielded to the process of pro-
curing it from sand. (Poggendorff Ann.)

STATE OF THE GLOBE AT ITS FOR-
MATiON.

BY M. BECQUEREL.

(Continued from j.age \53.)
TERRESTRIAL HEAT.— The facts with
which we are at present acquainted tend to
prove that every place on tlie surface of the
globe has an invariable mean temperature.
The mean temperature of the equator is be-
tween 81.5 and 82°4, being modified by the
great extent of the equatorial seas. The
entrepid northern navigators have found a
great difference, in the same latitude, between
the temperatures on land and in the open sea.
A Melville Id. the mean heat was — 18*^50.,
while in the open sea it was — 8° 3. Calcu-

lating from these data, the temperature of the
pole would be— 25^ or 30'^.

It is remakable that those places which are
situated on the same isothermal line do not
present the same vegetable productions.
Hence, some have divided climate into con-
stant, where the temperature is steady dur-
ing the year, variable, and excessive, which
comprehend those where the differences are
very great. Cassini, in 1671, had remarked
that under the Observatory of Paris, the tem-
perature was steady during the whole year

4

THE FORMATIONS OP WHICH THE GLOBE IS COMPOSED.

and the observation has been confirmed, the
heat being determined to be 11^ 82 (53^* F.)
Cordierhas inferred from his researches on
the temperature towards the interior of the
earth, that below a particular point where
the temperature is steady, the heat increases
with the depth, to the amount of P for every
25 to 30 metres.

M. Fourier lias demonstrated that the cool-
ing of the globe, i/s«c/r a fact is admitted,
must be very slow, being less than

of a centigrade degree for a century ; and
he has drawn these consequences: 1. All
the heat below a particular point where the
temperature is steady, has been possessed by
the earth from its commencement. 2. This
heat is intense in the nucleus, and at a cer-
tain distance from the centre it begins to di-
minish by regular laws up to the steady point,
3, d'he internal equilibrium changes with
time, and will continue to alter until the
whole heat is dissipated, but this process is
going on in an extremely tardy manner. 4.
The heat derived from the interior cannot
appreciably modify that of the surface.

Idumboldt has observed that in Mexico
the decrease of temperature is not pi’bpor-
tional to the height ; and Boussingault has
found that in twenty-three years the sources
of the Mariara have increased in tempera-
ture from 59° 3 C, to 64° ; and those of Strin-
cheras, from 4 to 92° 2, The diurnal
variation of the thermometer at the equator
on the sea is 1° to 2°, while on the continent
it is 5° to 0°. At the equator the ocean’s sur-
face is hotter than the air ; but at the poles
the reverse is the case.* Between the tro-
llies, the heat diminishes with the depth; on
the polar seas it diminishes as we descend.

Such are some of the principal circum-
stances bearing upon terrestrial heat with
which we are at present acquainted.

THE FORMATIONS OF WHICH
THE GLOBE IS COMPOSED is the next
subject which our author takes up, after spe-
culating upon the method in which it was
consolidated, applying known agents to the
explanation of volcanic phenomena, and
tracing out a sketch of the facts which have
been ascertained in reference to terrestrial
heat. He first notices alluvial deposits which
are in process of formation, consisting of peat,
marls, graval, stalactities, pisolites, and tra-
vertines. He then passes to mineral waters
or salt springs, which are so influential in
bringing up from considerable depths soluble
salts. In these are found carbonate of soda,
borax, alum, deposited in the fissures of rocks,
nitrate of soda as in Peru, nitrates of potash,
lime and magnesia, as in Hungary, Ukraine,
Podolia, &c.; sulphate of magnesia, sulphate
and carbonate of lime. These substances
seem to be deposited by the water when tra-
versing fissures of rocks, and which action is
more energetic in proportion to the increase
of temperature. The quantity of salts brought
by these means is much greater than one

* In lat. 28 9' N., long. 20a 33 W-, I found the
temperature of the Atlantic Ocean 79°5, that of
the air being 79® ; and in 2-20 S. L., 59^5' E. L.
the thermometer stood in the air at 80°, and in
the Indian Ocean at 88«6, — Edit.

\vithout consideration would infer. The
Carlsbad water discharges annually 740,884
pounds of carbonate of soda, and 132,923
pounds of sulphate of soda, in addition to
numerous other substances. Now, the ope-
ration of solution must be effected by the
electro-chemical action of the thermal waters
upon the rocks, at a greater or less distance
frorn the earth’s surface,
fl he origin of the ocean’s saltness has at-
tracted the attention of many, but little light
has been hitherto thrown on this subject. It
IS, however, apparent, that the quantity of
saline matter varies on account of the proxi-
mity of rivers ; thus, the Baltic and the Black
Sea are weaker than the occean, and still
more so than the Mediterranean.

From Boussingaull’s observations, it appears
that the temperature of hot springs diminishes
with the height; and hence he infers that
they have their origin in the volcanic fires.
He found that the mineral waters near volca-
noes contained sulphuretted hydrogen and
carbonic acid, the identical gases which were
detected among the vapours emitted from their
corresponding volcanoes. The carbonic acid
he considers as the product of the calcination
of carbonate of lime and soda, or of their re-
action upon silicious or aluminous substances,
and the sulphuretted hydrogen may derive its
origin from the re-action of the vapour of
water upon sulphui’et of sodium.

The rocks of the tertiary formations are in
general calcareous and silicious with a pre-
dominance of magnesia, especially where the
gypsum appears. Under this head are in-
cluded the new formations characteidzed so
happily by Air. Lyell, and to whose work it is
proper to refer the reader for accurate and
interesting information.

The secondary rocks include the chalk,
which is the result of chemical precipitation,
the oolites, a sedimentary group, as well as
the muschelkalk and zechstein.

In the ti'ansition rocks, the coal, according
to Deluc, has been foi’med at a slight eleva-
tion above the sea like turf, and has been
submer ged and covered by the sand of the
ocean. If these waters are supposed to
Imve borne along with them earthy matter
of an elevated temperature, an explanation
will be afforded for the absence o f animals in
these rocks. The water under which the
coal was formed must have possessed the
property of holding iron in solution, as is ap-
parent from the quantity of iron-stone which
usually accompanies coal. Hence, the
atmospheric pressure may have been greater’.

The formations which derive their origin from
the greatest depths, are obviously granite,
mica slate, and the rocks usually termed pri-
mary. The porphyries, euphotides, or com-
pounds of jade and diallage, serpentines,
black porphyry, or ophites and dolomitess, are
more variable in their position.

Among volcanic products the trachites are
considered most ancient, and are sometimes
startified. The traps, or basalts afford many
minerals; the lava group contain also many
species. Both HStna and Vesuvius have
been known to eject granite, in addition to
the pulverulent and solid matter which they
continue to emit at intervals.

DECOMPOSITION OF ROCKS YEINS.

o

DECOMPOSITION OF ROCKS-
VEINS. — According to Becqueiel, veins are
not to be considered as products of one general
cause, but of a concurrence of several causes.
The viens in the most ancient rocks are smaller
than in the newer rocks, the largest existing
in the schists and transition limestones. Wer-
ner considered that rocks were decomposed
by two acids : I. By carbonic acid as
when granite and gneiss or felspar alone are
decomposed and form kaolin, 2. Sulphuric
acid derived fiom pyrites, as in veins of fels-
p r, mica, and amphibole. Arsenic acid
he considered produced a similar effect.

M. Fournet, who has paid much atten-
tion to veins, distinguishes two kinds: those
of igneous origin, such as porphyries, tra-
chites, &c. in which the silica has formed
combinations by means of heat ; and those
of aqueous origin, as we see illustrated in
mineral waters. To exemplify the former
he cites those instances where sulphuret of
iron, silica, and iron pyrites have been depo-
sited upon the fragments of primitive rocks,
and with regard to the latter, he mentions
cases where talc and mica are changed into
a grey substance, and granites where felspar
is altered into kaolin, likewise talcose schists
where steatite is isolated in veins. In the
veins of Pont Gibaud, he observe.d four other
epochs. At the second period new branches
were formed, which were filled with secondary
and tertiary products, especially quartz,
but likewise sulphurates, which have formed
alternating zones of pyrites, galena, and
hyalines quartz in small crystals. A third
period distinguishes a dilatation which disturb-
ed the sources of the galena and introduced
solutions of sul pirates of barytes- At the
fourth epoch, the inerusting power of these
sources appears to have been enfeebled, when
parites and minute veins of carbonates were
deposited. The fifth epoch was contempo-
rajaeous with the basaltic eruptions. It is
obvious, that for an explanation of the mode
in which these veins are filled, we must have
recourse to chemistry. Thus, hydrate of iron
proceeds from the decomposition of pyrites;
the powder of hydrous oxide is derived from
the decomposition of the carbonate, ga ena
is gradually converted into a black pulveru-
lent substance, which gives birth to black
and white carbonate. With regard to the
formation of rock-salt, Dumas has observed
that in one variety of it which decrepitated
when placed in water, the cause was attri-
butable to hydrogen which condensed in its
cavaties,

GRANITE, — Saussure attributed the de-
composition of this rock to a corrosive juice
which dissolved the gluten uniting all its
parts. Vanquelin and Alluan traced the
cause to disintegration of the rock, and the
removal of the alkali in the felspar by water.
But Berthier has shewn that silica as well as
potash is removed, a silicate of potash disap-
pearing and silicate of alumina remaining.
Felspar is probably one of those bodies whose
particles are placed in such intimate union
that acids have no effect upon it until it be
exposed to electro-chemical agency. Four-
net has observed three preliminary stages in
the decomposition of granite, 1. A superior

zone of a red or yellow colour, indicating the
peroxidation of iron, 2. A middle zone of a
deep green colour. 3. An inferior zone, pre-
senting all the characters of a perfect granite,
but falling to pieces when touched. Me ac-
counts for the successive decomposition from
the surface, internally to dimorphism, which
has changed their crystalline texture like ar-
ragonites and laumonites, Gustav. Rose
has produced pyroxene and amphibole as in-
stances of this dimorphism, of which some
result from rapid, others from slow cooling.
The theory of the felspar decomposition Four-
net sums up shortly, 'i’he iron is peroxidized,
carbonic acid is absorbed and takes the
place of the silica, which, being set at liberty
in a gelatinous state, dissolves in water, or
alkaline carbonates, and gives origin to cry-
stals of hyaline quartz, iorites, agates, opal,
calcedony, and silicates, as chabasite, me-
sotype.

I'his theory, however, rests upon two sup-
positions which have not yet been demonstrat-
ed. 1. That igneous rocks do not acquire a
state of permanent equilibrium, and that they
exhibit in the course of time an effect of di-
morphism, and 2. 'fhat carbonic acid is ab-
sorbed by tliese rocks. The latter appears to
be strongly exhibited in Auvergne, where
numerous mineral springs, which escape from
granite fissures, act upon the rocks, and form
small irregular basons which they fill with
hydrous peroxide of iron.

SPARRY IRON ORE.-Granite before
it decomposes disintegrates, but the iron ore
retains its form, and yet changes its chemical
nature. Becquer’el has examined the process
of the decomposition of this mineral in Isere,
and he has found it entii'e when preserved
from the contact of air and water. In Dau-
phine it is decomposed in such a manner as
to give out heat and light, which burst into
flame and continue to burn. The inhabitants
regard the presence of these flames as a de-
cided proof of the existence of rich mines of
this mmeral. The mineral contains carbonate
of manganese and magnesia. The iron and
manganese change into hydrates, lose their
carbonic acid which combines with the mag-
nesia, and renders it soluble in water. Water
is decomposed to afford oxygen to the hydrate,
and the hydrogen inflames after overcoming
an immense pressure.

According to Chapert, when some of the
minerals accompanying this iron ore are
roasted, and left to spontaneous action, after
some days, sulphate of magnesia and iron,
and carbonate of copper appear, facts of great
importance in electro-chemistry, Four kinds
of pyrites accompany this ore, which give
origin, to 1. Neutral sulphate of iron. 2.
Earthy sulphate, a yellow substance, resinous
or earthy, 3. Ochre proceeding from the ac-
tion of air upon the neutral sulphate ; besides,
sulphate of iron and alumina, manganese,
line, zinc, &c.

, LAVAS, — Granite decomposes readily in
contact witli bay-salt, as is evinced in Scot-
land and Clermont. The facility of the de-
composition of lavas varies with their com-
position ; thus the pyroxenic rocks of Au-
vergne decay more rapidly than the Labra-

6

tp:rrestrial magnetism— atmospheric electricity.

dore masses of Como. Wack6 is a rock
formed by the action of water upon these
rocks, and contains calcareous spar, zeolites
and piperine,

'I'here is reason to think that the crystals
which are found in bay-salts, have been de-
posited after the consolidation of the rocks in
which they are found, because most of them
are altered by a strong heat, and lose their
water of crystalization. Fournet attributes
the formation of zeolites to the transportation
of the elements by water from the neighbour-
ing rocks.

ORGANIC matter. -The mode in
which organic matter undergoes decomposition
has not been much studied, but a few curious
facts have been ascertained. Davy found
the manucripts of Herculaneum converted
into a kind of turf, the leaves being united into
a single mass by a peculiar substance, for-
med by the chemical changes of the vege-
table matter. 'J'he guano in Peru is found in
deposites of 50 or 60 feet deep, and is formed
of the excrement of herons which inhabit the
coast.

Necker de Saussure has observed the teeth
of the ursiisspiloeus in the mines of Carmiola,
corroded as if by an acid. Turpin has no-
ticed the egg of the garden snail to be cover-
ed on the interior surface of its envelope,
with rhombohedral crystals of carbonate of
lime. The cellular tissueof the cactus, and
the medullary tisue of palms contain oxalate
of lime in crystals.

NITRIFICATION— When distilled
water is placed over plates of iron, lead, zinc,
or tin, ammonia is formed in consequence of
the combination of the hydrogen of the water
with the azote of the air.

Vasquelin found ammonia in some rusty
spots on a sabre, which had been employed
by an assassin, and that other traces present-
ed the same substance. Protoxide of iron,
zenite, earthy oxide of iron heated in a tube,
give out ammonia was detected in the ferru-
ginous water of Passy after evaporation.
Boussingault has observed it likewise in oxi-
dized iron by taking a fragment of it, treating
it with dilute muriatic acid, evaporating the
washings, and heating the residue with quick-
lime in a tube, using the precaution to mois-
ten them with water. Faraday obtained am-
monia, by heating zinc foil in a glass tube
with potash. The experiment succeeded
even in hydrogen gas. Potassium, iron, tin,
lead, and arsenic likewise afford much of it,
with soda, lime, barytes or potash. The
alkalines alone do not yield it.

The formation of saltpetre has long been a
subject of interest. Dumas conceives that
the presence of organic matter is not essen-
tial. Claubry attributes its production to the
action of an acid moisture upon carbonate of
lime.

Fournet thinks that nitric acid may be form-
ed without the presence of organic matter, by
the re-action alone of the elements of air and
vapour of water. For according to Saussure,
oxygen is more condensable by porous bodies
than azote, in the proportion of 6'5 to 4 00 ;
and Gay Lussac and Humboldt have ob-
served that air disengaged from water by

boiling, contains more oxygen in proportion
to the slowness of its extrication. The result
is that oxygen is not only retained with a
greater power, but the composition of the
last portions of the air approaches pretoxide
of azote. Fournet has concluded, that the
united action of porous bodies and of water
upon the elements of air, would produce at
first, protoxide of azote; then nitrate of am-
monia, which when decomposed, resolves
itself into protoxide of azote and vapour of
water. The nitrate acts upon the alkaline
carbonates and forms nitrate of potash, while
the ammonia is disengaged in union with car-
bonic acid. He applies his theory to explain
the production of nitrate of ammonia, dis-
solved in rain by the electric agency. He
concludes by observing, that in every electric
chemical action, however feeble it may be, if
water is decomposed in contact with air,
ammonia is formed.

LASTGEOLOGICAL REVOLUTION.
— Becquerel endeavours to calculate this pe-
riod, by a method which it must be allowed is
extremely vague. He finds that the cathedral
of Limoges, which has stood for four centuries,
and is built of granite, is decomposed on that
side where the winds and the rain beat to the
depth of 82 lines, and that the rock in situ is
disintegrated to the depth of 5 feet or 720
lines. If both have progressed at the same
rate, he conceives that the rock in its natural
place must have been decomposing for above
82 000 years.

TERRESTRIAL MAGNETISM.--
From the facts which have been brought for-
ward by Humboldt and others, it appears pro-
per, that experiments should be made upon
the magnetism of the rocks, which constitute
the formations of the country in which the
experimenter is placed, or at least to deter-
mine at what point the extent of oscillations
diminishes without changing their number.

A TM O S P H ERIC ELECT RIC Ff Y.—
Saussure has shewn that in summer the elec-
tricity of the calm air is much weaker than
in winter; and that the apparent force of
electricity, depends not so much on the ab-
solute height of the place of observation as
upon the relative height, or on the insulation
of tlie place. Disseminated as this principle
is through the medium of the vapour of water,
it is highly probable that it exercises tio in-
considerable effect on the plants and animals
which are of necessity subjected to its influ-
ence.

Becquerel terminates the first volume of his
work, with some remarks upon the agencies
by which the decomposition of some rocks and
the formation of some insoluble compounds
may be explained, which comprehends a re-
capitulation of some points. But he shews
more particularly, how electro-chemical ac-
tion operates in producing many minerals.
Phosphate of iron in mines and crevices he
considers to be the result of the action of
electricity, which is disengaged during the
peroxidation of iron and the decomposition of
organic matter. The formation of the chro-
mate of lead as it exists native, may be imi-
tated by treating a solution of nitrate of lead
with chalk and then with chromate of potash.
In the course of a month or two, crystals of

CARBONIC ACID GAS EXPIRED FROM THE LUNGS AT DIF. PERIODS. 1

chromate of lead were observed on the surface
of the chalk. By mixing sub-nitrate of cop-
per, with arseniate of copper, a double arse-
niate of copper and ammonia, and of arseniate
lime and ammonia is formed The re-action of
bi-carbonate of soda upon gypsum gives ori-
gin to carbonate of lime which crystallizes,
sulphate of soda remainingin solution.

A supplementary chapter is appended,
containing a short outline of the interesting
electro-chemical researches of Dr. Faraday.

ON RESPIRATION.

BY THOMAS THOMSON. M. D., F. R. 6., t,.

AND E., &C,

Uegius Professor of Che^nistrij in the Uni-
versity of Glasgoiv^

When the experiments on respiration were
made by Lavoisier, Goodwin, Menzies, Davy,
&c., towards the end of the last century, it
seems to have been the generally received
opinion, that every individual by inspiring the
air into his lungs, produces the very same
change upon it. At least, the conclusions
respecting respiration to be met with in Phy-
siological and Chemical books, depend for their
accuracy, upon this assumption. Nothing,
however, can be farther from the truth. The
chemical changes produced in air by respira-
tion, vary in their extent, not only in different
individuals, but even in the same individual at
different times ; and that to such an extent,
that if we analyze air thrown out of the lungs
at different times, we find the quantity of
carbonic acid, sometimes not to exceed two
per cent, and at other times to amount to
more than seven per cent. Dr. A. Fyfe and
Dr. Prout have shown many years ago, that an
alteration is produced in the quantity of car-
bonic acid in the air expired, by the mode of
living of the individual : that when the con-
stitution is affected by mercury, the propor-
tion of that gas in the air expired is diminished
Rnd that it is diminished also by nitric acid,
by spirits, and by a vegetable diet. But I
have found that the most unexpected altera-
tions are observable in the same individual,
though he be in perfect health, and though he
make no sensible alteration in his mode of
living.

During the course of the month of May,
1832, 1 analyzed air from my own lungs on ten
consecutive days, between eleven and twelve
o’clock each day. Before stating the results,
it may be proper to mention the method of
analysis employed. I procured a glass tube,
capable of holding about three cubic inches
of air, and about half an inch in diameter. It
was shut at one end and open at the other.
This tube being filled with mercury, and
placed inverted on a mercurial trough, I in-
troduced into it about two and a-half cubic
inches of air from my lungs, taking care, in
the first place, by making half an expiration
through a narrow glass tube, to expel all the
common air from the trachea and mouth, and
also from the tube, by which it was conveyed to
the eudiometer The surface of the mer-

cury in the tube was then marked by tying
round in a sewing thread, and the whole was
left till the air ceased to contract. Then a
quantity of moderately strong potash ley was
introduced, and the whole was left untouched
for twenty-four hours. The diminution of
bulk of the air was then carefully marked, by
tying a sewing thread rou.id the tube at tlio*
new surface of the mercury. I then filled
the tube with mercury, up to each of the
places marked by the sewing threads, and
weighed each portion of mercury. The dif-
ference between the two weights, gave the
diminution of bulk sustained by the air, by
the absorption of its carbonic acid, I then
calculated, what the bulk of the air and of the
carbonic acid gas absorbed would have been,
at the mean pressure and temperature ; making
allowance for any change in the height of tho
barometer and thermometer, which took place
during the interval, I ought to observe,
however, that during the ten days of these
experiments, both the barometer and the
thermometer were tolerably steady.

The following table exhibits the volume, of
carbonic aci4 gas, in 100 parts of the air ex-
pired from my lungs during each of the ten
days, at 11 o’clock a. m. : —

CARBONIC ACID.

1 . . 4'()4 per cent,

2 . . 4'70

3 . . 6-07

4 .. 3’*27 ,,

5 .. 5-26

CARBONIC ACID.

6 . . 2 O.o per cent.

7 .. 2 .39

8 .. 3 85

9 .. 3.05
10 .. 7.16

I was not a little surprised at these re-
sults: the differences being so much greater
than I had anticipated. The mean of the
whole is 4‘24 per cent., which, therefore, I
am disposed to consider as representing the
mean quantity of carbonic acid gas, contained
in iOO volumes of air expired from my lungs.

I was naturally induced to examine the air
from the lungs of several other persons, in
order to see whether there would be the same
difference in theirs as I had observed with
respect to myself. The gentlemen whose
breathing was examined, W'ere chiefly those
who were occupied with practical chemistry
in my laboratory. The following table exhibits
the results obtained : —

CARBONIC ACID.

Mr. Thomas Thomson, (aged 14) 3-06 per
cent. Ditto, next day, 3.61, Mr. .1 . Calqu-
houn (aged 18) 3.09 Mr. Farrest (aged 18)
2.10 ditto next day 5.19 Mr. Coverdale
2-o4 ditto, next day, l-7i Mr. Cargill, 4-68
Mr. Bruce, 5-46 Dr. Duncan, 6. 1 7 Dr. Short,
6-85 Mr. Frazer, 7-08.

I prevailed upon two ladies to allow me to
examine the air from their lungs. The first
was an unmarried lady about seventeen years
of age ; the second a married lady, aged
about 30. The results were as follows
First lady . . 2-35 1 Second lady . . 4-06
The diversity here is fully as great as in my
own case, but the mean of the whole does not
differ much from that of my own. I am dis-
posed, therefore, to infer from these trials,
that the average volume of carbonic acid gas,
in 100 volumes of air, expired from the lungs
at 11 o’clock A. M. is 4-24.

8

CHANGES IN BLOOD BY REPEATED BLEEDINGS.

Bilt, from Dr. Prout’s experiments, (Annals
of Philosophy, II., 328; and IV.,331,)it ap-
pears that the quantity of carbonic acid gas
produced by respiration, is at its maximum at
noon, and tba' its quantity at 1 1 A. M. is to the
mean quantity for 2 1 hours, as 3-92 to 315. It
is obvious, from this, that the meab volume of
carbonic acid gas in lt)0 volumes of air expired,
deduced from the preceding experiments,
is 3-72.

1 made a few trials to to ascertain how mncli
air ditlerent individuals are capable of forcing
out of their lungs after a full inspiration. The
quantity as might be expected, varies much
in different individuals. But when the same
individual re neated the trial .the result was very
constantly the same. The following table
shows the results. —

Mr. T. Thomson, 1.50, cubic inclie.s. Mi’.
G. Thomson, 1G3, Dr. Duncan, 180, Dr. Thom-
son 193, Mr..! Colquhoun 2011, jMr. Coverdale
200, Mr. Bruce 2()0, Mr.. Forrest, 200, Mr.
Frazer, 200, Dr. Short, 210, Mr. Cargill 2 )0,
200 cubic inches is the most common quanti-
ty ; but in one case it amounted to as much as
2,50.

The number of respirations in a minute
does not vary much in different individuals,
being very nearly twenty, or rather between
nineteen and twenty,

I believe that great errors have been com-
mitted ill the attempts to determine the quan-
tity ofair thrown out of the lungs by a com-
mon expiration. I am satisfied that the quan -
tity which I pitched upon from the experi-
ments of Menzies, Lavoisier, &c., namely,
forty cubic inches is far too high. 1 find,
after a great many trials, (for it is very dilli-
cult to make a natural expiration when your
attention is called to’ it,) that the quantity of
air which I myself throw out at a natural ex-
piration, is sixteen cubic inches. My nephew.
Dr. Andrew Steel, who w'as a tall man,
(about six feet,) with an expanded chest, also
made many trials, and satisfied himself that
his ordinary expiration was sixteen cubic
inches. Messrs. Allen and Pepys deter-
mined the volume ofair expired by them at an
ordinary expiration, to be sixteen and a half
cubic inches. From these facts, I think we
are entitled to conclude that a common ex-
piration does not much exceed sixteen cubic
inches.

If these data be correct, and they cannot be
very far from the truth, it will be ^"ery easy
to calculate the quantity of carbon thro\vn out
of the body daily by respiration. Allowing
20 respirations per minute, and IG cubic inches
of air taken in and thrown out at each respi-
ration, we liave 28,800 respirations in 21
hours, and 460,800 cubic inches ' f air passing
through the lungs. Of this or 17141-76
cubic inches are converted into carbonic acid
gas. Now OO cubic inches of carbonic acid
weigh very nearly 50 grains : so that the
weight of carbonic acid formed is 8,570.8
grains, -j^^ths of which, or 2337.5 grains are
caibon. This amounts to nearly nine ounces
avoirdupois, or somewhat more than half a
pound, — Record of Science, 1835.

ON THE CHANGES PRODUCED IN
THECOVIPOSION OF THE BLOOD
BY REPEATED BLEEDINGS.

By Thomas Andrews, Esq.

The objectofthe following experiments is to
determine with precision, the changes which
are produced in the composition of the blood
by re[)eated abstractions of large quantities of
it from the general circulation. In the human
subject, oiiportunities seldom occur of procu-
ring proper specimens for examination, al-
though the operation of vene, section is so fre-
quently performed, as in those cases where
it requires to be repeated at short intervals
the blood is generally in a morbid state. In-
stead of waiting for such casual occasions, I
directed my attention to those animals in
which the composition of the blood is nearly
the same as in man, conceiving that similar
results would in either case be produced. I
selected the blood of calves for the fuirpose
of experiment, and as it is the practice of
butchers in this country to bleed these ani-
mals several times before they are slaughtered,
I availed myself of this circumstance to, pro-
cure suitable portions of blood- The animal
is bled from a large orifice in the jugular vein,
till symptoms of syncope apiiear, and the
operation is in general repeated at intervals of
twenty four hours It is once fed between
each operation upon a mixture of meal and
water, but this is often omitted before the last
bleeding.

The appearance of the blood becomes great-
ly altered by the successive abstractions ; the
crasamentum is at first very large, and a por-
tion of the red globules are unattached to it,
but it progressively diminishes in bulk while
its con.sistency increases, till upon the fourth
bleeding it appears a small contracted ball im-
mersed in a large quantity of serum, adher-
ing to the stopper of the vessel in Avhich it is
contained, and presenting on its external sur-
face an exact cast of the interior of the vessel .

The following analyses were performed by
the same method that I formerly employed in
a set of experiments on the blood of cholera
patients, which were published in the Philo-
sophical Magazine for September, 1832. They
are nearly alia mean of two separate analyses
which seldom differed from each other more
than 0-5 per cent,

A calf was bled four times ; between the
first and second bleedings a week elapsed,
but the rest took place at intervals of twenty-
four hours, and the animal' was fed between
each operation. The composition of tlie serum
and blood at each bleeding is exhibited in the
following tables :

SERUai.

Water
Albumen
and Salts

I'IRST. 1 SECOND. 1 THIRD, j

FOU RTH

92-19

7.82

93-96

6.04

93-81

6.19

“oiTTs

5.82

100.00

100.00

100.00

100.00

CONTROVERSY ON CARCONiC ACID IN THE BLOOD.

9

Blood.

BLOOD.

Water. .
Albumen
and Salts
Red glo. .
bules &. .
fibrin. . . .

FIRST.

[second

THIRD,

FORTH.

FIRST -

SECOND.

81.36

85.49

87.41

89.2 5

Water

82.48

83.47

6.89

5.50

5.77

5.52

Albumen and Salts. . .

6.70

5.95

11.75

9.01

6.82

5.2

Globules.

10.82

10.58

100.00

100.00

100.00

100 .00

100.00

100.00

The serum had at the third bleeding, a
specific gravity of 1 .020, and at the fourth, of
],0]7. At the third bleeding, the specific
gravity of the blood itsell was 1.031.

The next calf whose blood was examined,
was nine weeks old. I did not procure any
blood from the first bleeding. The third
bleeding was twenty four hours after the
second, and during that period, the animal
was once fed ; twelve hours afterwards it
was bled a fourth time, butit received no more
food :

Water ....
Albumen and
Salts

SERUM.

SECOND.

THIRD,

FOURTH.

”937^

94.39

94.50

6.68

.5.61

5.41

100.00

100. 00,

loo.oo

W ater

Albumen and
Salts Red
Globules and
Fibrin

The albumen and salts it is evident, de-
crease at each bleeding ; the diminution is,
however, very variable, and even after the
fourth time does not amount to one per cent,
and a half. In the globules, the same dimi-
nution takes place but to such a degree that
they are at least reduced to less than one
half their original quantity. To this principle,
a remarkable exception occurs in the com-
position of the blood taken at the last
bleeding of the second calf, where the globules
are slightly increased above the preceding-
analysis ; but it will be observed, that the
animal received no food during the interven -
ing period, from which the blood might ob-
tain afresh supply of serum, while the ten-
dency of the different excretions of the animal
was to drain from the circulating mass its
aqueous part, and thus to increase the appa-
rent quantity of the globules. This explana-
tion is confirmed by the following analysis.

A calf three w'eeks old was bled twice
before it was killed, twelve hours elapsed
between the two bleedings, during which
time it obtained no food : —

, SERUM.

Water

Albumen and Salts . . .

FIRST.

SECOND.

92.48

7.52

93.35

6.65

100.00

100.00

BLOOD.

SECOND,

THIRD.

FOURTH

82.05

89. 14

88.92

5 . 85

5.29

5.0G

12.10

5.57

6.04

JOO.OO

100.00

100. 0

The globules have here it is true diminished
at the second bleeding, but so slightly, that
we may at^tribute this circumstance to the
unassimilated chyle which must have been
present in the system. In the former case
the animal had been exhausted by previous
depletions, and hence possesed no store from
which the blood could derive even a small
portion of serum, as in the latter instance.

RESEARCHES ON THE BLOOD.

BY L. GMELIN AND F. TIEDEMANN, ASSISTED BY
E. MITSCH ERLICH.

Poggendorff’s Annalen xxxi.

Observers have differed with regard to the
presence of carbonic acid in the blood.

Vogel found that under the receiver of an
air pump, lime water was acted on by the
disengaged carbonic acid.

Scudamore obtained in the same way, by
means of barytes water, a precipitate of car-
bonate of barytes, equivalent to ^ or \ cubic
inch of carbonic acid gas, from six ounces of
blood.

Brande procured from one ounce of arterial
or veinous blood 2 cubic inches of carbonic
acid.

On the other hand, Darwin could detect
no such acid, and Dr. Davy asserts that it is
neither extracted during the spontaneous
coagulation of the blood, nor by the air
pump, nor by coagulating the serum by heat,
and that serum absorbs carbonic acid in
greater quantity than pure water, which
would not be the case if it was charged with
carbonic accid.

Gmeliri and Tiedemann examine with great
care the blood of a dog taken from the femo-
ral-vein and artery, and placed in different
tubes under the rrceiver of an air pump.
The result was that neither carbonic acid nor
any other permanent gas was extricated. To
ascertain the accuracy of Davy’s statement
with respect to the absorbing power of blood
being greater than that of water, carbonic
acid was allowed to stand over arterial blood
for 5 days, when it was ascertained that 100
measures of blood absorb 120 of carbonic
acid. The coagulum appeared blackish red,
and the liquid portion was extremely clear.

Since blood contains no free carbonic acid,
it was necessary to ascertain whether any
existed in it in a combined state. Vinegar
was added to each of the kinds of blood which
had been collected, as in the former experi-
ments, with every precaution to ensure accu-
racy, and was placed under a receiver. A
quantity of carbonic acid escaped from both,
more abundantly from the veinous than the

0 TIEDMANN’S l*iIVS10L0GV~CIIEMICAL MIXTURE OF SUBSTANCES.

arterial. 'I’he arterial blood mixed with
vinegar, as well as the veinous blood, left
over mercury for 3 weeks, was converted into
a blackish brown mass without being separat-
ed into serum and coagulum. About the
same period, without a knowledge of the
Heidelberg experiments, Ed. Ch. F. Strome-
yer obtained the same results.*

How do these facts agree with the present
theories of respiration '1

Lavoisier conceived that without coming in
contact with the respired air, a liquid consist-
ing principally of carbon and hydrogen is
absorbed through the pulmonary membranes
into the bronchi, and is converted into carbo-
nic acid and water through the oxygen of the
inspired air. As this theory does not render
it necessary to suppose free carbonic acid in
the blood, it is not at variance with 'the ob-
servations of Gmelin and I'iedemann, but the
passage of gases into moist animal mem-
brane, and also the immediate contact be-
tween air and blood cannot be well doubt-
ed of. Davy inferred from his results that
air passes through the moist coats of the pul-
monary vessels, and is taken upbythe s-rum,
the oxygen partly forming with the carbon of
the cruor carbonic acid, and partly combin-
ing with the cruor. When he found that
after the inspiration of hydrogen some car-
bonic acid was expired, tliough much small-
er in quantity than after the inspiration of air,
he concludeil tliat veinous blood contains
some free carbonic acid. According to the
observations already given, it appears that
the arteri.d and veinous blood contain no free
acid but carbonic acid combined with alkali.
And if we supitose acetic acid to be formed in
respiration, (for we find it in the blood and in
most organic liquids which are exposed to
the influence of air in combination with
alkalies), then must the veinous blood con-
tain more alkaline carbonate than the arterial,
when by the formation of acetic acid a porti*
on of thealkaline carbonates will be convert-
ed into acetates.

By means of a barytes solution in an ex-
hausted receiver, they estimated that 10,000
parts of arterial blood contain 8.3 of combin-
ed carbonic acid, and 10,000 parts of vein-
ous blood 12'3 of acid in the same state,
being in the proportion of 2 to 3.

They sum up their views of respiration in a
few propositions : —

1 . That in the pulmonary cells inspired air
is absorbed into the moist membranous ves-
sels, and is thus brought in contact w-ith the
blood.

2. The azote of the air is not sensibly ab-
sorbed by blood, but almost the whole of it
remains in the cells. On the contrary, as
oxygen is taken up by the blood abundantly,
it flows out of the cells into the vessels in
proportion to its absorption, and the mixture
of gas remaining in the lungs must therefore
contain more azote and less oxygen than the
air.

3. The oxygen taken up by the blood com-
bines partly with carbon and hydrogen, and

* Schweigg'. Journ. four Cliem. Ixiv. 105,
t Memories de I’acad des Sc, An, 1790, insert-
ed in Scherer’ Journal der Chemie x, 5G0,

forms carbonic acid and water, and partly
unites with the solid organic compounds con-
tained in the blood. From these proceed
acetic or lactic acid, which combines with a
portion of carbonate of soda contained in the
blood, and drives its carbonic acid into the
cells.

4. The acetate of soda loses in its course
through the different secreting organs its
acetic acid, combines again with carbonic
acid after undergoing many decompositions
in its passage with the mass of blood through
the body, and enters into the lungs on its
return as carbonate of soda.

TIEDEMANN’S PHYSIOLOGY,

TRANSLATED BY GULLY AND
LANE.

PARALLEL BETWEEN THE MATERIAL COMPO-
SITION OF ORGANIC BODIES AND THAT OF

INORGANIC BODIES.

On the Chemical Mixture of Substances,

V. All organic and almost all inorganic
bodies are composed of simple materials, di-
versely combined witheacli other, and which
may be separated by chemical operations.
However, when we compare the composition
of these two groups of bodies, we recognise
important difterences between them. 'Jhus
the first are for the most part assemblages of
particular combinations, which we first meet
with when we chemically analyse plants and
animals. There are, in the vegetable king-
dom, starch, vegetable albumen, gluten, gum,
sugar, &c. ; in the animal kingdom, animal
albumen, fibrin, gelatin, mucus, &c. These
matters are called by chemists the immediate
or proper matters of organized bodies, or the
simple organic compounds,*

VI, in submitting anew the immediate
principles of organic bodies to chemical an-
alysis we obtain the mediate principles, or
the simple matters, which chemistry has not
yet further decomposed, and which for this
reason are denominated elements. The pon-
derable mediate principles of organic bodies
are :

A, Non-metallic substances ; namely, 1
oxygen, 2 hydrogen, 3 carbon, 4 nitrogen, 5
phosphoius, 6 sulphur, 7 iodine, 8 bromine,
9 chlorine, and 10 fluorine.

B. Metallic substances :

a. Alkaline metals — 11 potassium, 12 so-
dium, and 13 calcuim.

b. Earthy metals— 14 magnesium, 15 si-
licium, and 16 aluminum.

c. Ponderous metals— 17 iron, 18 man-
ganese, and 19 copper.

Among impondeiable substances those
which can in some circumstances be recognis-
ed in organic bodies, are light, heat, and
electricity.

* The French chemists call them “ les prin-
cipes iminediats organiques” We may give
them the name of organic matter or those adapt-
ed to life, because they are essential constituent
parts of living beings and the phenomena of life
are perceived only in bodies that are composed
of such.

COMPOSITION MORE COMPLEX IN ORGANIC THAN INORGANIC BODIES 11

All these elements are likewise found in
inorganic bodies. Organic bodies, therefore,
do not difler from the latter in regard to ele-
mentary matters. But great differences exist
relative lb the number of elements which
enter into organic combinations, and in the
manner in which they are joined together.

VII. d'he number of elements which en-
ter into t' e composition of bodies included
in the organic kingdom, is much less consider-
able than that of the elements which exist
in the other kingdom. Organic bodies, as
far as we can judge of them from the data hi-
therto collected by chemistry do not present,
putting aside the imponderable matters, more
than the nineteen elements which I have enu-
merated,* while fifty-two have already been
found in the other kingdom. All the sub-
stances which chemistry regards as simple,
do not therefore enter into the composition
of organic bodies, which, on the contrary,
only contain the smallest proportion of them.
From among- the substances therein discover-
ed, those which exist in greatest quantity are
oxygen, hydrogen, carbon, and nitrogen in in-
finitely varying proportions. The rest are by
no means abundant in comparison with these.

VIII. _ Although the number of elements
in organic bodies in general be small, never-
theless the composition of a living body,
a plant, or animal, is much more complicated
than that of an inorganic body. Besides the
fact that almost always one and the same vege-
table or animal presents at the same time, in
its different parts, very diverse modes of com -
bination, we observe that all the compound or
organic matters proceed from three, four, or
more elements. There are three elements at
least in them, united together in an immediate
mannm-, without having a preliminary binary
combination. Vegetable mucus, sugar and
starch, are composed of carbon, oxygen, and
hydrogen. Gluten, albumen, fibrin, animal
mucus, cafein, &c. contain moreover nitrogen,
in addition to these three elements. The ter-
nary or quarternary unions of these four sub-
stances in proportion varying ad infinitum,
give rise to the immediate products of or-
ganized bodies ; a result clearly proved by
the researches instituted by Thenard, Gay
T.ussac, Berzelius, Prout,Thomson, Berard,
l^h. Von, Saussure, lire, and others.

On the other hand, all the inorganic combina-
tions, as Berzelius has shown, are to be con-
sidered as binary compositions, that is, result-
ing from the union of two elements alone, or as
combinations of two binary composed bodies,
or lastly, as combinations of a binary com-
pound with a simple substance. Thus oxygen
with hydrogen produces water; with sul-
phur, phos|)horus, nitrogen, and carbon, it
forms sulphuric, nhosphoric, nitric, and car-
bonic acids ; in junction with calcuim, soduim
and [)otassium it gives lime, soda, and potassa.
Chlorine with hydrogen, originates hydro-
chloric acid ; nitrogen and hydrogen produce
ammonia. These salts, then, are only double
binary compounds.

* The opinion of chemists are divided regard-
ing the existence of some other simple sub-
stances in organic bodies. Thus, Recher asserts
that he found gold in the ashes of tamarinds.

It is evident, therefore, that nature has
given a more comjdex composition to organic
than to inorganic bodies, a remark which
Kielmeyer has already made in his course of
general zoology.

IX. Organic combinations can easily be
reduced to their elements by chemical opera-
tions, and principally by the action of fire, but
chemists have not hitherto succeeded in re-
producing them, as they have done the inorga-
nic compound bodies.* Sugar, starch,
gum, gluten, fibrin, albumen ; &c. have been
brought down to their elementary principles,
but no chemist has yet arrived at the refor-
mation of them in all their parts. The same
is the case of all the liquid and solid parts of
living bodies On this account, then, w^e are
authorized in admitting thff, in the present
state of chemistry, the composition of organic
bodies is not the effect of affinity alone, but
that it depends on j.owers peculiar to those
bodies, by which powers the chemical affinities
are swayed.

X. Between organic and inorganic bodie s
there exists a difference relative to the mode
of combination of the materials which enter
into their composition and this consists in the
greater tendency the former have than the
latter to undergo changes and decompositions.
Tlie combinations of bodies not endued with
life for the most part binary or double binary,
are more confirmed, more fixed, and their
elements are held together by more energetic
affinities than in organic matters, as Che,

* Some chemists assert, tliat they have ob-
tained organic combinations by submitting
inorganic compositions to various modes of treat-
ment ; but doubts may be entertained on this
subject. Thus Berard (Annales de Chemie et de
Physique, vol. v, p. 29r) says, he obtained a lit-
tle crystallized fat by passing one measure of
carbonic acid gas, ten of olitiant gas, and twenty
of hydrogen through a red-hot tube. It is very
probable, that the substances resembling fat
which he found was held in solution in the oli-
fiantgas, which had been procured from alcohol
Doebereiuer, (Oken’s Isis, 1817, art. 5, p. 576,) by
passing watery vapour over red-hot charcoal, in an
iron tube, got a volatile matter, soluble in watei-,
and having the smell of fat. But it may be object-
ed, that charcoal should be looked on as anorganic
combination. Besides, Berard and Trommsdorf
(Neues Journal fur Pharmacie, vol ii, art. 2, p.
203,) who repeated the experiment, did not ob-
tain the same result. We only are acquainted with
two compound organic bodies, of the simple
kind namely oxalic acid and urea, which Woehler
lirst pointed out the mode of procuring from
tiieir different components (Poggendorf, Annalder
Physik, vol. iii, p. 177.) If chemists have really
succeeded in producing, by means of purely
inorganic substances, some combinations in which
the elements are associated as in organic combina-
tions, it is only those that are placed on the outer
boundary between compound organic and inor-
ganic bodies. Berzaelius (Chimie, book iii, part
1, p. 147,) expresses himself in the following-
manner on this subject : “ Although it may

happen that, eventually, it may be discovered
that many of these products of matters purely
inorganic have a similar composition to that of
organic products, yet this, in complete imitation,
is always reduced to a very small foundation for
hoping that it would ever be in our power to
manufacture organic matters from their compo-
nents, and thus to conlirim analysis by synthesis,
as we almost always are able to do in inorganic
nature.”

12 VARIETY OF FORMS IN THE VEGETABLE AND ANIMAL KIMGDOMS.

vreul has shown. For the most part they pre •
sent solid combustible bodies, which strongly
resist decomposition from the atmosphere.

On the other hand, the ternary, the quaterna-
ry, and even the more complex combinations
of the organic kingdom, are less compact and
less intimate ; they are the results of weaker
affinities, which causes them to appear more
unsettled and variable, because saturation in
them is rarely perfected. The principle of
combustion, oxygen, does not exist in sufficient
quantities in them, to saturate the combustible
elements and to prevent the possibility of
their yielding to other affinities. This is the
reason why all organic combinations are com-
bustible. For they do not contain the proper
quantity of oxygen to saturate their carbon
and hydrogen. They buim, when heated, in
contact with the atmosphere, and then absorb
all the oxygen that is necessary to the satura-
tion of the %drogen and carbon,

XI. As the elements have a greater incli-
nation to produce binary compounds than to
continue in ternary and quaternary combina-
tions, there is observed in organic substances
a constant disposition to run into binary states
of composition. Inorganic bodies having their
elements in a kind of perfect equilibrium,
these same elements are but little disposed to
combine with surrounding matters, or in any
other manner Such is'not the case with or-
ganic matters, which are more complicated,
and retained by less powerful affinities ; in
them there is observed a constant tendency to
resolve themselves. They are mostly com-
posed of oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, and car-
bon, the three first of which are gaseous
when in a state of freedom, and sti'ive to
abandon the solid form, a tendency which is
still more increased by external heat and the
heat peculiar to living bodies. The great
affinity of the oxygen for the hydrogen and
carbon causes it to combine easily with the
first, whence results water, and with the se-
cond, which produces carbonic acid. Nitro-
gen, which has a great affinity for hydrogen ,
joins with it, and gives origin to ammonia.
But, as the carbon and hydrogen do not find
sufficient oxygen, in organic combinations, to
form water and carbonic acid, they have a
disposition to attract that of the atmospheric
air. On these circumstances depends the
facility with which plants and animals run
into decomposition, and which rests on the
constant tendency of their elements to con-
tract binary combinations, and to quit a state
in which they are maintained only by the
powers acting in living bodies. Living bodies
suffer, by the atmospheric influence remark-
able changes, which induce the unfixed ele-
ments of food, introduced and rendered fluid
in their interior, to undergo, as well by the
effect of a subtraction of the materials of the
latter, as by an absorption of other princi-
ples drawn from the air, a change in their
respective proportions, designated under the
name of respiration. The manifestations of
activity of living bodies themselves, are in-
cessantly modifying organic matters, the com-
position of which is extremely variable and
mobile, and cause them to pass sometimes to
a more simple, sometimes to a more complex

state, by changing the numerical relations of
their elements in such a manner, that vegeta-
ble combinations may become animal, and
these resume the vegetable state.

XII. There is this difference between liv-
ing and inert bodies, relative to the connexion
of the chemical composition with the configu-
ration, that the former, although they resem-
ble each other most in their composition,
nevertheless present a much greater diversity
in their forms. What an immense variety of
forms the vegetable and animal kingdoms ex-
hibit, notwithstanding the inconsiderable num-
ber of elements which constitute living bodies
in general. We even find that with an anala-
gous composition, the parts of one and the same
organic individual differ in a singular degree
from each other in point of configuration. I ^vill
mention, as an example, the diversity which
petals often present in the same vegetable species
and that which is remarked, among animals, in
the configuration of the bones and muscles. In-
organic bodies, on the contrary are remarkable,
with very few exceptions, for their great an-
alogy of form and crystallization, when their
chemical composition is identical.

There must be, therefore, in living bodies
a peculiar power, differing from the chemical
affinities which determines the forms of bo-
dies not endued with life, and the action of
which produces the diversity which organic
forms with similar composition exhibit. Or,
which expresses the same idea in a still more
clear manner, the configuration of organic
bodies is not only the effect of chemical affi-
nity, as in bodies without life, but it is also
that of a power of a special, or, it may be,
a superior nature.

XIII. Regarding the origin of organic com-
binations, experience teaches us that they are
only produced by the manifestations of activity
of living bodies already existing. Albumen, ge-
latin, mucus, gluten, starch, gum, sugar, &c.,
do not form spontaneously, by the union of
elements, or binary compounds, according
to the laws of chemical affinity, but only by
the manifestations of activity of organic bodies
already possessed of 1 fe. Organized beings
are produced by their fellow-beings, or owe
their origin to the matter of organized bodies
in a state of decomposition. The production
of organic combinations in these beings, takes
the name of assimilation and nutrition, whilst
the procreation of beings themselves is called
generation. On the other hand, inorganic
combinations and bodies never originate but
from the remains of other more ancient bodies,
fallen into dissolution, and the materials of
which, under certain circumstances, re-unite
to produce them, according to the laws of
chemical and mechanical attraction alone.

XIV. Even the most simple animal and
vegetable forms, the infusoria, the green mat-
ter of Priestley, the conserve, mouldiness,
&c., in what is called spontaneous genera-
tion, proceed, according to the observations
and experiments undertaken by Needham,
Priestley, Ingenhounz, Monti, Wrisberg,
Muller, G. R. Treviranus, &c., not from inor-
ganic matters, but from organic bodies and
combinations passed into putrefaction or fer-

LIVING BODIES SUBJECT TO CONTINUAL CHANGES.

13

mentation. It is true, that J. B. Fray ^ as-
serts, he has seen infusoria animalculae deve-
loped in pure water. Gruithuisen ■[■ says,
also, that he saw generated, in an infusion of
granite, of chalk, and of marble, a gelatinous
membrane, in which, after some time, move-
ments were manifested, and ended Ijy the
formation of infusoria, of monanes, and glo-
bular animaculge. But it is very probable
that the bodies subjected to experiment,
or the water employed in the infusion, already
contained organic matter, though in a very
small quantity, for other naturalists have not
oKserved the formation of living bodies in in-
fusions of purely inorganic ones.

XV. In all inorganic bodies, particularly
crystals, as soon as their materials are brought
together and combined by the laws of affinity,
the chemical composition remains quiet an t
it is by this very fact that they subsist. It is
not so with living bodies, the composition of
which is continually undergoing changes. So
long as these bodies act after their manner, that
is, so long as they live, they are receiving within
them new substances, which’ they assimilate
and introduce into their composition,from which
they expel others. It is by the actions of
assimilation of food, of respiration, of nutri-
tion, and excretion, that the materials of liv-
ing bodies are incessantly changing. The
comrosition of these bodies, therefore, is
never in a state of quietude. Their tenden-
cy to assimilate to themselves new sub-
stances, cease only with the extinction of the
manifestations of activity, which we call life.
But at the same time their existence is stayed,
they are destroyed, and lose their form as
well as composition. There is then this es-
sential difference between inorganic and
living bodies, that the duration of the former
depends on the repose in which their com-
position remains, whilst the existence and
preservation of the latter are conditional
on a continual change of composition. The
cause of this difference is found in the pecu-
liar circumstances, belonging to living bodies,
which induce new affinities, and which can
only be maintained in action thereby, whe te-
as, when bodies not endued with life are once
formed, no further change takes place in the
relations of affinity which themselves pro-
duce.

XVI. Although during their existence, liv-
ing bodies are subjected to continual changes,
rapid or slow, and introduce within themselves
materials obtained from the atmosphere, from
matter and from aliments of various kinds,
and also free themselves of certain substances, (*)

(*) Essai sur rOrigine des Substances Org-a-
nisees et Inorg-anisees. Berlin, 1807. — Essai sur
rOrig’ine des Corps Org-anisees et su < uelques
Phenomenesde Physiologie Animale et Vegetale
Paris, 1817.

(•1) Ueberdie Chemischen und dynainischen.
Momente bei der Bildung’ der Infnsorien mij
einer Kutik der Versuche Fray’s : in Gehlen’s
Journal der Physik, vol. viii. p. 150.

(t) Nevertheless, when living’ bodies are ex-
posed to a very high or a very low temperature
if they be placed in contact with certain kinds
of gas, or if concentrated mineral acids or caus-
tic alkalis be made to act on them, they may
even then be destroyed by these different
agents.

nevertheless they preserve, during 'a certain
lapse of time, the form and composition which
is peculiar to them. They have thus the
faculty whilst incessantly changing their com-
position, of retaining their qualities, and even
of resisting to a certain extent, chemical influ-
ences from without, (t) All inorganic bodies,
on the contrary, being only the simple product
of affinities, the property of substances which
constitute them, are deprived of the power of
re-acting on the external impressions which
produce changes in them, and are delivered
up to the play of chemical affinities. For
instance, when a crystal has been placed in
contact with an acid which has an affinity
for its base, the latter combines with the
acid, in such a manner that the form and com-
position of the crystal are changed and de-
stroyed.

We can attribute this property which or-
ganic bodies possess of resisting, to a certain
extent, the purely chemical actions of exter-
nal things, to no other than peculiar powers
which sway the affinities. This results from
the consideration, that so soon as their vital
powers are extinguished, exterior influences
guided by the laws of chemical affinities, pro-
duce likewise in them, changes tending to the
destruction of the form and composition pe-
culiar to them. After the death of an or-
ganized body chemical affinities enter into
|)lay, so that its form and composition, which,
during an age or more, had frequently braved
the destructive action of external things, are
done away within a short space of time.

XVII. The chemical operations of pu-.
trefaction and fermentation, which are esta»
blished after the extinction of the spe-
cial powers, whose action counterbalances,
during the life of organized bodies, that by
which the chemical affinities of external things
tend to destroy them, and which change at
once their composition and their form, are
phenomena of a particular nature, that are not
observed in the decomposition of inorganic
bodies. They are organi co-chemical pro-
cesses. The decomposition which takes
place after death has, in ordinary cases, its
limits, and the organized ma'erials do not
altogether enter, but only in part into the inor-
ganic kingdom, since they are neither com-
pletely reduced to their elements, nor con-
verted into binary combinations.

XVIII. The organic combinations or mat-
ters, albumen, starch, gluten, gum, animal
mucus, fibrin, gelatin, &c. as well as the ani-
mal and vegetable tissues into which they
enter, possess the peculiarity, when placed
in favourable external circumstances, exposed
to a certain degree of heat, of light, and hu-
midity and in contact with the asmosphere, of
passing to new simple organic forms, as soon
as they have been detached from the organic
combination of any being. This is what hap-
pens in fermentation and putrefaction, where
the resolution of organic combinations gives
rise, according to the composition of the latter,
and external influences sometimes to infusoria,
sometimes to the green matter of Priestley or
to mouldiness. This property which organic
matters enjoy, of taking a new form under

14

THE CHANGES OF COMPOSITION WHICH TAKE PLACE IN BODIES.

certain circumstances, shall be designated
Dvovisionally, under the name of aptitude for
life or plasticity. It is only extinguished
when these matters are reduced to their ele-
ments, as whenever fire is made to act upon
them. Thus, when the manifestations of
activity, called life, are done away with in the
matters of the peculiar kind appertaining to
organic bodies, and the chemical operations
of the special nature which occur in them
after deatli, that is, putrefaction and fermen-
tation are established, these matters do not en-
ter completely into the inorganic kingdom, but
retain the power of putting on a new form, and
of showing themselves adapted to the enjoy-
ment of life. Death, then, or the extinction of
the manifestations of life only bears upon or-
ganic individuals, whilst the organic matters
entering into the composition of these beings
continue to be cajiable of taking on form and
receiving life.

XIX- The principal result of the com-
parisons made between the composition of
organic bodies and those of inorganic bodies,
which comparisons are founded on observa-
tions and researches in the chemical composi-
tion of these bodies hitherto pursued, is that
the former have peculiar matters, whicli we
call organic, for their basis. The changes of
composition which take place in bodies en-
dued with life, ai-e not simply the effects
of afSnities similar to those observed in brute
or inorganic bodies ; they are the effects of
affinities and forces of a special nature. Or-
ganic matters are the only ones which exhibit,
and for the greater period of time in a par-
ticular state of aggregation and form called
organization, the manifestations of activity
which we designate by the name of life. They
are accumulated at one time in bodies actually
living, and life is manifested in them ; at
other times they are exterior to living bodies,
mixed with inorganic matters, and then only
capable of living. In this latter state they
may return to domain of living bodies, and
into the tide of life, either in the shape of ali-
ments, or, in a direct manner, by the aid of
certain circumstances, as happens in sponta-
neous generation. Purely chemical affinities,
or the action of simple chemical forces, ap-
pear, in the present state of our planet, to
produce no organic combination or matter,
such as albumen, gelatin, starch, gluten, &c. ;
at least we possess no facts which go to sup-
port the contrary opinion. None but organic
bodies themselves are capable of introducing
inorganic matters into organic combinations,
of which respiration in particular and the
nutrition of plants are examples.

XX. If we extend our researches still fur-
thei-, a question presents itself, namely, how
organic matters, their different combinations
and living bodies, are formed in our planet ?
The solution of this problem passess the limit
of our experience. Should we, however, wish
to hazard an answer to it, we fall into the
waste of conjecture, and are forced to erect
hypotheses, which are but probable, and not
at all certain. We suppose that organized
bodies have existed in our planet from its
commencement ; or else we admit that organic

matters and living bodies have been produced,
under certain circumstances, together with
the elements and organic matters, by the ac-
tion of general physical causes ; or. lastly,
we conjecture that the substance of living bo-
dies was primatively contained in water, as
primitive organic matter, having the pro-
perty of taking on the organic form, that it
gave origin to organic bodies of very simple and
varied kinds in consequence of circumstances,
and that these bodies have passed successive -
ly to more complicated forms, until at length
the generative organs and their manifestations
of activity having appeared in them, they were
endowed with the faculty of preserving them-
selves in a continuous manner, by means of
generation, as separate species.

XXI. Geology is opposed to the first hy-
pothesis of the existence, in our jdanet, of
living bodies from the first moments of its
creation. Fossils are found only in the
exterior crust, that is to say, in the su-
perficial layers of the earth, the formation
which is most recent, whilst there are none at
all in the primitive earths. Consequently
there was a time when no living being existed
on the globe. Even supposing we admitted
this hypothesis, we should still leave un-
touched the question, how living bodies were
formed! in as much as we could say nothing con-
cerning the mode of origin of our planet and of
the bodies which constitute it. In reference
to this question, it matters little whether we
declare for vulcanism, orneptunisrn, since the
geologists are under the necessity of leaving
the origin of fire and water without explana-
tion, and the biologist is still less able to pro-
nounce any opinion on that of living bodies.

XXII. The dilliculties which occur in the
second hypothesis, of the dependence of the
production of organic matters and living bodies
on the action of general physical forces, are
that we are actually in want of facts which
would authorize us to conclude analogically
that organic matters and living bodies can
proceed from inorganic matters, never having
observedany thing similar, at least up to this
day. Far from this being the case, living bodies
are unable to produce, with inorganic sub-
stances, the greater number of the materials
which enter into their composition, and for such
end they require the matter of other organic
bodies,* which they introduce into themselves.
Plants are nourished principal ly by the remains
of dead vegetables or animals : animals like-
wise presei've their existence by means of ve-
getables, and even of other animals.

XX III. 4’he most probable hypothesis is
the third, viz., that the substance of organic-
bodies existed primatively in water, as a mat-
ter of a particular kind, and that it was there
endowed w ith the plastic faculty, that is to say,
with the power of acquiring, by degrees, dif-
ferentsimple forms of living bodies, with the
concurrence of the general influences of light,
heat, and perhaps also of electricity, &c., and
of then passing IVoin the simple forms to_ other
more complicated, varying in proportion to
the modification occurring in the external in-
fluences until the point when each species
acquired duration by the production and ma-
nif estation of activity of the genital organs.

WHENCE CAME WATER ^ORGANIC MATTER? A LIMIT TO PHILOSOPHY, 15

Although we cannot here also answer the
question, whence came the water and the
organic matter which it contained, yet this
hypothesis is the one which accords best with
the facts with which geology has latterly been
enriched. In fact, we find no organized j30-
dies belonging to what is called the primitive
world in the strata of earths which modern
geologists consider as the products of fire or of
vulcanism. They are only observed in the
upper layers of the earth, in those of the
latest formation, and in the soils which have
evidently been precipitated in the midst of
the waters. Aquatic animals existed before
terestrial animals. An argument which fa-
vours the hypothesis according to which the
organic kingdom has been gradually developed
and elevated from simple to more complicated
forms, is drawn from the fact that we meet
with remains of organic bodies belonging to
the most simple species in the secondary and
more ancient soils, whilst the most recent
strata of the earth contain the remains of more
complicated living bodies. The soils which
rest directly on primitive rocks, present frag-
ments of corals, radiated anirnals, and shells.
It is only after these that remains of vertebrat-
ed animals, fishes, reptiles, and cetacea, are
found in the water. Fossil bones of oviparous
animals exist in the deep strata of the earth,
whereas the viviparous mammiferm are met
within the superficial layers. We observe
the same in the organic complication of vege-
tables, whose remains are contained in the
different layers of the earth.- Impressions of
cotyledonous plants, espOcially of ferns, are
the first vegetable traces met with in the_ deep
seated strata. Then come the remains of
monocotyledonous plant, of arborescent gra-
mina, of palms, &c., and finally those of the
coniferse and other dicotyledonous plants.

There have not yet been found any fossils
belonging to apes or man, whose organization
has reached the highest degree of complica-
tion and development. _ We may therefore ad-
mit, with great probability, that apes and men
are the last and the newest products of our
planet.

* An additional argument in favour of this hy-
pothesis, is the fact that whenever animal matter
shall have lost thait power which gave and main-
tained it in a higher degree of complic&tion in
form and functions— no matter how high this
degree— it invariably returns to the most simple
forms. The noble human form, after the cessa-
tion of the functions, possesses only sufficient
plasticity to take on the shape of the lowest insects
and worms. The same applies to the kingly
lion of the forest and the soaring eagle. In fact ,
the matter composing each of these, after death,
is in the same state as the matter which is des-
cribed by Tiedemann as possessing merely the
aptitude for life, and therefore taking on only
the most simple form. Again, that external cir-
cumstances modify structure, is very well as-
certained. The absence of light generally causes
a mother to produce a defoi* *med child, as Edwards
observed in females confined in dungeons, whilst,
tadpoles, preserved from the light, became huge
tadpoles instead of frogs. Natives of different
climes have different parts of their organization
prominently in action ; the muscular system, for
instance, is much more developed in cold than
warm climates ; on the other hand, natives of
the tropics are from birth more excitable than

XXIV. Another circumstance favourable
to the hypothesis of the gradual development
of organic bodies, from the most simple to
the most complicated, is that all those bodies,
as well vegetables as animals,to this day appear
in a simple form, at the period of generation,
or when they proceed from the germ, and that
it is only by degrees they acquire the most
complex form peculiar to each species. To
commence in a very simple manner, and to rise
thence to the complicated, is the general cha-
racter of every thing that has life, as wel I of in-
dividuals as of the entire of the organic kingdom.

XXV. These reasons, coupled with the fact
that, after the extinction of the life of indivi-
duals, the materials of organized bodies are
reduced to the most simple organic forms by
the action of what is called spontaneous gene-
ration, oblige us to admit a primitive organic
matter extended on the surface, or in the crust
and waters of our planet, concerning the first
origin of which matter it is as possible for us
to certify any thing as on that of the planet
itself. This organic matter, with its differ-
ent organic modifications, considered as mat-
ters of a peculiar species, sometimes is seen
active and living in the individuals of vegetable
and animal species actually existing, under
conditions and in the midst of phenomena, the
recital of which will be made hereafter ; at
other times remains merely capable of en-
joying life, and endued with the faculty of
taking on in certain circumstances, the most
simple organic forms, whenever it has been
withdrawn from the composition of living bo-
dies.

Several naturalists, particularly Bnffpn ^
and Needham,-}- have allowed the existence
of a matter peculiar to living bodies. G. R.
d’reviranusf concludes from his researches on
life.

1 . That there is in nature a matter which
is ever moving, by which all living beings, from
the byssus to the palm, and from the infusoi-ia
animalculse to the sea monster, possess life,
and which, though immutable in its essence, is
notwithstanding variable in its form, and is
incessantly changing it,

2. That this matter is deprived of form in
itself, but nevertheless ready to take that of
life ; that it maintains a determinate form un-
der the influence of external causes ; that it
only continues in that form so long as these
causes are active, and that it takes another
so soon as new causes influence it.

those of northern parts of the globe ; in other
words, the animal nervous apparatus is more
developed. In a pure hypothesis it is not expect-
ed that the modus operand! of the circumstances
to which Tiedemann alludes should be explained ;
collateral evidence is certainly in favour of it, —
Transl.

* Hist. Nat., vol. ii. p- 420. II existe une
matifere organique animee, universellement re-
pendue dans toutes les substances animales ou
vegetables, qui sert egalement aleur nutrition, Et
leur developperaent, et a leur reproduction.

+ An Account of some new Microscopical Dis-
coveries. London, 1745, in 8vo.

■]: Biologic, vol. ii. pp 267 and 403.

16 PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS, HARRIS ON ELECTRICITY.

3. That the matter capable of life, and the
livings principle, exist reciprocally, and that
death is only a passage of certain forms of this
matter to certain others.*

P H I LOSOPHICAL IKANSACTIONS.

PART II.

This portion of the transactions of the
Royal Society contains several important
papers, especially in the department of elec-
tricity. The contents are :

On some Elementary Laws of Electrify.
By VV. Snow Hairis, F. ll. S

On a general method in Dynamics. By
W. R. Hamilton, Esq.

An Investigation of the Laws which govern
the motion of Steam Vessels, byP. W. Bar-
low, Esq.

On the generation of the Marsupial Ani-
mals. By R. Owen, Esq,

Observations on the structure and functions
of tubular and cellular Polypi and of Asci-
diaj. By Joseph J. Lister, Esq.

On the nervous system of the Sphynx Li-
gustri. By G. Newport, Esq,

Experimental Researches in Electricity,
8th series. By M. Faraday.

On the functions of some parts of the brain.
By Sir Charles Bell.

On the repulsive power of Heat. By the
Rev. B. Powell.

On the equilibrium of a mass of Homogene-
ous Fluid at liberty. By James Ivory, Esq.

Observations on Torpedo, By John Davy,

M. D.

Remarks in reply to Dr, Daubeny on the
air disengaged from the recent Volcano. By
John Davy, M. D.

On the ova of the Ornithorynchus Para-
doxus. By R. Owen, Esq.

Observations on the motions of Shingle
Be ches. By H. R. Palmer, Esq*

Analysis of the Moira Brine Spring. By
A.Ure, M. D.

Experiments on the Velocity of Electricity,
&c. By C. Wheatstone, Esq.

ELECTRICITY.

By Mr. Harris, '

Mr. Harris for the purpose of prosecuting
his researches invented a nevv electrometer,
by the medium of which he has observed two
new laws. I. A given quantity divided
upon two perfectly similar conductors, was
found to exert upon external bodies only a
fourth part of the attractive force apparent
when disposed upon one of them. 2. When
divided upon three perfectly similar conduc-

* This has reference only to the power of
life inherent in matter, and is a question of
science only. The soul is not concerned nor
mentioned. It may be necessary to state this,
as there are those who would startle at a sen-
tence which, in fact, asserts that life is material
and matter eternal, leaving one form only to
take cn another. The stupid outcry against the
phrenological doctrine, and the exclamations con-
cerning its inculcation of materialism, have a
foundation in a precisely similar error, that of
mistaking the principle capable of life in matter
for the soul.— Transl. Thus the researches of
Philosophy have a limit and bespeak the power
and Majesty of God. — Epit.

. tors, the force upon either is only one ninth
of the force apparent when disposed upon one
of them, and so on; that is, the quantity
being constant, the force is as the square of the
surface inveisely, or the surface being con*
stant as the square of the quantity directly.

I hese are illustrated by the following expe-
riment :

Three or four perfectly .similar and equal
conductors of a cylindrical form being well
insulated, a given quantity of electricity was
communicated to one of them by means of a
charged jar, and the attractive force measured
by_ the electrometer. The electrified bodies
being now reduced to a neutral state, a se-
cond equal quantity was again communicated
to the same conductor as before, after which
it was caused to touch one of the others so as
to divide the charge on both. Each conduc-
tor was observed to be equally charged; the
force however after making the requisite cor-
rection for distance between the attracting
bodies amounted only to one fourth of the
previous force. The results are represented
in the following table :

Comparative Force in Distance of Force at

quantity. degrees, attracting distance

surfaces of an inch.

1 30^ 1 30<5

^ 5— .. 1-25 .... 7.8—

i 2+ .128..,. 3-27-L

i 1+..1‘29.... 18+

2. The author distinguishes three elements
peculiar to the condition, of electrical accu-
mulation. 1. The comparative quantity ac-
tually accumulated. 2. The quantity not
sensible to the electrometer. 3. The quantity
appreciable by the electrometer.

3. It was supposed by Mr. Singer, that the
diminished insensity observable in disposing a
given quantity of electricity, is altogether re-
ferable to the attractive force of the atmosphere,
to the influence of which the electric parti-
cles become more extensively exposed but
this hypothesis is not corroborated by the
experiments of M. Harris. He placed a brass
ball about two inches in diameter in the cen-
tre of a large receiver, and connected it with
an electroscope by means of a brass rod pass-
ing right through a collar fixed in a glass
plate and socket. A quantity of electricity
was communicated to the ball, sufficient to
cause a divergence of 40° in the electroscope.
This effect was not influenced by removing
fifty-nine sixtieths of the air in the receiver,

4. In reference to the transmission of elec-
tricity between conductors, it appears that
when the attracting force operating between
two conductors can overcome the atmospheric
pressure, a discharge ensues between the
nearest points of the opposed surfaces. In
these points the force appears to become a
length indefinitely great in respect of points
more remote, so that the whole quantity ac-
cumulated is finally determined through them.
Thus the precise points of contact betw-een
two spheres being found, and the spheres
subsequently separated by given distances
measured between these points, it may be
shewn that the respective quantities re-
quisite to produce a discharge will vary
with the distance directly. The distance at
which electricity can be discharged in air of

HEATED AIR NOT A CONDUCTOR OP ELECTRICITY.

a given density is an accurate measure of
tlie comparative quantity contained in a unit
of space, or of the tension (by which is to be
understood the elastic force of a given quari-
tity accumulated in a given space, and is
directly as the density of the ^stratum,) and
the attractive force discovered by the elec-
trometer, or the intensity is directly as the
square of the quantity contained in a unit of
space.

5. The effect of an atmosphere varying in
density and temperature in restraining electri-
cal discharges, is as follows : _

1st. The respective quantities requisite to
pass a given interval, varied in a simple ratio
of the density of the air. When the density
was one half as great, the discharge occurred
with one half the quantity accumulated, that
is to say, with one fourth of the attractive
force indicated by the electrometer. 2nd
The distance through which a given accumu-
lation could discharge was found to be in an
inverse simple ratio of the density of the air,
the intensity or free action being constant.
In air of one half the density, the discharge
occurred at twice the distance, or the resist-
ance of air to the passage of electricity is as
the square of the density directly, and if
the density of the air be decreased, the dis-
tance between the points of action be in-
creased, the electrical accumulation will still
remain complete.

6. Heated air is not as is frequently stated
a conductor of electricity, and heat does not
facilitate electrical transmission through air
in any other way than by diminishing its den-
sity. Supposing heat to be material, it is
a non-conductor of electricity, because the
incorporation of a conducting with a non-
conducting substance is found to impair the
insulating power of the latter as in the case
of air charged with free vapour, whereas in
the intimate union of two non-conductors the
insulating power remains perfect.

7. Sir Humphry Davy has well illustrated
the effect of heat in imparing the conducting
power of metals, and the same fact has been
observed by Mr. Chiistie, Dr. Ritchie,
however, has lately brought forward an ob-
jection ; for, in transmitting electricity over
a forked iron rod, one of the legs of which he
heated to redness, he found that the electri-
city passed in preference from the heated
side rather than from the cool side. To make
this experiment free from objection, it would
be necessary to insert the heated iron rod in
an exhausted receiver. Dr. Ritchie was
aware of this, but conceives that the effect of
a heated wire would be a species of electrical
evaporation from its surface. His very inge-
nious paper in the philosophical transactions
has certainly not attracted that attention
which it deserves. The objection stated to
his experiment by Mr. Harris, does not
appear to affect the result which he ob-
tained.

8. Volta observed that of two plane sur-
faces of equal area, that which has the greatest
extension has also the greatest capacity for
electricity. Mr. Harris has prosecuted this
fact and ascertained that the intensity varies
in an inverse ratio of the perimeter of plates

U

which he employed, varying in shape from a
circle through a square up to a long paral-
lelogram. I'he following illustrates the
results —

DIMENSIONS,— AREA=75 SQUARE INCHES.

Length .

Breadth

Perimeter.

Intensity.

12 5

6

37 inches

99

25-

3

5G „

6

54-5

1-4

112 ,.

3

The extent of edge has no influence on the
intensity. The intensities of conductors are
therefore, it appears, inversely as their peri-
meters, and the intensity varies in an inverse
ratio of the area when the perimeters remain
the same, from which, it follows that the
intensity must vary inversely with those
quantities jointly or calling I, intensity, A,
area, P, perimei , we have

I a —

- AP

P)Ut suppossing the quantity of electricity to
vary, then the intensity being as the square of
the quantity, the formula is

X

I a —

- AP

and the capcity of a conductor being measur-
ed by thequanacty of electricity, it can receive
under a given intensity, there follows x2 a
I A P, or with a constant intensity, x repre-
senting the cai)acity, we obtain capacity

It appears that the intensity does not vary
in an inverse ratio of the square of the sur-
face according to the general law, except
when the areas are so disposed that the whole
perimeter of the various plates is as the res-
pective surfaces.

9. The operation of electricity on distant
bodies, by induction, is quite independent of
atmospheric pressure, and is exactly the same
in vacuo as in air, the attractive force vary-
ing as the squares of the respective distances
inversely.

1st. The attractive force exerted between
an electrified and a neutral uninsulated con-
ductor, is not at all influenced, by the form
or disposition of the unopposed portions.

2d. The force is as the number of attract-
ing points in operation directly, and as the
squares of the respective distances inversely,
hence the attractive force between two paral-
lel place circles being found, the force be-
tvveen any other two similar planes will be
given.

Sd. The attractive force between two un-
equal circular areas is no greater than that
between tw'o similar areas each equal to the
lesser.

4th. The attractive force also of a mere
ring and a circular area on each other, is no
greater than that between two similar rings.

5t//. The force between a sphere and an
opposed spherical segment of the same cur-
vature, is no greater than that of two similar
segments, each equal to the given segment.

It has been much agitated whether electri-
city can pass through a vacuum, but the fact

18

IS THE SUPPLY OF ELECTRICITY DUE TO METALLIC

is, that as it is impossible to produce such ab-
sence of matter by artificial means, it seems
unnecessary to dwell upon it.

The experiments of Harris go to prove that
electrical divergence completely independent
of atmospheric attraction, and is therefore in
accordance with the opinion w'ith which he
sets out, that electricity is a subtle material
agent, essentially involved in the constitution
of ordinary matter. 'I’he experiments, how-
ever, upon which such deductions can be
founded, it is obvious, must be conducted with
the greatest delicacy, and in such cases, ab-
solute certainty is scarcely to be looked for.

EXPERLMENTAL RESEARCHES

IN

ELECTRICITY.

Sth, Series*

By M. Fauadav.

The paper of Dr. Faraday constitutes the
Eighth Series of his researches in electricity,
and consists of corrected and extended views
of the theory contained in his Fifth and Se-
venth Series. The whole paper is pregnant
with important matter. It has been objected
to Dr. Faraday’s papers on electricity that
they are difficult to understand, in coiise-
querice of the new nomenclature which he
has introduced, and perhaps there is reason,
in some instances, in similar complaints, for
surely, it is said, when plain English words
can express facts or opinions, it is improper
to substitute technical expressions, either in
science or literature ; and a language which
can muster, in alphabetical array, seventy-
five thousand words, does not stand in need
of unnecessary innovations. Such observa-
tions, however, do not apply in the present
instance : because, the new terms are few,
and obviate much circumlocution. They may,
however, be attended to with propriety by
those who are only entering upon discovery.
In medicine, more especially, it is too obvi-
ous that technicalities have served, in many
instances, to form cloaks for ignorance and
quackery.

In the present series, the author enters upon
the investigation of the important point whe-
ther the supply of electricity is due to metal-
lie contact or chemical action. For the pur-
pose of determining this point, he took a
plate of zinc, about eight inches long and hal f
an inch wide, which was cleaned and bent in
the middle to a right angle, A plate of plati-
num, about three inches long and half an inch
wide, was fastended to a platinum wire, and
the latter bent to a right angle. These two
pieces of metal were arranged together, but
outside a vessel, and its contents, which con-
sisted of dilute sulphuric acid, mingled with
a little nitric acid. A piece of folded bibu-
lous paper, moistened in a solution of iodide
of potassium, was placed on the zinc, and
was pressed upon by the ends of the platinum
wire. When under these circumstances, the
plates were dipped into the acid of the vessel
described, there was an immediate effect at
the bibulous paper, the iodide being decom-
posed, and iodide appearing at the anode,

i. e., against the end of the platinum wire.
As long as the lower ends of the plates re -
rnained in the acid, the electric current con-
tinued, and the decomposition of the iodide
proceeded. On the removing the end of the
wire from place to place on the paper, the
effect was evidently very powerful, and on
placing a piece of turmeric paper between
the white paper and zinc, both papers being
moistened with the solution of iodide of
potassium, alkali was evolved at the cathode,
against the zinc, in proportion to the evolu-
tion of iodide at the anode. Hence the de-
composition was perfectly polar, and de-
cidedly dependent upon a current of electrici-
ty passing from the zinc through the acid
to the platinum in the vessel, and back
from the platinum, through the solution to
the zinc at the bibulous paper. The fact
of the decomposition being produced by
the electrical current, was proved by the
circumstance of the decomposition ceasing
when the acid and its vessel were removed
from the plates, and being again removed
wheri the contact was repeated. The same
position was deduced by varying the experi-
ment, amalgamating pieces of zinc over the
vyhole surface, and employing dilute sulphu-
ric acid in the vessel. The same effects re-
sulted when caustic potash was used instead
of acid, and also when brine was substituted.
The inferences which the author draws are,
1st, That metallic contact is not necessary
for the production of the voltaic current ;
2d. That a most extraordinary mutual re-
lation of chemical affinities of the fluid exists
which excites the current and the fluid which
is decomposed by it.

The use of metallic contact in a single pair
of plates appears evident from the experi-
ments, For when an amalgamated zinc plate
is dipped into dilute sulphuric acid, the force
of chemical affinity exerted between the me-
tal and the fluid is not sufficiently powerful
to cause sensible action at the surfaces of
contact, and occasion the decomposition of
water by the oxidation of the metal, although
it is sufficient to produce such a condition of
the electricity as would produce a current if
there was a path open for it.

Now, the presence of a piece of platinum
touching both the zinc and the fluid to be
decomposed opens the path required for the
electricity, because only one set of opposing
affinities are to be overcome ; whereas, when
metallic contact is not allowed, two sets of
opposing affinities must be conquered. Some
have considered it impossible to decompose
bodies by Hare’s calorimeter, or Wollaston’s
powerful single pair of plates, but this was
owing to their considering the decomposition
of water a test of the passage of an electric
current. But the author observed that bo-
dies would differ in facility of decomposition
by a given electric current, according to the
condition and intensity of their ordinary che-
mical affinities, and he has corroborated the
fact by new experiments. In employing dif-
ferent fluids to excite the action, he procured
currents of electricity varying in intensity
and by consequence in their defects. Dilute
sulphuric acid acting upon the zinc and plati-

CONTACT OR CHEMICAL ACTION?

19

num plates decomposed iodide of 'potassium,
protochloride of tin, chloride of silver, but
water acidulated with sulphuric acid, solu-
tion of muriatic acid, solution of sulphate
of soda, fused nitre, and the fused chloride
and iodide of lead, were not affected by a
single pair of plates excited only by dilute
sulphuric acid. All these substances were,
however, readily decomposed by adding a
little nitric acid to the dilute sulphuric acid.
It is sufficiently obvious that the addition of
the nitric acid operated by increasing the inten-
sity or power of the current.

By the reference which is thus made of the
intensity of the electric current to the inten-
sity of the chemical action, the conclusion is
drawn that by using bodies such as fused
chlorides, salts, &c., which may act upon the
metals with different degrees of force, effects
would be obtained due to different intensities,
which would serve to assist in the construc-
tion of a scale, so as to supply the means of
determining relative degrees of intensity ac-
curately in future researches. The bodies
which have been examined are decomposed
in the following order, the first being disunit-
ed by the current of the lowest intensity.
Iodide of potassium (solution.) Chloride of
silver (fused.) Protochloride of tin (fused.)
Chloride of lead (fused.) Iodide of lead
(fused.) Muriatic acid (solution.) Water
acidulated with sulphuric acid.

Another proof that metallic contact has
nothing to do with the production of electri-
city, and that electricity is only another mode
of the exertion of chemical forces, is the pro-
duction of the electric spark before the metals
are brought in contact, and by the influence
of pure chemical agency in an experiment
where the spark is obtained by placing in con-
tact a plate of zinc and a plate of copper, and
plunging them in dilute sulphuric acid.

The principles which the author endea-
vours to establish in the course of his research-
es are that the electricity of the voltaic pile
is not dependent either in its origin or its
continuance to the contact of the metals with
each other. It is entirely due to chemical
action, and is proportionate in its intensity
of the affinities concerned in its production,
and in its quantity to the quantity of matter
which has been chemically active during its
evolution. The production of electricity is
a case of chemical action, while electric de-
composition is simply a preponderance of one
set of chemical affinities over another set
which are less powerful. The source of the
electricity exists in the chemical action which
takes place directly betvveen the metal and
Uie body with which it combines, and not
in the subsequent action of the substance so
produced with the acid present. 'I’hus if zinc,
platinum, and muriatic acid are employed,
the electricity depends upon the affinity of
the zinc for the chlorine, and circulates in
proportion to the number of atomsof the zinc
and chlorine which unite. But for this direct
action upon the metal itself, it is essential
that the oxygen or other body be in the state
of combination, and limited to the state of an
electrolyte, that is a body which is decompos-
ed when the electric current is transmitted
through it.

Some bodies there are which are capable of
exerting chemical action upon the metals
which are not electrolytic ; but these must
be chosen from among the metals ; char-
coal also answers. No electric current is
however induced by these means. An elec-
trolyte is always a compound body, and can
act as an electric conductor only when de-
composing. Water is the most familiar elec-
trolyte. The attraction of the zinc for the
oxygen is greater in the case of water than
that of the oxygen for the hydrogen, but in
combining with it, it tends to throw into circu-
lation a current of electricity in a certain di-
rection. lire sulphuric acid used in the vol-
taic circuit is not capable of producing any
sensible portion of the electricity of the cur-
rent, by its combination with the oxide form-
ed, because in it forms no part of an electro-
lite, nor is it in relation with any other body
present in the solution which will permit of
the mutual transfer of the particles, and the
consequent conduction of the electricity.
Now, an electrolyte conducts in consequence
of the mutual action of its particles, but the
elements of the water and sulphuric are des-
titute of this relation. This corroborates the
statement of Sir H. Davy, that no electric
current is induced by the combination of acids
and alkalies. If the acid and base be dissolv-
ed in water, it is possible that a small portion
of electricity, proceeding from chemical ac-
tion, may be conducted by the water without
decomposition, but the quantity will bear no
proportion to the equivalents of chemical
force. If a hydrogen acid be used, then a
current may be induced by the chemical ac-
tion of the acid on the base, for both bodies
now act as electrolytes.

This view of the oxidation of the metal be-
ing the cause of the electric current, is proved
by the effects of alkaline and sulphuretted
solutions when used as conductors. It can-
not be supposed that the alkali acts chemical-
ly as an acid to the oxide formed, because our
knowledge leads to the conclusion that the
ordinary metallic oxides act rather as acids
to the alkalies. Ammonia as well as potash
produced the same electric currents. Alka-
lies seem not to be inlluenced by the acids, in
effecting electrical currents, but are superior
in force and in bringing a metal into what
is called the positive state. It is proved by the
tact that if zinc and tin be used, or tin and
lead, whatever metal is put into the alkali
becomes positive, that in the acid being ne-
gative. Davy shewed that ifiron and copper
were plunged into dilute acid, the current
passed from the iron through the fluid to the
copper. In the solution of sulphuret of po-
tash it is reversed. Two experiments in ad-
dition complete the series of proofs of the
origin of electricity on the voltaic pile. A
fluid amalgam of potassium containing not
more than ^ of that metal was put into
pure water, and connected through the gal-
vanometer with a plate of platinum in the
same water ; a current passed from the amal-
gam to the platinum, which must have been
owing alone to the oxidation. Again, a plate
of clean lead and a plate of platinum were
placed in pure water, a current, passed from

20

TOMLINSON ON OBSERVING ACCIDENTAL COLOURS.

the lead to the platinum, po intense as to
decompose a solution of the iodide of po-
tassium, when acted upon in the manner
described at the beginning of the paper, 'bhis
likewise appears to have been an instance
of the effect of oxidation.

An important point to determine is the
state of the metals and the conductor in a
simple circuit, before, and at the instant
when the metallic contact is completed. Dr.
Paraday conceives it impossible to resist the
idea that the voltaic current which we have
seen is dependent upon oxidation, must be
preceded by a state of tension in the fluid, and
between the fluid and the zinc, the first con-
sequence of the affinity of the zinc for the
oxygen of the water. He endeavoured to
investigate this by transmitting a ray of po-
larized light through a solution of sulphate
of soda across the course of the electric cur-
rent, and examined it by an analyzing plate,
but though it penetrated seven inches, not
the slightest trace of action on the ray could
be detected, nor was the effect different when
nitrate of lead was substituted. A beautiful
experiment proves a state of tension acquired
by the metals and the electrolyte before the
electric current is produced, and before the
metals are brought in contact. He took a
voltaic apparatus consisting of a single pair
of large plates, namely, a cylinder of amal-
gamated zinc and a double cylinder of cop-
per, and placed them in ajar containing di-
lute sulphuric acid, so that they could at
pleasure be placed in metallic communica-
tion by means of a copper wire, arranged so
as to deposit the ends into two vessels of
mercury connected with the two plates. As
long as the plates were kept separate no
action occured ; but when connected, a
spark (contrary to the common idea) was
elicited, and the solution decomposed. Hence,
it appears that as the electricity is produced
by the material action of the zinc and water,
so these by being brought in contact are
placed in a state of powerful tension, which,
although it did notdecomposethe water, caused
a spark to pass between the zinc and a fit dis-
charger when the interval was small enough.
The idea which Berzelius has broached that
the heat and light of combustion are the con-
sequences of the action of chemical affinity,
without the production of an electric current,
appears to the author to be a mere imagina-
tion.

With regard to the direction of the move-
ment of evolved and combining bodies, it ap-
pears that if in a voltaic circuit, the activity
of which is determined by the attraction of
zinc for the oxygen of water, the zinc move
from right to left, then any other action in-
cluded in the circuit being part of an elec-
trolyte wdll also move in the same direction,
and as the oxygen of the water by its natu-
ral affinity for the zinc, moves from left to
right, so any other body of the same class
with it, i. e. any union will follow the same
course.

These statements of our author correspond
with hegeneral views of Davy in his Bake-
rian lecture.

(To be continued.)

ON THE ACCIDENTAL COLOURS
OF CERTAIN SOLUTIONS ON
MERCURY.

By Charles Tomlinson, Esq.

To the Editor of the Records of General
Science.

Dear Sir, — In the course of my exj eri-
mentson Visible Vibration, 1 noticed a ready
and convenient method of observing acci-
dental colours without fatiguing the eye, wdiich
was new to me, and vAill, 1 hope, prove inter-
esting to some of the readers of your Journal

Having occasion to diminish somewhat
the reflecting surface of mercury contained
in a foot glass, I poured al out an ounce of a
solution of litmus, which had become slight-
ly reddened by exposure to the air, upon the
surface of the mercury, when the upper por-
tion of the glass above the fluid was reflected
twice, the low'er reflection by the mercury
and the upper one by the litmus solution.
On i)lacingthe finger on the periphery ofttie
glass, and bringing one eye near to another
part of the periphery, two reflections of the
finger were seen ; one the colour of the lit-
mus, a beautiful purple inclining to red, and
the other a delicate light green, its acciden-
tal colour.

On adding a few drops of nitric acid to
the litmus solution, the accidental colour was
of a dark and decided green.

With mercury and a solution of chromate
of potash a fine blue accidental colour was
obtained.

With muriate of lime the same result was
obtained with this addition : on looking
steadfastly into the glass with one eye, the
other being closed, a variety of white spots
began to form on the iris, giving the eye an
unpleasant mouldy sort of appearance. The
aqueous humour seemed to consist of one
isolated drop of water, so distinct from any
other part of the eye, that it seemed as if it
would have dropped down into the glass ; in
a short time the transparent membrane co-
vering the pupil became milky, and the glass
and fluids indistinct. 1 have repeated this
experiment with the same results, except
that the white spots on the iris were not so
numerous.

With a deep blue solution on mercury ob-
tained by indigo in sulphuric acid, the acci-
dental orange-yellow was obtained.

These accidental colours are neither modi-
fied nor changed by the reflection of various
coloured solids, such as blue, yellow and
green balls, &c., the accidental colour be-
longing to the upper fluid and not to the
object reflected. Jn order to obtain them,
however, two liquids of different densities
must be employed in order to obtain two re-
flections, and for- the lower fluid nothing is
so convenient as mercury. Indeed, 1 have
not as yet met with any other fluid that at
all answers the purpose.

The effect is very beautiful with litmus so-
lution and mercury when the flame of a
candle is employed ; the two reflections have
the appearence of hollow cones placed above

21

ON RECENT IMPROVEMENT IN MANUFACTURES.

and within each other, the lower flame being
the accident.

With muriate of lime the lower flame re-
flected by the mercury was of a decided
yellow, but the accidental colour of a very
faint blue; whereas, by natural light the ac-
cidental is of a fine indigo.

The green flame obtained by boracic acid
in alcohol presents a very fine appearance
with litmus and mercury. A watch glass
should be employed supported on a ring for-
med out of a piece of wire, and other lights
in the room extinguished.

Your,

Dear Sir, very sincerely,
Charles Tomlinson,

' Brown Street, Salisbury,

April 22, 1835.

ON CALICO-PRINTING.

By Thomas Thomson, m. d.,f.r. s. l. & e. &c.,

Regius Professor of Chemistry in the
University of Glasgoiv.

[We cannot, in our opinion render a greater-
benefit to some of our Civil Surgeons who have
much leisure time than introduce to their no-
tice recent improvements during 1835 in the
manufactures. They may be turned to great
advantage.]

Calico printing is the art of applying one or
more colours to particular parts of cloth, so
as to represent leaves, flowers, &c., and the
beauty depends partly on the elegance of the
pattern, and partly upon the brilliancy and
contrast of the colours. The process is not
con^neAio cotton cloth, OlS the term calico-
printing would lead us to suppose. It is ap-
plied also to linen, silk, and woollen cloth ;
but as the processes are in general the same, I
shall satisfy myself with de.scribing them as
applied to cotton, because it is with them
that I am best acquainted.

The general opinion is, that this ingenious
art originated in India, and that it has been
known in that country for a very long period.
From a passage in Pliny, who probably com-
posed his Natural History about the middle
of the first century of the Christian Era, it is
evident that calico-printing was understood
and pr-actised in Egypt in his time, but un-
known in Italy.

There exist in Egypt,” says he, a won-
derful method of dyeing. The white cloth is
stained in various places, not with dye-stufts,
but with substances which have the property
of absorbing (fixing) colours. These appli-
cations are not visible upon the cloth ; but
when the pieces are dipt into a hot caldron
containing the dye, they are drawn out an in-
stant after, dyed. The remarkable circum-
stance is, that though there be only ond^’-flye in
the vat, yet different colours appear on the
cloth ; nor can the colours be again removed.''^’’

That this description of Pliny applies to cali-
co-printing, will be evident to every person
who will take the trouble to read the account
of the processes which we are going to give ,

The colours applied to calico in India, are
beautiful and fast. The variety of tlieir pat-
terns, and the great number of colours which
they understood how to fix on different parts
of the cloth, gave to their printed calicoes a
richness and a value of no ordinary kind.
But, their processes are so tedious, and their
machinery so clumsy, and they could be em-
ployed only where labour is so cheap as to be
scarcely any object to the manufacturer. It is
little more than a century and a half since
calico-printing was transferred from India to
Europe, and little more than a century since
it began to be understood in Great Britain.
The European nations who have made the
greatest progress in it, are Switzerland,
France, especially in Alsace, some parts of
Germany, Belgium, and Great Britain.

In Europe, the art has been in some measure
created anew. By the application of machi-
nery, and by the light thrown on the proces-
ses by the rapid improvements in chemistry,
the tedious methods of the Indians have been
wonderfully simplified ; while the processes
are remarkable for the rapidity with which
they are executed, and for the beauty and
variety and fastness of the colours.

I propose in this paper to give a sketch of
the ditierent processes of calico-printing, such
as they are at present practised by the most
skillful printers in Lancashire, and in the
neighbourhood of Glasgow."^

PRELIMINARY PROCESSES.-The
cotton cloth, after being woven, is subjected to
several preliminary processes, before it is fit
for calico-printing. It will be sufficient mere-
ly to allude to them. They are singeing and
bleaching. Tire singeing is intended to re-
move the fibers of cotton which protrude on
the surface of the cloth. This is done by pas-
sing the cloth rapidly over the surface of a
read-hot iron cylinder, which burns off all the
hairs, or protruding fibres of the cotton, with-
out injuring the cloth. Of late years, an i.uge-
nious coal-gas apparatus has been substituted
for the red hot-iron, both in Manchester and
Glasgow.

The bleaching of cotton consists essentially
of four different processes. 1. The cloth is
boiled with lime and water ; it is then washed
clean. 2. It is steeped for some hours in a
solution of chloride of lime, or bleaching
powder, as it is usually called. From this
steep also it is washed clean. 3. It is boil-
ed in a solution of American potash. After
the duty ivas taken off common salt, carbonate
of soda (and consequently caustic soda) be-
came so cheap, that it gradually took the place

* I think it right to state, that for all my know-
ledge of Calico-Printing, I am indebted to my
friend, Mr. Walter Crum, Calico-Printer, in the
neighbourhood of Glasgow. With a liberality,
for which 1 feel greatly indebted to him, he has
explained his processes to me without mystery
or reserve.

* Plinii Hist. Nat, lib. xxxv. c. ll.

22

ON CALICO-PRINTING BY DR, THOMSON.

of pearl ashes. ^ 4. The cloth is now almost
bleached; it requires only to be steeped in
water holding in solution about four per cent,
of sulphuric acid, to complete the process.

Cotton cloth at an average, takes about two
days to bleach. But, when there happens to
be occasion for greater dispatch, it is no un-
common thing to complete the bleaching and
callendring in twentj^-four hours.

PRINTING.— There are two modes of
printing, namely, block-printing and cylin-
der-printing . 1 he f'rmer has been prac-

tised from time immemorial ; the latter is a
modern invention, and originated, probably,
after the introduction of the art of printing
into Great Britain.

The block is a piece of sycamore, (or, more
commonly, a fir board, on which a piece of
sycamore is glued) on which, the pattern in-
tended to be printed on the cloth is cut. The
parts which are to make the impression, are
left prominent, while the rest of the block is
cut away ; just as is practised for wood en-
gravings. When the pattern is too compli-
cated, and the lines too fine to be cut in wood,
they are made by means of small rieces of
copper, draw n out into narrow ribbons of the
requisite fineness ; these are ingeniously
driven into the block, and the intervals are
filled up with felt. Great patience and in-
genuity are displayed in making these blocks
for use, and calico-printers are under the
necessity of keeping a number of workmen,
at high wages, for that express piirnose.

The inventors and drawers of the patterns,
constitute another class of ingenious artists,
in the pay of the calico-printers at high wages.

The cylinder is a large cylinder of copper,
about a yard in length, and four or five inches
in diameter, upon which the pattern to be
printed on the cloth is engraved. This cy-
linder is made to revolve, and press against
the cloth, taking up the mordants, or colours
to be printed on the cloth as it revolves. By
this ingenious contrivance, two or even three
different colours, are printed on the cloth at
once, and the printing proceeds, w ithout in-
terruption, till a whole piece, or indeed, any
number of pieces attached to each other are
printed.

Another method of printing is almost the
same as copper plate printing. The patterns
is engraved upon a flat copper plate, a yard or
more square. Uponthi-s plate, the colour or
mordant to be applied, is spread. It is then
pulled. As it passes along, an elastic steel
plate, called a doctor, takes oft' all the colour,
except that which feels the engraving. Being
pressed against the cloth in the act of pulling,
it prints upon it either in mordants or colour.s,
as may be the impression of the pattern.

Whether the printing is applied by the
block, the cylinder, or the flat plate, the treat-
ment of the goods is nearly the same.

t An impure Soda ash is now very generally
used by bleachers. For, as every hundred
pounds of crystallized carbonate of Soda con-
tains 62| of water, the expense of carriage is
more than double, and although the form in-
dicates in some measure the purity of this salt,
every bleacher knows how to estimate the value
of the drier preparation.

Most commonly, the printing process is
employed to fix the mordants upon the cloth,
which is afterwards dyed in the usual way.
Those parts only retain the colour which have
imbibed the mordant, while the other parts of
the cloth remain white. Sometimes acids, or
other substances, are printed on cloth already
dyed, to remove the colour from certain por-
tions of it which are to be left w'hite, or to re-
ceive some other colour.

Occa.sionally, substances are printed on
cloth before it is dipt in the indigo vat, to pre-
vent the blue colour from becoming fixed on
those parts to which they are applied. Substan-
ces possesed of these properties are called re-
sist pastes.

It is a very common practice to communi-
cate mordants and colouring matters to cloth
at the same time.

We must give a sketch of the different sub-
stances thus applied, before proceeding to de-
tail the dilferent processes.

I. MOR HANTS.— The term mordant is
applied by dyers to certain substances with
w hich the cloth is impregnated before it is
dyed, otherwise the colour would not fix, but
would disappear on washing or exposure to
the light. The name was given by the French
dyers (from the Latin word mordere, to
bite,) from a notion entertained by them that
the action of mordants wms mechanical, that
they were of a corrosive, or biting nature, and
served merely to open the pores of the cloth,
into which the colouring matter might in-
sinuate itself. It is now understood that
their action is chemical. They have an affini-
ty to the cloth, which causes them to adhere
to it ; while the colouring matter has an
affinity for, and adheres to, the mordant.

The usual mordants employed by the calico-
printer, ai*e the three following : —

1. Jlumina, or the alu7n mordant.
1 his mordant is made by dissolving alum in
water, and adding acetate of lime to the solu-
tion. The liquid has a specific gravity of
J.fS, and contains about as much alum unde-
composed, as the liquid can hold in solution.
For particular purposes, calico-printers make
a mordant by mixing three parts of acetate of
lead with four of alum. This mordant con-
sists of a mixture of acetate of alumina and
alum ; for about a third part of the alum re-
mains undecomposed.

When cloth is imtiregnated with this mor-
dant, such is the affinity of the alumina for
the cloth, that the acetate of alumina, and even
a portion of the alum, are decomposed, and
the particles of alumina adhere to the fibres of
the cloth so firmly that they cannot be remov-
ed by w ashing.

In order to determine the quantity of alumi-
na fixed on the cloth by the aluming process,
1 got a quantity of the cotton cloth that was
to be dyed Turkey-red; 1000 grains of this
cloth were burnt, and the ashes being reserv-
ed, and subjected to a chemical analy.sis, were
found to contain 0.4 grain of alumina; 1000
grains of the same cloth after being dyed
Turkey-red, and of course, impregnated with
the alum mordant, were treated in the same
way. The alumina obtained amounted to 8
grains. The length of a piece of this cloth ,

ROYAL INSTITUTION— FLOOR CLOTH MANUFACTORY.

23

weighing 1000 grains, was 1 yard 5§ inches,
and its breadth 33 inches. Thus, a piece of
cloth, amounting to 1386 square inches, or
rather, 2772 square inches, (as both sides of
the cloth had been equally subjected to an
aluming process) had combined with 7'6 grains
of alumina ; or every square inch of the cloth
had combined with 0 0027 grains (g^o't^ ^

grain nearly) of alumina.

1000 grains of the same cloth were dyed
the palest shade of Turkey-red usually given
to cloth. When burnt, the ashes were found
to contain 0.8 grain of alumina. Substracting
the 0 4 grain of alumina belonging to the cotton
fibres, there remains 0 4 grain for the quantity
communicated during the aluming process.
In this case, every square inch of surface of
the cloth had combined with 0 00012 grain of
alumina, or less than g^^h of a grain. Yet
this quantity of alumina small as it is, was
essential to the permanence of the dye. For,
when unalumed cloth was dyed with madder,
the colour was easily washed out with water.

When cloth to be dyed i-ed is impregnated
with this mordant, it is not thickened, When
applied only to particular parts of the cloth,
by the block or cylinder, it is thickened with
flour, or calcined starch, or gum Senegal, ac-
cording to the nature of the style of work.

2. OXIDE OF TIN. — Perchloride of tin
is very much used as a mordant. The colour-
ing matter is previously mixed with it, and
both are applied at once. Such applications
are usually called chemical colours.'*' The
mixture is allowed to dry on the cloth, which
is then merely washed with water. When
colours are applied in this way they are easily
altered by soap, exposure to the light, &c.
Hence, in common language, a chemical
colour means a fugitive colour. The colours
produced in this way, are pink from Brazil
wood, peach wood, and cochineal ; purple
from logwood, and yellow from Persian
berries.

Perchloride of tin is much used in another
common process of calico-printing, known
technically, by the apellation of steam colours.
It is decomposed and converted into stannate
of potash. The whole piece of cloth is im-
mersed in the liquid containing the stannate
of potash, and dried. The peroxide cf tin is
then deposited on the cloth, by immersing the
piece in a solution of sal ammoniac, or sulphate
of magnesia ; but most commonly, in a very
weak solution of sulphuric acid. The ditfer-
ent colouring matters, previously thickened
wiih starch, are then printed on the cloth,
and the whole subjected to the action of
steam. By the joint action of moisture and
heat, a combination takes place between the
colouring matter and the oxide, which is thus
rendered insoluble. And no considerable
quantity of water is ever present to carry

* A very general error prevails with regard
to chemical colours, that it is the mode of ap-
plying them which renders them fugitive. It
is because chemical colours are made with
changeable materials, that they are more easily
acted on than madder colours. Brazil pink for
instance, is equally acted upon by light and
soap when dyed.

olf the colouring matter, before it has com-
bined with the mordant.

3. PEROXIDE OF IRON— This metal-
lic oxide is much used as a mordant. It is
employed in the state of acetated protoxide
of iron, formed by dissolving iron in pyrolig-
nic acid. Within a few days after it has
been applied to the cloth, especially if expos-
ed to a moist atmos[)here, it loses its acid,
and the iron becomes peroxidized.

Acetate of iron, of the specific gravity
1-05 gives a black, with madder. Various
shades of purple are obtained by adding dif-
ferent portions of the mordant and dye-stuffs.
Different shades of red, from brown, red to
pink, are obtained in the same way, substi-
tuting the alum mordant of various strengths
for the iron. Chocolates are got by mixing
the aluminous and iron mordants, and then
dyeing with madder.

Indigo, oxide of manganese, catechu, &c.
are colours per se, and therefore, require no
mordant.

(To he continued .)

ROYAL INSTITUTION.

FEBRUARY 27.

FLOOR CLOTH MANUFACTORY .—Mr. Brande
gave a description of this manufacture, and
added greatly to its interest by going through
the various steps of the process, with the as-
sistance of some workmen employed in the
manufactory at Knightsbridge. The main
part of the manipulation is similar to calico-
printing, the figures on the blocks being upon
a much larger scale, and the cloths which are
printed being of an infinitely greater size.
The common dimensions of a floor cloth are
210 or 22J square yards, and hence the im-
mense size and often unseemly appearance of
floor cloth works. A stout canvass is chosen
in the first instance. This is nailed to one ex-
tremity of a wooden frame, and stretched by
means of hooks which are attached to the
other sides. It is then washed with a weak
size and rubbed over with pumice stone. No
other substance has yet been found which an -
swersthe purpose so well as this mineral.
The next step is that of laying on the colour,
which is performed by placing dabs of paint
over the canvass with a brush, and then rub-
bing or polishing it with a long peculiar shaped
trowel. Four coats of paint are thus applied
in front and three on the back of the cloth.
To remove it from the frame w^hen these pro-
cesses are finished, a roller on a carriage is
employed, upon which it is rolled and convey-
ed to the extremity of the manufactory for the
purpose of being printed.

It is then gradually transferred from the
roller and passed over a table which is 30
feet long and 4 feet wide, made of planks
placed vertically, and as it proceeds over the
table, the blocks, dipped in the appropriate
colours, are applied. The colours used are
ochre, umber, vermilion, and dilferent kinds
of chrome, mixed up with lintseed oil and a
little turpentine.

The number of blocks applied to one pat-
tern depends upon the number of colours.

24 MANUFACTORY OF PENS— PRESERVING MILK— ARTESIAN WELLS.

The first mode of a|)plying the patterns was
by stencils, that is, the pattern was cut out in
paper, and wiien the pacer thus prepared was
applied to the cloth to be painted, that portion
w here the ground was exposed by the inter-
stice in the caper was traversed by a brush.
Then, a combination of stencilling and print-
ing w'as had recourse to, the former process
being first made use of, and then a block was
applied, the stencilling forming the ground
work. Stencilling is now abandoned In
printing, it is necessary that the cloth should
first be rubbed o^ er with a brush, else the
colours w ill not adhere. Whether the etFect
is electrical or not has not been ascertained.
Every square yard of good oil cloth w eighs
S-I^or 4^ lbs. each gaining by the apfilication
of the paint 3 or 4 lbs. weight, and hence, the
quality of this manufacture is judged of by the
w eight. Whiting is often used in spurious
cloths, mixed with oil. Cloth prepared in
this way speedily cracks and becomes useless.

Good cloth, with a very stout canvass, is
used for covering verandahs, and will last
nine or ten years, w'hile spurious cloth w'ill
become useless in the course of one year.
Floor cloth is employed to cover roofs, as at
the manufactory at Knightsbridge, and for
gutters. In tlie latter case it is remarkable
that water remaining in contact with it pro-
duces no injurious effect.

Painted baize for tables is usually manufac-
ture, with a smooth side, and is printed with
blocks of a fine structure, resembling calico
blocks. Fine canvass is employed ; several
coats of paint are laid on upon one side, and
the other receives one coat, and is then strewed
over with w ool, or flocked, as it is called.

MANUFACTURE OF’ PENS.

BY DR. FARADAY,— Quills appear to have
been employed, at least, as early as the
seventh century. England is supplied with
this article from Russia and Poland, where
immense flocks of geese are fed for the
sake of their quills. The quantity exported
from St. Petersburg, varies from six to
tw^enty-seven millions. Twenty millions
were last year imported into England from
these countries. We may form some idea
of the number of geese which must be requir-
ed to afford the supply, when we consider,
that each w'ing i)rodu( es about five good
quills and that by proper management, a
goose may afford tw^enty quills during the
year. Hence, it is obvious, that the geese
of Great Britain and Ireland, could afford but
a very limited supply. The feathers of the
geese of the latter countries are employed for
making beds.

MODE OF PRESERVING MILK FOR
LONG VOYAGES.

Sir, — As (he season of the year Is now ar-
rived when hundreds of mechanics are in-
duced to cross the Atlantic, in the hope bet-
tering their fortune, and to those who may
carry young families with them, milk may be
an important article of diet, perhaps the fol-
lowing extract from an old newspaper of the
date of j822, setting forth a simple and easy

method of preserving it, may be of import-
ance; more pariicniarly as I perceive from
your last monthly list of new patents, (hat a
method of preserving animal milk has just
been patented — whether the same or a differ-
ent method remains to be seen ; —

“ Provide a quantity of pint or quart bottles
(new ones are. perhaps best) ; they must be
perfectly s« eet and clean, and very dry be
fore they are made nss of. Instead of draw-
ing the milk from the cow into tlie pail as
usual, it is to be milked into the bottles. As
soon as any of them are filled sufficiently they
should be immediately well corked with the
very best cork, in order to keep out the ex-
ternal air, and fastened tight with packthread
or wire, as the corks in bottles which contain
cider generally are. Then, on the bottom of
an iron or copper boiler, spread a little straw;
on that lay a row of (he bottles filled with
milk, with some straw between each to pre-
vent them from breaking, and so on alternate-
ly until the boiler has a sufficient quantity in ;
then fill it up with cold w'ater. Pleat the
water gradually until it begins to boil, and as
soon as that is perceivable draw the fire. The
bottles must remain undisturbed in the boiler
until they are quite cool, t hen take them
out, and afterwards pack tliem in hampers,
either with straw or saw du.st, and stow them
in the coolest part of the ship. Miik preserv-
ed in this way has been taken to the West
Indies and back, and at the end of that time
was as sweet as when first drawn from the
cow.”

I am, Sir, yours,

J. Elliott,

March 30, 1835.

ARTESIAN WELLS EMPLOYED TO
ACTUATE MACHINERY.

At Froiites, near Aire, the w'aters often
.Artesian wells (springs obtained by boring,
and so called from the province of Artois, in
Fiance, where his method came first into ex-
tensive use) put in motion the wheels of a
large mill, and act be.sides on the bellows and
forge-liaminer of a nail-rnanufactory. At
'Pours, a well, of nearly 150 yards in depth,
pours 225 gallons per minute into the troughs
of a wheel seven yards in diameter, which is
the moving power of an extensive .silk manu-
factory.— M, Arago, Annuaire, 1835.

CALCULATING MACHINE.

A gentleman, who is known to ns, and for
whose scientific ingenuity we can readily
vouch, has requested us to state, that he will
engage to furnish for a sum of not more than
40/. a calculating-machine, having three or-
ders of differences, of five, four, and three
places of figures respectively, and capable of
calculating any table whatever of six places
of figures, with the third difference constant.
He will ask no money till the machine is de-
livered perfect acco ding to the above objec-
tions: a'ld would not object to bearing him-
self half the expense, on condition of retaining
a corresponding interest in the machine. —
Mechanics’ Magazine^ 1835,

EUROPEAN AERONAUTICAL SOCIETY,

25

THE FIRST AERIAL SHIP, THE EAGLE.”

Sir, — Herewith I send you a rough pen-and-
ink sketch of the “ Eagle,” which is at pre-
sent tlie Lion of the day. The monster-ina--
chine is the production of sonae individuals
who last year formed themselves into a Socie-
ty at Paris, and proposed opening an aerial
communication between that capital and Lon-
don. After having instituted several esperi-
ments, these parties felt so confident of the
practicability of their undertaking, that they
actually fixed the time at which they would
make their first voyage. Upon the appointed
day, ail Paris flocked to the starting-place,
to witness the departure of the intrepid aero-
nauts ; but the eager expectations of this as-
sembled multitude, and the confident hopes
of the projectors, were equally disappointed,
for, in consequence of the balloon being over-
charged with gas, it suddenly burst with a
loud report, just as it was on the point of
leaving terra firma^

These individuals, under the style and title
of / The European Aeronautical Society,”
with Count Lenox for their President, have
lately located themselves in the Victoria-road,
opposite the avenue leading to Kensington
Palace, where the following announcement
may be seen : —

‘LEceopean Aeronautical Society.—
First Aerial Shijp, the “ Eagle,” 160 leet long.
50 feet high, and 40 feet wdde, mounted by a
crew of 17 persons, and constructed for es-
tablishing a direct line of communication^be-
tween the several capitals of Europe. The
first experiment of this new system of aereal
navigation will be made from London to Pa-
ris, and back again.”

In the accompanying sketch, A A is the
balloon or gas holder, composed oi 2.400 yards
of cotton lawn, thoroughly varnished to make
it air-tight ; it is in the form of a cylinder,
terminating at each end in a cotie, and is said
to contain about 7,000 cubic feet of gas.

The car, or packet-boat as it is termed,
B B, is 75 feet long, and 7 feet high ; the frame-
work is of wood, with strong netting all round
it to prevent any of the crew or passengers
from falling out. C is a cabin in the centre of
the car, 6 feet wide. D E F G are four wings,
by which the vessel is to be propelled ; each
w ing is formed of 80 moveable flaps of varnish-
ed lawn, 2 feet 6 inches long and 9 inches
wide, strained upon a frame-work of cane.
There is a strong netting on one side of the
wings to support the flaps ohilst striking the
air and propelling the vessel. D and F show
the net- work ; E and G, the flaps. The
mechanism for working the wings is placed
inside of the cabin. C H is a rudder at the
end of the car, by which the inventors expect
to be enabled to steer the vessel through the
trackless fields of air at pleasure.

The Society have announced their inten-
tion of making their first voyage some time
in August ; in the interim, this Leviathan
of the upper regions is exhibiting in the
“dock-yard” at one shilling each person.

The Morning Herald observes of this
machine : — “ A more unwieldy and ungrace-
ful entity never moved on or in any element.
The whale and elephant are beaten hollow by
it in point of form and grace ; yet, like one
and the other, it may be able to make more
rapid way than man or horse.” The projec-
tors have displayed considerable ingenuity in
many of their arrangements, and may even-
tually sncceed in rendering balloons more
manageable than they have hitherto been ; but
I think the Society would have shown more
judgment by continuing their experiments,
and establishing the correctness of their theo-
ry on a more moderate scale ; they would
then possibly have proceeded w’ith somewhat
less eclat, but with greater probability of
success.

26

martins aritfimetical frames.

The form of Hie baloon will cause it to
lie in the direction of the wind. If t!ie cur-
rent of wind is only slightly contrary to the
desired course, and the propeller.s can be
made to act, tliere is little doubt, (he rudder
H \Vil| enable tlie voyagers to keep their path,
if the wind proves very contrary— and it is
well known that the atmospheric currents
are frequent and fitful— then the vovagers
have no alternative but to descend a little,^ by
which means an unfavorable, may often be
changed for a favourable current. 'I’o effect
partial descent when necessary, atmospheric
air is forced into a small balloon inside of the
large one, similar to the air bladder in fishes ;
this can be filled or exhausted at pleasure by
very simple means.

If this small balloon is filled with atmos-
pheric air, the gas in the large one will be
compressed to such a degree, that, witli the
load in the car, the whole machine will be
rendered specifically heavier than the at-
mosphere, and descend accordingly. On
reaching a more favourable current, the crew
withdraw the air from the small baloon, and
the gas expanding restores a due proportion
of the original buoyancy to the machine.

This method may answer the pnrpo.se, but
it appears to me that there is great risk of
bursting the baloon, by compre.ssing the gas
to such a degree as to effect efficient reduc-
tion of the boyancy. A much better plan was
proposed by Mr. G. th Atkinson, of New-
castle-on-Tyne (in yonr 10th volume) viz. to
withdraw a sufficient quantity of gas from the
baloon by condensing it into a suitable cop-
per ve.s.sel, and restoring it again to the bal-
loon as required.

With respect to tire inode of propulsion
adopted by the inventors of the “Eagle,” I
may just .state, that I do not consider it by
any means the best that could be employed.

1 remember hearing a lecture on aero-
station delivered by lAlr. Tatum, some years
since, in which he proposed to effect aerial
navigation by means of two revolving \anes
and a rudder. Avery considerable velocity
could be imparted to a pair of vanes, without
so great a loss of power as must necessarily
take place in using wings.

Balloons have for a long time past been
mere toys, exhibited for the sake of gain ; and,

1 confess, 1 am glad to see aerostation, as a
science, is not entirely forgotten. There is,
doubtless, but a very limited sphere of use-
fulness 0[)en to balloons ; but, 1 believe, much
more can be accomplished than many persons
are at present prepared to admit, I may re-
turn to this subject again by-and-bye. In the
mean time.

I remain, yours respectfully,

Wm. Baddelley.

London, July 6,1835.

MARTIN’S ARITHMETICAL FRAMES.

Tlie powers of nnnrbers, and their relation
to each other, have been in a variety of ways
demonstrated ; but rarely indeed with any
important practical application : we have in-
genious theories of the wondrous powers of

the number 9, and a variety of aritbmetical
legerdemain is abroad, which appears to (he
ciirion.s very singular and astoni.shing. Na-
ftiei’s hones or rods afford some good illus-
trations of the multiplying powers ; but there
appears to have been no instance of the suc-
cessful application of the “ occult powers of
numbers” till the invention of the “ Arithme-
tical Frames,” by Mr. Martin, which are,
without question, applied to a use (be mo.'-t
important and extensive. But wlien we come to
niake an examination of these, we are unable
to ascertain, except in one or two cases, the
principles upon which they are constructed.
1 u these frames we have \vhat is most ex-
traordinary, a system of arrangement whii'ii
carries out, ad infinitum, practical exhibi-
tions ot all the elementary rules, not singly
only, but also in every variety of combination
which the ten digits will make, afi’ording de-
monstrable proofs of the correctness or incor-
rectne.ss of every figure ; at the same time that
none hut the teacher «ho has been previously
informed of (lie mode of detecting error, can
by any possibility be informed of it. A dozen
exercises of fifteen or sixteen figures each,
may be worked in one rule only, or through
the whole /oir?' rules, and be checked by the
master at a mere glance, while those ex-
ercises may be varied to the extent of
many thousands of millions times, and
be proved by the same mode and witlr
tlte same facility. It has often occurred
to mathematicians, that a series of num-
bers might by some [.ossibility be arranged,
so as to prod lice nnifonn and known results in
an almost infinite series ; but this suspected
power of the arrangement of numbers has
never been sliown, excepting in a few cases
of particular numbers ; and even these have
not been applied (o any practical purpose, ex-
ce[iting by Patiick Whytock.* But this ar-
rangement, which is founded on the peculiar
properties of certain decimal fractions is de-
fective, as it only refers to the simple rules,
wliereas the arithmetical frames or tablets
constructed by iVir. Wartin, comprise also the
compound rules ; and this appears most ex-
traordinary ; for there cannot well be worse
decimal lelatioiis, supposing they are con-
structed on this principle, than (hose of the
numbers 4, 12, and 20,whicl) form the integral
parts of our common aurrency ; but Mr.
Martin has arranged and can apply, if neces-
sary, his principle through all the weights and
measures , alFording an infinite variety of ex-
amples, whose solutions bear such a relation
to their propositions, that their correctness
or incorrectness is immediately discoverable
by him who has learnt the mode of discove-
ry ; and which may be acquired, by any one
conversent with addition and multiplication,
in a few minutes. Nor is this all, for the
frames are so arranged that the smallest as
well as the largest examples may be given ;
that the working of the examples, of one rule
gives examples in another, and the workii^g
again of these examples in a third, and so on
— pi’oving the correctness of each, even
to the pupils themselves, and pointing out

* See Mech. Mag., vol. xviii p. 43.

BABBAGE AND HIS RIVALS,— INDIA RUBBER BOAT.

27

frror ; at the same time that the master has
a coHnter check, which he can apply in a
moment to a whole morning’s set of exer-
cises. Such a plan, where a large number
of boys are to be taught, as in National and
Lancastarian scliools. must be of incalculable
aflvantage ; and even in private schools must
afford great assistance to teachers, from the
variety of examples presented , and the ease
with which their answers maybe ascertained,

Discriptioti of the Frames.

The “ Arithmetical Frames ’ consist of
six frames, about 18 inches l)igh and 1 foot
hroad. The first of which is fitted up with
little balls transversely arranged on tour
brass rods, as the ball frame of the infant
schools ; but to this, which only forms trie top
part o" the frame, nine cubical rods verti-
cally placed, and revolving of pivots, are
attached ; on one side of these rods are
small pictures about an inch square, of sliips,
horses, cats, co'vs, and such bke figures dif-
ferently coloured ; their object is, as is also
of the balls, to teach the infant to count, and
to connect abstract signs with tangible ob-
jects. The other three sides of the rollers
are filled up with three numeration tallies, so
ingeniously disposed, that by the turning of
the rods, every variety of change of figure
may be produced so strikingly, that a few
hours are generally sufficient to teach a child
the principles ol numeration and notation with
the rudiments of addition.

The succeeding frames comprise a frame
for each of the following rules ; the addition
frame consists of 12 cubical rod.s, horizontally
placed, and by the simple turning of these, an
infinite number of examples may be produced,
and their answers discovered in a moment.
To the subtraction fran;es, which are con*
structed to hold only two rollers at a time,
containing the subtractors, and the subtra-
hend, large slates are also attached, on which
the remainders are worked, one below the
other, forming an example in addition, wh ch
is added up. The multiplication and the
division frames are made to contain only
one roller, the former has a slide upon w hich
the multipliers are printed, which shows one
figure at a time through a square hole imme-
diately under the unit of the multiplicand, and
the latter has a slide for the divisors moving
up and down the dividends to change the
examples ; by which simple conti ivat'.ce, as
many changes may be produced as upon a
peal of 12 bells stated to be several thou-
sands of millions. In these two latter frames
there is still a recapitulation of preceding rules
with different examples applied throughout
the compound as well as through the simple
rules; — the whole forming a system of teach-
ing the theory of arithmetic so complete, as
to make improvements extremely difficult,
and presenting a combination of figures
whose results are, as we have stated, “
most extraordinary in the history of the re-
lations of number ;”~and their effects on the
children who are taught by them, as is exem-
plified at the Borough- Road Central Schools ;
to use the words of liord Brougham, in his
speech on Education — “ present the most

extraordinary spectacle of the progress of ob-
taining information which might be made by
childern, and which he had never seen or
heard of at any place, in any country, or at
any time. It was perfectly wonderful how the
human faculty could, at so early an age, be
cultivated to so marvellous a degree. A
dozen or tw'o of the children were asked such
questions as the interest of various sums of
money for any time, at any rate per cent.,
and their answers were as correct as they
were immediate.” His Lordship repeated,
that “ he had never witnessed a more extra-
ordinary exhibition.” — Educational Magazine,

MR. BABBAGE AND HIS RIVALS.

Sir, — In a lafe number of your publication,
I observed that one of your correspondents
claims to be the inventor of a calculating
engine which will perform the operations of
Multiplication, Division, and even do sums
in the Rule of Three. As this is a subject in
which I take a considerable interest, I hope
I slmll be excused if I request a little more in-
formation ; and first I wish to learn whether
this is a self-acting machine, that is, supposing
that two numbers are to be multiplied toge-
ther, is it merely necessary to put them into
their proper places, and having adjusted the
machine to multiply, to turn the handle until
it shall give some signal that the operation is
completed ? Or when one number is put in as
a multiplicand, is it necessary to turn the
handle as many times as the number indicated
of the multiplier ? The question applies
equally to Division, and to the Rule of Three,
which is a combination of the other two. Also,
can it be applied to calculated tables, and if
so, how are its results indicated ? A machine
which when once adjusted to perform an oper-
ation requires an assistance from the ndnd
(even the common operation of counting the
number of turns of the handle to know when
to expect the result) is open to the objection
of liability to error. If one turn be omitted,
an error is induced into the calculation, and
an error made by a machine is the more
dangerous because unsuspected. I understand
that Mr. Babbage’s calculating engine is not
liable to these objections, and that one great
merit is, that its results are the operation of
the machine itself, and engraved upon copper
plate with unerring certainty. Has the inven-
tor of this new machine taken any steps to
make it public, or secure the patronage of
Government? Matters of this kind are of
great public interest, and many valuable in •
ventions perish for w’ant of early attention.

I trust, therefore, you will excuse my trou-
bling you on the subject

I remain, verv trulv vours,

P. s. c.

INDIAN-RUBBER BOAT.

The Providence Journal gives a description
of tht*' Indian-ruhher boat — a neat affair,
weighing abbout 20 lbs., which may be folded
up and carried about from place to place. It
will sustain a ton weight, and accommodate
quite a fishing party !

28

FIRE ENGINES ADAPTED FOR HOT CLIMATES.

Sir, — After witnessing the introduction of
boats, bridges, and churches of cast-iron, with
many other extraordinary a[)plications of this
higlily -nseful material, your readers will not be
much surprised at the introduction of cast-iron
fire-engines, and this material enters pretty
largely into the machine Tam about to describe.

It is well known that hot climates exercise
a most injurious eftect upon all things con-
structed of wood, especially if occasional mois-
ture assists the operation of the heat. Among
other machines wliich manifest the existence
of this destructive influence, fire-engines are
particularly liable to dilapidation : sometimes
satured with water, and then exposed to
parching dryness — laid by unheeded until
required for use — no wonder they are so often
found unserviceable. To obviate the serious
inconvenience arising from this cause, and to
render the fire engine, as far as possible, proof
against the effects of climate, Mr. W, J. Til-
ley, engine-maker, Blackfriars-road, London,
has constructed afire-engine entirely of metal,
of which fig. 1 is a side, and fig. 2 an end-
view. The same letters of reference apply to
both drawings.

a a a are three cast iron standards, fixed
upon a quadrangular floor or framework 6 h, of
the same material, cc is the main axis walk-
ing in brass bushes on the tops of a a. dd are
the two brass cylinders or pumps, e is the air-
vessel, of copper ; / is the suction-pipe ; and
g the delivery pipe. A chamber h contains
the suction-valves, the delivery-valves being
placed in a similar chamber i in front of the
cylinders, k k are the handles, made of sheet-
iron rolled up, which, by means of the cross-
levers, impart alternate motions to the pistons.

The pistons are attached by slings to a pro-
jecting-arm on the axis c, the parallelism of
the pistons being preserved by guide-rods in
the usual manner. I is the fore-carriage.

The whole is mounted on four cast iron
wheels, and has rather a light and elegant
appearance.

In the construction of his engine not a par-
ticle of wood is employed ; the valves, the
pistons, and, in fact, every part is of metal.

This ensine exhibits, in a very pleasing
manner, the situation of all the working parts
which, in fire engines of the ordinary kind,
are enclosed from view ; but a most important
advantage consists in the facility with which
any little derangement in the machine^ can be
seen and remerlied. The valves, which are
almost (he only parts liable to get out of order
can he got at immediately, as it is only ne-
cessary to unscrew and remove the cover of
the valve chambers, to examine and repair
any obstruction in this part of the tnachine.

The durability of this description of fire-
engine, and its fitness for all foreign stations,
especially in hot climates, must be so great,
that for such services 1 have no doubt they
will in time supersede all other engines con-
structed of so perishable and uncertain a
material as wood.

I remain. Sir,

Yours respectfully,

Wm. Baddeley.

DESCRIPTION OF A PORTABLE PRINTING PRESS.

29

of simplicity, cheapness, and portability; er, as the hand, be applied at A, so as to
and having succeeded therein to the utmost bring B A into the position B A' (B A' be-
extc-nt of my expectations, the following^ ing drawn at right angles to B D), it is plain,
description may perhaps notbe unacceptable that the effect will be to bring B C and C D
to your readers. I shall first explain the into the same straight line, and, consequently,
principle I have employed, and then describe to depress D.

the construction by which I have endea- To calculate the relation that subsists be-
voured to adapt that principle to the purpose tween the power applied at A and the ulti-
required. n>ate force exerted at D, produce D C to E,

ABC, fig. 1, is a lever, bent into a right and let fall B E perpendicular thereto,
angle at B, at which point it moves on an Now, calling the forces at A, C, and
axis as a fulcrum. To the extremity, C, a D, P, P', and W, respectively, we have,

p : P':: BE : B A (i)

and P' : w: : B D : D E

Or, substituting in the second analogy the equivalent of the ratio, B D t D E,

P': w:: rad : cosbdc (2)

Wherefore, compounding (1) and (2), and calling rad = 1,

P : w:: BE : B A* cos B D C (3)

Now, by trigonometry, B E = B C * sin B C E = B C • sin (B D C C B D)
=:BC (sinBDC- cos C B D cos B D C • sin C B D).

Hence, substituting in (3),

P : W:: B C (sin B D C* cos C B D -1- cos B DC - sin C BD) : B A’
cos B D C.

And dividing by B C’ cos B D C, „ .

P : W: : (tan B D c- cos C B D + sin C B D) :

BC

BA

Or, P : W :: (tan B D CH- tan C B D) cosC B D
„ _ _ ® C 1

Finally, P : W '.t g (tan B D C + tan C B D) cos C B D- • (4)

We see hence, that P being constant, W varies as a function of the
C B D, B D C, viz. as, (tan B D C + tan C B dTcos C B D

angles

30 DESIDERATUM IN MODERN PRINTING PRESSES SUPPLIED.

Let us examine, tlierefore, what change
takes place in this expression in conse-
quence of a diminution of the angle ABA'
by B A being depressed. We observe, then,
that the denominator consists of two factors,
of which the first (being the sum of the tan-
gents of two angles, each of which is less
than a right angle), decreases without limit,
and becomes— O when B A coincides with
B A'. The remaining factor, on the other
hand, increases with the diminution of the
angle ABA'; but its increase is limited by
unity, which value it reaches when ABA'
vanishes. Therefore, the value to which
the expression approximates as ABA' de-
creases, is 1, or ; and, consequently, the
ratio ofP:W continually approximates to

that of -g that is, the power applied

at A, exerts at D, by the diminution of the an-
gle A B A', a continually increasing force ;
and this increase is without limit, for by
sufficiently diminishing this angle, the force
at D may be made greater than any that can
be assigned.

We have here, however, made no allow-
ance for friction, and the imperfect rigidity
of the materials employed ; and it is found in
practice that these causes set bounds to the
increased referred to long ere the attainment
of such a force as that just mentioned. The
latter of these causes, moreover, renders the
exertion of some degree of power necessary
to release the lever BA from its position
after the pressure has been given. It is,
therefore, found expedient not to reduce
the angle ABA. below a value of from
3*^ to 5*^ ; and to seek any further degree
of force that may be necessary by other
means. An examination of the formula in
(4) shows that this is to be done either by
increasing P or bv diminishing the ratio of
BCtoBAandCD.

It is considered a desideratum in all mo-
dern printing-presses that the same power
shall exert a continually increasing force
and as we have seen that the principle de-
monstrated above furnishes us with such a
force, it is evident, that if vve can apply it pro-
perly it is suitable for our purpose. I pro-
ceed, therefore, to describe the press I have

* The reason of this is, that in order to aiford
room for the necessary motions and adjustments,
the platten requires to move through a consider-
able space. This condition cannot be ihlfilled by
any ordinary combination of levers (or any other
of the mechanical powers) without, at same time,
making' it needful for the motive-power to pass
through a space inconveniently great. Now, by
such an arrangement as the above, in which the
advantage gained is least when the platten meets
with no resistance to its descent, and reaches its
maximum only when the platten comes in
contact with the face of the types, a greater
space is on the Avhole described by the platten
than would be the case were the force uniform
throughout, and equal to that which is required
to produce an impression.

constructed, premising, that it is on a very
small scale (just sufficient to print an octavo
page), yet large enough to test the accura-
cy of the principle,

A,fig. 2, isa strong frame of wood, 21
inches long, 9 broad, and 4 deep, to which
are attached, by means of screws, and a bolt
which goes completely through (he frame,
and is fastented with a nut on the opposite
side, the two cheeks B B. These cheeks
are of wrought-iron, I| inches broad, and
fths thick. They are connected at top by a
strong iron bar, the ends of which are fixed
into mortices in the cheeks. This bar is at
the ends about the same breadth and thick-
ness as the checks, but increases in thickness
towards the middle for the purpose of al-
lowing to be rivetted to it two pieces, C,
between which, upon an axis passing through
them, the lever D E moves. Another ob-
ject served by the thickening of the connect-
ing bar is to allow of the insertion of a screw
Q, of which the part that projects under the
bar, and with w'hich the prolongation of the
lever D C comes in contact, by being length-
ened or shortened has the effect of regulat-
ing the pressure to be given, according to
the nature of the matter. An iron plate is
screwed to the under surface of the lever D
E, to which the piece F, also of iron, I inch
broad and fths thick, is rivetted. To the
lower extremity of the piece F a bar G,
fths of an inch broad and fth thick, is at-
tached by a rule-joint. G is united at the
other end by a similar joint to a plate H,
which is screwed to the top of the platten
The lengths of F and G, reckoning from the
centres of motion, are and 3^ inches,
respectively. The platten is of wood, 1|
inch thick, having screwed to its under sur-
face a plate of cast-iron, ground very flat ;
and is preserved in its position, and confined
to move parallel to itself, by guides K K,
which pass through grooves in the cheeks,
having just room enough to move freely
without shake. These guides are of the
form shown in fig. 3 ; and it is necessary
to observe in regard to them, that the parts
which pass through the cheeks must be so
adjusted as to height, that a line drawn
through the centre of motion at H, parrallel
to the surface of the platten, §ha1l pass
through a point in each, equally distant from
the top and bottom. If this be neglected,
these parts will be strained and liable to
be twisted. L is a box, 10 inches long and
8^ broad, which answers the purposes of
chase and carriage. The sides are 1 inch
thick ; such a degree of strength as is thus
acquired being necessary to resist the pres-
sure created in loching up the matter. Its
depth is adjusted to type height ; and the
bottom is about half an inch thick. It slides
upon the frame A, being confined by a rim,
about half an inch high, which goes round

31

EMPLOYMENT OF THE LEVER FOR WORKING THE PRESS.

the latter ; and it is drawn from under the
platten by a small knob, represented at O
IVI is the tympan, and N the jrisket, attached
to the box in the usual manner. P is the
inlciny -table ^ composed of a plate of cast-
iron, imbedded in a frame of wood. It is
fixed to the frame A by two thumb-screws.
When not in use these screws are with-
drawn, and the table turned round and
pushed into a groove fitted to receive it,
where it is again secured by the same
screws. At A is a drawer for holding
furniture, &c. At E is a weight to raise the
platten after the pressure has been given,
and keep it suspended. The part D C, of
the lever D E, should be of such a length,
as, when brought into a horizontal position,
not to extend beyond the end of the frame
A ; otherwise, when a heavy pressure is
applied atD, the whole will be liable to be
overturned. In the present case, D C is 16
inches long. . The height of the cheeks B B
should be such that the requisite pressure
may be given a little before D E comes into
a horizontal position. Any small error in
this respect may be rectified by either plan-
ing down, or pasting folds of paper upon
the bottom of the box L.

It will be observed, that the object gained
by the employment of a lever, in the position
described above, for working the press, is
portability, as in any other position olf the
lever the press would require to be fixed.

The mode of operation of this press will
now, I believe, be tolerably clear ; yet, to
prevent misconception, I shall endeavour
briefly to describe it. We shall suppose the
matter locked up in the chase, or box, L,
and the inking-tahle secured in its proper
situation for working. The first thing to be
done is, 'to put a little ink upon the table.
Having distributed this equally vvith the
roller, the workman lifts the tympan and
frisket, and passes the roller over the face
of the types in the usual manner. A piece
of paper is then put upon the tympan, and
this, together with the frisket, turned down
upon the types The box is now pushed
under the platten, and the lever pulled down
till brought to a stop by the screw A. The
lever is again raised, and the box withdrawn
by the knob O. This process is to be repeat-
ed till the number of impressions required
are obtained.

Resuming the expression (4), and fig.
1, we find the following value of W,

BA 1

W = P X X

B C (tan B D C -I- tan C B D) cos C B D.

BA 16 32

Now, here = — — — = 10-66, and we

BC 3

may^jassume for P what we please, ^’he
last factor, therefore, is the only variable
one, and its valuation depends solely on that
of the angle C B D, or A B A . the other
angle , B D C, being a function of this, and
of the sides, B C, CD, which are given, and
equal to 1^ and 3^ respectively. If, there
fore, we wish to ktiow the actual power
of this press, and also the increase of
power consequent upon a diminution of the
angle A B A or C B D, we shall have to sub-
stitute in the above expression the values of
BA

P and for these quantities, and like-

BC

wise to give successive value to C B D.
The results will be the values of W, or
the power exerted by the press, for each
particular value of the angle CBD ; and the
differences of these results will be the in'
crease corresponding to each diminution of
that angle respectively. However, as W
varies,/or the same value of C B D, directly
as P, it is evident, that if we call P, 1
pound, we shall be able, simply by multi-
plying the value of W, obtained on that
supposition by any number assumed for P,
to find the value of W corresponding to that
value of P. Calling P 1 pound, then, and

B A

substituting for its

BC

value, the expression becomes,

1066

W=

(tan B D C + tan C B D) cos CBD.
The following table exhibits, in the first
column, a few assumed values of the angle
CBD, decreasing by 5®, except in the last
case, where the decrease is only 2° ; in the
second, the value of W corresponding to
these values of C B D, when p 1 pound ;
and in the third, the increase of the power
per cent., consequent upon each diminution
of the aforesaid angle.

Values of
CBD

Values of W.
in Pounds.

Increase
Per Cent.

250

18-03

20®

22*14

22* 8

15®

29*07

31* 3

100

42*16

45*03

5®

85-61

103- 3

3"

226*18

164* 2

&c.

&c.

&c.

We here see that while when, C B D is
25®, a diminution of 5® occasions in an in-
crease in the value of W of22’8 percent.; a
diminution of only 2®, when C B D is 5®,
occasions an increase in that value of no less
than 164.2 per cent. Also, if we desire to
know the absolute power of the press when

CALCULATING MACHINE— COOKING BY GAS

P is, say 20 pounds, and the angle C B D,
3®, we find 226-18 20 = .4523-6 pounds.

There are, as has been already stated,
certain deductions to be made from the
results in the second column, on account of
friction and the imperfect rigidity of materi-
als ; and these deductions increase as we
diminish the angle C B D. Since, however,
they may be indefinitely reduced by careful
construction, it is unnecessary to calculate
them, if indeed that were possible.

1 have said that the performance of his
press answers may expectations ; I send
you some specimens, that you may judge for
yourself.

I am, Sir,

Your obedient servant,

Q-

Aberdeen, July 10, 1835.

[The “ specimen”s which our ingenious
correspondent has been so good as to send
us of his pre.ss, do it great credit- We have
seldom the good fortune to see swch proofs.
There is one — a portrait in wood of Eras-
mus while reading — which is particularly
good. — Ed. M. M.]

CALCULATING MACHINE -ANO-
THER RIVAL TO MR. BABBAGE.

Sir, — Having seen some notices in the pub-
lic f)apers of calculating machines invented at
home aad abroad, I think it right to state that
I have myself invented one, which is exceed-
ingly simple, and might be made at the same
expense as a common clock or time-piece. I
can find the IQ power of ti»e 9 digits in about
twenty minutes ; in fact, Addition, Subtrac-
tion, Multiplication, Division, the Rule of
Three, Involution, Evolution, and a few other
rule.s, may be worked with despatch and
facility. The parts of ray machine do not re-
quire such a critical adaptation, nor are they
so liable to get out of order, as those of Mr.
Babbage’s machine ; they may be made by any
ingenious mechanic, and worked by any way-
faring man, though a fool.

1 remain Sir, your humble servant,

J. S. Hoi L.A.ND.

Three, Colt-Street, Limehouse.

The Bude Light is a name given by Mr.
Gurney (of steam-carriage abortion celebrity)
toa new light which he. has discovered, and
so named, after his new place of residence in
Cornwall. It is obtained by directing a stream
of oxy hydrogen gas on a quantity of pounded
egg-shells. The light is represented to be 140
times greater than any of those now employed
in lighthouses — so intense, indeed, that Mr.
G. lately stated to the House of Commons
Committee on Lighthouses, “ his belief that
it would he possible to make his light, by
certain management, point out the precise si-
tuation of a coast beacon to a ship three or
four miles at sea, under circumstances of a
fog so dense that no other light — not even that
of the sun — could penetrate it to any distance I

COOKING BY GAS.

— If any of your long list of readers
are smitten with the desire of diffusing use-
ful knowledge, and are in possession of the
I ^^ak, they will thank me for
affording them, an opportunity of indulging
that laudable and fashionable propensity. A
gas-work has been lately erected in the town,
pd we are trying to make the heat given out
in its combustion available for culinary pur-
posses, or, in humbler phrase, to make it
boil pots and kettles. We have tried the
effect of an apparatus recommended in the
fifteenth volume of your Magazine, page 344,
and find it answer tolerably well. It consists
of nothing more than a cylinder of thin sheet
iron, twelve inches high, six inches wide at
the bottom, and three at the top ; the bot-
tom is open, and the top is covered with a
piece of fine wire gauze (forty-six threads in
the inch), bound tightly over it by a brass ring.
The gas pipe being carried two inches up
the cylinder, the gas gets mixed with common
air in it, and they ascend together through the
gauze, and are set fire to at the top. The
result of many experiments made with this
machine, and with a larger one of a similar
nature (but five inches in diameter at the top)
seems to be, that two quarts of water, in a
common copper tea-kettle, will be boiled, by
the application of three feet of gas, whether
burnt at the rate of ten or of twenty feet in
the hour. Now, as our price is 12s. 6d- a
thousand feet, the expense is only a half
penny, and therefore we may be said to be
already in possession of the valuable secret
of making the pot boil. But, if any of your
readers, as I said before, can put us up to a
better plan, we shall be much obliged to
them. I am, &c.

M, P.

Hitcliin, May, 7, 1835.

P- S. — I may add, that our gas is of re-
markable purity and brilliance, and pleases all
eyes, without offending any nose. The works
were built by Mr. West, of Durham, under
the superintendence of Mr. Lowe. — lUech.
Mag.

HOWARD’S VAPOUR ENGINE.

The Nautilus has arrived at Falmouth with
latters from Lisbon of the 11th. The Comet,
which had left Lisbon on the 8th, was obliged
to put back w ith her machinery out of order.
The plates immediately in contact with the
heated quicksilver had burst, and rendered her
manageable. The mew invention has there-
fore, so far failed ; 'but it is to have another
trial. — T'imcs.

ENGLISH SILVER ORE.

There was sold last week, at the Bank of
England, the largest mass of English silver
ever received into that establishment. I's
weight was 5741 oz., and its value upwards
of 1,5000/. It was the produce af a mine in
the eastern part of Cornw'all, at wdneh ores
containing from 500 to 10i)0 oz. per ton of
ore not unfrequently raised.

REVIEW

OF WORKS ON SCIENCE

AND

JOURNAL OF FOREIGN SCIENCE AND THE ARTS.

EMBRACING

MINERALOGY, GEOLOGY, NATURAL HISTORY, PHYSICS, &c.

REVIEW.

THE JOURNAL OF THE ASIATIC SOCIETY OF

BENGAL, EDITED BY JAS. PRINSEP, ESQ.

F. R. S. SEC. AS. SOC. HON. MEM. AS. SOC.

PARIS, COR. MEM. ZOOL. SOC. LONDON AND

OF THE ROYAL SOC. MARSEILLES. VOL. IV.

JANUARY TO DEC. 1835. CALCUTTA BAFT.

MISSION PRESS, 1835.

Although upon the first publication of our
Journal, it professed to embrace subjects
purely medical, we have yet, from time to
time, been led to the introduction of other
scientific matter, which may in the opinion we
fear of some of our contemporaries be deviating
from the original intention of the work, inas-
much as it was not in connection with the
simple acquisition of medical intelligence.
'1 his was, in fact, but experimental. We felt
sure that general science could not be without
interest to men whose peculiar education had
afforded them decided advantages for the
prosecution of scientific studies; while we
hoped that the intrinsic value of our Journal
would not be lessened in their opinion, by
becoming the channel of instruction, as well
as of amusement, to all. There can be
no just reason why a work which commences
on one specific subject, should not be extend-
ed to others, provided it can be shewn that
any good is likely to ensue from the exten-
sion. In this consideration we increased its
pages by inserting extracts from works of
Scientific repute, and have found—what we
looked to find— the encouraging result of an
increasing subscription list, without the with-
drawal of support for having so ventured to
wander from what would have been strictly
speaking, the more proper and immediate ob.
jects of the India Journal of Medical Science.

To guard against further misconception
the Medical Journal, as must now be per-
ceived, is wholly distinct. The advantage of
combining the Journal of Foreign Science
with it is, that in their present united form,
they are got up at a less expeiice than they
would be were they supplied seperately, and
we are enabled from the peculiar Regulations
of the Post Office to send both to our sub-
scribers free of additional post office charges.

The perusal of a periodical merely pro-
fessional, could afford but a meagre and
very limited interest. But in allotting a space
for other matter, we have the prospect of com-
bining knowledge and recreation ; and while
we endeavour to spread out a repast adapted
to all astes, we reckon on the indulgence and
good feeling of our Brethren whom we would
serve with our best ability, for granting us a con-
tinuance of their suffrages in the performance.

Having thus explained our intentions, we
shall now reduce our professions to practice,
and commence our review with a notice of the
Asiatic Journal for the past year, Tliis work
is published in nos. monthly, and edited by
Mr. Jas. Prinsep, a gentleman eminently
qualified to maintain its celebrity and sustain
its pretensions, side by side, with the literary
productions of Europe, where amongst the
learned, it has long passed current, and been
received as standard. It touches upon all
subjects of Indian research, embracing his-
tory, geology, statistics, religion, literature,
geography, numismatics, &c. and opens to us
a vast range of investigation on every one of
these points. Before entering, however, on a
critical examination of the contents, which
from the limited space we can afford, must
necessarily be continued from No. to No.,—
we shall pause to remark upon the conduct of
Government, in withholding its patronage,
its fund, and support from the Society,

34 ORIENTAL LITERATURE ILLUSTRATES CUSTOxMS & MANNERS.

for the exclusive purpose of European
education, to the manifest detriment, if not
tile ruin, of oriental literature. In the
month of April, it appears, fiom the pro-
ceedings of the Society, that the Secretary
(Mr. J. Prinsep) submitted to ittiie necessity
of a respectful remonstrance against the
Government decree in question ; which being
drawn up in the ensuing month, was ac-
cordingly forwarded on the 3d of June. In
answer to this, Mr. Secretary Bushby, under
date the 10th of the same month replies, that
Government refers the Society to the Com-
mittee of Public Instructions for its general
views on the subject of the address. That
owing to financial difficulties, it declines ap-
plication to the Court of Directors for “spe-
cific pecuniary aid in furtherance of native
literature,” and that it resolves to disconti-
nue the printing of oriental works, (literary)
from “ a great portion of the limited educa-
tion fund having hitherto been expended on
similar publications,” which in its estimation
has served for little else than “to accumu-
late stores of waste paper!” but at the same
time it is willing to make over to the Asiatic,
or any other Society those parts already print-
ed, if there is any anxiety for their possession.
Such is the purport of the Government letter
respecting oriental lore, in 1836! When the
Consul Mummius sacked the Grecian city,
he designated in his ignorance of their value
the most precious specimens of painting and
sculpture, as mere waste lumber. J’he cases
are to our judgment nearly parrallel. As
however it would be altogether foreign to our
purpose to enter into discussions of this na-
ture, we shall content ourselves with re-
marking that, taken in its intellectual sense,
a more unhappy measure never emanated
from the resolutions of this Government.
Up to the period of which we are speaking.
Government, whatever its errors elsewhere,
had been invariably the munificent patron of
every thing tending to our illumination in the
acquirement of Indian intelligence. Is it to
be reserved for a reforming age, and a Go-
vernment professing to be ‘ liberal,’ to throw’
us back upon the obscurity of ignorance I
We readily admit the great importance of
education in the European languages, but w’e
never can allow that there is nothing of value
in oriental literature for it does indisputably
(end to illustrate the topography of the coun-
try, and the manners and the customs of the

people. In the symbolic language of Eastern
nations are to be found the [)hilosophic
and mythologic reveries of all the existing
sects and secret societies. Bacon conceived that
the union of spirit and matter was allegoriz-
ed in the fable of Proserpine being seized by
Plato asshe was gathering flowers. In this
opinion Darwin concurred, because it was
rendered curiously exact by the discovery
that oxygen is given out of vegetables, and
that in this state it is eagerly absorbed 1 y in-
flammable bodies ; he supposed that the fable
of Jupiter and Juno, by whose meeting the
vernal showers were said to be produced, was
merely to pouitray the production of water by
the combination of its two elements. The
inference to be drawn from these allusions is
obvious, that valuable matter is to be found
though it must be sought for amidst a mass of
superstition and fable. That the Court of Di.
rectors came to the same conclusion on the
value of oriental literature, the following ad-
dressed to the Su preme Government will prove.

FORT WILLIAM,

Public Department, June 19, 180G.

The following Extracts from Letters from
the Honorable the Court of Directors, are
published for general information:

Extracts from a Letter from the Honorable the
Court of Directors, dated the 25th of May , 1798

Par. 105. “ You will have observed by

our dispatches from time to time, that we
have invarially manifested, as the occasion
required, pur disposition for the encourage-
ment of Indian literature; we understood,
it has been of late years a frequent practice
among our servants, especially in Bengal, to
make collections of oriental manuscripts,
many of which have afterwards been brought
into this country. 1 hese remaining in pri-
vate hands, and being likely in a course of
time to pay itto others, in which probably no
use can be made of them, they are in danger
of being neglected, and at length in a great
measure lost to Europe, as w'ell as to India.
W e think this issue a matter of greater regret,
because we apprehend, that since the decline
of the Mogul En.pire, the encouragement
formerly given in it to Persian literature has
ceased, that hardly any new works of cele-
brity appear, and that few copies of books
of established character are now made ; so
that there being by the accidents of time, and
the exportation of many of the best manu-
scripts, a progressive dimunition of the origi-
nal stock ; Hindostan may at length be much
thinned of its literary stores, without greatly
enriching Europe. To prevent in part this
injury to letters, we have thought that the
Institution of a Public Repository in this
country for oriental writings, would be use-
ful, and that a thing professedly of this kind,

CRf riClSM OF SCIENTIFIC WORKS USEFUL.

35

is still a bibliothical desideratum here. It
is not ourmeaning (hat the Company should
go into any considerable expense in forming
a collection of Eastern books, but we think
the India House might, with particular pro-
priety, be the centre of an ample accumula-
tion of that nature, and conceiving also that
gentlemen might chuse to lodge valuable
compositions, where they could be safely pre-
served and become useful to the public; we
therefore desire it be made known, that we
are willing to allot a suitable apartment for
the purpose of an Oriental Repository, in the
additional buildings now erecting in Leaden-
hall Street, and that ail Eastern manuscripts
transmitted to that Repository, will be care-
iully preserved and registered there.

106. “ By such a collection, the literature
of Persian and Mahomedan India, may be
preserved in this country, after, perhaps, it
shall, from further changes, and the further
declension of taste for it, be partly lost in its
originalseats.

107. “ Nor would we confine this collec-
tion to Persian and Arabian manuscripts.
The Sanscrit writings, from the long subjec-
tion of the Hindoos to a foreign Government,
from the discouragements their literature in
consequence experienced, and from the ra-
vages of time, must have suffered greatly; we
should be glad, therefore, that copies of all
the valuable books which remain in that
language, or in any ancient dialects of the
Hindoos might, through the industry of indi-
viduals, at length be placed in safety in this
Island, and form a part of the proposed col-
lection.”

Extract from a Letter from the Honorable

the Court of Directors, dated the 5th of

June, 1805.

Par. 26. “In our public letter of the
25th of May, 1798, paragraphs 105,106, and
107, we informed you, of our willingness to
allot apartments for the purpose of our Ori-
ental Repository in the additional buildings
then erecting in Leadenhal 1-Street, and that
all Eastern manuscripts transmitted to that
llepcsiiory, would be carefully preserved and
registered there.”

28. “ We have now to inform you, that
the apartments for the Oriental Library, be-
ing completed according to our intentions,
have been placed under the charge of Mr.
Charles Wilkins, formerly ofour civil service
in Bengal, and that a considerable number
of manuscripts, and printed books upon
oriental subjects, with objects of natural
history and curiosity, have already been
placed in it, among which are many valuable
presents from individuals and public bodies
in this country.”

29. “ As our original views in establish-
ing this Library, have by no means been
abandoned, and we still entertain hopes, that
the invitation held out to individuals in India,
in the above-mentioned paragraphs, would be
successful, if properly seconded by our Su-
preme Government, we again refer you to
them, and desire, that the subject may be en-
tered into with alacri'ty and zeal.”*

The present Vol. of the Journal begins
with a few introductory observations by the
Editor. He informs us that this is the 4th,
if taken separately, and 7tb year if the Glean-
ings in Science are included, of the work’s
existence in its present form. He exhibits
what he deems a “ satisfactory” aspect of the
Society’s financial concerns; and proceeds
to comment in strong, but measured terms
on the conduct of Government in with-
drawing its support. He balances this by
what he terms the “sunny side of the picttrre,”
with some few appointments by which the
Government has given employment to half
a dozen individuals (more or less) which he
regards as liberal and praise- w-orthy. We
do not altogether coincide in that opinion
excepting the instances of M. Massion and
the Munshee Mohun Lol. Government has
had a direct prospect of advantage in the
appointments it has created, and even in
the case of the two firs^, as their labors lay
without the Company’s dominions, whence
much was to be gleaned which might even-
tually be turned to use, we are disposed to
find some reservation to the integrity of its
munificence. We do not mean to cavil at
the appointments, because a Government
cannot do wrong in legitimately using the
talents ofable men ; but when the object is
its own ultimate advantage, we look on it, not
as an act of disinterested generosity, but of
fair 'payment far labor done, wherein both
parties seek what they would gain, with
a clear understanding of the motive on
either side. We must now conclude these
remarks from want of further space, only
adding that on one other point we disagree
with the learned Editor. It is wherein he
observes. —

“ Ciiiicism of scientific works published
in India has indeed been neglected, and that
during a period when the press has been un-
usually prolific. 1 his department of labour,
as far as regards the bringing to public no-
tice new woi ks has been amply fulfilled by
the daily press ; and beyond this it would
be hardly safe to extend the province of cri-
ticism in this country, where the Editor can-
not conceal his own fallibility under the dis-
guise ofan anonymous review.”

That the press has done and is manfully
doing its duty we willingly allow; but we are
unable to perceive why in this country it is
“hardly safe” to extend the province of cri-
ticism, because our “ fallibility cannot be
concealed under an anonymous disguise”
nosv in the first place we have yet to learn

Calcutta Gazette.

36 RECENT DISCOVERIES OF METEORIC STONES & MINERAL WATERS.

the necessity for concealment at all. In the
next, we cannot understand the danger of
fearlessly expressing our opinions on sub-
jects properly open to discussion, especially
if we divest ourselves of rancour in the mode
of expressing them. In the field of criti-
cism there are very few who do not find out
their “ fallibility,” and probably none, who
in advancing speculative judgments, can
hope to escape from controversy. This, hovv-
ever, should not be of force to deter us.
Though our attempts may prove short of in-
fallibility, there is yet this use in urging them,
that we thereby draw forth the opinions of
others, and we have been told by our great
moralist, that it is only by “ much emenda-
tion that the truth is elicited.”

The Contents of the January No . are —

1. Analysis of a Tibetan Medicine, by M.
Alexander Csoma de Kbrbs.

2. Journal of a Tour through Rambree,
with a geological sketch of the country, and
brief account of the customs, &c. of its Inha-
bitanls. By Lieut. Wm. Foley.

3. Description of the (so called ) mountain
Trout. By Dr. J. McClelland, Assistant
Surgeon 30th N. 1 .

4. Discovery of the genuine Tea Plant in
upper Assam.

5. Abs : meteorol. Observations Nasi-
rabad, by Lieut. -Col. Thos. Oliver.

6. Longitude of Nasirabad, by Lunar-
transits and by Observers, of Moon, culmi-
nating Stars. By Lieut. -Col. I . Oliver,

7. Pi’oceedingsof the Assiatic Society.

8. Miscellaneous.

1. Explanation of the diffei-ences in the
quantity of rain at different elevations.

2. An unusual sea monster in the Bay.

3. Suspension of the Brahmaputra River.

9. Meteorological Register.

From which we propose to make our re-
view and selections in our next publication.

ON RECENT IMPROVEMENTS AND
DISCOVERIES IN SCIENCE.

METEORIC SrONF.S.

According to HoA'ath Stromeyer, copper
exists in all meteoric mas=ses. He examined
specimens from Agram, Lenarto, Elbogen,
Bitburgh, Gotha, Siberia, Louisana, Brazil,
Buenos Ayres, and the Cape of Good Hope,
and found'inallof them an appreciable quanti-
ty of copper, varying from O’l to ()’‘2 per cent.,
and he came to the conclusion that the presence
of this metal must be considered as constant
a character of these substances as are the
nickel and cobalt, which are found in greaL
er proportion, (Ann. der Physik, xxvii. 689.)

Berzelius appears to have entirely overlook-
ed this metal, in meteoric stones, for. in the
analysis of a mass from Macedonia, he found
Silica 39'5G, Protoxide of iron 13-83, Pero-
xide of iron 5'00, 18-83, Alumina 2-70, Oxide
of chromiuni O'SO, Lime 1-86, Magnesia 26 30,
Oxide of Nickel O' 10, Oxide of manganese 2.
40, Potash 2.08, Soda 1.2N Total 95-53.
{Kongal. Vetensk, A'cad. Hand. 1828, 1.56.)

H. Stromeyer e famined a mass found at
Magdebourg in 1831, the specific gravity of
which was 7.3^b ard its constituents.
Iron 74-6.5, Molybdenum 10-19, Copper4-32,
Cobalt 3-07, Nickel 1-23, Manganese O-Ol,
Arsenic 247, Phosphorus 2 27, Sulphur 92,
Silicon 39, Carbon 48, Total 10 OOO,

Another body found near the Iron Works
of Rothehutte, in the Hartz, afforded. Iron 81*
14, Molybdenum LOS, Copper 7-69, Cobalt
Nickel 2-40, Manganese O'll, Arsenic 1-82,
Phosphorus '81, Sulphur *62, Silicon 194,
Carbon -69, Calcium -29, Total 98,62.

(Ann. des Mines, v. 568.)

EAINE. — Hermann,* of Moscow, examin-
ed a substance termed inflammable snow,
which fell on the 11th April 1832, thirteen
versts from Wolokalraask, and covered a
considerable space of ground, to the depth of
1 to 2 inches. Colour, wine-yellow, transpa-
rent ; soft and elastic, like gum ; sp.gr, I’l ;
smelling like ranced oil; burns with a blue
flame, without smoke; insoluble in cold
water ; soluble in boiling water, upon which
it swims ; soluble in boiling alcohol ; dissolves
also in carbonate of soda, and acids separate
from the solution a yellow viscid substance,
soluble in cold alcohol, and which contains a
peculiar acid. Analyzed by oxide of copper,
it gave Carbon 61-.5, Hydrogen 7'0, Oxygen
31 -5, Total lOifO

Hermann calls it Eaine, signifying oil of
heaven.

MINERAL— WATERS.

1. SALINE SP RINGS. -Boussingault has
observed numerous springs of this nature
among the Andes, with iodine in solution, and
has remarked that the inhabitants who em-
ployed the water of such springs for domestic
purposes were free from goitre, a disease ex-
tremely prevalent in the elevated parts of
South America. They appear indiscriminate-
ly in the ancient and modern strata. The
most remarkable are those of Guaca, near
Medellia, in Antioquia, where the water pro-
ceeds from a micacious syenite, covered oc-
casionally by quartzose sandstone, contain-
ing layers of pyritic lignite. At the village
of Samson, on the Rio Negro, there is a
spring which contains so much glauber salt
thatit is little used. It consists of Chloride
of sodium 43, Sulphate of soda 53, Carbonate
of soda 10, Carbonate of lime 3-0, Jodine a
trace 1.

The district of Vega de Supia contains
many saline springs. The principal rock is
syenitic porphyry, which possesses traces of
iodine. Five wells hold in solution the fol-
lowing substances : —

* Poog. Ann. xxviii. 568.

DYSLUITE DISCOVEUED BY AMERICAN MINERALOGISTS.

37

Chloride of sodium . . . ,
Chloride of calcium...
Chloride of macjnesium.

Sulphate of soda

Sulphate of lime

Carbonate of soda

Carbonate of lime

Carbonate of magnesia
Iodine

Penol.

M uela.

Ciruela

Mogan.

Quinchia

81-

65-

59-

59-

83-

9-

0-

14-

0-

0-

I-

0-

14*

0-

0-

0-

31-

0-

37-

9.

9-

0-

13-

0-

0.

0*

4-

0-

1-

0-

0*

5-

0*

2-

8-

0-

0-

0'

1-

0-

trace

trace

trace

trace

trace

1-00

1-05

1-00

1-00

I -00

The valley of Magdalena possesses some
iodine waters, and that of Cauca a great num -
ber.

On the plain of Mira is situated the base of
the volcano of iCotoraxo. This plain is co-
vered with sand and common salt, which is
most probably derived from the subjacent
trachyte, a rock containing glassy felspar
imbedded in a basis of pyroxen.

WATE 11 OF SONGR AGNE. - The tem-
perature of this water is 7^'" C. (4 )g° F.) The
soring is situated 706 metres (770§ yards)
above the Mediterranean, and arises from a
sandstone covered by secondary limestone.
'J'he salts present with their water of crystalli-
zation are, according to Berther,t Sulphate
of soda 12'22, Sulphate of lime 5 85, Sul-
phate of magnesia 4’6S, Chloride of potas-
sium 2’37, Chloride of sodium 74'88. Total
lOO’OO no trace of bromine or iodine could be

3. SOULTZ, — This water has a specific
gravity of 1‘2884, and contains Chloride of
magnesium lo'84, Chloride of calcium G’19,
Chloride of sodium 10 94, Chloride of potas-
sium 2 08, Bromide of sodium 0’50, Total 35-55,
II. ACIDULOUS WATERS.-I. Ue-
berlingen on the borders of Lake Constance,
possesses a copious acidulous spring, which
has a temperature 1 to 12°, and a density
of 1*0;>2, containing in the pound of 16 ounces,
the following substances, by the analysis of
Herberger- {Journ. de Pharm. xix. 192.,
Carbonic acid 266 6, cubic inches Azote 43-3)
Proto-carbonate of iron 41'424, grams. Proto-
carbonate of manganese 3-936, Sub-carbonate
of soda 14-()00, Sulphate of soda 39'0l), Chlo-
ride of calcium 30-280, Chloride of magne-
sium !9-9'20, Matter containing azote 32-600,
Carbonate of lime 88'52'), Alumina 6 000,
Silica 32-001), Total 360‘880. _

The ochry substance which it deposits con-
sists of Hydrous protoxide of iron 75-70,
Oxide of manganese 00-3(>, Extractive mat-
ter OO'fiO, Carbonate of lime 13‘ 45, Carbonate
of magnesia 2’93, Silica and alumina 7'00,
Total 100-00. ^

This water is employed as a tonic,

2. CRAMAUX.— Its temperature is 4° 5'
C. (40° V F.) 24 litres (l|galls.) analyzed by
Lamothet afforded Carbonic acid g vol. Car-
bonate of iron 50 gr. Sulphate of iron 12, Car-
bonate of lime 48, Sulphate of lime 24, Muri-

ate of lime 48, Muriate of potash 48, Sulphate
of magnesia 7, Animal matter 3, Total 240,

3. ACIDULOUS WATER OF C AM-
BON.—M. Blondeau, {Journal de Pharm,
xxi. 674 ) finds this water, which is situated
in the department of Cantal, in a clay slate
formation to contain Bi-rarbonate of soda,
Carbonate of magnesia, Carbonate of lime,
Sulphate of soda. Chloride of sodium. Carbo-
nic acid, Traces of organic matter.

HI. HOT SPRINGS. -In the neighbour-
hood of the volcanoes of the Cordilleras, ac-
cording to Boussingault, the temperature of
thermal springs does not diminish with the
altitude, from which it would appear, that
the heat is derived from internal fires. They
contain carbonates of lime and magnesia,
chlorides of calcium, and sodium, sulphates
of soda, lime, magnesia, traces of silica, car-
bonic acid, and sulphuretted hydrogen gases,
(Ann. de Chim. 52. 181.)

IV. SULPHUREOUS WATERS.—
WATERS OF ST. GENIS. -Professor
Lavini procured from a litre (6TU2 cubic
inches) of this water, 19 5 cubic centimetres,
(LI? cubic inch) of carbonic acid, 5 (O'S cubic
inch) sulphuretted hydrogen, and 17'5(1.05
cubic inch) of azote, and the following
solid contents in the same volume of water :
Silica 0 0254 grams. Peroxide of iron 0-{j066,
Alumina 0-0(H5, Carbonate of lime O-0535,
Iodide of sodium O' 0136, Sulphate, of soda,
0‘0l5I, Carbonate of soda 0-2733, Chloride
of sodium 2- 1034, Total 2-4924.

St. Genis is situated in Piedmont, about 4
leagues to the East of I'urin. 'I'he tempera-
ture of the water is 5° R. (4i l°iF.) {Me-
morie della Reale Accademia, delle
Scienze di Torino, xxxvi. 19.) Records of
Science 1835.

ON DYSLUTfE.

By Thomas Thomson, M, D., F. R. S., &c.
Regieus Professor of Chemistry in the Univer'
sity of Glasgoiv.

The mineral of which I mean to give an
account in this paper, was sent to me at least
seven years ago, by Ur. Torrey of New
York; and some years after, I received a
fresh supply from Mr. Nuthall. Dr. Torrey
informed me in his letter, that it had been
discovered by two American Mineralogists,
(I think they were Mr Keating and Mr.
Vanuxem ; though of this I am not quite

+ Memoirs. 313.

I Journ. de Pharm. xix. 49*2-

38

DYSLUITE A NEW MINERAL OF A CURIOUS NATURE.

sure, as I have not Dr. Torrey’s letter at
liaml,) who gave it the name of dysluite from
its difficult fusibility with carbouateof soda,
and who were engaged in analyzing it.
Tliis information prevented me from doing any
thing more than giving it a cursory examina-
tion, which satisfied me that dysluite was a
new mineral of rather a curious nature, and
highly deserving the attention of mineralo-
gists. Being unwilling to deprive the Ameri-
can mineralogists of the credit which might
accrue to them fiom the analysis, T cautious-
ly abstained from alluding to it, in a paper on
the analysis of American IVIinerals, published
in the Annals of the Lyceum of Natural
History of New York in the year 1828. But
six years having elapsed since that period,
and no analysis nor notice of dysluite having
appeared in the interval, I take it for granted,
that the American gentlemen have relinquish-
ed their intention of prosecuting the analysis,
and that, therefore, 1 ought no longer to
withhold the knowledge of tins cuiious miner-
al from mineralogists.

Dysluite occurs at Stirling, New Jersey,
interspersed through a dark coloured lime-
stone, and immediately mixed with crystals of
octahedral iron ore and several other minerals,
which it is unnecessary to describe here. I
obtained it by dissolving the limestone in
muriatic acid, and picking out the crystals of
dysluite from the other crystals and grains
with which it was mixed.

Colour yellowish brown, sometimes lighter,
sometimes darker. In grains varying from the.
size of a mustard seed , r.o that of a pea ; most
of them crystallized in regular octahedrons.
Texture foliated. Lustre of the faces of
cleavage splendent, resinous, the faces of the
crystals are frequently rough and have little
lustre ; easily frangible ; hardness 4.5 j spe-
cific gravity 4’551.

Before the blowpipe assumes a red colour
but does not fuse, on cooling it resumes its
natural colour and appearance. When heat-
ed on charcoal it becomes darker but does not
melt. With carbonate of soda it does not
fuse; but the soda while in fusion appears
red, on cooling it resumes its white colour.
With biphosphate of soda it does pot fuse.
The flux while in fusion assumes a fine red
colour ; when it becomes solid, the colour
changes to yellow ; and when quite cold, it
resumes its usual colours and transparency,
the assay remaining unaltered in the centre.
With borax it dissolves very slowdy. The
bead is transparent and has a very deep gar-
net red colour.

I. To determine the component parts of
this mineral, 100 grains of it were reduced to a
very fine powder, and heated for an hour in
a platinum crucible with thrice the weight of
anhydrous carbonate of soda. 'I he mixture
had been fused, and when cold had a fine
green colour, indicating the presence of man-
ganese in the mineral. On digesting the
fused mass in muriatic acid, 67 grains of the
mineral remained undecomposed.

This residue was again fused with thrice its
weight of carbonate of soda, and kept for an
hour in a strong red heat; the fused mass
was similar to the former. Being digested in

mnriatic acid, 33 grains of the mineral still
remained undecomposed.

These 33 grains being terated with thrice
their weight of carbonate of soda as before,
the whole dissolved in muriatic acid, except a
few flocks ; which being heated a fourth time
with carbonate of soda, and the mixture di-
gested in muriatic acid, a complete solution
was obtained.

2, 'File solution in muriatic acid had a
strong yellowish red colour, shewing that
the mineral contained much peroxide of iron.
They were all mixed together and evaporated
to dryness in a porcelain dish.

3, The dry mass, which had a yellow
colour, was digested for an hour in water,
acidulated with muriatic acid, and then pas-
sed through a filter. There remained on the
filter a white powder, which, being washed,
dried .and ignited, weighed 2 grains ; dried by
the blow- pipe, it melted with effervescence
into a transparent colourless glass with car-
bonate of soda, and was not soluble in acids.
It was, therefore, silica.

4, The liquid which had passed through the
filter, together with the washings, was eva-
porated down to a manageable quantity. It
was then neutralized and precipitated by
caustic ammonia, added in excess. The
whole was thrown on a filter, and the yel-
lowish red residue on the filter well, washed.
The colourless liquid which passed through
the filter was concentrated on the sand-bath,
partly to drive off the exces.s of ammonia, and
partly to reduce it to a manageable quantity ;
during the concentration wiiite flocks fell.
The quantity of this precipitate was much in-
creased on adding carbonate of soda to the
liquid.

I’his precipitate was collected on a filter,
washed and dried. It possessed the following
properties :

(1.) When heated to redness, it became
yellow, but resumed its white colour on
cooling.

(2.) Soluble in sulphuric, nitric and muri-
atic acids. The solutions colourless; and
when neuiral, possessed the peculiar taste
which characterizes the salts of zinc.

(3.) The nitric acid solution precipitated in
white flocks by caustic ammonia, re-dissolved
by an excess of the precipitant.

■ (4.) Precipitated in white flocksby cau'^tic
potash, and re-dissolved by an excess of the
precipitant.

(5.) Precipitated in white flocks by the
alkaline carbonates, and not re-dissolved by
an exce.'s of the precipitant.

(6.) J’he sulphuric acid solution being
cautiously evaporated, yielded transparent
white crystals in four-sided prisms, almost
rectanglar, and easily recognizeable as sul-
phate of zinc.

It is obvious that the powder thu.s obtained
was oxide of zinc,

To the liquid from which this precipitate
had been obtained, oxalate of ammonia was
added, and the liquid concentrated. In this
way an additional precipitate was slowly ob-
tained, which was oxalate of zinc.

All these precipitates being collected and
exposed to a strong red heat, left 16.8 grains
of oxide of zinc.

AND DESERVING THE ATTENTION OF IMINEIIALOGISTS.

39

5. The red precipitate collected on the
filter, (in paragraph 4) was well washed, and
while still moist, dissolved in muriatic acid.
This solution was mixed with a great excess
of caustic potash, and boiled for two hours
in a porcelain vessel ; the whole w'as then
passed through a filter. The liquid which
passed through was colourless ; the matter
remaining on the filter was dark red.

6. The potash solution which thus passed
through the filter, together with the washings
of the filter, wasevaporated to dryness in ra-
ther a strong heat, and the dry residue being
mixed with water, was digested (in the cold)
in muriatic acid. Awhile powder remained
undissolved, which, being separated and ig-
nited, weighed 13.04 grains. It possessed the
following characters.

(1.) When heated before the blow-pipe
with nitrate of cobalt, it assumed a beautiful
blue colour.

(2.) It dissolved by heat in sulphuric acid,
and the solution being mixed with a solution
of sulphate of ammonia, yielded crystals of
alum. The powder then was alumina.

7. The muriatic acid solution being super-
saturated with carbonate of ammonia, white
precipitate fell, which being separated and ig-
nited, possessed the characters of alumina, and
weighed 17.45 grains.

Thus, the whole alunina extracted from the
mineral was 30.49 grains.

8. The dark red precipitate which was col-
lected on the filter (in paragraphs) being
dried and ignited, weighed 50’53 grains,

9. It was digested in muriatic acid. The
whole dissolved except a white powder
weighing 0-996 grains. It was silica slightly
impregnated with iron.

10. The muriatic acid solution was mixed
with carbonate of ammonia till it was render-
ed as neutral as possible ; indeed a few flocks
had precipitated. It was then heated in a
flask. Carbonic acid gas escaped in abun-
dance, and the whole peroxide of iron was
precipitated. 'I’he whole was thrown on a
filter, the oxide of iron was collected on the
filter and washed ; the colourless solution
which passed through being mixed with car-
boiiate of ammoi\ia, a white'precipitatee fell,
which became brown by strong ignition, and
possessed the character of oxide of’ manganese.
It was equivalent to 7*76 grains of protoxide
of manganese.

11. I'he peroxide of iron remaining on the
filter being dried and ignited, weighed
41 ‘774 grains.

From the preceding analysis the constituents
of dysluite appear to be

Atoms.

Alumina

30*490

13-55

8*

Oxide of zinc

16-800

3-2

1*89

Peroxide of iron

41*774

8*38

4-6

-Protoxide of manganese.

7-760

1-69

1-

Silica

2*996

1*498

0 88

Water

0-400

10012

If we admit the silica to be only an acci-
dental mixture, it is evident that dysluite con-
sist ot

8 atoms alumina
2 ,, oxide of zinc

5 ,, peroxide of iron
1 ,, protoxide of manganese.

The alumina obviously acts the part of an
acid, as it does in spinell, automolite, sap-
phirine, and candite. But in all of these,
several atoms of alumina unite with one of the
basis, which are manganese and peroxide of
iron. But dysluite is composed of simple alu-
minates, the formulaexhihiiing its constitution,
being

5/ Al. X 2 Z Al. X mn Al.

It is worthy of remark, that the crystalline
from of dysluite is tlie regular octahedron,
the same from which spinell and all the other
crystallized minerals, in which alumina acts
the part of an acid, assume.

A'ofe. — d'he four minerals mentioned, in
which alumina acts the part of an acid in
union with a base, have their composition
represented by the following formulae, as de-
duced from analyses made in the laboratory
at Glasgow.

1 Spinelle, Sp. Gr. 3-5-23 M Al.‘

2 Sapphirine ,, 3 4-28 2 M Al.*^ -f MS

3 Candite ,, 3*617 8 Al A 1 .2 4* 5/Al.« i

4 Automalie ,, 4 261 Z Al.*

To which may

be added Chry-

soveryl „ 3*711 GGl. A1.*4-/A1 .Ti

Records of Science 1835.

PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS.
Fon 1834, PART II.

(Continued from p, 20.)

II. INTENSITY NECESSARY FOR
ELECTROLYZATION, -In this part of
the paper the author demonstrates tliat by
producing a current by the action of sulphuric
acid upon amalgamated zinc in one vessel,
passing it through acid in a second vessel by
platinunn electrodes, a current may pass for a
long period, but may be of so low an intensi-
ty, as to fall below that degrea at which the
elements of water una.ssisted by any auxiliary
force capable ot forming a combination with
the matter of electrodes, separated from each
other. He found that a solution of sulphate
of soda can conduct a current of electricity in-
capable of decomposing the neutral salt pre-
sent ; that _ this salt, in a state of so-
lution, requires a particular intensity for the
separation of its elements, and that the requi-
site intensity is superior to that necessary for
the decomposition of iodide of potassium
likewise m solution, Fu.sed chloride of lead
can also conduct a current having an intensi-
ty below that required to effect decomposition.
Fused chloride of silver is decomposed by a*
similar current. A drop of water and fused
nitre conducted a current without decompo-
sition, It appears, farther, that the necessa-
ly electrolytic intensity for water, is the
same whether it be pure, or rendered a belter
conductor by the addition of acids, for the
power of acids, alkalies, salts, and other
bodies in solution to increase conducting
power, appears to hold good only where the

40 EXPERIMEN'I’S BY FARADAY LEADING TO IMPORTANT RESULTS.

electrolyte through which the current passes
undergoes decomposition.

Currents of electricity produced by less
than eight or ten series of voltaic elements
can be reduced to that intensity at which
water can conduct them without suffering de-
composition, by causing them to pass through
three or four vessels, in which water shall be
successively interposed between platinum sur-
faces.

'This subject is worthy of prosecution,
in order to enable us to arrange electrolytes
in the order of their electrolytic intensities. In
terminating this portion of his paper, the au-
thor observes, in relation to intensity general-
ly, that when a voltaic current is produced,
having a certain intensity dependant upon the
strength of the chemical affinities by which
that current is excited, it can decompose a
pai'ticular electrolyte without relation to the
quantity of electricity passed, the descompo-
sition of the electrolyte being pioduced, if the
intensity is too high. If this be confirmed,
then w'e may arrange matters so that the
same quantity of electricity may pass in the
same time into the same decomposing body,
in the same state, and yet differ in intensity,
decomposing in one case, and in the other
not.

III. VOLTAIC BATTERY.-From the
principles laid down, it is evident that the
quantity of electricity in the current cannot be
increased by multiplying the quantity of
metal oxidized ; a single pair of plates,
throwing as much electricity into the form of
a current, by the oxidation of 32’5 grs. of
zinc as would be produced by increasing the
quantity of oxidized metal a thousand times.
For the action in each cell is not to increase
the quantity set in motion in any one cell, but
to assist in urging that quantity forward, and
in this manner, the intensity, is increased with-
out affecting the quantity ,heyon.d what is pro-
portionate to the zinc oxidized in any single
cell of the series. Ten pairs of amalgama-
ted zinc and platinum plates, when acted upon
by sulphuric acid, pioduced such a quantity
of gas as to prove that just as much electrici-
ty, and no more, had passed through the series
often pairs ofplates, as had been transmitted
through or would have been put in motion by
any single pair, notwithstanding the consump-
tion of ten times the quantity of zinc. All these
facts tend to shew that the act of decomposi-
tion opposes a certain obstruction to the pas-
sage of the electric current, and that this op-
posing force is overcome in proportion to the
intensity of the decomposing current. When
ordinary zinc is used in a voltaic pile, the
waste of power is very great, for 3^ ounces of
zinc, properly oxidized, can circulate a cur-
rent capable of decomposing nearly an ounce of
water, and of evolving 2400 cubic inches of
hydrogen. This waste, however, is greater
with common zinc than with the pure metal,
for, when common zinc is acted upon by
dilute sulphuric acid, portions of copper, lead,
cadmium, are set free on its surface, and form
small but active voltaic circles, which act ap-
parently on the zinc surface, but, in reality,
upon those accidental metals. This effect is
removed by employing amalgamated zinc
plates, which afford the full equivalent of

electricity for the oxydation of a ceilain
quantity of zinc, but are active only when
the electrodes are connecterl. This im-
provement in the voltaic battery is of great
importance, for effects of decomposition can
now be obtained with ten pairs of plates,
which formerly required 500 or 1000 pairs of
plates. Dr. Faraday conceives that in
further improving the battery, plates of plati-
num or silyermay very likely be used instead
of copper, in order to avoid the occasional so-
lution of the copper, and its precipitation on
the zinc.

IV. RESISTANCE OF ELECTRO-
LYTES TO ELECTROLYTIC ACTION.
—By interposing a platinum plate, and adding
sulphuric acid to a pair of zinc and platinum
plates, the current was completely stopped,
by requiring it to decompose water, and evolve
both its elements before it should pass. 'J he
same effect almost was produced when two
pairs of plates were used, and one interposed
plate. But, in the case of three pairs of
plates, a current was induced which passed an
interposed platinum plate, but was stopped by
two. The current originated by four pairs of
plates was also obstructed by two interposed
platinum plates. Five pairs of zinc and pla-
tinum, with two interposed platinum plates,
yielded a feeble current. Six voltaic plates,
and four intervening platinum plates, induced
a feeble current. The effects of retardation
were altered when a variety was made in the
nature of the liquid employed between the
plates, niti ic acid appearing to increase the in-
tensity of the current, muriatic acid transmit-
ting a current more easily than pure sulphuric
acid. Increasing the strength of the sulphuric
acid caused no change in the effect.

On varying the nature of the interposed
plate, it was found that with one voltaic pair
and one interposed zinc plate, as powerful a
current was induced as if the interposed zinc
plates was absent. With two amalgamated
zinc plates there was still a powerful current,
but some obstruction oocuied. On using
three intermediate zinc plates, there was still
further retardation, though a good current o/
electricity passed. Plates of copper seemed
at first to occasion no obstruction, but after a
few minutes the current almost entirely
ceased.

All these retarding effects exhibit most dis-
tinctly the chemical relations and source of
the current, and add to the evidence of the
identity of the two.

V- REMARKS ON THE VOLTAIC
BAITERY. — The action of the battery is
weakened by the formation during its activity
of substances which may even tend to produce
a countercurrent. In an experiment made by
Faraday, the retardation of the current was
obviously referable to the state of the film of
fluid in contact with the zinc plate, the acid
of the film being instantly neutralized by the
oxide formed.

A secoud cause of diminution in the force
of the voltaic battery, is, that extraordinary
state of the surfaces of the metals described by
Ritter, which causes them to oppose the pas-
sing current.

The author directs, 1st. That w^eak and
exhausted charges should never be used at the

^lil^MlCAL DECOMPOSITION FROM ELECTRICITY OF THE TORPEDO. 41

same time with strong and fresh ones, in the
difterent cells of a trough, or the different
troughs of a battery, because, the plates in the
weaker cells retard the progress of the elec-
tricity originating in the stronger cells.

2d. The associating of strong and weak pairs
of plates should be avoided, as one part is apt
to act an interposing plate.

3d. Reversing tin plates, either by accident
or otherwise, has an injurious effect, by oppo-
sing tlie current in a manner similar to inter-
posed plates of platinum. For, in a series of
four pairs of zinc and platinum plates, in
dilute sulphuric acid, if one pair be reversed
it almost neutralizes the power of the whole.
Other causes affect the passage of the elec-
trical curient, and there is one especially of
common occurrence, viz : when the copper is
precipitated upon the zinc in the cells.

OBSERVATIONS ON TORPEDO.

By Dr. Davy.

Dr. Davy's paper on the Torpedo oculata
and diversicolor, termed indiscriminately by
the Maltese, Hnddayla, contains some ex-
peiimentson the electricity of these species of
animals, which establish the anticipation of
Faraday, that by the application of Harris’s
electrometer to the torpedo, the evolution of
heat would be observed. In his experiments
detailed in a former volume of the Transac-
tions, it was demonstrated that the electricity
of the torpedo is capable of acting like voltaic
electricity in effecting chenrical decomposi-
tions. He enumerates at present all the tests
or indications of the electricity of the torpedo
now known, which are, 1st, the philosophi-
cal effect, as the sensation it imparts is some-
times calls : 2d, the chemical precipitation of
iodine, the decomposition of water, &c. : 3d, its
effect on the thermometer, galvanometer, and
on steel in the spiral. 'I'hese tests are in point of
delicacy, in the order in which they are enu-
merated- Dr. Davy has been unsuccessful in
his attempts to elicit a spark from the torpedo,
although it has been said that a spark has
been obtained fiom the Gymnotns electricus.

With regard to the seat of the electrical
power, it appears that when the brain has
been divided longitudinally, the fish has con-
tinued to give shocks. When the brain w'as
completely removed the fish instantly lost this
power. Humboldt stated that a shock may
be procured by touching only one surface of
the fish, but Davy finds that it is necessary
to touch the opposite surface of the electrical
organs, or a conductor or conductors connec-
ted w'ith them, before a shock can be
received. On some occasions a shock was
received when only one surface was appar-
enlly touched, but in that case the discharge
probably took place through the water, and
when one surface is touched, the animal
instinctively makes an effort to bring the
other surface in contact with the offending
body, ^

There appears, however, to be no connexion
between the rnuscular and electrical power.

1 wo views may be taken of the phenomenon.

It may be considered either, 1st, a form or
variety of common electricity; or 2d, a
distinct kind ; or 3d, not a single power, but

a combination of many powers. The first
opinion is supported by Dr. Faraday, The
only objection to it is the interruption of the
torpedinal electricity by the smallest quantity
of air, and its want of the power and attrac-
tion of the air, which affords some foundation
for the second idea.

The origin of the electricity of the fish
may also be urged as an argument for its
specific nature, but without much plausibi-
lity, because, we are ignorant of its cause
and nature. The third opinion may serve as
a guide for more minute investigation. The
author suggests that other varieties of electri-
city may owe their effects to the union of
several powers, or ethereal fluids, and their
peculiarities to the predominance, in various
degrees, of these fluids. Dr. Davy found the
skin covering the electrical organs, deeper
coloured and thicker than below, more vas-
cular, with stronger muscles, and more
mucus, the under surface having a greater
supply of cutaneous nerves, and a blood-ves-
sel enlarged into a little bulb, situated one
on each side of the porta, below the plexus
of nerves supplying the pectoral fin, the
use of which may be to propel the blood into
the pectoral fin and electrical organ.

EXPERIMENTS ON THE VELOCITY
OF ELECTRICITY.

By Mr. VVheatstone.

The only remaining paper connected with
electricity, in this portion of the Transactions,
consists of an account of experiments by Mr,
VVheatstone, on the velocity and duration of
electric light. In 1747 Dr. Watson found
discharges through a circuit, of four miles in
extent, two miles through wire and two
through the ground, to be apparently simul-
taneous. Mr. Wheatstone repeated a similar
experiment, substituting for the imperfect
j udgment of the eye, a revolving mirror. This
instrument revolved 800 times in a second,
and during this time the image of a stationary
point would describe 1600 circles; the elon-
gation of a spark through half a degree, a
quantity obviously visible, and equal to one
inch seen at the distance of 10 feet, would
therefore indicate that it exists the 1,152,000th
part of a second. The deviation of half a
degree between the two extreme sparks, the
wire being half a mile in length, would indicate
a velocity of 576,000 miles in a second. This
estimation is on the supposition that the elec-
tricity passes from one end of the wire to the
other: if, however, that two fluids in one
theory, or the disturbances of equilibrium in
the other, travel simultaneously from the two
ends of the wire, the velocity measured will
be half that in the former case, or 288,000
miles in a second. The greatest elongation
of the sparks was 24°, indicating a duration
of about the 24,000th part of a second. The
general conclusions wdiich the author draws
from his experiments are, 1st. The velocity of
electricity through a copper wire exceeds that
of light through the planetary space. 2d.
The disturbance of electric equilibrium, in a
wire communicating at its extremities with
two coatings of a charged jar, travels with

42 THE EFFICIENCY OF PADDLE WHEELS WHEN DEEPLY IMMERSED.

equal velocity from the two ends of the wire,
and occurs latest in the middle of the circuit
3d, The light of electricity in a state of high
tension, has a less duration than the millionth
part of a second. 4th, 'I’he eye is capable of
perceiving objects distinctly which are pre-
sented to it during the same small interval
of time.

PHYSICS, &c.

Mr. Hamilton’s paper on a general me-
thod in Dynamics is a most elaborate
one. He shews that in the method for-
merly employed to develope the laws of
motion, the determination of the motion of a
free point in space, depends on the integra-
tion of three equations, in the ordinary differ-
entials of the second order, and the determi-
nation- of the motions of a system of free
points attracting or repelling one another,
depends on the integration of a system of
such equations, in number threefold the
number of the attracting or repelling points,
unless we previously diminish by unity this
latter number, by considering only relative
motions. Mr. Hamilton’s method is to reduce
the problem to the search and differentiation
of a single function, which satisfies two
partial differential equations of the first order,
and of the second degree, and every other
dynamical problem respecting the motions of
any system, however r?umerous, is reduced, in
like manner, to the study of one central
function.

THEORY OF CLAIRAUT.

IMr. Ivory demonstrates that the beautiful
theoiy of Clairaut, which assumes for the
foundation of its superstructure, a mass of
fluid in equilibrium, and that the pressure of
every new stratum upon the surface of which
it is laid, is caused solely by the forces in
action at that surface, is very satisfactory
when no cause of motion emanates from the
fluid itself, and all theforces in action depend
merely on the place of a particle, but is de-
fective w'heu applied to fluids consisting of
particles that act upon one another by attrac-
tion or repulsion Clairaut having omitted to
attend to the attraction of the stratum, which
is not infinitely little in its effect upon the
motion of a particle, and is expressed by the
difference of two definite integrals. The
correction of Clairaut’s theory is very impor-
tant ; because, to him belongs an essential
part of the theory of the earth, and he was the
first that entertained correct notions respect-
ing the effect to alter the form of the terra-
queous globe, produced by heterogeneity in
its structure. In the theory of the French
philosopher, tire equations of the upper sur-
face of the fluid, and of all the level surfaces
underneath it, are derived from the single
expression of the hydrostatic pressure, and are
dependant on the differential equation of the
surface.

They require, therefore, that this latter
equation be determinate and explicitly given ;
and accordingly, they are sutficient to solve
the problem, where the forces are known al-
gebraical expressions of the co-ordinalcs of

the points of action, but they are not suffici-
'ent when the forces are not explicitly given,
but depend as they do in the case of a homo-
geneous planet on the assumed figure of the
fluid. In the latter case, the solution of the
problem requires farther, that the equations
be brought to a determinate for,r), by elimi-
nating all that varieswith the unknown figure
of the fluid.

The author establishes a theory on the
subject, applies it to the principal problems
ofthe equilibrium of a homogeneous fluid at
liberty, and demonstrates that the figure of
equilibrium of a homogeneous planet can be
no other than an oblate elliptical spheroid of
revolution.

ON THE EFFICIENCY OF PADDLE
WHEELS.

Mr. Barlow draws the following inferences
from the results of various experiments made
to determine the efficiency of paddle-wheels
of steam-boats, so constructed as to make
the floats enter and leave the water nearly in
a vertical position, as compared with common
wheels, and with relation to the consumption
of fuel ; 1. When the wheel is but slightly
immersed, little advantage is gained by the
vertically acting paddle; 2. When deeply
immersed, the vertical paddle has considera-
ble advantage over the common wheel.

3. When the position of the common wheel
is vertical, it affords less resistance to the
engine, and is less effective than in any part
of its revolution, which is exactly reversed
in the case of the new wheel.

4. In any wheel, the larger the paddles
the less is the loss of power; because, the
velocity of the wheel is not required to
exceed that of the vessel in so high a degree,
in order to acquire the resistance necessary to
propel the vessel.

5. With the same boat and the same wheel
no advantage is gained by reducing the pad-
dle so as to bring out, as it is called, the full
power of the engine, the effect produced
being merely to increase the speed of the
wheel, and consume steam to no purpose.

6. With the same boat and the same wheel
the speed will be increased by diminishing
the diameter, or by reefing the paddles, the in-
crease of speed being in the ratio of the square
roots of the radii, or the cube roots of the pow-
ers employed. This is important in long voy-
ages, where the immersion of paddles is great,
in consequence of the quantity of the coals
with which steam vessels are required to be
laden. An increase of speed will be given,
amounting to nearly one mile per hour, by
reducing the diameter of the wheel so as to
allow the engine to perform its full duty.

7. An advantage would be gained by a
wheel of large diameter, as far as the immer-
sion of the paddle produced by loading the
vessel is concerned, as it would not so sen-
sibly affect the angle of inclination at which
it euiered the water. But, to have large
wheels, it is necessary either to have the
engines made with long strokes, or to have
the paddle-wheel on a different shaft, in order
to diminish the speed.

SOURCES OF MOTION AND SENSATION.

43

ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY.

Sir Charles Bell, in his paper on the brain
begins by enumerating some of the impedi-
ments which have retarded the discovery of
tbe structure and functions of that organ. 1.
The nature of the inquiry, since opposite re-
sults must be expected in making investiga-
tion upon a subject so delicate, In practice,
we find effects produced by causes which
seem quite inadequate. The presence of a
small specula of bone will sometimes be
attended by no consequence, and at other
times will give rise to violent convulsions. 2.
The disturbance of its circulation, for no
organ depends more intimately upon the
condition of the circulation within it than
the brain. 3. The most frequent source of
error is the obscurity which hangs over the
subject, for not one of the grand divisions of
the brain has yet been distinguished by its
function. Hence have arisen imaginary
theories which always tend to bury a science
in obscurity. The present inquiries of the
author are directed to the prosecution of the
fact discovered by himself, that the nerves of
motion and sensation originate from different
sources. He follows up these tracts ; marks
the portion of the brain to which they ulti-
mately tend ; ascertains the effect of diseases
on these parts, and compares the system with
the anatomical details. The consequences
which he has drawn from this investigation
are : 1st, that sensibility and motion belong
to the cerebrum : 2d, that two columns
descend from each hemisphere, one of which
the anterior, gives origin to the anterior
spiral roots of the spinal nerves, and is dedica-
ted to voluntary motion ; the other sends out
the posterior roots of the spinal nerves, and
the sensitive root of the fifth nerve, and is the
column for sensation : 3d, that the columns
of motion which come from different sides of
the cerebrum, join and decussate in the me-
dulla oblongata, and that the columns of
sensation also join and decussate in the me-
dulla oblongata : 4th, that these anterior and
posterior columns bear,in every circumstance,
a very close resemblance to one another,
agreeing in their sensorial expansions, being
widely extended in their hemispheres, and in
every respect, except in the nervous fila-
ments to which they give origin.

The anatomical descriptions are illustra-
ted by drawings, which will be found parti-
cularly serviceable in unravelling, as far as
anatomy can at present carry us, some of the
intricacies of the cerebral organ. The pons
varolii, we observe, in an especial manner,
has received much attention from the distin-
guished author.

ON THE GENERATION OF THE
MARSUPIAL ANIMALS.

By R. Owen, Esq.

The generation of Marsupial animals, which
constitute a distinct tribe of mammalia, of
which the kangaroo and opossum are the
principal members, has hitherto been invol-
ved in much obscurity. But Mr. Owen, who
has been fortunate enough to have it in his

power to examine the gravid uterus of a kan.
garoo, has observed some important facts;
The genera of this tribe are characterized by
possessing a double uterus, and the true vagi-
na is separated either wholly, or for a consi-
derable extent, into lateral canals, while the
digestive and generative tubes both terminate
within a common cloacal outlet. In these
respects, therefore, they approach the ovi-
parous verterbrata. The foetus examined by
the author was contained in the left uterus.
No placental structure could be observed.
The chorion was very thin. A transparent
amnios enveloped this foetus. 3'he umbilical
chord was two inches in length ; the uterus
two inches in length, and above an inch in
diameter. No perceptible trace of an allan-
tois or urinary bladder could be detected ;
but in another foetus two weeks old, a ura-
chus was defected. The author concludes
from the observations of others, coupled with
his own, that the ovulum quits the ovisac as
in ordinary mammalia. In the kangaroo
uterine gestation continues 39 days ; in the
opossum 26 days. The former has been de-
termined with certainty in the Zoological
Gardens, and therefore, overturns the state-
ment of Hilaire, who made the period 4
months.

With regard to the relation between the
size of the umbilical vesicle, the least vascu-
lar placenta and a corresponding simplicity
of brain, it appears that in the kangaroo, al-
though shortly after birth the brain resembles
in structure that of the lowest vertebrata, yet
it afterwards assumes a more complex form
than that of the opossums or dasyures. The
individuals of the marsupial tribe seem low
in intelligence, never manifesting any sign of
recognition of their keepers or feeders, and
being unable to utter vocalized sounds. When
they are irritated they emit a wheezing or snar-
ling guttural sound, the necessary apparatus
for producing vocalized sounds being absent.
In this respect they resemble the repiilia.

In the author’s communication on the
ornithorhyncus paradoxus, this idea of simila-
rity and that lactation might co-exist wiilt a
mode of generation essentially similar to that
of the viper and salamander is fully confirm-
ed. The regular gradation is traced which
exists in different orders of mammalia, in
which true viviparous or placental generation
takes place, towards the ovo-viviparous or
oviparous modes, in which the exterior co-
vering of the ovum never becomes vascular.
The ornithorhyncus is shewn to constitute a
connecting link in the chain. Both of these
papers are accompanied by plates.

ON THE STRUCTURE AND FUNC-
TIONS OF TUBULUR AND CELLU-
LAR POLYPI AND OF ASCIDI^.
By J. Lister, Esquire.

Mr. Lister has observed the existence of
currents within some zoophytes.* In the

* The use of this term has been much rebro-
bated by Lamark, but notwithstanding- his cen-
sure it still continues to be employed by many
distinguished naturalists ; and it is sufficiently
expressive of a class of beings whose nature is
Still involved in great obscurity. — Edit.

44

ON THE VALUE OF GYPSUM IN AGRICULTURE.

Tubularia indiviss, a current of particles
was seen within its tube, which, in its com-
bined and steady flow, resembled the circula-
tion in plants of the genus chara. I'he
general course of the stream was parallel to
the slightly spiral lines of irregular spots on
the tube. Between tlie stomach and the
mouth a remaikable action was observed.
The mouth became swollen by a flow into it
frorn the stomach, which continued for about
a minute. The contents of the mouth were
then squeezed back into the stomach, and
during this reflux the connecting orifice was
seen distinctly open, and it continued so till
the stomach became nearly empty. The
orifice then closed gradually, preparatory
to the effort of forcing the fluid back to the
stomach. 'J’wo currents were continually
going on both in the mouth and stomach,
one flowing down the sides and an opposite
one in the axis.

These observations were made by a micros-
cope which magnified 100 times, and drawings
were taken by a camera lucida slid over the
eye piece.

In the Sertularia pluina Ellis, a current
was observed flowing in the channel back-
wards and forwards throuoh the main stem
and lateral branches of a pluma, and might
be compared to the running of sand in an
hour glass, five ebbs and flows occupying
J5j minutes. When the connexion of a
plume with the root was interrupted by ben-
ding its stem, the stream running down the
middle was observed to continue its flow up
one of the lower and stronger lateral branch-
es, and then to return down that branch and
up the main stem. The section of a stem made
below the commencement of the side branches
exhibited a small stream apparently follow-
ed by viscid matter. Cavolini first observed
this, but no subsequent writer has noticed
it. In Sertularia vumila, an irregular mo-
tion was noticed in the stomach and mouth,
and likewise, but not distinctly, in S setacea,
dichoma, and in species of Cainpanularia.

In a small Ascidia occurring on the con-
ferva elongata, circulation was observed
through the transparent coat, the particles of
the blood not exceeding •00025 inch in dia-
meter. The blood enters the heart from the
peduncle, the ventricle contracts in the mid-
dle and drives the fluid into the branchial or-
gan, and into a network of vessels over the
stomach and intestines. After the circula-
tion has gone on for a while, the pulsations
become fainter and gradually cease when the
current is reversed. A Polyclinum exhibited
also internal motions.

In Cellularia and Flustra none of the in-
ternal currents which in the sertuleriae con-
nect the different parts of the zoophyte were
observed, nor was any circulation detected.
Each animal is enclosed in its cell, and sends
out its mouth and arms through a valve. A
short sheath precedes them, from whence the
arms rise straight together, and then open to
a funnel-shaped figure of beautiful regularity,
serving probably to draw food to the mouth
by currents. Between the animals of these
genera no line of distinction could be detected.
From these physiological observations, correc-
tions may be brought about of the arrangement

of many species. The Cerialaria lendigera he
removes from the CertnLaritc nniX the Angaina-
ria angtdna from the Tubnlaricz to the Celia-
Inr polypi.

ON THE NERVOUS SYSTEM OF
THE SPHYNX LIGUSTRI.

Bv G. Newton, Esq.

In the paper of Mr. Newport, a minute de-
tail is given of the nervous system of the
Sj)hynx ligmtri during the latter stages of its
pupa and imago states, and on the means by
which its developement is effected. During
the passage of the insect from the larva to the
pupa state, the gauglia and nervous cords un-
dergo great changes both in their form and
situation, and likewise in their number ; and
after these changes have been carried to a cer-
tain extent, they are suspended for several
weeks, during which the insect hybernates.
At the end of this period the changes again
proceed. The insect remains in the pupa
state about 43 weeks, and during this period
the concentration of tlie nervous system pro-
ceeds to a much greater extent. The author
describes the double origin and connexions of
the nerves distributed to the w'ings, the object
of which appears to be, toestablish a harmony
of action between the wings in those insects es-
pecially, which are remarkable for velocity
and power ofsight, a different structure being
adopted in those which fly with less regularity
or speed.

A pueumogastric nerve or par vagum is de-
scribed, which is distributed to the organs of
digestion and respiration. The author like-
wise notices lateral cephalic ganglia, which
may be regarded as auxiliary brains, and a
sympathetic nerve; besides a set of nerves
which appear to correspond with the respira-
tory nerves of vertebrated animals. The
primary longitudinal nervous cords of insects
are shown to consist of two tracts, the one
situated over the other, corresponding to the
two columnsofwhich thespinal cord consists
in vertebrated animals ; the one forms the seat
of sensation, and the other of motion. The
same observation has also been made upon
the lobster. Scorpion, ^nd Scolopendra, and in
several insects, as the Gryllus viridissimiis,
the Carabus, and Papiliourticae.

Such are the principal papers of which
this portion of the Philosophical Transactions
consist. The substance of Mr. Powell’s
paper, with additions, is inserted in a preced-
ing part of this Journal. It is rather remark-
able, that with the exception of a short notice
of a mineral water, there is no purely chemi-
cal paper contained in it.— Records of Gene-
ral Science 1835,

EMPLOYMENT OF GYPSUM IN
AGllICULTURE.

Gypsum has been employed in Switzer-
land, Germany, England, and North America
for many years as a manure, but it was only
brought into use in France about forty years
ago. At present it is very generally used in
that country, with the exception of the de-
partments of Gard and Herault, (Ann, des
Mines, vi, 193.)

liNTERESTING PAPER ON THE THEORIES OF LIGHT.

45

For Ihe purposes of agriculture it is some-
times calcined, which deprives it of its water of
crystallization, which in the hydrous gypsum
amounts to 2 atoms, d'his preparation is at-
tended to in France, where the expense of the
process is less than in other countries. In
England, Germany , &c. it is generally em-
ployed in the crude state. The effect which
calcination produces, is to render the gypsum
more rapid in its operation, though the benefi-
cial effects are less durable. In France it is
burned in a kind of limekiln by means of coal,
after being reduced to powder.

It can be obtained in this state in Gard, for
oneshilling the llOlbs. avoird., and it costs
double the expense in Alais. Extensive na-
tural deposits occur in England in the neigh-
bourhood of the Humber, from whence it is
brouglitto Glasgow and Manchester for the
useofthe bleachers, who now employ it in
considerable quantities. Its purity may be
negatively tested by vinegar, which, if it causes
no effervescence, .shews that there is no carbo-
nate of lime present. If it swells up when
water is thrown on it, and then assumes con-
sistence, it is a sign that it has been properly
calcined. The best plaster will absorb the
greatest quantity of water. It is chiefly on
artificial meadows that we observe the best
effects from its application, more especially
on clover, lucern, sainfoin, and in general on
the leguminous tribe of plants possessing large
and thick leaves. It has a powerful effect also
upon natural meadows which contain much
clover, vetches, and other analogous plants;
but upon the grasses the effect of gypsum is
trifling. It acts, according to M. Thibaud,
by extracting the moisture from the air, and
stimulating the vital action of plants.

It sometimes doubles the product of clover,
lucern, and sainfoin. In France it is sowed
like corn with the hand, about March or April
when the plants are a few inches above the
soil, so as to allow the gypsum to fall on the
leaves. It should be done previous to rain,
but not during the fall of rain, or the exis-
tence of wind, or during frost.

The quantity of gypsum applied to the land
must vary of course with the nature of the soil.
In the course of fifteen or twenty days the
good effects resulting from its use are visible,
if circumstances have been favourable. The
benefits of one application last for two or three
years, so that it is unnecessary to spread it
every year. In Gard and Heraults ainfoin is
principally cultivated for pasture, and seems
to thrive well in dry soils, especially in stony
calcareous situations. About Alais, for the
cultivation of this plant in artificial meadows,
the ground is first ploughed in November, then
again in December, and the seed is sown in
tlie beginning of April.

In Provence and in the southern parts of
Languedoc, where the effects of frost are
less dreaded, it is sown in autumn. The
sainfoin thus cultivated in inferior soil affords
one or two crops in the year, and lasts for four
or six years ; then it is ploughed up and corn is
substituted for it. It is worthy of remark,
that lands which previously could not pro-
duce corn, has, by the use of gypsum in the
manner described, been able to raise good
crops in the midland parts of France, The

agriculturists of Alais may procure gypsum
from Anduze, Salle, Rochebelle, and Blana-
ves. 'I’o Drome it may be carried fiom Gard
and Ardeche. At Heraultit may be otbained
at Cruzy, Quarante, Calzouls, Ilerepain,
Beziers, Clermont, Loubes, and Lodeve. It
is extensively employed in Canada with the
most happy results. It was tried in York-
shire by Lord Dundas without any benefit,
but the soil upon which it was spread was as-
certained to contain a quantity of gypsum.
It might be employed, there can belittle
doubt, with great advantage in the border
counties, where the trifolium pratense has in
many places failed. 'J’his plant necessarily
from itsstrong and luxuriant nature, obviously
must require a considerable quantity oftiie
manure. If it be deficient in quantity the
plants may vegetate, but must speedily perish
from the effect of the first frost on their deli-
cate structures.

ROYAL INSTITUTION.— COMPARI-
SON OF THE NEWTONIAN AND
UNDULATORY THEORIES OF

LIGHT.

30t/t January,

Dr. Ritchie commenced his lecture on the
two theories of light which have been advo-
cated by different philosophers for many
years, with a few observations with regard to
the difficulty of acquiring knowledge of the
subject by direct experiment, in consequence
of the almost spiritual nature of the substance
upon which it is necessary to operate.

Newton whose opinion was long in vogue,
having had his attention directed to the mo-
tions of bodies, considered light as a substance
consisting of revolving spherical particles is-
suing from luminous bodies moving in straight
lines, and producing reflection or refraction
according as the extremities of the spheres,
which came in contact with a denser medi-
um, were sharp or obtuse. This theory re-
quired certain postulates which appear,
however, to be entirely gratuitous. By the
undulatory theory, which is often called the
theory of Huyngens, which was suggested to
his mind in cosequence of his attention being-
directed to the motions of the pendulum, al-
though it was known before his time, light is
considered to consist of the undulations of an
ethereal fluid filling all space, and existing
between the particles of bodies. If such a
fluid does exist, we might expect that it would
act in retarding the motions of the heavenly
bodies. It is obvious, however, that the plants
can suffer no retardation, because, inconse-
quence of their revolutions, the ether will also
acquire motion and be carried along with
them, but in reference to the comets, which
are extremely light bodies, we find a decided
retardatibn, which after making all allow-
ances, can only be accounted for on the sup-
position of the existence of an etherial medi-
um. This has been clearly proved by Sir
John Herschel, in his article on light in the
Encyclopaedia Metropolitana. Dr. Ritchie
stated that he had only become a convert to
the undulatory theory of light about two years
ago, in consequence ofHerschel’s arguments,
and an attentive comparison of the two theo-

46

A LEARNED DISQUISITION BY LANDSEER.

ries. This ether, then, is supposed to exist in
the pores of all bodies, being more dense in
solid bodies than in empty space, but possess-
ing less elasticity. An impulse being given
it, a succession of waves is produced, precisely
like sonorous vibrations which strike upon the
retina and cause that membrane to move back-
wards and forwards, or vibrate, as the undula-
lory motions of the air, excited by sonorous
bodies, occasions motions in the membrana
tympani. These vibrations follow in regular
succession, and according as they are more
or less frequent or rapid in succession, the
sensation of colour is produced.

The following table exhibits the number of
vibrations which are distinguishable in a se-
cond, and the length of a wave :

Number of vibrations. Length of a wave,

32 32

64 16

128 8

4096 3 inches.

8192 li

The number of vibrations which produce
the different colours of the sped rum has been
calculated with wonderful precision :

Red 458,000,000,000,000, Orange 506,
Yellow 635, Green 577, Blue 622, Indigo 658,
Violet 727. The length of a wave is ’0000266
inch, fiom which we can calculate the vibra-
tions.

4’hese numbers are so enormous that one is
apt to be sceptical as to their accuracy. I’heir
computation is, however, extremely easy, and
we are perfectly certain that they form very
close approximations to the truth.

By screwing two plates of glass together,
the rays of light pass through the first, and
are refracted by the second, and when receiv-
ed on white paper, exhibit the fits of Newton,
consisting of alternate light and dark colours,
A happy idea struck Dr, Ritchie, on the
morning previous to his lecture, that by a mo-
dification of this principle, Newton's rings
might be exhibited. He accordingly screwed
together two \)lates of glass, divided at their
margins merely by a layer of gold leaf, direct-
ing the pressure upon one central point with
the extremity of the screw, around which were
beautifully displayed the rings as he had anti-
cipated. These may be enlarged by additional
pressure near their circumference. In this
way these can be measured, and the above
numbers deduced. Frenelle, by means of in-
genious apparatus, has been enabled to exhi-
bit the length of the waves, and measure them
by means of a microscope. His results were
the same as those given. Dr. Ritchie consi-
ders that the experiments of Frenelle prove
conclusively that light consists of the undu-
lations of a fluid, interfering with each other
and producing darkness,

A further proof in favour of the theory is,
that when light is passed through a small
aperture, by reflexion, we have, if we place a
sheet of paper opposite to the hole, alternations
of red and dark colours, and M. Arago has
shewn that light moves more slowly through
glass than air. M. Colladon, by some very
interesting experiments at the lake of Geneva,
has proved that with sound as with light, the
angle of incidence is equal to the angle of re-
flexion. Newton objected that if light, like

sound, consisted of waves, sound ought to
have a shadow. Now, the fact is that when
sound passes very rapidly we have a kind of
shadow of sound, When two tuning forks are
set differently, we have one sound ascending
and the other descending, affording a strong
similarity to the inference of undulations.
When light is polarized, as by Iceland spar,
if we cause two portions to act upon the same
plane, alternations of dark and light colours
are obtained, shewing interference of waves ;
but when these portions act at right angles no
such interference takes place. When light
passes through a gas, and when we examine
the spectrum, we observe dark spaces, which
may be occasioned by one wave interfering
with another. Light from the sun does not
possess polarized properties which light from
a hot iron does, shewing that light is derived
from the sun’s atmosphere, and not from the
substance of that luminary, because, in the
latter case, there would be a gradual diminu-
tion of its size. A strong argument in favour of
the undulatory theory is derived from a recent
experiment of Mr. Faraday, who found, by
the action of electricity, that as much light
was given out from a copper wire in the course
of a few days as could be emitted from the sun
in a year, Is it possible to suppose that this
enormous quantity of light existed pent up in
substantial form in the wire! Dr. Ritchie
gives his decided negative to such an opinion,
but is inclined to infer that the light which ena-
bles us to see exists within ourselves, as the
heat which warms us is contained within us.

A LEARNED DISQUISITION ON AN
ANCIENT RELIC.

By Mr. Landseer.

13t/i February,

M, Landseer lead a very learned disqui-
sition on a monument, of which a cast was
brought to this country by Mr. Joseph Beno-
mi, who has recently published travels in the
East. The original of this ancient relic exists
along w'ith nine others on the sea shore near th e
river Lycus, two hours journey from Bayr-
root. With the exception of this one of
which the cast was exhibited to the meeting,
by permission of Lord Prudhoe, the monu-
ments are much defaced.

They were probably seen by Herodotus, for
he describes similar relics in Ionia. Maun-
drell saw them in 1767, and describes them
with great accuracy. Benomi is the only other
modern traveller who has been fortunate
enough to fall in with them. He, in the
most praiseworthy manner, undertook the la-
bour of making a cast of the most perfect one,
instead of carrying off the original in the way
too often practised by eastern visitors.

It appears to relate to Sesostris or Rameses
II., who lived, according to Dr. Pritchard,
1007 years from the commencement of the
Egyptian era. The principal feature in itis
the figure of a monarch, with a sceptre in one
hand, and a dove in the other, of which, howe-
ver, only the tail remains. The dove was the
standard of the Assyrians, hence, in the Bible
itis represented as an oppressor. Over the dove

EXPANSION OF BODIES BY KEAT.

47

are 7 orbs, which are the seven stars, the
pleiades, theSuccoth penneth, or ients of the
(laughters in Scripture, called genial andexhi-
ting stars, and are shedding their inHuence-
over the dove,

I'he face of the monarch is towards the east,
and thestars are placed on the eastofthe mo-
nument, rising with Aldebaran. 1 wo larger
orbs represent the sun and moon, supplied with
wings similar to the sculptures of Persepolis.
There is still another star which is probably
Venus, the morning star. Mr, Landseer from
tliese and similar data, concluiies that this mo-
numentwas sculptured in the time of Pelassar
or Salmanassar, twenty-five centuries ago.
Another monument of which a drawing by Be-
nomi was exhibited, contains on its margin the
hieroglyphical nameof Sesostris, identical vvith
that which exists on the table of Abydos. The
sculpture. represents the figure of a man holding
a bow in his right hand and a battle-axe in his
left, in the act of offering prisoners to a deity.

Herodotus describes an Ionian monument almost

identical with this. Another of themonuments
observed near Sidon, relates the circumstance
of Antoninus having altered the road along the
coast, the former road having been at a greater
elevation.

In the course of his lecture, Mr La,ndseer
displayed an intimate acquaintance with sa-
cred and profane history, and shewed that his
mind was keenly alive to the refinements of li-
terature, In some of the poetic flights in
which he frequently indulged, we were
brought back to tho.se ancient times, when
the kindly influences of the heavenly orbs pre-
sided over liuman destinies, and the descrip-
tions miglit have^lmost induced the sanguine
to regret, that such mysterious days have pas-
sed away.

AN ABSTRACT OF SOME RESEAR-
CHES ON THE REPULSION PRO-
DUCED BETWEEN BODIES BY THE
ACTION OF HEAT WITH ADDITION-
AL OBSERVATIONS.

By the Reverend Baden Powell,

M. A., F. R. S.,

Savilian Professor of Geometry, Oxford.

The curious point to which my attention
has been directed, is one of those whi ch too
generally fail in securing the attention of
philosophers, from the circumstance that
they belong to a class of phenomena hardly
coming within the specific range of any one
of the great divdsions of Science ; or rather,
belonging equally to several, are but little
considered in any. In the “ Records of
General Science,” however, some account of
them may perhaps find a place.

At the meeting of the British Association
at Edinbur-gh, 1 gave a short statement of the
experiments which I had made : an account
of them was also read before the Royal So-
ciety, and is now printed in the Philosophical
Transactions for 18114. But a brief outline of
their nature and object may not be unaccep-
table to some readers, especially as it will

be essential to render intelligible the further
observations I wish to add.

The expansion of bodies by heat seems to
imply a mutual repulsion of their particles ;
and it is a question naturally suggested, whe-
ther such a power of repulsion may not
generally belong to heat, or be excited by it
between particles or masse.s of matter at
sensible as well as insensible distances. But,
however obvious the suggestion of such an
inquiry, it is of a nature not easy to be pur-
sued or decided.

The subiect has been partially investigated
by Sig. Libri, and by M. M. Fresnel and
Saigey ; but their researches do not appear
to have been regarded as decisive, and have
ever been viewed with considerable doubt ;
and they are certainly dependant upon ex-
periments of the most extremely delicate and
difficult kind, and those of Fresnel confessedly
left in an incomplete state.

Recently, the inquiry has been revived by
Professor Forbes of Edinburgh, who has
referred to the same principle to account for
the singular phenomena of certain vibrations
of heated metallic bars, first noticed by Mr.
Trevelyan, and since fully investigated by
himself in a paper in the Edinb. Trans.
vol. xii.

In a different form the subject had occupied
my attention before I was acquainted with
Professor Forbes’s investigations ; but, on
reading his paper*, a new interest attached to
the inquiry, and in pursuing it, I conceive I
have obtained some results which appear
decisive on a question at once of importance
in the analogies of physical action, and which
has hitherto been regarded as at least involved
in considerable uncertainty.

The method 1 pursued was that of forming
Newton’s rings between lenses, and apply-
ing heat, w hich would afford a simple mode
of deciding the question, if there be any
separation of the glasses by repulsion, since
it would be rendered visible by the contrac-
tion of the rings. As to the error which might
arise from the warding of the upper glass by
the heat, it wall be evident, on a little consi-
deration, that heat applied outside of either
glass will tend, by the change of figure, in
every case, the first instance, to diminish the
angle of contact; that is, if no other cause
interfere, to make the rings enlarge without
altering the central tint, until the curvature
become equal to that of the convex surface.

I invariably found, how'ever, that/rowe the
first moment the rings regularly contract,
and the central tint descends in the scale
till the whole vanishes. There are, how-
ever, several precautions necessary to be
attended to. If the glasses be more than
very slightly convex, the portion of surface
throughout, wffiich they approach sufficiently
near for the repulsion to act, is very small.
This may render the total effect far too
weak to overcome the w^eight of the upper
glass, or even its inertia, though placed
vertically. With surfaces of such curvature
as to give the first bright ring a diameter of
about ()*3 inch, on placing a red hot poker a
little above the glasses the effect never failed
to be produced. Upon the whole, the ex-

48

REPULSION PRODUCED BETWEEN BODIES BY HEAT.

perimenls, though simple in principle, cer-
tainly require some care; but with all pre-
cautions, and after the most careful consi-
deration of all causes which can have tended
to produce or etfect the result, it appears to
me that the separation of the glasses through
the extremely small, but finite and known
-spaces, whose changes are indicted by the de-
gradation of the tints, can only be due to
the real action of a reptilsive power, pro-
duced or excited between the surfaces of
the glasses by the action of heat.

There are many questions relating to the
nature and properties of this repuls i’^e
power, which are immediately suggested, and
some of which appear capable of solution by
variations of the same method.

The distance at which the repulsive
power can act, is shown by these experiments,
to extend beyond that at which the most
extreme visible order of Newton’s tints is
formed. But I have also repeated the ex-
periment successfully w'ith the colours formed
under the base ofa prism placed upon a lens
of very small convexity ; and according to the
analysis of these colours given by Sir J .
Uerschel, (on Light, 64,) the distance is
here about the l,IU0th of an inch.

Beyond these very small distances, other
methods must be resorted to. But the cer-
tainty of the result within these limits per-
haps confirms its probability at greater
distances, as inferred by Fresnel and Saigey.

I tried several experiments on the etfect s
of difterent sorts of surfaces, from which I
conceive, though w e may infer that cceteris,
paribus, the better radiating power of the
surface increases the etfect; yet there are
other circumstances w'hich atfect the result
more powerfully, and these seem to be, in
general, lohatever may tend to the more
rapid communication of heat.

This is still more conspicuous w'hen the
rings are formed in a thin plate of water be-
tween the lenses. The etfect is here even
greater than in air, and w^e may presume, in-
dependent of radiation .

There are several subordinate circumstances
attending these results wdiich are deserving
of notice. When the lenses are in close
contact, there is, in all cases, a considerable
attraction opposed to tiie repulsive power.
If the central black be. formed, it requires a
very considerable intensity of heat to over-
come the attraction, which at that minute
distance is extremely powerful.

When the heat is removed the colours
return, and the rings are gradually restored
to the same character as they had at first.
This is more remarkable when simple plates
of glass are employed as before described.
When the heat has restored the bent glass
to a plane figure, on its removal the rings
return, and consequently, the glass is again
bent without any fresh pressure, though the
force originally applied to produce the curva-
ture was very considerable ; this is probably
owing, in a great measure, to atmospheric
pressure. In this case, however, the colours
w'ill only jeturn up to a certain point, gene-
rally not higher than the beginning of the
first order.

When two glasses are pressed together
there is a repulsion to be overcome, evinced
by the force which it is necessary to apply,
and in general, it is evident, that if a plate
resting on another be bent by pressure, as in
these experiments, the influence of heat in
restoring it to a plane form will be opposed
both by the attraction at the centre, wdiich
tends to prevent that part from being raised,
and by the repulsion towards the exterior
parts, which t-nds to prevent them from
being depressed. When the curvature begins
to change, therefore, there is somewdiere
between them a neutral or nodal point w hose
position does not change ; this point may be
very near, or even in the centre, when the
attraction is very strong there. A remarkable
instance of this occurs when the first black of
the scale is formed between glass plates, and
heat carefully applied exactly over the central
point of the black space ; in this case, when
the black space is a ^ inch or more in diameter,
I have often continued the application of the
strongest heat for a great length of time be-
fore any separation could be effected, when
at length it has taken place with a sudden
force and an audible click. Sometimes the
black spot has continued unaltered until the
glasses have cracked, wdien the fragments
have still continued to adhere powerfully :
meanwdiile the outer rings have continued
gradually enlarging.

In the foregoing statement, I have observed,
that in using plane glasses, it was necessary
to allow for the etfect of warping. But
there are certain considerations which show
that that precaution is unnecessary. For,
according to the beautiful experiments of
Sir D. llrewster on the progress of heat
through glass, as evinced by its action on
polarized light, it appears distinctly, that
the change of structure (if I may so speak)
in the molecules of the glass is produced
at the same instant, on both sides of the
plate : so that the etfect of ivarping cannot
take place. This is rendered evident to the
eye, by the symmetrical arrangement of the
luminous bands, from the first moment of the
application of heat, on each side of the dark
central band, which occupies the neutral
line along the middle of the thickness of the
glass.

When two plates of glass are laid upon
one another there is a certain resistance or
repulsion which may be overcome by pressure.
We can press them together till attraction
takes place. On removing the pressure they
remain adhering. If we press them more
they are brought closer, and produce the
colours of thin plates. We may thus produce
successively and given tint, and on removing
the pressure that tint will remain, or the
glasses continue in the same position to w Inch
they have been brought.

Tliis seems to show that the attraction and
repulsion are in exact equilibrio at all distan-
ces, (w ithin this range,) and this may hold good
with any law, provided the law be the same
for attraction as for repuision.

On the application of heat a greater inten-
sity of repulsion is excited ; if w e could ascer-
tain the law' of its increase with the distance

SPONTANEOUS IGNITION OF CHIP CAKE.

49

and increase of temperature, we might thence
infer the law both of attraction and renulsion
between the surfaces : and thence, (if the ex-
pression be integrable,) that between the mo-
le.cules of the substances-
All this, as just observed, tabes place only
within a certain range of interval. When the
central black is formed, we seem to have ar-
rived at a limit where attraction prevails; and
where the application, even of great heat, will
not easily overcome it.

fThe close contact of a glass and liquid in
caoillary attraction appears to be within this
limit ; for here, in several cases referred to in
my paper, it appears that no application of
heat can overcome the attraction.

With respect to one of those experiments,
viz ; that of Sig. Libri, which I had stated I
could not succeed in repeating, I have since
been informed that the experiment suc-
ceed, provided the heat applied to the wire
be that of a flame urged by a blowpipe.
This, at any rate, proves the great intensity of
the attraction, which requires so extremely
high a degree of heat to overcome it.

Oxford, Feb. 17, 18:^5.

INSTANCES OF SPONTANEOUS COI\I-
BUSTION. DETAILED IN A PAPER
READ BEFORE TH E ROYA L IRISH
ACADE.AIY.

May, 1835.

By M. Sca.nlan, Esq.*

Id the beginning of last March a lire broke
out in the extensive turpentine rlistillery on
Sir John Rogerson’s quay, belonging to Mr.
Jolin Fish Murphy, which is seperated from
my chemical factory by Windmill Lane, The
file, which was speedily got under, uas con-
fined (o a heap of wliat is termed, by turpen-
tine distillers, chip cake, and, from the
circumstances under which it occurred, could
not be attributed to any other cause than tlie
act of an incendiary, or to the spontaneous
ignition of this chip cake.

As 8[)ontaueou9 combustion of this .substance
had never occurreil before in Mr. \)iir|)hy’3
distillery, nor in that of his father an exten-
sive distiller of turpentine, for many years,
at Stratford in Essex, I at first doubted that
the fire could liave originated in this way ;
however, on inquiry, I found his mode of
w orking had been, on this particular occasion,
diflerent from (hat nsuallv employed in Ins
distillery, and, experiments wlilch he kindly
permitted me to make have since proved
beyond doubt that combustion did take place
spontaneously.

Raw turpentine, a,s it comes from America,
in barrels, includes a considerable quantity of
impurity, consisting of chips of wootl, leaves,
nnd leafstalks.*]' It was hitherto the practice,

• Communicated by the Author.

+ The following extract from the letter of a
French tui’pentine merchant, will account for
the presence of these foreign bodies. To obtain
the tui’pentina “ the fir timber is chopped about
a man’s height down its side with an axo, not

ill Mr. Murphy's distillery, as it is in England,
to heat the raw turpentine up to a temperature
of about 180'’, as I found by plunging a
thermometer into one of his large copper
pans, and to strain the turpentine, thus liqui-
fied, from the impurities, previously to intro-
ducing it into the still, where it is submitted
to distillation in the usual way, with a portion
of a water, yielding turpentine oil, which
(li-stills over a’ong witli the water and rosin
which remains behind in the stld. The chips,
when separated by a wire strainer, still retain
a quantity of adhering turiientine worth saving,
and with this view are transferred to a largo
close vat, where they are exposed for some
time to the action of steam furnished by a
boiier kept for this purpose, as well as for
steaming the empty barrels, in order to remove
any turpentine that may adhere to them.
Still, however, tiie chips are a good deal
imbued with resinous Jnatter. and in this state
form a loose })orous mass, which the turpen-
tine distillers call chip cake, a material which
is used by the poor in the neighbourhood aa
fuel.

As long as the process T iiave just described
was pursued, which is the London mode, and
that which produces the best rosin, no accident
occurred frntn fire in iVlr. Murphy’s premise.s,
although I have rrequently seen immen.se
heaps of tliis chip cake collected together in
his yard; but, on making trial of a different
plan, namely, that fuactised by a Dublin
(listiber. Mr. Price of Lincoln Lane, the
accident in question occurred.

On this occa.sion, the raw turpentine,
together with its impurities, was put directly
into the still, along w'ith the proper quantity of
water, and the boiling rosin at the end of the
operation strained from the chips.

The chip cake resulting from a single opera-
tion thus conducted was laid in a heap outside
tlie still lioiise, at three o’clock in the after-
noon, and at midnight was observed to be in
tlames.

In the first mentioned process it is obviona
the chips ivere never exposed to a higher
degree of temperature than 212^ ; but in the
latter, especially when it is the object of the
mauiifacturer to make amber rosin, the
temperature to which they are expo-sed sa
much higher.

The first experiment I made was on the l6'h
Biarch. I found (he temperature of the boiling
rosin, in the still, to be 2530 when the turpen-
tine oil and water bad been distilled off, the
fi e just drawn frorn under the still, nnd when
the liquid losin was in the net of being
sirained from the chips which were introduced
into the still with the tiir^ientine.

I haii the whole of the chip cake resulting
from this distillation carried into my own
)ard, upon a wire screen, and left in the open
air, with a view of watching its progress.

hand deep and afterwards higher up. The tur -
pontine or pat is scraped up from the

foot of the tree. That which is on the side
wound, when scrapea oft', is white, and called
galley pat, of which the burning incense is
made, it does not yield so much turpentine
spirit as the pat," — Euit,

50

DISCOVERIES RELATING TO THE PRISMATIC SPECI'EA.

TI>e ternperaf nre increaspil £jrniluallv in tlie
centre of the heap, although externally it
became quite coldanrl hrittle. In four honrs,
in fact, a thermometer thrnst into the centre
of the porous mass irulicated a temperature
of 400“ ; a good deal of va[)onr w as now given
off, and the adhering rosin in tlie heated paits
began to acquire a high colour ; the smell
conld be perceived at a considerable distance
from my premises; it was a mixed smell of
pitch and rosin.

The chip cake, in this expeiiment, was
first exposed to the air at one o’clock in
the afternoon, and, though it rained during the
night, at half pasteleveu the following morning
it burst into a flame.

In a second experiment, f placed the chip
cake in an open tar barrel, having three lioles
bored in tlie bottom, about two inches diameter
each, and it did not take fire till the exiiiration
of thirty six hours: bat the temperature of the
mass was liiwered by removal from the wire
strainer to the barrel, and besides, 1 am of
opinion the limited access of air retarded the
combustion.

In a third trial whicii I made, combustion
look place in five hours; hut in f Iris experiment
the temperature of the boiiing rosin drawn
from the still was 260^, and the chip cake w as
laid, as in (lie first experiment, on the wire
serren; tiie wind, too, was very high. 'I'he
screen, in this case, was raised a few inches
from the ground, in order to let the rosin, as it
melted, drip away, which it did in ahundanre.

It appeared to me as iftl e porous mass be-
came slowly red hot. in the centre, like a
pyrophorous, arid as if the vapour and gaseous
matter arising from the decomposed rosin which
lay immediately beneath, were inflamed on
coming in contact with it. I was standing by
when it suddenly burst into flame, and I tliought,
■at the time, had the melted rozin been peimifteri
to drop into water, or bad it (alien to such a
distance as not to be kept liquid by ti e radiant
beat from the red hot mass above, that there
would have t een no flame, but silent com-
bustion.

I have since learned from Mr. Price, in
whose distillery it has always been the prac-
tice to put the unstrained turfientine into the
still that lie was well aware of the fact which
it is tlie object of this paper to record, from a
fire having occurred several years ago on ids
premises, w hen in the po-session of his pre-
decessor, Mr. James Price, and that, ever
since, they cool down the chip cake, imme-
diately on removal from the still, with water,
and alterwards use it as luel under the still.

An instance of sponfaneons combustion oc-
curred with my friend Mr. Philip Cofley, ofthe
Dock Distillery, which is worth relating while
on this subject.

He bad made a quantity of the mixture used
in theatres for producing red light, a powder
consisting of nitrate of strontion, sulphur,
chlorate of potash, and sulphuret of antimony
withalitlle lampblack- A paper parcel of
this “ red fire,” of about a pound or tw’o by
weight, was left by him on a siielf in a store-

room where there was no fire nor card e lights;
f he fuilovr iiig day, while reading in an adjoin-
ing room, he perceived a smell as if some of
tliis powder were burning, and, on examina-
tion, lie tound it had ignited spontaneously on
the shelf and was actually consumed.

M. Scan LAN.

Sir John Eogerson*s Quay, Dublin, 29th
June, 1835.

ON AN EASY METHOD OF MEASUR
ING PRISMATIC SPECTRA.

By Mr. Andrew^ Pritchaud.

It may be questioned whether any important
discovery relating to the prismatic spectrum
formed by decomposing common light, has
been announced, since that of its heterogene-
ous nature by the illustrious Newton, with the
exception of the synchronical detection hy
Wollaston and Fraunhofer, of the constant
dark lines which were found in every instance,
to maintain a fixed and determinate distance
from each other.

The, actual measurements and relative ex-
tents of the intervening spaces, may thus be
considered as imi)Ortant data; and any con-
trivance, however simple, for determining
tlieir exact places, will be. it is presumed,
acceptible to the practical observer. I
therefore propose to describe a very facile
method of effecting this purpose, prefixing a
brief account of Fraunhofer’s telescope for
viewing and examining the spectrum. This
telescope has a small achromatic object glass
close before which is placed a short prism,
one side of it making a small angle with the
axis of the instrument. For viewing the image
a positive eyepiece is employed, producing a
magnifying power of between twenty and tiiir-
ty times. In other respects it resembles a
small astronomical telescope, having however
a much longer range of adjustment, so as to
render the image o( a near object distinct. Now
the method employed by me of obtaining the
measurement, consists simply in the addition of
a circular glass micrometer, placed at the focus
ofthe object glass, it being obvious to every
person acquainted with a telescope, that a se-
ries ofpqual divisions placed in the plane ofthe
focus of tlie eye-glass, w ill measure the rela-
tive distances occurring between the several
dark Hues in the spectrum, the places of great-
est intensity of the dilferent tints, or anv
other phenomena that may present themselves.
By drawing equi-fiistant and similar lines upon
paper, the image presented by the spectrum
may be laid down with the greatest accuracy,
or indeed when the colours ate sufficiently
vivid, they may at once be thrown on the pa-
per by a camera lucida ej e-piece.

The micometers used by me are discs of
glass, with ifom 50 to 100 divisions to the inch,
and are similar in construction to (hose em-
ployed with my microscopes, except in the
omission of the cross lines which are drawn
upon the surface ofthe latter.

263 Strand, near Temple Bar, June. — Records
General Science, 1835.

It

CHEAP AND QUICK METHOD OF PURIFYING PYROLIGNEOUS ACID. 51

PURIFICATION OP PYROLIGNEOUS
ACID AND manufacture OP ACE-
TATE OP LIME. ACCORDING TO
THE METHOD ADOPTED BY CHE-
MICAL MANUFACTURE.

By Chiu Phil. Pbuckner, of Hof.*

INTRODUCTION.-From his first con-
nexion with the manufacture of pyroligneous
aci'I, which has been on a great scale, Priickner
endeavoured to fall upon the cheapestand quick-
est method of i-urifying it from the foreign mat-
ter with wh'ch it is mixed. This object has
been I'nrtber prosecuted more recently by Dr.
Reichenbacb, who has separated several
substances which make their appearance dur-
ing its purification.

At the time when Priickner first engaged in
the manufacture of this acid, these substances
were unknown, and, consequently his view of
the theory of the method of obtaining it pure,
was quite dilferent from that pointed out by
Reichenbacb. Now, however, when we pos-
sess an accurate knowledge of the products
which come over in the purification, viz. Creo-
sote Picomare, Paraffin^ &c., we may expect
that the process about to be discribed will be
imjiroved, so that tlielast traces of foreign mat-
ter may be entirely removed. Tlie author con-
siders that the present memoir will not be
destitude ofinterest for a considerable period
to the practical chemist, as the process discrib-
ed has been so frequently repeated and exa-
mined, and that the publication wdl be of
advantage to proprietors and managers of che-
mical manufactories, who may, from the re-
marks offered, be enabled to improve the pro-
cess, by bringing the additional information
which may be acquired by the consideration
of new discoveries, to bear upon the subject.
Many manufacturing chemists have long been
endeavouring to purity pyroligneous acid in
different ways. The process of Mollerat of
Pellerey, who, by the formation of a great che-
mical manufactory of this article, not only sup-
plies it for the use of France, but also exports
it, is sulficlently well known. It consists in
forming the acetate of soda by the double de-
composition of acetate of lime and sulphate of
soda; the acetate of soda being then roasted,
the empyreumatic matter is driven off and the
pure acetate of soda remains. Tiie objection
to the use of this salt is, that at an elevated
temperature it melts, and that the surface of
it gradually becomes dry, while in the interior
much water still exist, and great difficulty is
experienced in getting rid of it, while to the ace-
tate of lime the same objection is not appli-
cable.

PREPARATION OP THE ACETATE
OF LIME. — Tiie cmde pyroligneous acid
wliich IS distilled from bard species of trees, as
the beeci), oak, or alder, or from soft pines,
receives a preparatory purification in the fol-
lowing manner; — As much as possible of the
oil mixed with tar which swims on the surface
is removed mechanically. This is best etfected
after the acid has been allowed to settle for a

* Erdmann und Schweigger Seidel’s Journal
fiir PractUche Chemie, iv. 21.

day. A cask or large tub, with a double per-
ferated inlaid bottom (einlegeboden) like the
alkaline cask of the soap-boiler, is then taken
and filled to the height of an inch with straw.
This is overlaid by a piece of course sack-clofb,
which is cut out in the form of the bottom. Over
this is placed six inches of moist wood sawings,
which are pressed down and smothed by means
of a wooden club. To prevent the sawings from
being displaced and from swimming about, they
arecovered to the deuthof four inches with alar-
er ofgravel. Acertain quantity ofirapure acid is
then poured into this filtering apparatus which
is termed a filtering cask, and passing through is
discharged by a cock at the bottom. The tar
is taken up by the gravel. Should the quan-
tity of this be so great as to obstruct the pas-
sage of the aciil, the sand may be stirred up
from above with a ladle.

The acid which has thus been filtered is now
placed in a large cast-iron vessel, which is fill-
ed lip to within ten inches of the brim. Heat
is then applied, and during its action, lime-
water previously passed through a hair seive,
to free it from foreign particles, is added until
tiie acid is neutralized. Theapproach to this
point may be detected witliout the use oflitmus
pafier, merely from the colour of the liquid,
which becomes darker and passes from a black-
ish brown into a deep brownish red colour. A
great excess of lime is then added. To a bucket
of neutralized acid, containing 120 pounds
(1 iSlbs. troy) lialfa pound, (.4791bs. troy) is
added in excess. This super-saturation is
absolutely necessary ; because the lime com-
bines with a great quantity of empyreumatic
rosin and oily matter in the acid, forming inso-
luble compounds which are separated first. Tlie
next object is to bring the solution to the boil-
ing point, and to avoid its boiling over. When
a scum appears, the boiling should be carried
on gently, and the matter swimming on the sur-
face removed, as completely as possible, by
means ofa ladle during the whole proce.ss of
boiling. The solution in this manner being
reduced to one half, is then cooled and clarified
in the cask and allowed to stand for 30 or
48 hours. In this state it is called the solution
of the first boiling.

To obtain the solution of the second boil-
ing after the necessary clarification, the liquid
is drawn otF into the same vessel after it has
been cleaned, or into another iron vessel of the
same description. The sediment is thrown
npon a filtering cloth and set aside. For the
second evaporation a shallow vessel is employ-
fd, whose depth is not above 14 inches.
Priickner uses a vessel of 4 or 5 feet long and
2 to 3 broad as being most convenient. The
fire burns under it, npon the grate of a wit-d
furnace, and stretches under the bottom of the
vessel towards tiie chimney. When the soln
tion of the second boiling is heated, the fiee
lime must be neutralized with pyroligneous arid
as long as redriened litmus paper is coloured
lilue. When evafiorated to two-tliirds or
one half, the solution may be freed fioin any
impurities by passing itt hrough a linen fiiterei ,
or placing it in a cask and allowing it to cool
and settle.

I he liquid having been treated in this war,
should be again placed in the fiat vessel, and by

THE DRYING FURNACE DI'.SCRIBED.

a gentle heat evaporated to a mass, which while
warm, should possess the consistence of thick
tnrpentine, and after cooling should not stick
to the fingers, but should rather crumble down
when pressed. Considerable care is necessary
towards the end of this process. When the
solution is beginning to become thick it must
be stirred with a curved iron spatula, of such
a length, that it may extend over tlie whole
vessel, in order to prevent the salt mass from
being burned.

The acetate of lime now half dry, is transfer-
red from the evaporating vessel to a stone or
iron plate, and spread hy means of the spatula
to the depth of 2 or 3 inches, for the purpose
of cooling. It should not remain so long as
to attract much moisture, but shouhl speedily
be subjected to the ^last operation, the drying
end roasting ofthesalt.

The drying furnace is a simple wind fur-
nace, 7 or 8 feet long, 4^ to 5 feet broad, built
of brick : at 6 inches above the ground is the
ash pit. 8 inches broad and 12 inches high,
which is covered with a grate of bricks. The
fire-place is 20 inches high and 10 inches broad
at the grate ; over it is an arch of bricks, so that
the fire cannot play on and heat very highly,
the iron drying plate lying on the side of the
hearth. The space below the drying plate is
separated from the hearth, by a partition of
bricksSor 4inches high ; i2inche3 above tlie
outlet of the earth there is a layer of iron bars
to 2 feet from each other, ami noon these is
deposited the drying plate. This consists of
cast-iron ^of an iricli thick, and is formed
according to the size oi the furnace. Round
the plate tlie furnace is built up to the lieight
of 10 inches, on tiie side of the front wall,
leaving room for doors, which may be calcu
lated at 2^ feet, d'hese doors are two, one
above the other, through which the whole
interior of tlie furnace can be inspected.
They are formed of [ late-iron, and have in
their middle a sliding door to admit of the
exit of the vapour from the acetate of lime
and of some ventilation. A wall built at the
eud of the plate or a clay partition separates
the whole of the drying plate from the chimney.
In the walls of the furnace, iron-bars are fixed,
and upon these lies a second drying plate
which covers the drying space. 'I'his plate
as it does not come in contact with the
fire may consist of good iron or of clay.

Above this drying space another is iormed
by means of the chimney. "The heat passes
aswellunder as above the drying space, and
passes into the chimney, which is situated at
the side of the furnace, and can be shut by a
valve. In the drying space the temperature
is nsnallv between 60® and 90® R. (167® to
234^0 F.')

Turf forms the best material for fue), as it
does not burn rapidly, and produces a steany
and equal temperature.

DRYING OF IHE ACETAIE OF
LI ME.-' When the furnace is tiiorongiily and
equally heated, the flame of the fire is allovAed
to subside. If wood is employed as fuel, the
sliding door should be opened at the com-
mencement, in order to allow' the. moisture to
escape. The salt is transfened fiomthe eva-

porating vessel to the drying plate, and spread
out to the depth of two inches; and, after the
first portion has become somewhat dry, the
depth is increased to four or five inches; the
heat is preserved at the degree already mention-
ed for twenty-four hours, and during (his time
tile salt is turned several times. Snhseqnently.
when the mass appears to be becoming dry,
the temperature niay be increased to 100®
(257‘F.) so as to dry it completely. The mass
is dry and properly roasted when it possesses
the following char.acters ; It must, before cool-
ing, be brittle, easily crumbled between tlio
fingers, mixed with blackish carbonaceoua
points or streaks, between which appear white
pieces of dry salt, a solution of (he comminu-
ted salt; in four or six times its volume of hot
water possesses a yellowish brow n colour wdth
a dark tinge, while previously it had a reiidish
brow n colour.

When the beat is increased tow’ards the
end ol the process, as described, c.ire must be
taken to do it gradually, so that no smoke shall
rise from the acetate, because it might thus
be decompo-ed. Neither must any spark be
permitted to come in contact with the acetate
of lime ; because, like sugar of lead, it pos-
sesses the property, in these circumstances,
of catching fiie and burning, by which the
whole dry pieparaiion would be completely
destroyed. The treatment of the acetate of
lime in this manner, by means of gradual
drying, as fx[;erience has shewn, possesses
many advantages over the method of dry ing
the salt in an open ve.«sel, becau.ve there is no
loss of acetic acid, as always occurs by the lat-
ter process. The operator has the {r eparation
completely in his power, and with little ex-
pense of fuel and time, many hundred w eights
of salt can he prepared at once.

This process does not merely extend the re-
moval of the moisture from the acetate of lime,
but a chemical influence is exerted by means
of it. IBecause, it is certain that the sub-
stances formed by dry distillation, which have
been recently distinguished by Reichenhach,
are partly dissipated by the heat, and partly
decomposed; tlie acetate of lime possessing
very different pro[!erlies before ami alter tlie
pio'cess. After the i rocess the salt does nut
imbibe waterso leadily as it did previously.
After solution, filtraiion and evaporation, a
much { urer product is obtained than betore,
and upon the filter a resinous matter remains,
the constituents of which have not yet beenex-
amintd. After tlie completion of the previous
steps the operator [ roceeds to the next, the

SEPARATION OF PURE PYROLIG-
NEOUS AND ACPYITC ACID.-Intoa cast
irou lelort, cap able ol’ holding 30 measures of
water, (of 2 lbs. Vienna weight), introduce
20 lbs. (Vienna weight) of dry acetate of lime,
and then 5 lbs. of water, and stir the mixture
vvellnpby means of a wooden spatula. This
preparation should be made in the evening,
and the mixture allow ed to stand till the mom-
in^. On the following day 20 ibs, of Engli^h
sulphuric acid, diluted with 5 lbs. of water
sliould be added, and the cover of tlie retort
cemented.

PYROLIGNEOUS ACID FOR PHARMACEUTICAL PURPOSES.

53

Tiie cover shonld be made of pore tin, and
united with a refiigatory, whose tube is also
formed of the same metal- Priickner considers
norcelain preferable to tin for the composition
of the cover, or rough burned c]ay (nicht durch-
switzender), the latter of which he himself
employs.

'I'o prevent the melting of the tin, when that
metalis employed, it is necessary to separate it
from the iron of the retort by means of a stripe
oflinen;a Intins of lime and fine sand then
serves to unite the cover and belly of the retort.
Larger retorts are not desirable, because, to-
wards the end of the distillation, decomposition
of the acetic acid is readily produced, in con-
sequence of the destruction which a portion of
the mass in contact with the bottom undergoes,
while all the acid contained in it is driven off.
The distillation begins with a gentle fire, and
should be carried on without increasing the
heat, until the liquid passing over begins to
produce a yellowish colour in the distilled li-
quid. It is not worth while to obtain the last
portions of the acid, because the educt is im-
purp,and sulphnrbegins soon to sublime.

From the 251bs. of acetate of lime are ob-
tained 25 to 27 parts of acid. 3’he gypsum
remaining in the retort can be easily removed.
It contains some free acid, which may be
washed out and preserved for further use. By
the action of the sulphuric acid upon the acetate
of lime, a sulphurous smell will be perceived,
wbicli also exists in the weak acid which pass-
e.s over hrst. This arises from a partial de-
composition of the snlphuiic acid, in conse-
quence of which sulphurous acid is disengaged.

To diminish, as much as possible, the quan-
tity of this in the whole distilled liquid, the first
tenth is removed. The subsequent distillation
is continued until the liquor passing over be-
gins to lose its pure water colour. The last
portions will, therefore, be separated and mixed
with (he acid which passed over first, for the
purpose of being further purified.

The acid obtained in the manner described,
possesses generally the specific gravity of
l•045 — 1'050, is colourless, like water, arid re-
tains still a trace of the oiiginal einpyi>umatic
odour.

It contains also some sulphurous acid, and
possesses corresponding cliaracters, but loses
it after being exposed for some time to the air,
in open vessels, the acid being converted into
snlpliuric acid.

U is obvious, from the quantity of acid re-
commended, that, for the decomposition of the
acetate of lime, an excess ofsulphuiic acid i.s
necessary ; since, for 100 parts of dry salts, 62
parts of acid, excluding stechiornelrical quan-
tities, would be sufficient. The peculiarity of
Priirkner's process, he considers to consist in
lliese pioportions ; and he has found tiiat the
addition of the excess of sulpluiric acid is the
most powerful method ofdestioying or decom-
posing the empyreumatic matter existing in
the pyroligneous acid. In consequence of inat-
tention to this circumstance, the methods of
purification pointed out by several chemists,
especiallv tiiat of B. Stolze, in his woik,
" Giiindliche r.nleitung die rolie Holzanre zu
reinigen,’ &c,, must be. either useless or very
inefficient. The method of previously heating

tlie acetate of lime, and of abolishing the dry-
ing in an open vessel, over a free fire, is a
decided improvement. For thii.s, there is an
inconsiderable, or no loss by the flerom[)08it!on
of the acetate of lime, with the least possible
waste of time and fuel. For manufacturing
purposes, as for making acetate of lead, and
acetate of copper, there is no need of repeated
distillation, because the sulphurous and sul-
phuric acid can readily be separated in the
following manner : A quantity of liquid di.s-
acetate of lead is to be prepared, to about a
pound of w’iiich the distilled arid is to be add-
ed, until no more preci[)itate of sulphate of
lead falls. The latter should be collec ted and
weighed. 'I’he quantity of sul[ihuric acid in
a given quantity of the acid, being thus know’n,
it is easy to calculate how much of the acetate
of lead solution w ill be required to throw down
the whole acid in the acetic acid. Some sul-
phate of lead is held in solution, w hich is of
little consequence in the manufacture of sugar
oflead.

FUB.THER PURIFICATION OF THE
PYROLIGNEOUS ACID.— For chemical
and pharmaceutical puiqmses, it is necessary
to have pure concentrated acetic acid. To
accomplish this the snlplinrous acid in the
distilled acetic acid should be digested for a
short time wdth finely pulverized brown-stone,
and a little wood or animal charcoal. One
pound of brownsfone and ^ pound of animal
charcoal are sufficient for from 25 to SGlbs. of
acid.

The supernatant liquid after the precipitate
has been allowed to subside during 12 hours
should be decanted off, transferred into a retort
and rectified by a second distillation to dry-
ness. The acid pa.sses over pure and coloni les.s,
and destitute of any .smell, save of acetic acid,
having a specific gravity of from T042toT049,
or 7® or 8® by Beck’s areometer, and may be
used for all chemical purposes. According to
the custom of the trade, and of the French
manufacturers, a portion of acetic ether may
be added to the acid, by which mixture the
smell becomes more pleasant.

Supilement.— Accovdintx to A. Richter,
chemical manufacturer at Konigs.saal, in Bo-
hemia, with whom Pi iickner corresfionded on
this subject, it appears, that when the pure
acid, obtained by tlie process described, i.s
neutralized by cai bonate of potash, and then
some strong potash lye is added, it still retains
a yellow colour, from the presence of an oxy-
dizable body, of which it i.s difficult to free
the acid, Priickner, during the course of last
summer, in his researclie.s, fell upon a method
of affecting the sepaiation of this substance.

Pyroligneous acid is not precipitated by in-
fusion of gails, and even after some time no-
thing falls. If however tincture or infusion of
galls be poured into a solution of pyroligneous
acid salt, as of raw acetate of lime (or acetate
ot potash) a daik reddish purple precipitate
subsides, which contains a salt of tannic acid.
The previously blackish brown liquid becomes,
clearer and transparent like Rhenish wine,
and leaves after filtration and evaporation to
dryness, by being placed for several days in
a temperature of 70^ or 80’^ B . 189® or 212'^ F.)

TIEDEMANN’S SPLENDID RESEARCHES

M

a nnas8 of salt, which, when compared with
theorig^inal salt, appears much lighter colonred.
If this is dissolved in water, or if the filtered
liquid before filtration is treated with some
animal charcoal, the colour of the salt becomes
still lighter, and the odour is removed. This
salt of lime being diluted with f ofsnlphnric
acid and as much water, after distillation car-
ried nearly to dryness, and digestion with black
oxide of manganese and re-distillation, afforded
an acid of specific gravity I ’OfiO. This acid
when neutralized with a solution of carbonate
of potash, and the addition of some pure colour-
less potash lye, acquires no colour, and con-
tinned in this state for several weeks. As
the expense of the galls v^ould be considera*
ble, Priickner recommends as a substitute, a
decoction of oak bark, which he found to afford
a precipitate, or a decoction of the follen cat-
kins of the common alder (Alnus glutinosa.)
— Records of General Science, 1835.

PHYSIOLOGY OF MAN.

ON THE EXTERNAL CONFIGURATION AND IN-
TERNAL AGGREGATION.

(Continued from page 16.)

XXVI. Somebodies, the solids, fill space
in a durable and uniform manner, whilst
otheis, the liquids, vary in their manner of
filling it. These, air and water, are the vehi-
cles which contain the solid bodies. All or-
ganic bodies, asalso all minerals, mercury ex-
cepted, are solid. Organic bodies at the same
time have a regular form, which minerals only
present in the state of crystallization. In com-
paring these tw'o groups of bodies, in reference
to their configuration and aggregation, we are
under the necessity of confining ourselves, as
far as minerals are concerned, to those which
are possessed of a regular foim.

XXVII. All organic bodies, plants as well
as animals, have a form more or less round
and oval, or branched and articulated, and
they are confined by curved or undulating
lines, as also by convex or concave surfaces. *
Inorganic bodies, on the contrary, in cases
where they have a regular form, as in crystals,
are limited by flat surfaces and right lines by
the correction of which, at ceitain inclina-
tions, gre .-produced ridges and angles. This
has beemsufficiently demonstrated by Rome
de ITsle, t Bergmann,!: but particularly by

* Several of the immediate organic principles
are exceptions to this rule, inasmuch as, after
having been taken from living bodies or secreted
in them, they crystalli/.e in different manners.
Cholesterine, uric acid, and the sugar of milk,
are, in this respect, among those from the ani-
mal kingdom. Many vegetable substances,
sugar, different acids, such as the pure sinapic,
the benzoic, and others, but especially the sali-
fiable vegetable bases, such as morphine, narco-
tine, strychnine, brucine, quinine, &c. ; in fine
the sub resinous substances, crystallize. The
forms of the latter are, however, for the most
part, globular or radiated, like stars or rosettes,
according to JBonastre, (Sur la forme cristalline
de plusieurs sous-resines ; in the Annales de la
Societe Linueene, de Paris, Nov. 1827, p. 549.

t Essais de Cristallographie, or. Description
des Figures Geometriques propres aux difierens
Corps du regne Mineral. Paris, 1772, in 8vo.

1 Uebcr die Gestalten der Krystalle, 1773,

by Hauy,*_ Brochant de Villiers.t and by
others. It is known that crystals exhibit a
great diversity of forms, both simple and com-
plicated : these aie cubes, hexaedrals, rliomb.*,
prisms, columns,!: 6cc. ; but, how'ever va-
rious their forms may be, it is possible not-
withstanding, according to the connexion of
their parts, to reduce them to certain primi-
tive forms and to certain systems of crystalli-
zation.§ Thus these bodies, as was well re-
marked by Kielmeyer.il represent in some
degree the effect of an elementary geometry,
whilst nature has employed a high geometry
in proceeding to the formation of living bodies .
1 1 may be also said, and it amounts to the sam e
thing, that the forms of organized bodies are
more complicated than those of inorganic
bodies.

XXVIII. The organic kingdom exhibits a
much greater abundance and diversity of
forms than that of the bodies not endued
with life. The thousands of vegetable and
animal .species, showing so many differences
in their configuration, are proofs of this. Ac-
cording to an estimate made some years ago
by Humboldt,^ there are known nearly
fifty-six thousand species of plants, and fifty-
one thousand seven hundred animals ; but,
since that period, besides a great number of
new vegetables and animals have been dis-
covered.

XXIX. If we compare living bodies with
minerals in reference to their aggregation, wo
observe that, according to the expression of
G. R. J reviranus,** organic bodies are dis-
tinguished both by the regularity and the
heterogeneous nature of their parts, whilst
the latter are possessed only of the first cha-
racter and want the second. All living
bodies, vegetables, and animals, are com-
posed of heterogeneous parts. '1 hey always
contain solid and liquid constituents, which
is looked upon by Humboldt ft as a cha-
racter essential to them. Besides, we remark
in all, except the most simple, a vast number
of heterogeneous components ; in plants, we
see roots, leaves, and flowers ; in animals,
muscles, nerves, vessels, bones, and viscera
of several kinds. 'J'hese parts, regularly ar-
ranged and distributed, are themselves com-
posed of more simple parts; the tissues in
organic bodies, on the contrary, are not the

* Essai d’une Theorie sur la structure des
Cristaux. Paris, 1784, in 8vo. Traite de Minera
logie. Paris, 1822.

t De la Cristallization Consideree GSometri-
quement et Physiquement. Strasbourg, 1819, in
8vo.

t Whenever the operation of crystallization
has been troubled, and the molecules are pre-
cipitated suddenly, the regular geometrical form
is changed, and very frequently round forms are
produced ; but these, according to Haiiy’s very
just remark, show a want of perfection iu the
mineral kingdom.

$ Weis , in the Abbandlungen der Physika
lischen Klasse der Akademie der W issenschaften
von Berlin, years 1814 and 1815, p. 289.

II In his Course of Lectui'es on General Zoo-
logy.

H Annales de Chemie, vol. 16.

** Biologie, v. i, 158.

H Aphorismen aus der Pflanzen. Physiologic,
p. 33

ON COMPARATIVE PHYSIOLOGY.

65

result of an assemblage of heterogenous
parts, or if, sometimes, they present this
character, the parts are only simply mixed
with each other. Generally speaking, crys-
tals are composed only of homogenous solid
jjarts.*

XXX. Inasmuch as organic bodies are com-
posed of liquids and solids, it follows as an
immediate result, that they possess but little
consistency and rigidity* All of them are
soft and flexible, either throughout, or in a
great number of their parts. In fact, their
consistence varies considerably, as well in
vegetables as in animals, and not only in the
different groups of living bodies, but even in
the different parts of each individual. In ge-
neral, we remark that the more irnportant
parts of these bodies, those parts which per-
form the principal offices in the accomplish-
ment of their special manifestations of activi-
ty, possess the smallest consistence and soli-
dity, such as the fibres of the roots, the sap
vessels, the alburnum, the leaves and flowers
in plants ; the nerves, brain, muscles, the
viscera intended for the process of digestion,
and of respiration, and those destined to the
movement of the humours and to the differ-
ent secretions in animals. '1 he consistence
varies also in proportion to the age. Re-
garding this, we may lay dowm the principle,
that it is so much the more diminished in ve-
getable and animals, as those bodies are least
distant from their origin, or from the periods
of their development and growth, whilst it
increases, together with the rigidity, in pro-
portion as they approach the end of their
career.

In organic bodies, on the contrary, which
are composed entirely of solid parts, are re-
markable for their great regidity. In them
we do not see parts differing in point of con-
sistence, neither does their rigidity vary with
the duration of their existence.

XXXI. Another consequence ofthernix-
ture of the solids and fluids, which enter into
the composition of living bodies, as well as of
their state of softness, is the facility with which
they undergo changes in the relations of their
structure, that is, with which they move.
These two very circumstances render their
chemical composition more easily attacked
by external influences, as of heat and the
atmosphere, which act principally on their
liquid parts. Minerals, which are composed
of solids, and possess rigidity, do not exhibit
these changes in the mutual connexion of
their parts ; that is to say, they do not move

• The drops of water which are met with
sometimes in crystals can scarcely be brought
forward as an objection, because they are purely
accidental. Thus Brewster (Transactions of the
Royal Society of Edinburgh, vol. x. p. 1,) found
colourless and transparent liquids in some to-
pazes, in the chyrsoberyl, in the Quebec quarz,
in the amethyst, &c. Commonly these liquids
only in part filled the cavities of the crystals,
and besides contained a bubble of air, which dis-
appeared by the action of heat. Neither can
the water of crystallization be objected, since it
is intimately combined with the very matter of
the crystals, and is not distributed in specified
spaces, as the humours of living bodies are.

and are less liable to be varied in their com-
position by the action of exterior influences,
particularly of heat and the atmosphere.

XXXII. All organic bodies do not only
exist as a result of an assemblage of solid and
liquid parts, but moreover this sort of consti-
tution is indispensably necessary to their ex-
istence and preservation, inasmuch as it is tlie
reaction of solid and liquid parts which de-
termines and maintains the manifestations of
activity or of life-* If the juices of a plant
are abstracted, it dies; if the mass of its
humours are withdrawn from an animal, and
its vessels emptied of the blood contained in
them, life is extinguished. Let the solid parts
be destroyed in a mechanical or chemical
manner, in this case too the manifestations
of the life cease. It follows, then, that the
solids and liquids of living bodies are in a con-
tinual reciprocity of action, indispensably ne-
cessary to the support of life.

XXXIII. Another cause, too, of the essen-
tial and necessary connexion which exists,
in organized bodies, between the liquid and
solid parts, is that the latter take their origin
from the former. Every animal originates
from a liquid, in the midst of which it is form-
ed. Liquids, also, are inces-antly furnishing
the materials for the nutrition of the solids.
'J'hese possess capability of exercising their
manifestations of activity only so long as tliey
are nourished. Every substance whatever
which enters into organic bodies, under the
name of food, should be liquid, or at least
susceptible of becoming so. The solid,
themselves are likewise resolved into liquids,
in short, all matters which are elicited and
rejected from living bodies, during life, are
more or less liquid. But the constitution of
the liquids depend;?, in its turn, on the mani-
festations of activity of the solids, for these
are the chief source of the qualities which
distinguish them.

XXXIV. Neither is it difficult to convince
ourselves, by an attentive examination with
the microscope, that the parts entering into
the composition of organic bodies, are of
another nature from those which constitute
minerals. By this instrument we perceive,
both in the liquids and solids of vegetables
and animials, globular or oval, and occasion-
ally flattened, bodies. The most simple
animals, such as the infusoria, polypi, as well
as the most simjjle plants, the confervae, tie
mellae, the pulverulent mushrooms, the
bys.sus, &c., are composed of globules, as is

* Some vegetables and animals, of the most
simple species however, for instance, mosses,
infusoria, ratifera, (vorticella rotatoria) vihri
ones, (vibrio anguilla) tkc., survive for some
time the loss of their liquid parts ; tliey may be
dissected so as to give no sign of life, and when
afterwards they are moistened, the phenomena
of life are again roused in them, as is shown by
the experiments of Needham, (Nouvelles de-
couvertes faites avec le Microscope. Leyden
1744,) of Baker, (Employment for the Micros-
cope, London, 1764.) of Spallanzani, (Observa
tions sur les Animaux qu’on peut tuer et res
susciter a son gr6 ; in Opuscules de Physique,
vol. ii, p. 261,) and of Foutana, (Sur le veniu de
la vip^re, vol i.)

56

MANIFESTATIONS OF ACTIVITY OF ORGANIC

shown from the results of Trembley’s,'^Schoef-
fer’sf Carolini’s4 and other observations.
In the majority of the animal humours, glo-
bules have been found ; in the blood, chyle,
saliva, the pancreatic juice, the fat, the se-
men, and the milk, by Leu\venhoeck,§ Ilew-
son,ll and very recently by Home, Prevost,
and Dumas, Rafu,5f Gottfried Reeinhold,^^
and Ludolf Christian Treviranus,tt &c. have
likewise met with them in the proper juices
of plants, especially in those of the milky
kind. Globules of divers kinds are also seen
in the cells of vegetables. Of this sort are
those of the starch found in cotyledons ; of
the albumen of grains of corn and bulbous
roots; the resinous globules of chlorophile,
in the parenchyma of the leaves, and the
coloured globules in the cells of the flowers.
Similar globules have also been perceived in
the cellular tissue, the serous and mucous
membranes, the brain and nerves, the tendons,
and the different glands of animals, by Leu-
vvenhoeck, Hook, Swammerdamm, Della
'i'orie, Prochaska, Fontana, See.., and latterly
b.y Parba, Horne, G. 11. Treviranus,!:!: Milne
E'dwards,^^ Dutrochet.jH] Prevost and Du-
mas,Hodgkins and Lister.* * * § Lastly, they
are discovered also in the embryons of plants
and animals that are forming, a iact demon-
strated by Swammerdamm, t C. F. Wolf.j);
G, 11. 'rreviranu5,$ Sprengel.H L. C. Trevi-
ranus,*[[ Link,** Pudolphi,tt J- F. Meekest
and many others.

* Mem. pour servir a I’Histoire d’un genre de
Polypes d’eau douce. Leyden, 1744, p. 54.

+ Von den guinen Armpolypen. Ryensburg,
1755, p. 21

t Ueber Pfanzenthier-e des Mittelmeers, p. .56.

§ Opera omnia seu Arcana Naturas. Leyden,
17 '22.

II Opus Posthumum, Description of the red
Particles of the blood London, 1777.

^ Entwurf einer Pflanzen Physiologie. Trans-
lated from the Danish, by Markussen, p. 91.

Ueber die Gefasse und den Bildurgsaft der
Pflanzen, in Verraischten Schriften, v i, p. 145.

+t Ueber den eigenen Taft der Gewaschse ; in
Tiedemann’s und Treviraniis’ Zeitschrift fur
Physiologie, vol. i, p 147.

Ueber die Organischen Elemente des thieri-
schen Korpers ; in Verrnischten Schriften, ena-
tomischen und Physiologischen Inhalts. Goeit-
tingen, I8I6, vol. i, p 117.

§§ Sur la Structure Elementaire de-i Principaux
Tissus Organiques des Animaux, in the Archi-
ves Generates de Medicine, 1S23, vol. iii. Re-
cherches Microscopiques sur la Scructure in
time des tissus Organiques des Animaux ; in
the Annales des Sciences Naturelles, 1825, vol.
ix, p. 362

1111 Recherches .\natomiques et Physiologiques
sur la structur intime des Animaux at des Ve-
getaux, etsur leur Motilite Paris, 1824.

Bibliotheque Universelle des Sciences et
Arts, A ol. xvii.

* Philosophical Magazine and Annals of Phi-
losophy, No. 8, 1827.

t Biblia Naturas, p 817. He saw globules on
the young bull head frogs.

1 Theoria Generationis, vol ii, pp 2, 16, 53.

I Biologie, vol iii, p. 233, vol. iv, p. 9.

II Von dem Bau und der Natur de Gewaschse.
Halle, 1812, p. 71.

H Vom inwendigen Bau der Gewaschse, p. 2.
Beitrage zur Pflanzen Physiologie, p. I .

** Grundlehren dei Anatomic und Physiologie
der Pflanzen, p. 29, Nachtrage,p. 3.

H Anatomie der Pflanzen. p 27.

JJ Vergleichende Anatomic, vol i, p. 40.

XXXV. These globules or corpuscules
peculiar to organic bodies, none similar to
which are found in minerals, are to be con-
sidered as the elementary forms of the former,
a.s the final organic molecules possessing a
distinct form which are perceivable in tliem.
Organic matters, in general, appear to have
the property of assuming, under certain cir-
cumstances, globular forms. This is chiefly
remarked when they pass from the liquid to
the solid state. G. R. Treviranus saw glo-
bules formed during coagulation of the white
of an egg, which he had not distinguished in
the liquid albumen. Prevost and Dumas ob-
served the same phenomenon in albumen, i
whose coagulation they had effected by sub-
mitting it to the action of the positive pole of
the galvanic pile. It is globularcorpuscules,
also, which fiist appear when infusoria are '
formed in tlie mids^t of organic matters in a
state of decomposition.

XXXVI. These organic elementary glo-
bules, whose volume, colour, and other quali-
ties show so many differences in the liquid.?
and solids of plants and animals, form the
basis of the different tissues, the presence of
which distinguishes living todies from mi- j

nerals, wherein nothing that can be compared !

to them is perceptible. Animal tissues are i

the consequence of, or are composed by dif- I

ferent modes of arrangement of the globules. I

These are ranged in series and lines in the i

fibrous tissue of the nerves, of the muscles I

and tendons. They are extended in the form 1

of lamellae in the cellular tissue, and those !

membranes that are chiefly composed of it, as I

the serous, synovial, and mucous, as well as ,

in the coats of the vessels. 'J'hey are found |

variously united in masses in the glandular or- '

gans, the liver, the kidneys, the salivary glands,
the pancreas and testicles. The tissues of vege- ’

tables have not been hitherto sufficiently |

examined so as to ascertain the j)recise I

arrangement of their elementary globules. [

XXXVII. The union of tissues, in ex-
tremely diversified modes of combination, j
disposition, and form, gives origin to the pans
which we see exercising the different func- '

tions in organic bodies, during their life, and I

which we designate by the name of organs or I

apparatus for the performance of the different ,

manifestations of life. Pat ts resembling these '

are never met with inorganic bodies. '

XXXVllI. Organic bodies, at least the j
more complicated, have their surface supplied i
with a covering, which confines them, and
which surrounds the different liquid and solid
parts, organs, tissues, and combinations of tis-
sues, entering into their composition. This
covering is called skin in animals and bark i
in plants. The different sized openings by
wdiich it is pierced, permit living bodies to
absorbrsubstances from without and to expel
substances from within. We find nothing
like this in minerals, w'hose constituent par-
ticles are without any means of separation
directly exposed to the surrounding media.

XXXIX. All the parts found in, and
whose union constitute, organic bodies, are
held together by the bonds of a strict causali-
ty. In relation to their origin and formation
they are dependent on each other. This pro-

AND THOSE OF INORGANIC BODIES.

57

position does not only follow from what has
already been said concerning the connexion
of liquids and solids, but also from the man-
ner in which organized bodies are formed in
the midst of matters which produce tliem.
The radicle, proceeding from the fertile seed
of a plant, determines tlie growth of the stalk,
which afterwards plays the same part with
respect to the leaves and flowers. The parts
which appear first are the cause of the mani-
festations of those that succeed. Thus, in
the embryos of the more complicated animals,
the two most generally extended apparatus,
the nervous and vascular systems, are those
which are first formed, and from whose forma-
tion that of the others proceeds.

A similar relationship of cause and effect
does not exist between the parts whose aggre-
gation produces minerals. When a crystal is
formed in the midst of a liquid, the particles
of which it is composed are united to each
other by the laws of affinity and cohesion
alone, without the first which congregate,
exercising a determining action on the forma-
tion and arrangement of the others, as hap-
pens in the formation of organic bodies,

XL. Once produced and formed, the solid
and liquid parts remain, so long as they en-
dure, in a continual state of dependence and
reciprocity of action,* that is to sav, that
they are to each other as cause and effect, or,
to employ the expression of Kant,t as means
and end. The liquids contained in defined
spaces of different kinds, and spread through-
out the solids, combine with them, and pass
from the liquid to the solid state. The solids,
on the other hand, are redissolved and return
to the liquid state. Moreover, the liquids act
on the organs which they urge to the produc-
tion of manifestations of activity, while the
organs, in their turn reacting on the liquids,
keep the.min motion and modify their proper-
ties. Every part of a plant or animal contri-
butes, by its manifestation of activity, to the
preservation of the individual in the full ex-
ercise of its faculties, and indirectly also to
the maintenance of the species. The dura-
tion of vegetables, with a few exceptions,
which will be spoken of hereafter, depends on
the root, the stalk, and leaves, which all con-
tribute to it by their special functions. These
parts and the flowers, or genital organs, which
they produce, assure the duration of the spe-
cies. The same is the case in animals. The
organs of digestion, of absorption, of respira-
tion, of the circulation, and of secretion, as-
sure, by the very fact of their manifestations
of activity, both their own preservation and
that of their numerous apparatus, of the or-
gans of the senses and of the locomotive ap-
paratus, just as the functions of these latter
contribute also to the preservation of the
other organs and of themselves. The geni-
tals, the existence and the functions of which

* The reciprocal action of the parts in liv-
ing bodies was known to Hippocrates, since he
says (lib. de alimento ;) Consensus uniis, con-
spiratio una, conseutiantia omnia ; and in another
place (de locis in homine ;) mihi quidem videtur
principium corporis nullum esse, sed omnia simi-
liter principium et omnia finis,
f Kritik der Urtheilskraft, v. ii, p, 292.

depend on the other apparatus of the indivi-
dual, do not re-act on them as cau.se, nor are
they necessary to the preservation of the indi-
vidual, but they certainly are to that of the
species by their manifestations of activity.
All the parts, then, which enter into the com-
position of an organic body, together with
their qualities and manifestations of activity,
are in a mutual dependence on each other
and constitute a perfect whole, so that the
particular activity belonging to the individual
and to the species is thereby preserved.

The homogeneous particles which consti-
tute a crystal, and which are united by cohe-
sion, have not this reciprocity of action in re-
ference to each other, as Bichat has shown*.
They do not act mutually the part of conser-
vative agent and cause, relative to their qua-
lities, as is the case in the parts of an organic
body.

XLI. As the different solid and liquid
parts, existing in an organic body, are in inti-
mate connexion with each other, and as their
duration is conditional on the reciprocity of
action of the parts which constitute it, the
greater number of living bodies, especially all
those that are complex, do not suffer division,
without being deprived of their existence and
of their own proper activity. Organic bodies,
then, in the rigorous acceptation of the word,
are individuals which cannot be divided, in-
asmuch as such division annihilates life in
them .

It is true there exist several organic bodies
which are susceptible of division to a certain
degree, without having their existence com-
promised by this operation. In this number
are many plants, especially perennial plants,
and amongst animals, polypi, some radiariae,
and worms. This circumstance does not con-
fute what has been said on indivisibility as a
characteristic ofliving bodies. On one hand,
many plaints, like polypi, represent an union
or collection of several smaller organisms,
which may continue to live after they have
been detached from their stock. On the
other hand, all their parts present a certain
uniformity of organization and action, and
such an independence, that they are able to
exist apart from each other, and produce or
regenerate, by their own activity, the parts
necessary to the perfection of the species.
The character of individuality is the more
pronounced, in organic bodies, as their struc-
ture is more complicated and their manifesta-
tions of activity more varied. On the con-
trary, a less difference is exhibited by the
parts entering into their composition, or the
more they are similar, less is the diversity in
their actions perceivable, less striking is the
character of indivisibility, and more feeble is
the connexion of the parts of the same orga-
nism, because parts that are similar have the
conditions of their existence more in them-
selves, and are less dependent on each
other.

Regarding inorganic bodies, they do not
form individuals, because they are the result
of an assemblage of homogeneous particles,
having no relation of production or preserva-
tion with each other, as have the different

* Anatomic generate. Introduction, p. 23.

58

THE ADVANTAGE OF COMBINING THE

parts of organized bodies. Inorganic bodies
can therefore subsist after liaving been sepa-
rated into pieces. Each piece of a broken
crystal exists as well as if united to the other
pieces’^. Neither can inorganic bodies re-
produce or regenerate, by their own proper
power, parts which have been separated frpm
them, as is the case with those simple living
bodies that are divisible without loss of
existence.

X LII. In reference to the form and com-
position of bodies, if we examine the changes
they undergo during their existence, their
duration, their mode of origin, and their rela-
tions with external influences, we also here
discover considerable differences between
those that are organized and those that are
not.

The form and aggregation of all living bo-
dies vary during their existence, at stated pe-
riods, and according to inherent laws. All
vegetables and animals are born with a very
simple form, and, at the time of their origin,
they are composed, internally, of a very small
number of parts, having a simple configuration.
By degrees, in proportion as their volume
augments, their form and aggregation become
more complicated. All of them observe a
periodicity in their development. Moreover,
we observe, that the majority suffer by de-
grees, in the progress of age, a sinking in their
form, and changes in the composition of their
liquids and solids.

(To be continued.)

THE EDITOR’S MOTIVE FOR AP-
PENDING THE MECHANICAL ARTS
TO THE ;J0URNAL OF FOREIGN
SCIENCE.

Some of our contemporaries may be
surprised to find articles on the Mechanical
Arts appended to our Journal of Foreign
Science. We beg to call their attention
to the reasons which have led us to add
this department of interesting matter ; there
are at the present moment upwards of 700
accomplished and highly educated medical

• Richerand has perfectly explained this in
the following- terms : “ Tontes les parties d’un
corps vivant, soit vegetal, soit animal, tendent et
concourent a nn but commun, le conservation
de I’individu, et de I’espece ; chacun de leurs
organs, quoique doue d’une action particuliere,
agit pour remplir cet objet ; et de cette serie
d’actions concurrentes et harmoniquesresultela
vie generale, ou la vie proprement dite. Au con-
traire, chaque partie d’une masse brute ou in-
organique est independente des autres parties,
aux quelles elle n’est unie que par la force ou
I’affinite d’aggregation ; lorsqu’elle en est se-
peree elle existe avec toutes ses proprietes carac-
teristiques et ne differe que par son volume de
la masse a la quelle elle a cesse d’appurtenir.”

men scattered over the vast territories of
our Eastern possessions. The duties of
many consists simply of attending a few
sick in a solitary hospital, and the British
Government of India have not yet disco-
vered the admirable advantages which
would accrue from employing these able
men out of the immediate sphere of their
profession. Now as there is scarcely a me-
dical man in India who has not acquired
some knowledge of chemistry-— a knowledge
it does not require much penetration and
ingenuity to prove might be applied to
improve the arts and manufactories now
going on in the great cities and marts in
this country. What soil in the whole
world is so rich in productions as this, and
so calculated to jdeld all that is now obtain-
ed from foreign countries ? observe to what
the genius of chemical science has done
for France and England, and what may it
not do for India ! !

We are aw^are that we may be charged
with encouraging an indulgence in specula-
tive refinement which has in some in-
stances led men out of the line of useful
industry, and by the loss of property, to the
ruin of their families. Such has been the
result, it is true, but generally speaking, to
the artist only, seldom to the man of
science. The chemist is better able than
one who is only a mechanic to predict from
an experiment on a small scale, the probable
issue of more extensive attempts. Watt, by
a clear insight into the doctrine of latent
heat, resulting from his thorough knowledge
of chemistry, and seconded by mechanical
skill, taught the way to bring the steam
engine to perfection. Wedgew’ood, by the
same knowledge advanced the art of manu-
facturing porcelain, neither must we forget
Scheele’s discovery of oxygenized muriatic
acid and Bethollet’s instructions in its ap-
plication to the art of bleaching, and Sequin
and Davy established processes strictly che-
mical which brought into perfection the art
of tanning and preparation of leather. Che-
mistry is the foundation of those arts that
furnish us with saline substances, an order
of bodies highly useful in the alFairs of

STUDY OF CHEMISTRY AVITH MECHANICS.

59

common life. The successful manufactory
of glass and v’arious kinds of pottery depends
upon a knowledge of the nature of the sub-
stances employed, of their fusibility as af-
fected by difference of proportion, or by
the admixture of foreign substances, and
of the means of regulating and measuring
high degrees of heat. The Chemist Berghan
taught the most successful manufactory of
brick and tiles. The art of malting is most
successfully taught by the chemist. Dyeing
and printing, as we hare already shewn, are
a tissue of chemical operation, and in short
we should tire our readers by giving further
illustration, to shew the utility of this de-
partment of our labours to medical men who
are generally chemists. If national prosperi-
ty in Britain has arisen in an eminent degree
from the superiority in the production of
her arts, ought they, we enquire, to be neg-
lected in British India ? If not, we may
boldly put the question — are we not, as
having the welfare of India at heart,
bound to promote it by a due discharge of
our duty by diffusing discoveries on mecha-
nical arts among medical men as the means
of communicating them to the natives? We
do not pretend to say that chemistry has
not been known to the people of India :
but we assert that its application to the com-
forts of the people has hitherto been con-
fined to processes attained by accident, and
transmitted from one generation to another
without any knowledge of their principles.
The division of the people into castes and
confinement of trades to certain families,
have tended to raise the mechanical arts to
their present state of perfection, but then
they are stationary, — there is no desire for
improvement. Moreover, at present the me-
chanical arts are confined to the very infe-
rior orders of the people, who being an
uneducated class, have no other notions than
those which are erroneous and absurd in
the highest degree. Their means of con-
veyance by land and water, and their vari-
ous kinds of implements and machinery suf-
ficiently prove, all that we have advanced,
and shews the necessity which exists that
something should be done by the aid of
medical men, who are so fitted by their

knowledge of chemistry to carry the great
work of improvement into execution. It will
be a pleasing reflection hereafter to us that
if by adding this new department to our
labours we shall be promoting the pecu-
niary interests of the deserving and talented
members of our profession, and by diffusing
important discoveries in the mechanical arts,
be the means of adding to the affluence, the
comforts, and the happiness of the na-
tives of India.

We open this department with the pre-
sent month, by announcing a very impor-
tant discovery of what is called a Pneuma-
tic Railway. The importance to this coun-
try of railway transit will soon be duly
estimated, as the native commercial commu-
nity advance in the knowledge of science
and the arts. We shall make no apology for
bringing the subject before our readers.
We have extracted the article from the Me-
chanic s Magazine for May, 183.5. The edi-
tor of that periodical is opposed to the in-
vention, and a discussion is being carried on
between the projector and him : but in the
present state of the discussion, it would be
unprofitable to give the opinions of either
to our readers,

THE PNEUMATIC RAILW-AY.

A model, of what is called a “ Pneumatic
Railway,” for which Mr. Henry Pinkus has
taken out a patent, is now exhibiting in Wig-
more-street ; and a prospectus is in circula-
tion of a '' National Pneumatic Railway Asso-
ciation,” to promote the adoption, on all the
railroads in England,” of the system of trans-
port of which this model is an exemplification.
Copies are also handed about of Opinions”
given by Dr. Lardner and Professor Faraday
in favour of the system ; and on the strength
of these opinions very considerable sums are
stated to have been subscribed to the project-
ed Association.” We shall first lay before
our readers as much of the prospectus as re-
lates to the scientific merits of the project, and
then the Opinions” of Messrs. Faraday and
Lardner entire ; after which we shall add
something in the way of an opinion of our own.
Extracts from Prospectus of the National

Pneumatic Raihvay Association.

The improvement consists in the means
by which one of the most effective powers in
nature is made available to railway transit,
and it is applied through the agency of fxed
steam engines, arranged at stations several
miles apart along the line of road ; the medium
of communication between the stations consti-

eo

ON THE POWER OF SURMOUNTING

tilting the body of the railway itself, which is
so formed as'to be nearly indestructible.

* ^ ^ ^ ¥

“ The invention, which is the basis of the
improvement now submitted to the public, con-
sists in the means of applying the elastic and
forcing power of the atmosphere, obtained by
rarefaction, within a hollow cylinder, of from
thirty to forty inches in diameter, to carriages
and cars running upo7i rails on its outer sur-
face the action being produced and trans-
ferred by means of pneumatic machinery,
worked by sufficiently powerful fixed or local
steam-engines.

“ Steam-power, used as a first mover, ad-
mits of no application so economical as that by
means of fixed engines ; and thus motive
power will be obtained at one quarter the ex-
pense of that yielded by the locomotive-engine.
The fixed engine gives also the advantage
which the locomotive does not possess, that
the intensity of its force can be greatly varied
to suit the exigencies of the road ;• and thus it
may be rendered available according to the
nature of the slope or steepness of the acclivi-
ty to overcome the weight to be moved,
and the degree of rapidity required. Unlike
that of the locomotive-engine, the power of
the fixed engine is, by the improved system,
communicated ivith no indirect expenditure to
the load or train of carriages; whilst the pow-
er of the locomotive is first applied to bear
along its own ponderous bulk — which is of
about 10 tons weight, or fully one-fourth of its
usual load— and, as before remarked^ it de-
stroys both railw ay and engine by its violent
action andconcussive force.

“ The power of stirmoiinting acclivities ren-
ders the most direct lines of communication
available, and thus shortens the distances be-
tween places, and avoids the necessity of cir-
cuitous routes in search of levels. Moreover,
the improved system of railway permits of
roads being laid through a marsh as W’ell as
over a common or dow n, and with no greater-
expense ; thus affording the means, in many
cases, of avoiding the annoyance, inconveni-
ence, and expense of running roads through
parks, and over arable lands. It may be re-
marked, too, that the great expense involved
in the formation and construction of a railroad
upon the common system, is totally sunk in
cutting down, or in tunneling through hills,
and in building across, or embanking over-
valleys ; W'hereas the main expense involved
in the formation of a road on the improved
system, is in common iron castings, which be-
ing almost indestructible, and possessing an
intrinsic value, little or no loss can accrue
upon them.

“Not only does the improved system pre-
sent a firmer construction of the railway, and
a highly economical application of power, but
it atibrds also greater protection to life and
property, in the security of the carriages and
cars for the conveyance of passengers and
goods ; since these are so placed upon the
rails, and so connected with the railway it-
self, that they cannot, by any possibility, be
thrown off or overturned. In consequence of
this advantage, whatever objection may exist
in the public mind to travelling upon railways.

ACCLIVITIES BY THE PNEUMATIC RAILWAY,

61

because of the danger connected with the
common system, will be entirely removed, and
a great improvement may be confidently cal-
culated upon in the important item of passen-
ger traffic.

“ When it is considered that 5^ the im-
proved system a line of road may he formed
and constructed, for, at the most, two-
thirds, and in some cases, for one-half the
expense involved hy the common system ;
and that such a railway can he maintained
and worked with far greater speed, and
infinitely greater safety, for three-fourths
less than the common system costs ; and
that therefore passengers and goods may he
conveyed at one-half the price ivhich the
common system demands, and then yield a
far competition with the As-

sociation will be wholly out of the question.

“ As any degree of speed cdJi be obtained
by the improved system with the most per-
fect safety, and without the disadvantage, not
to say danger, arising from great velocity on
the common method, a single line on the new
system can be made, by the reciprocating
plan proposed, to effect as much transit as
can be effected by the use of a double liae on
the former, while the cost will thereby be
lessened nearly one-half. Hence communi-
cations that may not warrant the expense of
a double line of railway, may be advantage-
ously occupied vyith a single line ; number-
less lines are in this manner open to the
application of the new system, which the
common method will not permit of being-
attempted,

“ As the invention affords the means of
applying the power to the common railway,
the proprietors of such must soon be found
anxious to avail themselves of its advantages ;
and thus all the railroads in the country may
soon become tributary to the Association,
while the interests of the various concerns
themselves will be materially improved by its
adoption.”

Prefixed to the prospectus there are two
views, of which those on the front page of our
present Number are reduced copies ; Fig. 1,
representing the Pneumatic Railway, as it
would appear in actual operation ; and Fig-
2, a sectional view of the Railway Cylinder,
exhibiting the internal arrangement.

OPINION OF DR. LARDNER.

I have read the specification of the patent
for the Pneumatic Railway and the accom-
panying papers, and have also examined the
drawings and models which have been sub-
mitted to me by Mr. -Hocking.*

Two methods have been heretofore em-
ployed for rendering steam power available
in transport upon railways ; one by causing
a travelling or locomotive engine to move
with the load which it draws, the other by
constructing, at intervals of about a mile
and a half, stationary steam-engines, the
power of which is transmitted to the load by
a rope carried along the road upon rollers or

* Professional Director of undertaking the.— •
Ed. xM. M.

sheaves placed between the rails. 1'he train
being attached to this rope is drawn by the
power of the engines from station to station.
The object of the Pneumatic Railway is to
substitute for the rope a partially exhausted
tunnel, to employ the fixed steam-engines to
work air-pumps by which a rarefaction of the
tunnel shall be maintained, and to cause the
trains to be tracked upon the railway by
connecting them with a diaphragm or piston
placed in the interior of the tunnel, so as to
have that part of the tunnel in advance of
the piston rarefied by the engines, while that
part behind the piston is open to the atmo-
sphere. An effective impelling power is thus
obtained equivalent to the difference between
the pressure of the atmosphere on one side of
the diaphragm, and of the rarefied air on the
other. ! ! !

Of the practicability of this project, I think
there can be no doubt. d he working of
large air-pumps, by an adequate moving
power, and the rarefaction of air in tubes or
tunnels by such means is not a new idea. It
was suggested by Papin in the latter end of
the seventeenth century, and was even pointed
out by him as a means of transferring power
to a distance, without the loss by friction and
other causes consequent upon the use of ropes,
or other ordinary means of transmitting
force. It is, in fact, a well understood prin-
ciple in physics, that whatever moving force
be expended in producing the rarefaction of
air in a cylinder or tunnel, must necessarily
be followed by a corresponding force on the
other side of a diaphragm moving air-tight
in that tunnel, and exposed to the free action
of the atmospheric pressure. In the present
case, supposing the structure of the valvular
cord and the pneumatic piston to be perfect,
the opposite side of the diaphragm will al-
ways be pressed by an effective impelling
force, the amount of which may be calcu-
lated upon these principles. It will, of
course, be perceived that no original moving
power is obtained from the tunnel, or from
the rarefied air; the rarefaction gives back
the power expendedby the stationary engines,
and nothing more; and the tunnel must
therefore be regarded merely as a substitute
for the ropes in the common method of work-
ing railways by stationary engines. But it
is evidently attended with several advantages
in comparison with the latter. A very large
proportion of the moving power of stationary
engines worked by ropes is intercepted by
the resistance from the weight and friction of
the ropes, sheaves, barrels, drums, &c. All
such waste of power is removed by the pneu-
matic tunnel.

The original expense of ropes, and then-
wear and tear, would be likewise saved.
Some notion of the extent of this saving may
be collected from the following facts : — when
the Liverpool and Manchester Railway was
about to be brought into operation, a question
arose as to the expediency of working it by
stationary engines, and estimates of the ex-
pense were made by competent engineers, d he
total amount of capital to be invested in mov«
ing power was estimated at about 120,000/. ;
of this above 25,000/. was devoted to ropes.

62 ON THE COMPARATIVE ECONOMY LIKELY TO RESULT

sheaves, drums, and other necessary accom-
paiiiments. The total annual expense of
maintaining the moving power was estimated
at 42,000^., and of this about 18,000/. was
appropriated to the wear and tear of ropes,
sheaves, &c. &c. 'J'hus it appears that the
method of transmitting the power of the sta-
tionary engines to the trains by ropes would
absorb about 20 per cent, of tlie invested ca-
pital, and their maintenance would consume
about 43 per cent, of the annual expenditure.

Another source of comparative economy
xvould obviously be the diminished number of
stationary engines. In the estimate already
referred to, it was calculated that the distance
of 30 miles should be divided into 17 stations,
with two 40-horse engines at each station ;
besides these, there would have been two en-
gines at the bottom of each inclined plane, one
at the tunnel, two at the top of the planes,
and one at the Manchester end, making in all
42 stationary engines to work a line of 30
miles. Now, according to the estimate of the
patentee of the Pneumatic Railway, from
three to six stations would be sufficient be-
tween Manchester and Liverpool, and the
whole line would be worked by from six to
twelve stearn-engines. Putting aside, there-
fore, the saving of power which woirld arise
from the substitution of suction in the tunnel
for ropes, and supposing the amount of stati-
onary power in both cases to be the same,
it will be evident that a material saving would
arise from the circumstance of that amount of
power being derived from so much less a num-
ber of engines — the number of enginemen, as-
sistants, &c., besides the interest on capital,
being considerably less.

Some notion of the economy of power likely
to arise from superseding the use of ropes
may be collected from the result of experi-
ments made by Messrs. Stephenson and
Locke, on the resistance arising from the
friction of ropes. They found that a load
of 52 tons, drawn by stationary engines worked
by ropes, through mile and half stages, offer-
ed a total resistance amounting to 11,56 lbs. ;
of this 582 lbs. arose from the friction of the
load, and 5741bs. from the friction of the
ropes. In the case of the Pneumatic Rail-
way, the friction of the rope is replaced by the
friction ofthe air-pumps and of the impelling
apparatus; and it will be evident that the
latter, compared with the former, must be al-
most insignificant. Hence the power wasted
m its transmission from the stationary engines
to the load, which in one case amounts to 50
per cent, of the whole moving power of the
engine, in the other is of comparatively tri-
fling amount.

Slopes on railways will alway be objection-
able, w'hatever power be used ; for even the
most gentle ascent will increase the resistance
of the load in an enormous proportion. The
difficulties, however, which they present are
materially less when the line is worked by
stationary than by locomotive-engines, and
w'ould be still further diminished by supersed-
ing the rope ; the resistance arising from the
rope being always greater on inclined-planes
than on the level , owing to its increased thick-
ness and consequent weight. A load which

requires a 4-^-inch rope for the level requires
a 5^-inch rope upon a slope of 1 in 100. The
weights of equal lengths of these ropes would
be iri the proportion of about 2 to 3, the slope
requiring one-half more weight of rope than
the level. Resides this, the moving power on
a slope, in addition to the ordinary friction
which it has to overcome on the level, has
likewise to draw up the v/eight ofthe rope— a
resistance which will be increased in proper-
lion to the acclivity of the slope.

The disadvantages produced by slopes
when locomotive-engines are used are still
more formidable. The same engine which
is fitted to work upon the level is altogether
inadequate for the slopes ; the consequence
of which is, either, that the locomotive is
strained beyond its power by working up the
slopes and rapidly destroyed, or that the en-
gines must be more powerful than is requisite
for the common level of the road, and thus
power and expense wasted ; or finally, that an
auxiliary engine must be kept constantly
ready at the foot of each slope, with its fire
lighted and its steam up, ready to help up the
trains as they arrive. Unless the trains be
almost incessant ('which even on the most
frequented railroad they never can be), this
last expedient, which is the one adopted on
the Manchester line, is attended with great
waste of power and expense. Stationary
engines worked on the pneumatic principle
w’ould effectually remove all these difficulties
and objections.

The weight of the trains which could be
drawn upon the Pneumatic Railway, and the
speed of the motion imparted to them would
entirely depend upon the power of the stati-
onary engines. As the friction or other resis-
tance does not increase with the velocity, the
same absolute expenditure of power would
draw the same load at whatever speed. 'I'he
high speed attained by locomotive engines has
been attended with great expense, but this has
not arisen from the increased expenditure of
power. It has been caused by the wear of
the engines themselves, consequent on their
rapid motion on the road, and by the necessi-
ty of sustaining a fierce temperature, in the
fire-place, in order to be able, within the
small compass of these engines, to generate
steam with sufficient rapidity to attain the
necessary rate of motion. As the magnitude
of the stationary engines would not be limited,
and as they would not be subject to the injuri-
ous effects of motion on the road, steam could
be produced in sufficient quantity for the at-
tainment of any required speed, without
increasing its cost or in any way impairing'
the machinery.

One of the obstacles to the attainment of
great speed by stationary engines worked by-
ropes, is the delay produced in transferring
the trains from engine to engine, and from
station to station. The momentum imparted to
them is lost at each change, and these changes
occur every mile and a half, so that the train
has scarcely attained its requisite speed when
its motion must again be checked in order to
hand it over to another engine. This difficulty
is removed by the pneumatic system ; there
being no rope to be detached and attached , the

BY THE ADOPTION OF PNEUMATIC RAILWAY'S,

C3

piig'lne passes on by its momentum from sta-
tion to station ; and a contrivance is provided,
by means of a valve at the stations, by which
it is brought under the operation of the next
engine without stopping its motion.

Although the danger of accidents to passen-
gers on the present railways worked by loco-
motive engines, is considerably less than that
of travelling by horse coaches on turnpike
roads, yet serious accidents have occasionally
occurred. These have generally arisen either
from the locomotive engine running off the
rails — from one train running against ano-
ther—from the locomotive engine breaking —
or, finally, from persons standing upon the
rails being run down. In the pneumatic
system there is almost a perfect security from
these causes of danger. From the engines
being stationary, and the tunnel rising between
the wheels of the trains, it is evidently impos-
sible for the carriages to run off the road ; and
from the manner in which the system is work -
ed, it is impossible that one train can run
against another. It happens also that the na-
ture of the rails themselves, forming, as they
do, merely ledges upon the sides of the tunnel,
prevents the possibility of persons standing
between or upon them .

In railways worked by statlonary'engines,
serious accidents have occasionally occured by
the ropes breaking while the train has been
ascending a slope. In such cases the train
has run down by its weight with a frightful
rapidity, producing the destruction of the car-
riages and the loss of life. It is evident that
this source of danger is removed by the
pneumatic system.

An advantage possessed by this system above
the edge railroad deserves to be particularly
noticed. In the edge railroad the engines and
carriages are kept upon the road by flanges or
ledges raised upon the tires of the wheels
which press on the interior of the rails. Every
thing which causes the carriagss to press on
the one side or the other, causes these
flanges to rub against the rail. When
a curve or' bend happens in the road, the carri-
ages are guided by the pres.sure of one or the
other flange on the side of the rail, which, of
course, is accompanied by considerable fric-
tion. In the pneumatic railway there are no
flanges, either on the wheels, or rails ; the
carriages are guided by wheels or rollers
placed in a horizontal position, and acting upon
the external sides of the channel which receives
the valvular cord. By this means all resistance
which arises from what is called rubbing fric-
tion is removed, and every surface which moves
upon another moves upon it with a rolling
motion.

(To be continued.)

ON CALICO-PRINTING.

By Thomas Thomson, m. d.,f. r.s, l, &e.&c.
Regius Professor of Chemistry in the
University of Glasgow^

( Continued from page 23
II — DISCHARGES OF COLOURS.
—Most colours are fixed to the cloth by mor-

dants ; or if they be metallic oxides, they
retain their affinity only that a particular
state of oxdizement.* Thus madder is fixed
by alumina, and cochineal by means of oxide
of tin. Manganese adheres to the cloth only
when in the state of sesquioxide, and is washed
away by water the moment it is converted
into protoxide. Hence, when the printers
wish to discharge a colour from cloth, they
employ something that will dissolve the mor-
dant, or which will deoxidize the oxide, or
colouring matter, if no mordant be present.
The dischargers or either acids, or substances
having a strong affinity for oxygen ; the for-
mer being employed to dissolve the mordants,
and the latter to deoxidize the oxides. The
chief of these are the following : —

1. CITRIC ACID is much used to dis-
solve alumina, and peroxide of iron, and thus
to prevent the formation of colour on particu-
lar parts of the cloth, by removal of the mor-
dant, which would otherwise produce them.
It is obtained by evaporating lemon juice, and
thickening it with gum-senegal for the
cylinder, or with gum and pipe-clay for the
block. Its action is occasionally assisted by
bisulphate of potash, or sulphuric acid.

Sometimes the citric acid is first printed on
white cloth, and afterwards the aluminous or
iron mordant is applied slightly thickened.
It is dried immediately to prevent the swell-
ing of the acid figures. At other times, the
mordants are first applied, and the acids print-
ed over them.

In both cases, the goods are afterwards pas-
sed through hot water, containing cow dung,
and well washed before they are dried. This
removes the mordants from all those parts to
which the acid has been applied, which of
course, remains white after the cloth is died.

2. TARTARIC ACID, thickened with
gum, is applied by the block, or cylinder, to
cloth previously dyed Turkey-red, It is then
passed through an aqueous solution of chloride
of lime. The acid disengages chlorine from
the chloride, which of course, destroys the
colour of those parts to which it had been
applied, while all the other parts of the cloth
retain their red colour. When oxide of lead
is deposited on the cloth, along with the acid,
and the cloth after passing through the aque-
ous solution of the bleaching-powder, is pas-
sed through an aqueous solution of bichro-
mate of potash. The parts that would have
remained white, are converted into a fine yel-
low. This beautiful process is not confined
to Turkey-red.

3. PROTOCHLORIDE OF IRON is
used to discharge the manganese brown, and

* Almost every thing which can be applied to
cloth, in a state of solution, and which becomes
afterwards insoluble in water, either by preci-
pitation, or spontaneous decomposition, sticks
to the cloth when it is washed. Water, there-
fore, does not remove protoxide of Manganese,
and the protochloride of tin alluded to at the
conclusion of this section, as a means of removing
the sesquioxide or peroxide of Manganese, not
only takes away their oxygen, but converts them
into a soluble chloride.

64

ANOTHER PLAN FOR PROPELLING STEAM VESSELS.

substitute a buff. This it does, by depriving
the manganese of oxygen, and thus rendering
it soluble; (the manganese is made soluble
by conversion into chloride of manganese)
while the protochloride of iron, being con-
verted into perchloride, deposites peroxide of
iron on the cloth, which produces the charac-
teristic buff ox orange colours of that oxide.

SULPHATE OF IRON is used in a vari-
ety of ways. It deoxidizes the indigp in the in-
digo vat, and renders it soluble in lime-water.
It produces gold, bujf, 8fc. colours, and makes
a good chemical black with logwood.

4. PROTOCHLORIDE OF TIN, when
applied to cloth dyed brown by the sesqui-
oxide of manganese, immediately deoxidizes it,
discharges the colour, and leaves the part
white. Ifit be mixed with Brazil wood, or
cochineal, it discharges the manganese, but
leaves a pink. When mixed with logwood,
it leaver a purple ; and when with Prussian
blue, a blue.

To produce a yellow upon manganese
brown, chloride of tin is mixed with sulphate
of lead. This mixture thickened with roasted
starch, is printed on the manganese brown.
As soon as it is dry, the manganese being re-
duced to the state of chloride may be washed
off; but the sulphate of lead adheres to the
cloth, in consequence of an affinity between
them. The cloth being now limed, and pas-
sed through a solution of bichromate of potash,
those parts which contain the oxide of lead are
dyed a beautiful yellow.

CHLORIDE OF TIN is capable also of
removing peroxide of iron from cloth, by re-
ducing it to chloride, as it does the sesqui-
oxide of manganese. For this purpose it is
sometimes printed on a deep colour, com-
posed of peroxide of iron and quercition yel-
low. The protochloride of iron is formed and
washed away, while the oxide of tin remaining,
constitutes a mordant for the quercitron. Thus
the parts to which the tin was applied become
yellow.

PROTOCHLORIDE OF TIN is also
employed occasionally, to discharge the
orange, consisting of dichromate of lead from
the cloth. This it does by reducing the chro-
mic acid to protoxide. But as the green oxide
of chromium still continues fixed, the dis-
charged parts do not assume a good white
colour. But this does not much affect the
blue and purple colours substituted for the
orange, by mixing the tin with Prussian-blue,
or with logwood.

When protochloride of tin is decomposed by
carbonate of soda, protoxide of tin is obtained.
This protoxide is used along with potash, to
render indigo soluble. The protoxide
deoxidizes the indigo, and the potash dis-
solves the yellow base. It is then applied to
the cloth in the way that will be explained
afterwards.

PLAN FOR PROPELLING STEAM
VESSELS BY THE RETROACTIVE
FORCE OF A COLUMN OF AIR.

I> C B

Str,— The above sketch represents apian
for propelling steam -vessels by a powerful
current of air ejected from the stern of the
vessel. Water has been tried in a variety of
ways to effect a similar object, but I am not
aware of any trial having been made similar
to the plan proposed.

A is the cylinder of the air-pump, with
three inverted steam cylinders on tlie top,
marked BCD. The piston rods of the in-
verted cylinders work the plunger of the air-
pump, and are attached to it at equal dis-
tances from the centre, and at equal distances
from each other. The cylinder of the air-
pump being 10 feet diameter, it is presumed
that three steam-cylinders so placed would
be a better arrangement than with one in the
centre, if even equal to the three in capacity.

E, an air-vessel, which the air is forced into
at the passages/ g, alternately, with each
stroke of the pump. Those passages have
valves to prevent the air returning into the
cylinder of the air-pump.

H, a cast-iron pipe running from the prow
to the stern of the vessels, and open at both
ends to the w’ater. There are two cocks or
valves to this pipe, one on each side of the
air-vessel. When the air is blowing off to
propel the vessel forward; the lever K of the
hand-gear is in the situation represented in
the figure ; when the lever is raised a little
higher, the air will rush out at both ends of
the pipe H, and neutralize the propelling
force, and if raised a little more, it will be
discharged at the prow of the vessel only.
That a power of starting, stopping, and back-
ing the vessel, may be thus gained, is obvi-
ous.

If we suppose the air discharged by the
pump to be condensed to one-fourth of its
original volume, and the cylinder of the air-
pump to be 10 feet diameter, with a 6 feet
stroke, making 18 strokes per minute, about.
4,000 cubical feet of air would be discharged
every minute from the stern of the vessel.
Question. — What would the probable result
of such an experiment be, as respects the
velocity of the vessel so propelled, to the
power expended, when compared with pad-
dle-wheels ? I am. Sir,

Yourverv obedient servant,
April 24t/i, 1835-. ' J. W.

[Mech, Mag. 1835.

(To be continued. )

PERPETUAL MOTION OR THE HYDROSTATIC PARADOX.

6a

PENDULUM STEAM-ENGINE.

Sir,— Encoura^-ed by the readiness which
you show to give publicity to all designs and
suggestions that have any claim to originality,
or are at alt likely to be productive of practi-
cal good, I take the liberty of sending you a
sketch of a new form of a steam-engine, which
may be termed a pendulum'-engine.

1 made a model of an engine on this plan
some years ago, and it answered very well ;
however, I did not then give it publicity, be-
cause 1 had hopes of being able to try its ac-
tion on a larger scale; but, as an opportunity
has not offered itself, I can only speak of it as
a model. There are, no doubt, many defects
in the plan ; and to any of your scientific cor-
respondents, v?ho will do me the favour to
point out such defects, and suggest any re-
quired improvement, I shall feel much
obliged.

DESCRIPTION.

A is the foundation ; B B the frame ; C C
are two short cylinders, opposite to each
other, into which swing the pistons at the end
of the pendulum rod E, and to which is also
affixed two catches, F F for opening and
shutting the steam-cocks G G, by means of
the -levers H H ; III are the steam-pipes;
K is a guide-plate for the pendulum-rod.

The action of the engine is represented by
the dotted lines. As the piston vibrates into
the cylinder, the short end of the catch passes
over the lever, which is carried forward by
the long end until the cock is opened ; when
the action of the steam causing the piston to
return, the short end acts upon the lever un-
til the cock is closed : and so on alternately.

The engine might be used for various pur-
poses. Pumps could be connected by means
of the cross-beam X, or a rotary motion com-
municated to machinery by the crank Y and
a fly-wheel.

Should the engine be placed at a distance
from the pumps, the cross-beam could be
dispensed with, and a rod, Z, connected to
the pendulum-rod, by which any length of
stroke might be acquired by altering the point
of connexion.

Should high-pressure steam be an objec-
tion, low-pressure could be employed by hav-
ing two longer cylinders, the pistons being

connected by one piston-rod, and the pendu-
lum acting in the middle of it by means of a
roller.

I am, Sir, your obedient servant,
Charles Slocke.
Mechanic's Magazine,
Old-Street, Mill-wall, Pplar, Feb, 12, 1835.

USEFUL RESULT EXTRAORDINA»
RY, OF THE USEFUL KNOWLEDGE
SOCIETY’S LABOURS.

Sir,— I perceive from a recent Number of
the Mech. I\Iag., that an ingenious French-
man is about to take out a patent for that
long-sought desideratum, the perpetual mo-
tion. Now, sir, as it happens that I have
myself lately had the good fortune to achieve
the discovery, you will, I hope, admit the
propriety of allowing me to enter a caveat in
your pages against any foreign rival’s preten-
sions to priority — in case it should turn out,
when he enrols his specification, that his me-
thod is the same as my own. Thus much,
Mr. Editor, is due, even out of bare justice
towards the claims of native talent !

My invention (the details of which I will
not trouble you with at present) is founded on
the principle of the hydrostatic paradox, as
that principle is laid down in the first number
of the Library of Useful Knowledge, aii
follows : —

“We have seen how the displacing any
portion of a fluid by a solid, whatever by the
weight of the solid, produces no difference in
the weight of the fluid, provided it stands at
the same height as before ; and how raising
the height of the fluid by plunging a solid into
it, increases its weight. If the fluid is raised
by pressing or forcing it upwards, in however
thin a column, provided the vessel is kept
full, and closed in all directions, the pressure
of the fluid will be increased, and the weight
of the vessel will he increased, although no-
thing whatever, either solid or fluid, is added
to it, or made to touch it. The cylindrical
box e f (see fig. ) has a cube g fitted into its
top, and there is a wire D fitted to a plate
D, the size of the inside of the box, and
moving up and down in it, water tight. The
plate being at the bottom h i, water is poured
into the box, so that it rises to e/, but does
not rise in the tube. It is then balanced by
a weight in the scale A. If the wire C is
drawn up so as to raise the plate, and force

66 ADMONiriON TO LORD BIIOIIGUAM AND INFIDEL PLILOSOIM lERS,

some of the water into the tube, the whole
box and water will weigh more than it did ;
and to restore the balance, more weight must
be put into the scale A. If the box is three
inches diameter, every inch that the water
rises in the tube will add above four ounces to
the xceiglit of the box and tube, whatever
be the bore of the tube ; for the pressure of
the water in the box, in all directions, will be
increased by the weight of a body of water
whose height is the height of the water in the
tube, and whose base is the extent of the
surface of the water passing on the tope/
of the box. Now the top being three inches
diameter, its surface is about 7^ square in-
ches ; and a body of water one inch high,
and 7^ square inches broad, is 7} cubic inches
of water, which weigh about four ounces.
Thus, raising the wire a foot, will add three
pounds to the weight of the water.” — Library
of Useful Knowledge, Hydrostatics, p. 0.

It is by a very simple application of tire
principle thus set forth, that I propose to
effect the desired object ; and all 1 can see
to wonder at is, that mankind should have
been so long without discovering the grand
arcanum, when so convenient a law of nature
stared them in tlie face all the while, 'i'liere
are, indeed, some “ roaring infidels,” who
venture to assert that there is no such lav/
in existence except in the pages of the tract
published “ under the superintendence of the
Society for the Diffusion of Useful Know-
ledge.’’ But can it, for an instant, be be-
lieved that so monstrous a blunder as the
laying down, with all due pomp and circum-
stance, of such a non-existent law, could be
truly laid to the charge of a learned body,
with no less profound a philosopher than
my Lord Brougham at the head of it, and
whole scores of men of science of first-rate
eminence on its committee 1 'J’he thing is
evidently quite out of the question. A friend
of mine, indeed, who delights in throwing
cold water on all plans of perpetual motion,
did startle me a little by'observing, that if the
pressure of the water in the box were increas-
ed equally “ in all directions,” the upward
pressure would exactly counterpoise the
downward, and that, therefore, the '' loeight
of the box and tube” would remain the same
as before ! There certainly appears to be
something in this objection ; but, if it were
well-founded, there would be an end at once
to my grand project. Tdiat being the case, I
prefer practice to mere theory, and devoutly
believe that, as the committee-men of the
the Society would hardly allow their names
to be paraded on the covers of the book as
having “ superintended” its composition,
without having actually tested by experiment
all the propositions it contains (and especial-
ly one so novel and remarkable as that in
question,) it is absolutely and literally true
that the specific gravity of water, at a given
moment, may be owe, while in the next it may
be a hundred, or a hundred thousand !

I remain. Sir,

Your most obedient servant,
April 2S,\B36. F. H.

WOOD AND QUANTRILL’S PA I’ENT
PUMP,

The writer of the present article is in-
duced to invite attention to the patent
pump, which is the subject of it, because he
has himself had personal experience of its
superiority over other pumps, and believes he
will be doing a service, both to the ingenious
patentees and to the public, by making its
merits more generally known.

The construction of the pump, as will be
seen from the prefixed engravings, is remark-
able for its simplicity. A perspective, and in
part transparent, view of it is given in fig. 1.
A is the working chamber ; B the suction-
pipe; D E F the valve-box, staple, and
spear ; G g the pump-rod ; H h the stay for
pump-rod ; I P L the stauncheon ; K k step
to receive the stauncheon ; M m plate for
step of the stauncheon ; N pump-handle.
Figs. 2, 3, 4, and 5, are detached views of the
valve-box, staple, and spear ; fig. 2 exhibit-
ing the valve shut, fig. 3 the same open. Fig.
6 is the step, and fig. 7 the plate for the step
of the stauncheon. Fig, 8 represents a cistern-
head with flanch and nosle.

The point to be particularly noted, in the
construction of this pump, is the peculiar
position of the suction-pipe B. Instead of
being situated under the centie of the barrel,
as in other pumps, it is fixed on one side ;
which not only admits of its being much
larger in tho bore than usual, but leaves that
bore completely open and unobstructed. In
the suction-pipes of the pumps in common
use the bore is always less at the end attached
to the barrel than at the lower end, in conse-

AxV lUPORlANT DISCOVERY WOOD’S PATENT PUMP.

67

quence of the valve occupying a considera-
ble part of tlie orifice ; and to the extent of
the difference, is their efficiency necessarily
diminished. The advantages of the simple
but important change of position made by
Messrs. Wood and Quantrille d.re, first, that
a greater quantity of water can be raised by
their pump in a given time than by any other
known to the writer — one of 6 inches bore,
worked by one man, being capable of raising
upwards of 76 gallonsof water per minute;
second, that it is not liable to be chocked, all
foreign matters that may happen to be sucked
up with the water having an open and free
passage from the suction-pipe to the working
chamber, and thence to tl)e discharge-pipe.

The portability, or other locomobility, of
this pump, is another circumstance well de-
serving attention, It may be shifted or un-
shifted by one person in a minutes time ; and
removed by a couple of men from one part
of a person’s premises, and refixed to another
in less than a quarter of an hour. Onboard
of vessels of war, where the decks are often
required to be cleared of a sudden, with the
utmost |)Ossible dispatch, this facility of re-
moval would be found of immense advantage.

Edit. I\Jech. Mag. C, G. S.

Southampton, May 6, 1835.

[Mech. Magazine, 1835.

HYDRO. PNEUMAl’IC PUMP.

Sir,— I send you a sketch and description of
an apparatus for procuring vacuum, which
1 have lately invented, and which I have call-
ed the hydro-pneumatic pump. Should you
deem the communication worthy of notice,
I should feel obliged by your giving it inser-
tion in one of your early Numbers; and have
the honour to remain. Sir,

Y our most ob edient servant,

W. II. O.

March 17, 1835.

DESCRIPTION.

The apparatus consists of two stout glass
cylinders A and B ; the one, A, may be term-
ed the condenser ; . the other, B, the receiver :
the former is fixed to the stand G, the latter
is moveable, for the purpose of experiment,
d'hese cylinders are fitted with two upright
brass necks, 1 d ; that of A is furnished with
a.val ve e, opening upwards into the atmosphere,

and that of B is bent at a right angle, so as
to screw at h, on the cross-branch /, from the
other neck, and thus to form with it an entire
air-tight tube, which tube has a valve, c, open-
ing outivards, by a spring or otherwise, into
the neck I. The cylinder A is farther fur-
nished with a tube K, for supplying it with wa-
ter; it passes through the stand G, enters A
at O, and terminates in F. This tube has a
cock L, or other similar contrivance, for ad-
mitting or intercepting the fluid, as may be
requisite; and near to this in A, as shown by
the dotted circle M, is another cock for with-
drawing the water from A, when necessary,
each of these cocks being both air and water-
tig'ht.

The pump is put into operation in the fol-
lowing manner — the receiver B having been
previously removed for the sake of experiment,,
by unscrewing its neck dab, and afterwards
replaced upon the standing, or rather upon a
receiver plate attached to it. First, the
cock L being opened, and that at M shut,
water is poured or admitted in any other man-
ner into the pipe K, and flows from it into
the cylinder A. As it rises it condenses the
air within A ; the valve e is consequently
opened, and when it reachesthe height indi-
cated by the dotted line a; 1/, it has expelled
through e nearly all the air which the cylin-
der contained. 'The valve e havin" again fal-
len, the cock L is shut so as to cut off the
supply or water to A. Now this cock, as well
as that at M, being air tight, and the former
having, moreover, above it a column of water,
the level of which; by the laws of fluids,
corresponds with the line x y, it necessarily
follows, upon opening the cock at M, so as
to allow the water in A to escape, and again
shutting it (taking care, of course, not to
admit any air from without to pass through it
into A), that a vacuum will beleft within A ;
consequently, the air in the receiver B will
rusli through the cross-tube/, and valve c,
to restore the equilibrium, and will thus be-
come rarefied ; this effect will, indeed take
place as soon as the air in A assumes a less
density than thatinB, Further, as the air
which A now contains, and which, it is al-
most superfluous to observe, possesses the
same density with that in B, cannot pass back
to B, for the valve c is now' shut, it also fol-
lows, that, if the cock L be again opened and
water readmitted to A, it will be, as before,
condensed, and ultimately driven out ate;
and, as a consequence, upon a second time
opening and shutting the cock at M another
vacuum will be created in A ; this wdll, like-
wise, be occupied by the air from B, which
becomes, of course, still more rarefied ; and
these operations being repeated, the air in B
will, at length, be so far exhausted, as to con-
stitute an almost perfect vacuum.

1 have not made any reference to the rela-
tive size ofthe cylinders, this being a point of
but minor importance. I may, however, ob-
serve, it is advisable that A should be more
capacious than B (in proportion, for instance,
by diameter, of 1|, or l|^to 1) ; because, on the
withdrawal of the water, the vacuum within
A, and consequent rarefaction in B, will be
the greater. On the oth§r hand, it is evident

68

THE BLOW PIPE IN PRACTICAL CHEMISTRr.

Uiat, if A be made enormously large, it will
not only require a considerable quantity of
water for its supply, and a long period to fill ;
but the whole machine will, thereby, be ren-
dered extremely unwieldy and inconvenient.
It may, too, perhaps, be as well to state, that,
in order to economise the water as much as
possible, it may be conducted as it flows from
the cock at M, by means of a pipe or other-
wise, to a vessel appropriated for its recep-
tion, from which it may be again transferred
to the cylinder A when required.

W. H. O.

ON THE PRACTICE OF THE BLOW-
PIPE.

Dear Sir, — Among the numerous contri-
butions which have at various periods ap-
peared in your pages relative to the con-
struction and management of blow-pipes,
I have been surprised at not finding any
directions for the practice of the moiith
blow-pipe; an instrument far exceeding, in
utility and convenience, all the artificial
combinations wliicb have been invented to
supply its place. Thinking, therefore, a
communication on the subject likely to
prove interesting to your chemical readers,
and calculated to promote the employment
of this useful little instrument, I am in-
duced to solicit your insertion of the fol-
lowing practical, though somewhat desul-
tory, remarks, and am,

Yours, very truly,

Libertus,

Newington, March 9, 1835.

The introduction of the use of the blow-
pipe in practical chemistry may be regarded
almost in the same light as the application
of the power of steam to the purposes of
commerce. If the latter has increased our
national resources, and forwarded the in-
terests of mechanical science, by economis-
ing the labour and expenditure which were
formerly bestowed— the former has in like
manner advanced the cause of chemistry
and its dependent sciences, by reducing the
expense of fuel, time, and material, which
were originally required in qualitative ana-
lysis. If the mechanic can now produce,
with comparative ease and expenditure, an
article which, before the introduction of
the steam-engine, would have required the
labour of many weary days, and the con-
sumption of much valuable material — the
modern chemist can, with equal facility,
detect the constituent principles of a body
which, before the invention of the blow-
pipe, would have called in requisition the
unremitting exertions of many tedious
nights, and the profuse employment of ma-
ny rare and, perhaps, valuable substances.
In fact, by the introduction of this simple,
yet invaluable, instrument, the modern
chemist can, by his parlour fire-side, and

with a common candle, perform those ope-
rations, to accomplish which the ancient
and less gifted philosopher would have been
compelled to resort to the unhealthy atmos-
phere of a laboratory, and the continued
poring over an intensely active fire. The
blow-pipe, according to Bergman, had been
long employed in the arts by jewellers and
others, for the purpose of soldering, be-
fore it was applied to the purposes of ana-
lytical chemistry and mineralogy, by a
Swedish metallurgist of the name of Sual,
about the year 1733. This individual ap-
pears, horvever, to have left no written ac-
count of the methods which he adopted in
its application. The researches of Cron-
stedt, Bergman, and Gahn, — and, more re-
cently, those of Berzelius and Faraday,
have concurred in raising this instrument
to the eminent station of utility which it at
present enjoys. In the work of Berzelius
on this subject, will be found ample in-
structions for the pursuit of mineralogical
and analytical chemistry ; and in the Che-
mical Manipulations” of Dr. Faraday, the
student will meet with copious directions
for applying this instrument in the bend-
ing and blowing of glass, in practical che-
mistry. For the former purpose, the
mouth blow-pipe possesses undeniable ad-
vantages ; but for the more fatiguing ope-
rations of the latter, the table or hydros-
tatic blow-pipe will he found convenient.
The advantages possessed by the mouth
blow-pipe over all those instruments, whose
blast is produced by artificial means, con-
sists in its portability, economy, and the
facility of immediately suspending or modi-
fying the blast. “ The chemist does not
possess,” says Dr. Faraday, “ a more
ready, powerful, and generally useful in-
strument than the mouth blow-pipe, and
every student should early accustom himself
to its effectual use and application.”

The supply of a continued stream of air is
the chief difficulty which a beginner ex-
periences in learning the use of this in-
strument ; and this difficulty is, I appre-
hend, not unfrequently increased by the
employment of a blow-pipe with too large
an orifice, in the first instance. The fol-
lowing method of constructing will, I have
reason to believe, be found more efficacious
than any other hitherto published, since I
have by its means succeeded in less than
halfanhourin communicating the art of
blowing to a class of several persons. Let
the pupil procure a tube of glass, h e about
13 inches long, and ot the size and thick-
ness of a. Let him now thoroughly heat
the tube at c, about two inches from the
end, by slowing turning it round in the
flame of a candle, or, what is better, a
spirit lamp. When he find that it will
yield, let him bend it gradually till it has
acquired the position represented by fig, 2.

HOW TO OBTAIN HONEY WITHOUT DESTROYING THE BEE’S. 69

The part d is to be heated in the same
manner, till it is found soft enough to draw
out, when the part e must be gradually

:,1 ^

withdrawn, as represnted in fig. 4. til! it
terminates in a point ; this point should be
held for a minute or two in the point of the
flame, in order to thicken it, and when
cold, it is to be ground away with a file,
until the smallest possible orifice is visible.
The pupil will now be possessed of a blow
pipe (fig. 3) with an exceedingly minute jet,
and if he puff out his cheeks to the utmost,
and places the end b within his lips, while
the other extremity is held within a short
distance of a candle (fig. 5), he will, after
a few trials, find no difficulty in keeping
the flame continually^ and without inter-
mission, horizontal and clear. The opera-
tion which he will be required to perform,
in order to keep his cheeks constantly dis-
tended, notwithstanding the escape from
the jet, cannot easily be described, but will
naturally offer itself when the expenditure
of air is very small. When the pupil has
succeded in keeping up a constant blast for
several minutes by this means he may en-
large the aperture by degrees, practising
between each enlargement, till he finds he
can manage a blow-pipe with a large boro,
when he should purchase one of brass, with
an ivory or tinned mouthpiece, for general
use.

Among the numerous hydrostatic blow-
pipes which have already appeared in your
Magazine, the pupil who wishes to manufac-
ture his own apparatus, may assuredly find
one which will form a substitute for the
table blow-pipe. I subjoin a plan for one,
which may be constructed, at a trifling ex-
pense, by almost every student, and in
situations where the articles or workman-
ship requisite for the construction of a more
complicated machine could not be procured.
A B is a common pail, about half filled with
water ; c is a large flower-pot inserted, and
fastened in by any convenient method ; d is
a mouth blow-pipe (glass would do on an
emergency), fastened in air-tight, with a
cork and lute, to the hole at the bottom of
the flower-pot ; e is a bent tube of glass or
metal# terminating under the mouth of the

flower-pot. When air is blown in from the
mouth at e, it rises into the body of the in-
ternal vessel and displaces the water, which,
in endeavouring to regain its level, forces
out the air from the jet of the blow-pipe,
with a force proportioned to the height of
the column of water displaced.-— Mec/r.
Mag. 1835.

RE V. CHAS.DEWHURST’S BEE-HIVE.

Sir,— I have much pleasure in forwarding
you an extract from a lecture delivered, a
short time ago, before the members of the
Verulam Philosophical Society of London,
by its late Secretatry, Charles Dewhurst,
Esq.; and if you think likely to interest your
readers, I shall feel gratified by its insertion.

The lecture I alluded to was on the Natural
History and Management of the Hive or Com-
mon Honey Bee (apis mellifica), wherein the
lecturer detailed a humane and successful
plan of securing the honey without depriving
the bees of life, which is now generally adop-
ted in the county of Suffolk, and originated
with his father, the Rev. Mr. Chas. Dew-
hurst, of Bury, St. Edmunds, The method
employed by this gentleman is as follows: —

“ The hive he avails himself of is similar to
the one used by the cottagers, with this ex-
ception, that it has an opening in its roof of
about four inches in diameter ; this has a
moveable top (see figure A), which is pegged
down whilst the bees are at work and filling
the hive. As soon as the latter is full, Mr.
Dewhurst (when the bees are absent) care-
fully, with a knife, separates the top, and
places in its stead a wooden box, of about
eight inches square, having doors and a glazed
front (seefigure B), in order that he may view,
from time to time, the progress they have
made in their work. As soon as the bees have
filled this box with honey, it is removed, and
another substituted ; and by repeating this
process, immense quantities of honey and wax
may be obtained, without the least loss or
injury to the community. In one year Mr.
Dewhurst obtained no less than sixty-three
pounds of fine pure honey by this method.”

1 remain. Sir, your obedient servant,
Henry W. Dewhurst,

Pre. Ver. Phil. Society of Loudon.
awh 10, 1835.

P. S. — I may add, that Mr. Dewhurs,
protects his bees from the weather, robberts
&c.,in a neat constructed house, about twelve
or eighteen inches from the ground.

( 70 )

MISCELLANEOUS LITERARY NOTICES,

BELGIUM.

• A Royal Society of Sciences has been es-
tablished at Antwerp, and, though it has
existed only six months, it already boasts of
many eminent names of foreign literati among
its members, such as Alex, von Humboldt,
Charles Dupin, Dr. Pariset, Alexander de la
Borde,?De Candolle, Magendie, Ilufeland,
&c. &c.

As connected with literature, it may be
interesting to some of our readers to be in-
formed of a remarkable sale of the splendid
and valuable collection of the late Count de
Rinesse Breidbach, which was to commence
at Antwerp on the 1st of October, for the first
part, and on the 16th of May, 1836, for the
second portion. This second portion con-
tains 50,000 medals and coins, ancient and
modern ; with a library of 700, works on
numismatology ; a collection of antiquities,
Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Celtic, German,
&c, ; another of antiquities of the middle
ages ; a collection of 4000 diplomas, 400
seals, and 10,000 prints, — many of them are
extremely rare and curious.

DENMARK-

The museum of nothern Antiquities has re-
ceived many valuable ' additions during the
last year. The third volume of the Arch-
aeqnlogical Journal offthe society has been
printed. The society has also printed a Ger-
man translation of several of its most interest-
ingarticles, illustrated with numerous plates ;
but only for theGerman members of the society.

Professor Olshausen of Kiel has announc-
ed that the family of the celebrated Carsten
Niebhur are now preparing, after a lapse of
so many years, to publish the third volume of
his Travels in Arabia.

FRANCE.

In the last member of this Journal, we gave
u brief account of the great works relative to
the national history of France, either projected
or already commenced. We have now to ad-
vert to a nevv society, the nature and gigantic
plans of which merit a far more extended
notice than our limits will here allow us to
give, but to which we shall doubtless have
occasion frequently to recur. Within the last
ten years in new era has commenced in the
study and composition of history. Every-
where, and in all the sciences, the historical
features are the most prominent; historical
schools predomi nate in philosophy and juris-
prudence ; systems and reasonings give way
to pragmatic developments poetry (including
romance) draws its materials from history,
and the historian admits into his narative more
and more of the elements of poetry. The in-
tellectual and moral history of mankind is
more and more blended with the political .*
the history of the sciences and arts, of the

ideas, the opinions, the domestic manners of
nations everywhere accompanies that of em-
pires, kings and generals. This conviction
has given rise in different countries to asso-
ciations in one and the same historical under-
taking, such, for instance, as that under the
direction of Uckert and lleeren in Germany,
This too has given rise to the society establish-
ed about sixteen months ago under the title
of Institut Historique, which has become so
extensive, has so many proofs of its activity
to produce, and is about to execute sucl» va.st
plans, that it is high time io call the attention
of the learned world to it. The number of
the members is about 800, of whom one half
are Frenchmen, the others natives of almost
all countries. Among the French members
are Chateaubriand, Reinard, the Dukes of
Broglie, Doudeauville, and Montmorency,
Messrs, de Fizensac, ChoiseuI, Noailles, the
Acadenticians, Micheler, Carnot, Destutt de
Tracy, Lamartine, Bory de St. Vincent, G.
Saint Hilaire, &c. &c. The historians, such
as Thierry, Darn, Capefigue, Barante, of
course belong to it. The Journal de I' In-
stitut historique began in August last year,
and appears regularly in monthly numbers of
four sheets. Its chief value, as far as France
js concerned, is, that it is the first example in
^hat country of independent criticism. The
gecond undertaking of the society is the Au-
y^uaire de V Institut historique, which is com-
posed by a committee of thirty members, and
t|je Ih'st annual volume oi which will appear
in January, 1836, and contain the political
and scientific history of Europe for 1835.
Another committee is engaged on a manual
diplo'>^oitique. The commencement of a more
intimfil.e personal acquaintance between the
European historians is to take place on the.
15th of November, for which day the Institut
historique invites a great European historical
congress to Paris, to which all the learned
societies in Europe are requested t© send de-
puties. This congress is to sit a fortniglit, and
questions are prepared in all the classes of
the Institute, which are to be submitted to
this congress. But the undertaking which
is of the greatest importance to Europe, and is
unparalleled both in itsplan and the manner of
its execution, is the Dictioa/iaire de V Insti-
tut historique, which is intended to super-
sede all existing historical repertories, and is
to be composed under the direction of an
association of historians of all nations and
countries. The plan is as follows: — J’lie
contents of the Victionnaire will be exclu-
sively historical ; it will not go beyond the
limits of this circle, which is itself so exten-
sive, but it will embrace History completely
and in all its phases, and comprehend
equally Men, Events, and Things. By 'i'hings
is understood whatever relates to the history
of Science, Language, Art, to the develop-
ment of human activity in Agiicnlture, Ma-
nufactures Commerce ; and it will pay as
much regard to tlte history of the manners and

GREAT HONOR’S TO THE FRENCH NATION.

71

customs of nations, as to that of political
events, which have hitherto been thought
alone worthy of detailed notice. The number
ofthe articles will of course be very great;
but a simple classification will greatly lessen
the labour, and prevent repetitions. The ar-
ticles are of three kinds. Those of the third
class are very short notices, often only larger
definitions with reference to the greater arti-
cles. Those of the second class relate to
Facts, Men, Ideas, remarkable historical
Epochs. Those of the first class are devoted
to Events and Men that changed the face of a
great part of the world (Alexander, Char-
lemagne), to a great historical period (the
Middle Ages), to a great aggregate of coun-
tries (Russia, India), to some important social
relation (Islainism, Languages, &c.), or lastly
to a great class of Nations, or of Mankind in
general (the Priesthood, Races). In general
the articles relative to Men (i. e. individuals)
will be much less numerous than those on
Events, Ideas, and Things, otherwise history
becomes biography. It is impossible to enter
into details respecting the contents of this
part of the work ; the following are the pro-
minent features: — 1. Dynasties ; 2. Great
Historical Periods ; 3. States, Provinces,
Cities, and their History ; 4. Confederations,
Corporations, Religious and Military Orders;
5. Wars, Treaties of Peace, Conventions,
Battles, Diplomacy ; 6. Governments, Dig-
nities, Offices ; 7. Legislation, Laws, Cus-
toms, Codes; 8. Finances, Taxation, Loans,

EXTRA LIMITES.

DVVARKANAUTH TAGORE AND THE MEDICAL COLLEGE.

Mv Dear Bramlev, — I am unwilling to offer you my congratulations upon the
success which has attended your undertaking in the Medical College, without shewing
that my feelings towards the Institution are more substantial than those which words only
can expre ss.

Should all your expectations be realized, and there is every reason to believe they
will, the Medical College cannot fail to produce the happiest results amongst my country-
men. No man, I assure you, is more sensible than I am ofthe benefits which such an
Institution is calculated to dispense ; but I know also that you have many very great dif-
ficulties before you, and the greater part of these you will have to contend with at the
onset. My own experience enables me to tell you that no inducement to native exertion
is so strong as that of pecuniary reward, and 1 am convinced you will find difficulties
disappear in proportion to the encouragement offered to the students in this particular.

As an individual member of the native community, I feel it belongs to us to aid, as far
as lies in our power, the promotion of your good cause. At present this can hardly be ex-
pected on any very great scale ; but as example may be of service to you, 1, for one, will
not be backward to accept your invitation to my countrymen to support the College.

I beg, therefore, as an inducement to the native pupils now studying in the institution,
and to those who may hereafter enter, to offer the annual sum of rupees 2,000 for the
ensuing three years, to be distributed in the form of prizes. In order that these may be
of substantial value to the candidates, I propose that the prizes should not exceed eight or
ten in number, and that they should be available only to foundation students and natives

Money ; 9. Manufactures, Commerce, Navi-
gation, Mines, &c. ; 10. Churches, Popes,
Councils, Ecclesiastical administration, &c. ;
11. Nobility, 'I'hird Estate, Peasantry,
&o. ; 12. Chivalry, Heraldry, Feudalism,
Arms, Armies Art of War ; 13. Ordinary
Life, Liberty, Personal Security, Habitation,
Dress, Costumes. Fashions, Furniture, Luxury,
Poverty, &c. ; 14. Religions, Ceremonies,
Festivals ; 15. Monuments, Archaeology, Cathe-
drals, &c. : 16. The fine Ars ; 17. Literary
Activity, Printing, Progress of Philosophy,
Theology, Sciences, Discoveries, &c. ; 18,
Sources and Documents, to facilitate the stu-
dy of history. The extent of the work is calcu-
lated at forty volumes in large 8vo., each of
thirty-two sheets, printed in double columns
four volumes to be published every year. Such
is a general, but very imperfect, outline of this
great enterprise. Avery remarkable circum-
stance is, that the Institute has i-esolved to
commit the printing of the work to a German
House, and commissioned a German member
ofthe society to negociate that business with
some eminent German firm. So extraordinary
a sacrifice of French national pride seems to
indicate that the French book trade must be in
a very different state from what it is generally
supposed to be.

* It seems to us that these volumes (50U pages

each) will he too small. Our Edinburgh Ga-
zetteer of 50 sheets or 800 pages is by no means
an inconvenient size.— Foreign Quarterly for
Oct, 1835..

n

AN INDEPENDENT AND NOBLE MINDED NATIVE.

bon& fide pupils of the College, all other arrangements in regard to their distribution I
leave to your discretion.

Yours very sincerely,

Calcutta, 2ith March, 1836, (Signed) Dwarkanauth Tagore.

We have great pleasure in bringing to the notice of the public the above letter from
Dwarkanauth Tagore to Principal Bramley, We have watched with pleasure the liberality
and deep interest this native gentleman takes in the enlightenment and prosperity of his
countrymen. Whether in the cause of bursting the shackles of the Press, establishing a Fe-
ver Hospital, or that of Education, Dwarkanauth Tagore is the foremost, consistent, and
devoted advocate. Another of his countrymen* has followed his noble example, and we
have no doubt a feeling throughout India will be excited in the native community in
support of the great cause of Medical Education. If one circumstance more than another
would prove to government that it loses nothing in the end by founding valuable establish-
ments for the benefit of the people, the institution of the Medical College affords that
proof, What is the expense after all — a mere drop in the ocean when compared with the
vast ulterior benefits to be attained, and we shall be astonished if similar institutions are
not forthwith established at Madras, Bombay, and in Central or North Western India.
But we again repeat that the Government should liberally pay its professors : — splendid
talents, honorable and responsible situations are thus paid in all parts of the world ; and
the means, extravagant as they appear to one who is ignorant of the principles of political
economy, in the end are proved to be the cheapest. Professors Goodeve and O’Shaughnessy
at the present moment cannot, without leisure, devote themselves to other pursuits, and
consequently their salaries we could venture to prove are insufficient to cover their
expences, much less to enable them to purchase those works and instruments so indis-
pensably necessary to their own as well as their pupils edification.

We conceive it to be the duty of an enlightened Government to be the first to lend the
helping hand, and in time, no doubt, and the period' is not distant, the Medical
College and' similar institutions will lapse into the hands of the public for support, and the
stigma be removed, which is now reflected on British India, that she is without a University.

IMPORTANT DISCUSSION AT THE MEDICAL AND PHYSICAL
SOCIETY’S MEETING.

We beg to call the attention of our contemporaries to an important discussion at the
meeting of the Medical and Physical Society. The facts elicited from Drs. O’Shaughnessy
and Stewart should be brought to the notice of all shipowners and Captains of ships.
We had intended to have offered some observations on the subject, but want of space
compels us to defer them till our next, when we shall embody what we have to say in ou^’
review of Dr. Stewart’s paper on Colica Pictonum in the seventh volume of the Transac-
tions of the Society.

MR. JOHN TYTLER.

We understand Mr. Tytler is a candidate for the situation of agent in London to the
Upper Orphan School ; if he succeeds to the appointment, he will resign the Medical
Service in England.

BENGAL MEDICAL RETIRING FUND.

We are happy to learn that our brethren at Bombay are attaining promotion by the
operation of their Medical Fund, that being in so flourishing a state it has already furnished

* Baboo Uamgopaul Ghose.

THE SUCCESS OF THE MfvDlCAL FUND AT BOMBAY.

73

means of retirement to several gentlemen high in the service. 'Fhe Hon’ble Court has
also made it obligatory, we learn, on those nou'' entering the service to join the fund.

It is going on for one year and a half since the medical men here sent the Court of
Directors a memorial, to grant similar privileges in proportion to. tlie number of medical
men on this establishment, and although there was a rumour that the Court’s reply, com-
plying with the prayer of the memorial, had reached India, it has never been published. We
have Surgeons therefore on the list upwards of 30 years in the service, and if Government
do not do something to ameliorate their condition,‘how is it possible for them to retire with-
out being worn down by decrepitude and age I The pensions of these gentlemen were they
to quit the service, is 190 £ per annum, from which is to be deducted the usual subscriptions
for the Military and Orphan Funds. Now we merely put the question whether there is any
reward to a professional man for such a length of service — for such sacrifices as he has made,
such perils as he has encountered, and wliether something ought not to be done to bring
into operation the fund to enable him to return once more to his native country,
that his bones may be laid in the land of his fathers? The Hon’ble Court of Directors
have no doubt long since received three separate memorials on three separate subjects
from their medical servants, none of which has* yet been replied to. 'I'he consequence is,
that our brethren are greatly depressed at such disheartening results. There is one
act of the committee of management which we think has been most injudi-
cious, that is, their proposition for a discontinuance of the monthly contributions. The
larger the amount is, when the sanction of the Court of Directors ariives, the more retire-
ments would be effected, and the fund would have been placed upon a permanent ba.sis ;
the error may still be rectified, and we should be glad to see a proposition to that effect
circulated for the votes of subscribers. We are however glad to say that the Members of
the service generally are disposed to afford to the fund their support, which encourages
us confidently to predict its complete success eventually. Some few Members have with-
drawn in disappointment, but others have enrolled their names — that of Mr. Assistant
Surgeon J. Bowron has been recently added, and the fund now embraces 2 Members of
the Medical Board, 7 superintending Surgeons, 59 Surgeons, and 108 Assistant Surgeons —
total 176.

STAI'EVlENr FROVl THE YEAR ,1833 to 1836.

Donations

ment

and Sui)scripti()iis recovered by Military Pay Depai tinent, state-
dated 31st Au«ust 1833 . . . ..

Sa Ra .

. .5,989

10

1

Do.

Do.

Do. Statement dated SOth November 1833

3,106

0

5

Do.

Do.

1833..

Do. by Civil Pay Depaitment, Slatemeut dated 1st November

3.601

1.5

4

Do.

Do.

by Military Pay Department, Staten)ent. dated ‘2lst February IS34

5 622

10

7

Do.

Do.

try Piesidency Pay Master, Statement dated l7lh March 1834..

J J

1,73.3

15

m

Do.

Do.

by Civil Pay Department, Siafement dated 17th Apiil 1834. .

,,

4,6 i6

2

7

Ho.

Do.

by Military Pay Department, statement dated iQibMay 1834..

10.090

13

3

Do.

Do.

by Civil Pay Department, Statetnent dated 224 Augtist 1834. . . .

J,

2, ;93

8

10

Do.

Do.

by Military Pay Departirtent, Statement dated 22d September 1834

,,

5,g30

10

6

Do.

Do.

Do. Siatemeni dated 7ih Jatitiary I835..

5,687

6

8

Do.

Do.

Do. Statemettt dated 5th March 1835

91

1/282

12

13

Do.

Do.

by Revenue Pay Department, Statetnetit dated 3lst March 1835..

, J

414

12

i

Do.

Do.

Do. Statement dated 3!st March 1835

9 f

629

9

2

Do.

Do.

by Military Pay Depat tnieitt. Statement dated Mill May 1835....

>9

5,461

10

5

Do.

Do.

by Civil Pay Departmetit, Statement dated 2611) Jutie 1835

99

1,066

I

I

Do.

Do.

by Military Pay Department, Statetnetit dated lOtb J itly 1835..

6,660

11

3

Do.

Do.

by Civil Pay DepatTment, Statement dated 93)d September 1335.

1,378

13

10

Do.

Do.

Do. Statement dated I3ili October 1835

1,041

7

6

Do

Do.

by Military Pay Department, statement dated 2d December 1835

>>

8 270

12

0

Do.

Do.

Do. Statement dated lltli December l?35

4,657

13

J 1

Do.

Do.

Do. by Civil Pay Department, Statement dated l9lb March 1836.

1,505

8

i 1

Do.

Do.

Do. Statement dated 2lsl March 1830.. ..

>■

1,501

4

2

Total Sa. Us..

Deduct refunded to the widow of Snie^oii J, Allan 781 0 0

82,707

3

3

Do.

Do. to Do. J. Eckford 784 o 0

91

1,568

0

0

Sa [Is

81,130 3 3

74

THE ORPHAN INSTITUTION AND THE FREE SCHOOL.

Deduct received from Presidency Pay Master as follows: —

Secretary’s Salary from Isi January 18j3 to 31st January 1835 at

Rs. I00 per mensem Sa. Rs.. .. .. Sa. Rs 2,500 0 0

Oltice Establishment from Uth December 1834 to 81st January

1835 at Rs. 50 per mensem 83 13 7

Ciirieiil Expenses.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 1,425 9 II

Contingent do.. .. . .. .. .. .. 93 8 0 4,I02 15 6

Nett Sa. Rs 77,036 3 9

Received from Presidency I’ay Master 4,i02 15 6

Deduct expended . 4,076 12 4

Balance 26 3 2

Expended since the Quarterly Meeting last 80 11 0

ORPHAN INSTITUTION.

The General Management of the Military Orphan Fund have informed the Secretary
of the Presidency Division, Orphan Committee, that it is their intention to prepare, without
delay, a full reply to our pamphlet, and requested that its circulation might be postponed
until the reply alluded to could be forwarded to accompany it. Now this is what we have
been calling for all along, so that our object will be, it is to be hoped, at last attained, and
the subscribers be made fully acquainted with the state of the Institution,

A NEW WAY OF ELECTING A GOVERNOR TO THE FREE SCHOOL.

We are again called upon to notice the proceedings of the Free School, which
we shall do as succinctly as possible by merely stating a few matters of fact. At the
last monthly meeting of the Governors, notice of Major Taylor’s resignation was
duly announced ; and at the same time was presented a note from one of the absentee
Governors, proposing the Revd, John MacQueen as a suitable person to be recommended
to the Government as his successor. The Chairman (the Revd. C. Wimberley) with
the rest of the Governors then pre.sent seemed to be tolerably unanimous in thinking,
that the proper course was merely to report the vacancy, and leave the Right Hon’ble
the Governor General to exercise his own discretion in filling it up. A day or two
after thi.s, the following letter was put in circulation, and received the signatures and
minutes precisely as they are here copied.

THE JOINT VISITOR AND GOVERNORS OF THE FREE SCHOOL.

Gentlemfn, — Captain Taylor having intimated a wish to resign his office as a
Governor of the Free School, and requested that the same might be notified to the proper
authorities, may I beg the favour of being instructed in what way to proceed.

I have the honor to be, Gentlemen, your most obedient servant,

April 13, 1836. Anthony Garstin, Secy. F. S.

The course hitherto adopted has been to point out some individual, who in the judg-
ment of the Governors would be an active and faithful guardian of the Government inter-
ests. I would therefore recommend that the Secretary be authorized to address the Go-
vernor General, and to name the Rev. John MacQueen as a proper person to fill the
vacancy occasioned by the resignation of Capt. Taylor. I am most anxious to have the
services of Mr. MacQueen, knowing him to be a most energetic, independent and experi-
enced man. From his connection with the Kidderpore Institution, he is able to render the
most essential services to our School, as he fully proved during the period he held the
situation of a Governor.

T. Robertson.

I shall be very glad to see Mr. MacQueen a Governor,

R. Molloy,

T. E. M. Turton.

A. M. Shm.

Cii.vs. Mackenzie.

The power of appointment is in the Governor-General in Council. If it has been (he
course for the Governors of the Institution to recommend persons for appointment, I
approve of Mr. MacQueen being recommended ; but 1 think it will be right that we

THE MANAGEKS OF THE FREE SCHOOL.

75

should see in what instances and under what circumstances such recommendations have
been made.

J. J. Judge.

II. Pauish.

On the ground that Mr. MacQueen’s experience in school business would be an ac-
quisition to the Institution, I concur in the nomination of him by the Rev. Mr. Robertson.

W. Byrne.

It appears to me to be objectionable in many respect that the Governors recommend
to the Governor-General whom he shall appoint to succeed Major Taylor. It is a species
of election contrary to that salutary control which should be over every institution, and
1 conceive contrary to the intention of that rule passed by the subscribers when they
allotted to the Governor General the nomination of two Directors. The majority of the
Governors of the Free School have carried, however, Mr. Robertson’s proposition ; in event
it can be shewn that it has been customary for the Governors to point out to the Governor-
General the individual the Governors desire to see appointed, I trust I may be permitted
to call a special meeting of the subscribers to take their opinion whether that course is
according to their wishes which has been pointed out by Mr. R.

Frederick Corbyn.

Whatever may have been the course hitherto adopted, I beg leave to suggest my
opinion, that it would be more correct to leave the Governor General to exercise his own
judgment. If his Lordship, on being requested to nominate a successor to Major Taylor,
should desire us to point out a suitable person, then and not till then, would be the season
for presenting our opinion. I think too, that the regulation (if there be any) prescribing
the usage, should have accompanied the circular ; and as it has not, I beg the Secretary
will re-circulate this along with a copy of such regulation. At the same time I should like
to be informed by ray more experienced colleagues whether the Government Governors
of the Free School have not invariably been seivants of the Government. It strikes me,
that in other Institutions, placed under the joint management of Government and popular
directors, tlie former are usually, if not invariably covenanted servants. But in this
particular I only seek information,

Charles Wimberley.

This is a matter of moonshine, we can only intimate Captain Taylor’s desire to resign.
If Lord Auckland asks our opinion on this most important point, we can give it out,
but not till then,

D. MacFarlane.

In consequence of the two last written minutes, the Secretary so far complied with
the instructions of their authors as to re-circulate the proposition with all its accom-
paniments ; and the result proved to be as follows :

THE JOINT VISITOR AND GOVERNOR OF THE FREE SCHOOL.

Gentlemen, — I beg to re-circulate the accompanying at the reque.st of Dr. Corbyn and
Mr. Wimberley, for the reasons stated in their minutes, viz : the wish on the part of the
former to call a special meeting of the subscribers, and of the latter, that any regulation
prescribing the usage referred to by Mr. Robertson should be produced for your consi-
deration. There happens, however, to be no such regulation.

I have the honor to be. Gentlemen, your most obedient servant,

Anthony Garstin, Sec. F. S,

It would be a strange regulation indeed to make, that whenever a vacancy in the
Government officers occurs, we should recommend a successor, The itch for law mak-
ing is, I hope, confined to Macaulay’s parliament. To the other proposition of Dr. Corbyn,
I say no ; for 1 am sadly afraid of speeches which we might peradveutnre be afflicted
with at such a meeting. T. R.

The objection urged by Dr. Corbyn is very strong, but I would allow this matter in
the present instance to take the usual course. I am against a public meeting.

W. Byrne.

As so many opinions appear to exist on this subject, I would humbly suggest that the
simplest, and at the same time the most respectful to the Governor General would be sim-
ply to intimate the vacancy and request his Lordship to appoint a successor to Captain
Tavlor.

A. H. Sim.

I concur with Mr. Sim,

F.. Corbyn.

R. Molloy.

J. J. Judge.

H. Parish.

C. M.

All I want. C. Wimberley.

It will here be perceived that the matter had taken quite a different turn, and that

a majority of the Governors had now^ come to an amended, though obviously correct

76

G|ENp:ral orders-notice to correspondents.

view of the question by determlnini; that the resignation of Major Taylor should be
reported to the Government without further note or comment. This we accordingly
presumed would be the course adopted, but to our great astonishment we have since
learned, that as soon as ever a majority of signatures had been affixed (we hope nut
before) in favor of the proposition as it stood in the first circular, the Secretary, at
the instigation of a single Governor, in breathless haste, despatched a letter in the
name of the Governors recommending Mr. MacQueen, without even waiting to ascertain
what the residue of the Governors might have to say on the subject. The consequence
is, that a letter is now lying before the Government, purporting to be that of a majority
of the Governors, whereas the majority, on further consideration, have come to a
totally different determination. We forbear to characterize such a proceeding in the
terms we think it deserves, and send it forth, to abide the issue of its own demerits,

generaITorders.

Promotions. -April 4. Asst. Surg. C, Mottley to be Surg. from lOth March, Asst Surg. J. Ro ‘
neld to be Surg. from 21st March.

Appointments.- March 29, Asst. Surg. R W. Wrightson to 40th N. I. 2lst March, Surg. A. N.
Magrath, Madras Army, Surgeon to Mysore Residency, April 2, Asst. Apothecary G. Higginson
to 4th Batt. Arty , Dum-Dum, 6th April J Drummond, Esq. Surgeon R. N. to be Surgeon Gov.
Genl- from 3d Instant, 6th April, Asst. Sm’g. A. Stewart, M. D., to do duty Arty Dum-Dum,
April 7, Vet. Surg. D. Cullemore to charge horses H. M. I6tli Lancers, 17th April. Surg. H. Clarke
of 22d N. I. to the Medical charge of the Arty, detail. April 22, Dr. J. S. Login to be Surgeon to
the Lieut. Gov.

Remo oats. 26, Asst Surg H R Bond, to pi’ooeed to Benares, 29th Asst. Surg. A.
Thomson to the Sirmour Batt. 7th April Asst Surg. A. B. Webster, M. D. to 48th N. I. Lpothe-
cary Stewart J. Bensley to Meei’ut, Apprentice J. Jeiwis to 16th Foot, at Cawnpore. April 12,
Asst. Surg. A. Mackpean, 22d N. I. to that of 3d Local Horse. April 19. R. M. M. Thomson from
the 5 1st N. I. to the European Regt. at Agra- ,

Leave of Ahsene. — March 29, Asst. Surg. Spencer for ten days in extension, P. A. April 4
Asst. Surg R.J. Brassey to Penang P. A. for live months, April 2, Asst. Surg. J. Murray,
M. D., 31st March to 1st Nov. to .Simla P. A. Asst. Steward T. O. Sullivan from 1st May to 1st
Nov. P. A. Surg. T. Campbell, 22d March to 22d July to remain at Mirzapore P. A. Api’il 2.
Asst. Surg. W. Godon, M. D. has leave of absence from the 5th to the 22dtiltimo, P. A.

March 28, the Lady of Gar. Sm-g. A. K. Lindesay, of a daughter.

NOTICE TO CORRESPONDENTS.

The following communications shall appear in our next.

An account of Islampore, by H. Clark, Esq., Surgeon 22d Regt.

On the Canine distemper of Bengal, by J. G.

Sui’gical Clinique, Cawnpore, operations for Fistula Lachrymalis, by F Brett, Esq.

A case of snake bite, successfully treated by blood letting and cold effusion, by P. Badde-
ly. Esq.

Hunter’s Hospital Practice, 2d or Queen’ slRoyal_Regt.

G astro Enteric.

Catarrhal.

Gastro Hepatic,

Dr. Stewart’s Clinical, Repoi'ts General Hospital.

Case of Intro Suscep, by J. Baker, Esq., Surgeon 10th Light Cavalry.

We beg to acknowledge the receipt of Mr. Ronald’s communication on retention of the
Placenta.

We also beg to acknowledge the receipt of Mr. Downes’s communication of a ciu’ious and
interesting case from Neemuch.

We have received our talented correspondent Mr. Brett’s communication; the subject he
has communicated is of infinite importance, and shall be noticed in our next.

Such has been the press of important matter in our present number, that we have ex-
ceeded the number of our pages, and have been compelled to omit the article on Medical Topo-
graphy.

We have received from M. Berraond, the Lst voL of the Journal des Connaissances Medico
Chirurgicales, for which we beg to return our best thanks. There ai’e papers of great value
in this volume, which shall be translated, and published in our next.

We have received Mr Baddely’s communication ; his beautiful drawing of an amastomosis
between the 4th nerve and the Gasserian ganglion which was lithographed ; but a failure occur-
red in the printing, so that we determined to have it done over .again, it will be ready for
our next. We beg also to acknowledge the receipt of his second communication with many
thanks for his able support.

We beg to acknowledge the receipt of Mr. Anderson’s communication from Baboolghui*,
with its enclosure.

We have just received Mr. Wilson’s letter and enclosure.

We beg also to acknowledge the receipt of several letters from our subscribers above Dina-
pore regarding the delay which occurred in receiving the March number: They will find it
was owing' to those numbers having been sent by the steamer. The request by several sub-
scribers to send their numbers by Dak will be complied with.

To avoid double postage and the disagreeable necessity of having their copies return-
ed to us, we shall feel obliged if our subsci’ibers will immediately on a change of residence
inform us of their new address.

REVIEW

OF WORKS ON SCIENCE

AND

JOURNAL OF FOREIGN SCIENCE AND THE ARTS.

EMBRACING

MINERALOGY, GEOLOGY, NATURAL HISTORY, PHYSICS, &c.

REVIEW.

Journal of the Asiatic Society, 1835. Ana-
lysis of a Tibetan Medical Worlc, By M.

Alexander Csoma De Koros.

It is a subject of no small curiosity to
observe the methods by which natives of
different countries adapt the means to the end
in the pursuit and attainment of those bless-
ings which providence has placed at their
disposal, and it becomes matter of infinitely
higher admiration to perceive how the same

providence has supplied to all lands the pos-
session of such materials as tend to mitigate
the trials and the evils inseparable from the
condition of our existence in this world. We
find in every quarter of the globe these mani-
festations of almighty care, exacting our hum-
blest and most unqualified gratitude. Ihe
Indian, in his forest, vegetating in a state but
little superior to instinct, yet discovers through
the medium of his understanding some spon-
taneous production of the soil, administering
to his comfort and his health. A ray of in-
tellectual light pierces the gloom by which he
is surrounded, and enables him to asceitain
what is essential to the vigor of his frame, the
cure of his disease, and the prolongation of
existence by the use of such medicaments as
the bounty of nature has placed within his
reach. His simpler remedies command a
prompt and efficacious result, because the ge-
neral abstemiousness and unartificial course of
his career, render the body more subservient to
the power of medicine, however rude the
treatment or confined the knowledge of his
malady. But as society advances, refinement
creates a thousand artificial wants, which
habit converts to realities, until more intimate
acquaintance with the ait, as a Science, is
required to counteract their influences by the
application of such skill as will adjust the

relief to the peculiar nature of the causa
which calls for it. As men become more en-
lightened they seek refinements which gene-
rate diseases foreign to their original condition.
To check the properties of these a minuter
observation of their sources is obviously de-
manded ; and however lamentable the con-
viction that luxury has introduced number-
less unnecessary afflictions as its consequence,
we have still abundant reason to be thankful
that the progress of Science at least kept pace
Vy'ith that of society.

We have been drawn into these reflections
by the perusal of the leading article in the
Asiatic Journal for the month of May, 1835.
It is entitled, “ An Analysis of Tibetan
Medicine,” and has been supplied by M.
Alexander Csoma de Koros, a name already
familiar in Oriental literature ; and it forms
in a certain degree a commentary upon our
text, by shewing to what extent research has
carried its disciples onward to an intermediate
state between the want of all civilization and
the acquirement of so much knowledge as be-
longs to a certain grade of it. It is remarka-
ble that such an insight should have been
gained at so early a period, (for the work was
written in the 8th century,) and that, having
overcome so much, the same talent should hav®
stopped short in its career, even up to this
date. In Europe the progress of Science is
and has been perpetual since the dark ages ;
the last step forming but a foundation stone
for the erection of the next. Unimpeded by
the obstacles of prejudice, or a fondness for
ancestral usage, when opposed to the further-
ance of larger views, the stream of knowledge
flows clearer, freer, broader, daily. Each hour
brings to light some novelty, some perception,
some improvement which industry and re-
flection are propelling forward to perfection.
The wisdom of to-day eclipses the science of
yesterday, and the more the quantity that is

78

THE EVILS OF SUPERSTITION,

actually gained the greater becomes the thirst,
for increase in every branch of intellectual
undertaking.

It was perhaps to be expected that a work
written at so early a period would not be al-
together free from the traces of superstition ;
and accordingly, w'e find amongst the avowed
predominating causes of illness, that the
power of “ evil spiiits” is allowed to have a
very material share. The other portions of
the analysis afford abundant proofs of acute-
ness, with less admixture of absurdity than
might have been anticipated. In the history
of every nation there is a particular period
which exhibits some inherent weakness.
Magic and sorcery were long the reputed com-
panions of knowledge, in all the countries of
Europe, and formed the secret by which men
of loftier minds contrived to establish their
dominion over a multitude, rendered apt by
its credulity to take upon credit, all that it did
not rig-htly comprehend. It has been ques-
tionable whether the disseminators of doc-
trines, imposing belief in supernatural agency,
were in themselves tainted with the gaucheries
they professed, and it seems but probable that
they were not— that they merely made use of
them as the means of retaining that ascendan-
cy over human affections, upon which their
temporary hopes were based. The priesthood
in Spain and in many parts of Italy proclaim
such tenets to this day, which being propagat-
only for specific purposes, are by no means
received as substantial by those who inculcate
them.

The mockery of superstition is merely used
as a cloak to their more ambitious designs,
nor have instances been wanting of acknow-
ledgements, that the pretended efficacy of
saints and images was not otherwise valuable,
than as it served to blind the weak and per-
petuate the subjection of the ignorant. The
pundits of this country have occasionally ad-
mitted that they are pure Deists : and that the
fables of their mythology are so many me-
thods, by which they have enthralled a peo-
ple, ripe in their imbecility for the reception
of any folly it became their interest to
establish, for the maintenance of that superi-
ority on which their immediate privileges are
grounded.

Looking at these facts, it can hardly be a
matter of wonder that some indications of this
nature should appear in the work before us,

on the contrary, we admire that it contains
so little of what is objectionable ; and are
rather disposed to venerate the talent, which
in a period of comparative ignorance, could
by its unaided efforts have brought into life j
and activity the advantages of so much use-
fulness, than to expatiate on the folly of I
entertaining notions, which after all were not
incompatible with the time, or the uncivilized
state of society in which it was produced. But j
we have reachedour limit, and must refer our j
readers to the substance of the analysis, '
Perhaps, under a due consideration of cir-
cumstances and the allowance we should
make for them, it will say more in behalf of
the work than any thing that we can pro-
fess to utter.

IM. de Kbibs informs us that on application
to the Lama, his instructor in the Tibetan lan-
guage, he obtained from him the work which
forms the subject of our present review. It is
attributed to Shakya and found its way to
Tibet in the 8th or 9th century. A d'ibetan
interpreter by name Bairotsanah, in the days
of Kre Song-Dehiitsan translated it into
Cashirair, and presented it to the Tibetan King .

It was also received by several other learned
physicians, and devolved in succession till in
the I3th century, when it fell into the hands of
Yuthogthell. who “improved and propa-
gated” it. This man is so called in contra-dis-
tinction to another of the same name who
was celebrated also for his medical attainments
at a previous period. In the time of the
latter the work became familiar to “ nine other
learned men.” The Lama enumerated several
other current works of a similar description,
stating that there were 45 in number.

Part 1st. Chap. 1st. Exhibits how Shakya,
in the midst of “ a forest of medical plants,”
delivered his lectures, from his palace to a
train of auditors.

“ He (Shakya) addressed his audience
thus: — “Assembled friends ! be it known to
you, that every human creature who wishes to
remain in health ; and every man who desires
to cure any disease, and to prolong life, must
be instructed in the doctrine of medicine.
Likewise, he that wishes for moral virtue,
wealth or happiness, and desires to be deli-
vered from the miseries of sickness ; as also,
he that wishes to be honoured or respected
by others, must be instructed in the art of
healing.” Then one of the hermits or Rishis
Drang-Srong) expressing his desire

of promoting the-well-being of others, reques-
ted his advice as to the manner in winch he
might become instructed in the doctrine of
medicine. Then the teacher (Shakya) said

ON THE PRESERVATION OF HEALTH AND MORALS

79

(or commanded ) ” He most be instructed in arise during the summer season before noon
are th'^ ^Rdical science, which and about mid-day. Blood during the autumn

, TTjQc»rTO» • about mid-day, and mid-night. Phlegm
^ ^ S rv "' ’ during the spring, morning and evening.

Nine maladies are beyond recovery. All

root or theory, explication, instruction, and
lastly, manual operation.”

Chap. 2d shews how necessary the medical
art is to the preservation of health and morals,
and divides the subject into four parts, name-
ly, theory, explication, instruction, and manual
operation. From these again are 8 ramifica-
tions, 1st, the cure of the whole body ; 2d, par-
ticular desires common to children ; 3d, to wo-
man ; 4th, the cure of diseases originating in
the influence of evil spirits ; 5th, wounds by
knife or spear; 6th, venomous or poisonous
infections ; 7th, the infirmities, senectude ; 8th,
the increase of virility in men.

Chap. 3d contains the theory of the humari
constitution, illustrated by similes. Thus 3
roots of the fig tree or trunks, thence 9 stems,
thence 47 boughs, 224 branches, two blossom^
and three fruits. The root is the basis
of disease, while the stems, branches and
leaves exemplify a diseased or healthy condi-
tion. The author distinguishes wind, bile,
phlegm, with their offices, operations and
influences. The supports of the body are
seven on which life itself depends, as chyle,
blood, flesh, fat, marrow, and semen. The
excretions are three, odure, urine, and sweat.
The generating causes of diseases are, lust,
or ardent desire ; passion or anger ; ignorance
or dulness. Of these the first causes wind,
the second bile, the last, phlegm. Accessory
causes are four. Season with regard to heat
and cold; evil spirits; abuse of food; and
the ill conduct of life. The parts of the body
liable to disease are set down as 6 : the skin,
flesh, veins, bones, viscera and bowels. There
are three humours ; phlegm in the brain or
skull, the place of dulness; bile, in the middle
of the body, or place of anger: wind, in
the waist, or loins. Wind operates through
the bones, ear, skin, heart, arteries and intes-
tines. Bile exhibits itself through the blood,
sweat, eyes, liver, bovvels. Phlegm, through
the chyle, flesh, fat, marrow, semen, odure,
urine, nose, tongue, lungs, spleen, kidneys,
stomach and bladder. Wind predominates on
the diseases of old people ; bile, in youth ;
and phlegm, in children : the first abiding in
the cold parts of the system, the second in the
dry or hot, and the last in the moist or
unctuous. Diseases from wind commonly

are classed under two heads. Wind and
phlegm belong to cold, being of “ natural
water blood and bile, being of natural fire,
belong to heat. Worms and serum partake
of both.

Chap. 4th on the symptoms of diseases ;
examination of the tongue and urine ; of the
pulse; on oral questioning ; on the ascertain-
ing what pain is felt and what food has been
used.

“ If the tongue is red, dry, and rough, it is
the sign of prevailing wind ; if covered with
a yellowish white, thick substance, it is
the sign of bile ; if covered with a dim, white,
soft, and moist substance, it is the sign of
phlegm.

“ With respect to the urine : ifthe urine of
the patient is bine, clear like spring-water,
and has much spume or froth, it is the symptom
of wind ; if yellowish, red and thick, steaming
or vapouring greatly, and diffusing a smell, it is
thesign of bile ; if white, with little smell,
and stpam or vapour, it is the sign of phlegm.

“ With respect to the pulse : Wlien the
physician feels the pulse, if beating greatly
upwards it somewhat stops, (if irregular) it is
the sign of wind ; a quick full beating is the
sign of bile ; a sunk, low, and soft beating is
the sign of phlegm.”

The questions are 29 in number.

Chap. 5th means of curing diseases ; 1st,
with respect to food ; 2d, conduct in life and
exercise ; 3J, medicaments to be used against
the three humours. Those against wind are
of three different tastes ; sweat, sour, and
.saline : and in their efficacy are unctuous,
heavy, or soft. Against phlegm, hot, sour,
and acrid; their efficacy, sharpness, roughness,
lightness. Against bile, sweet, bitter, and
nauseous bitter ; efficacy, coolness, thinness,
and dulness or bluntness. To this follows
the admixture of medicaments with refer-
ence to their tastes. 'I'hese are arranged as
assuaging or depuratory. The specified
sorts of depuratory medicines, are three ;
of purging medicaments, four ; of emetics,
two. Respecting physical, or chirurgical
operation against wind, there is smearing the
body with butter, and the cautery after the
Turkish method. Against bile, phlebotonvy
and cold water, (or bathing in ditto.) Against
phlegm warm applications and the cautery.

Chap. 6th re-capitulates the three last, and
illustrates the allegory of the fig tree. The

NOSOLOGICAL ARRANGEMENT OE THE ANTIENTS.

quotation which we now give obviously proves
that even in barbarous ages it was discovered
that art and science to be clearly treated
required arrangement. In the author’s Synop-
tic method, the whole of the subject is seen
by the figure of a tree, the branches being the
diverging lines from the trunk. The trunk
is meant then to represent the system and
the branches, leaves, &c. the subordinate
divisions agreeably to the laws of similitude
and discrepancy,

“ According to the former metaphor or al-
legory of the India fig-tree, there are three
roots (or trunks) : 1, the root, place, or ground
of the disease ; 2, that of the symptoms j and
3, that of the manner of curing.

't here arise from the first trunk (or root)
two stems : that of the unchanged state of the
body, and that of the changed or diseased
state of the body.

From the 2nd trunk (or root) there arise
three stems, namely ; those of looking on,
feeling, and asking (or of inspection of the
tongue and urine ; of the feeling of the pulse ;
and of asking after the circumstances of the
disease).

On the 3rd trunk there arise four stems :
those of the food ; of the manner of living or
conduct of life ; of the medicaments used ;
and of the operations performed. Therefore,
from the tliree trunks (or roots) their arise
nine stems.

The number of the boughs or branches :
Those branching from the stem of the un-
changed body are : disease, the seven sup-
ports of tl>e body, and the fasces.

On the stem denoting the changed or dis-
eased state of the body, there are the follow-
ing 9 boughs : cause of disease, accessory
causes, beginning or injured parts, place, way,
time of arising (or of the fit), fruit or conse-
quence, causes of transition from one into ano-
ther disease ; the reduction of all diseases to
heat and cold.

On the stem denoting the symptoms of
diseases, there arise the following eight
boughs : 2 of inspecting the tongue and urine.
Of feeling the pulse, tliere are 3 ; wind-pulse,
bile-pulse, and phlegm-pulse. And in asking
after the circumstances of the disease, there
ore 3. Altogether eight.

On the stem denoting the manner ofctiring,
thei'e arise the following houghs or branches :
3 of food or meat; 3 of drink or potion ; 3 of
the manner of living or of the conduct of life ;
6 of physic with respect to taste and efficacy ;
6 of tlie assuaging mixtures, with respect to
taste and efficacy ; 3 of depurafory physic.
There are also 3 boughs of medical (or chirur-
gical) operations. Thus in all there are 47
boughs or branches.

The number ofleaves (or of leafy branches)
issuing from the 47 boughs :

1st.' On the top of the unchanged stem, the
enumeration of 25 diseases.

2nd. On the top the stem denoting the
changed or diseased state of the body, 63
symptoms or tokens of indisposition.

3rd. On the top of the stem of inspection j
(or examination of the tongue and urine), 6
branches or leaves of inspection. ,!

4th. On the top the stem of feelin?, three
sorts of pulse (or three manners of beating of ;
the pulse), ]

5th. On the top of the stem of asking the j
patient about the circumstances of the disease, j
29 questions. ■

6th. On the top of the stem denoting the 1
food (diet, meat, and drink or potion) of the
patient, there are the enumeration of such,
as : 14 in respect to wind ; 12 to bile ; and 9
to phlegm. j

7th. On the top of the conduct of life , 6.

8th. On the top of the stem of piiysic nine j

tastes and nine efficacies are enumerated, to-
gether 18 ; 3 kinds of soup or broth ; 5 kinds
of medical butter or siruo ; 4 kinds of potions ;

4 kinds of powders J 2 kinds of pills ; 5 kinds
powdered aromatics ; 9 sorts of depuratory
application. Total=50 kinds of physic.

9tli. On the top of pliysical (or chirurgica!)
operations, 7 leafy branches.

A summary exhibition of the above speci-
fied leaves :

1. On the trunk denoting the place and
ground of diseases, there are l88 leaves.

2. On that denoting the symptoms, 38.

3. On that denoting tlie manner of curing,
there are 98 leaves. Altogether making 224.

There are two blossoms : health and a long
life.

Tliere are three fruits : moral perfection (or
good morals), wealth, and happiness.

These are tlie contents of the six chapters of
the first part of tliis medical tract.”

Part 2d. Treats of four things : namely,
what is to be cured 1 or healed 1 With what,
in what manner, and by whom ? The author’s
opinions on Conception from the first part of
the process by which primordial existence is
established, deemed to be involved in too much
obscurity to be discovered by the modern
physiologist, are both curious and interesting.

“ The origin or generation of the body.
Cause, and accessory causes thereof. Tokens
or signs of birtli.

The cause of the generation of the body is
stated to be : the father’s seed, the mother’s
blood, and the arising of consciousness. If
the first be predominant, tliere will be born a
son ; if the second, a daughter ; if botli are
equal, then a hermaphrodite. Siiould it hap-
pen tliat the blood be formed into two masses
then twins will be born.

Out of the semen are formed : the bone,
the bi'ain, and tlie skeleton of the body. Out
of tlie mother’s blood are generated the flesh,
blood, heart, with tlie other four vital parts,
(lungs, liver, spleen, kidneys,) and the six ves-
sels or veins. From tlie soul or vital princi-
ple arises consciousness through the several
organs.

After the body has been thus conceived, the
cause ofits increase is in the two veins on the
riglit and left sides of the womb, in tlie small
vessel containing the mother’s blood for men-

extraordinary a^ews on conception.

81

fitrnation, and in the chyle formed from the
mother’s food, which successively descending
into the womb, concurs to the coagulation or
union of the semen, blood, and tim vital prin-
ciple, and to their increase, in the same man-
ner, as water is conveyed, by certain canals
from a watering pond, to a field, for the pro-
duction of corn.

The body, by the agitation of the (inward)
air, being changed during 38 weeks, goes on
continually increasing, for nine months.

The continual Increase of the foetus, or
embryo, is thus : In the 1st week, it is like a
mixture of milk and blood. In the 2ud week,
growing somewhat thick, it is of ropy or
tenacious nature. In the 3rd week, it be-
comes like curds. In the 4th week, from the
form, which the embryo takes, is conjectured
whether it will be a son, daughter, or herma-
phrodite. In the 1st month, the mother
suffers both in her body and mind several dis-
agreeable sensations.

In the 2nd montIt, in the 5th week, the navel
of the body is first formed. In the 6lli week,
vital vein (or artery), depending on the navel.
In the 7th week, the forms of both eyes ap-
pear. In the 8th week, consequence of the
forms of the eyes the form of the head arises.
In the 9th week, the shape of the tipper and
lower parts of the trunk or body is formed.

In the 3rd month, in the lOth week, tlie
forms of the two arms and sides (or hips) ap-
pear. In the 11th week, the forms of the
holes of the nine organs become perceptible.
In the 12th week, the five vital parts (heart,
lungs, liver, spleen, veins,) are formed. In
the 13th week, those of the six vessels.

In the 4th month, in the 14th week, the
marrows in the arms and thighs are formed.
In the 15th week, the wrists of the hands and
the legs of the feet are perceptible. In the
16th week, the 10 fingers and the 10 toes be-
come visible. In fZth week, the veins or
nerves, conuecting the outer and inner parts,
are formed.

In the 5th month, in the 18th week, the
flesh and fat are formed. In the 19th week,
the tendons or sinews and the fibres are for-
med. In the 20th w'eek, the bone and the
marrow of the feet are formed. In the 21st
week, the body is covered with a skin.

In the 6th month, in the 22nd week, the
nine holes of tlie organs are opened. In the
23rd week, the hair on the head and on the
body, and the nails commence to grow. In the
24th week, the viscera and vessels become
entirely finished ; and then pleasure and pain
are felt. In the 25th week, the circulation or
motion of air or wind commences. In the
26th week, the memory of the mind begins to
be clear.

In the 7th month, the 27th to the 30th week,
the whole body comes to entire perfection, or
is completely formed.

In the 8th month, from 31st to 35th week,
the whole body, both within or without,
greatly increases.

In the 9th month, in the 36th week, there
arises a disagreeable sensation in the womb.
In the 37th week, there arises a nauseous
sensation. In the 38th week, the head turning
to the entrance of the womb, the birth takes

place. But, though (he months are completed,
yet, on account of the mother’s menstruation,
and of wind, birth may for some time be
delayed.

Farther, it is stated, 'that if the right side (of
the pregnant woman) is high, and the body
light, there will be born a son ; if the left side
is high, and the body heavy, then a daughter ;
if they both are in an equal state, an herma-
phrodite. And if the middle or both the sides
are high, then twins will be born.

Tiie tokens and circumstances of approch-
ing birth are then described.

We must now bring our review to a close,
with a promise to give more extracts in our
next.

ON DEFINITE PROPORTIONS.

By D. Spillan, A. M. M. D,

In the chemical combination of bodies with
each other, the four following circumstances
may be remarked with regard to the propor-
tions in which these combinations take place.

1st, Some bodies combine in all proportions,
as water and alcohol, water and any of the
liquid acids.

2d. In other cases a given quantity of one
substance can combine with any quantity'’ of
another to a certain extent ; thus, four pounds
of water can dissolve any quantity of the
bicarbonate of soda not exceeding a pound ;
a hundred grains of water will dissolve any
quantity of sea salt not exceeding forty grains,
at which point its dissolving power ceases,
the cohesion of the solid becoming compara-
tively too powerful for the force of aSinity.
In this as well as in the first case, it may be
remarked that the substances so combining
have but a weak affinity for each other, and
that the characteristic properties of each con-
stituent are still discernible in the compound ;
thus when sugar or sea salt is dissolved in
water, the taste of the solution is still similar
to that of the substance dissolved.

3d. In some cases substances combine in
only one proportion; as chlorine and hydrogen,
zinc and oxy’^gen.

4th. In other cases substance are observed
to combine in several proportions : thus there
are two distinct compounds of copper and
oxygen ; as also of oxygen and hydrogen.
— 100 parts of manganese combine with
1 4^ 28, 42 or 56 parts of oxygen. 'I’he most
interesting and important class of compounds
are those comprehended under this and the
preceding head, and it may also be remarked
that the substances so combining have a
strong and energetic affinity for each other,
and that the properties which characterised
them in the simple state are no longer dis-
coverable in the compound ; of this we have
an example in sea salt, which formed of two
very caustic bodies, has a saline and agree-
able taste- These combinations so formed
have been observed to obey certain laws, re-
markable as well for their generality, as for
the simplicity of the relations which they
establish between the respective quantities
of the principles of the compounds. The

82

THE IMPORTANT DISCOVERIES OF GAY LUSSAC.

first of these laws is, that all compounds, so
long- as they retain their characteristic pro-
perties, contain the same constant proportion
of constituents with the most rigid accuracy,
no variation ever taking place ; thus nitrate
of potash, under all circumstances, and in all
situations, consists invariably of 54 parts of
nitric acid and 48 of potash. Water consists
of one part by weight of hydrogen and eight
of oxygen. Carbonate of lime, whether as
found in nature, or formed by art, always
contains 43.2 carbonic acid andSG.S lime ; and
were these elements to unite in any other
proportions, some new compound difl’erent
from carbonate of lime would be formed.
The truth of this law is universally admitted.
In fact, without such a law to determine and
preserve those fixed proportions in the con-
stituents of bodies, there could not be that
regularity and uniformity in their composi-
tion which we invariably find to exist. The
second law is, that, when two bodies combine
in different proportions, these proportions are
always the product of the multiplication by
1^,2, 3, 4, &c. of the smallest quantity oY
one of the bodies, the quantity of the other
remaining the same ; thus supposing there
exist four compounds of oxygen and manga-
nese, and that the least oxygenated of these
compounds is formed of 100 parts of manga-
nese and I4 of oxj'^gen; another compound
will consist of 100 parts of manganese and
14 + 2 of oxygen ; the third compound of
loo parts of manganese, and 14 4- 3, &c.
There are three compounds of lead and oxy-
gen; the first consists of 104 lead -{- 8 oxy-
gen ; the second of 104 lead ~j~ 12 oxygen ;
the third of 104; lead ■\r 16 oxygen:
here the quantity of lead being given, the
quantities of oxygen are as thenumbers 1, 1^,2.
This law is often called the law of multiples.
The same may be thus expressed ; when any
two substances, A and B, unite chemically in
two or more proportions, the numbers repre-
senting the quantities of B combined with the
same quentity of A, are in the ratio of 1, 2,
3, 4, &c. ; that is, they are multiples of the
smallest quentity of B with which A can
unite. With respect to this law we may
observe, that w'hen any compound such as A
+ D, containing several proportions of A
combined with a given quantity of B, i.s de-
composed, if the entire of A is not separated,
only a defiinite proi ortion of it is removed at
a time ; nor are we to suppose that the por-
tion of A, so removed, is derived, from the
entire compound A + B, but only from a part
of it. This same of multiples has been
proved by M. Gay Lussac to hold good also
in gaseous combinations, which he has clearly
pointed out to take place in simple ratios of
volume, and in such a manner as that their
condensation also bears a simple ratio to their
original volume ; this may be illustrated by
the following table :

200 vols. hydr. gas unite with 100 vols. oxygen

'^00 ditto 100 azote 200 ammoniacal gas.

100 ditto 100 chlor. 200 hydr. chlor. acid.

100 azote 50 oxyg. 100 protox. azote.

lOo ditto lOo ditto 200 deutox. azote.

loO ditto 150 ditto hypo nitrous acid.

100 ditto 200 ditto nitrous acid.

100 ditto........ 250 ditto nitric acid.

Thus if we suppose that two gases unite fa
different proportions, and that the quantity
of the one is constant, the quantities of the
other will be such, that the smallest, which
may be considered as the first, will be con-
tained a certain integral number of times,
whether in volume or weight in the following ;
The combinations of azote with oxygen, five
in number, may serve as an examnle, by tak-
ing the quantity of azote as constant : all con-
tain 104 parts of azote, but the first contains
50 of oxygen; the second 100; the third 150;
the fourth 200 ; the fifth 250 ; so that the
quantity of oxygen in the first is half that in
the second ; one-third ; of that in the third ;
one-fourth of that in the fourth, &c.
whether in volume or in weight- Now
as several liquids and solids may be con-
converted into gases, and as this may be done
by the application of a sufficiently intense
heat, it is quite natural to suppose that these
laws of combinatii-n are also applicable to
bodies of this kind : a fact which several
experiments tend to prove : thus, when two
bodies, A and B, combine together to form
the two bodies C and D, it generally happens
that.-the quantity of A being the same in C
and D, that of B in C is to that of B in I) as
1 to 2, or to 3, or to 4. It is, however, im-
portant to remark, that though there exist
relations between the weights of the several
proportions of any gaseous body, as oxygen,
which may unite with any solid, as manganese,
there exists no relation between the weight
of the oxygen and that of the metal ; thus it
cannot be said that 10, 14, 16, &c. grains of
oxygen must combine with 100 grains of
manganese ; the law is restricted to express
that lOO grains of metal combining with 14
grains of oxygen, if it be possible to form
other combinations between these two bodies,
100 grains of manganese will unite with a
quantity of oxygen which will be 1^, 2, 3, 4,
5, or six times as much as the 14 grains. The
ca.'se is different when instead of establishing
a relation between the weights of bodies, we
establish it between their volumes ; for then
it is observed, not only that there are simple
relations between the ditferenl volumes of
the body A, which combine with a volume
of the body B, but also that there exist re-
lations between the respective volumes of A
and B. This we may illustrate by an exam-
ple'. 100 cubic inches of azote unite with 50
of oxygen to form a new body ; here the
oxygen is one half the azote. 100 azote
unite with lOO oxygen to form another body ;
we have a ratio not only between the res-
pective volumes of the azote and oxygen,

(a ratio of equality,) but also between the pro-
portions of oxygen in the two compounds, the
latter containing twice as much oxygen as
the other. Again, JOO azote combine with
150 of oxygen (three times as much as the
first) to form a third compound. 100 azote
combine with 200 of oxygen to form a fourth,
and so on. M. Gay Lussac, to whom we
owe the discovery of this law, has also de-
monstrated that when, in consequence of
combination, the volume of the gases is
condensed, the condensation bears a simple
ratio to the volumes of the gases, or rather to
the volume of one of them. Thus

THE NATURE OF CHEMICAL EQUIVALENTS.

83

hydrogen

100 vols. oxyg. with 200 vols. form 200 vis. water.

luO vols. azote 3u0 vis. do. 200 amcal. gas.

loo vols. ditto 50 vis oxyg. lOO protox azote

loo vols- ditto .... loOvls.do. 2oOdeut. azote.

One or two examples may serve to illu-
strate the application which may be made of
these laws of gaseous combination,

1st. If we desire to know the specific gra-
vity of a compound gas, suppose ammoniacal
gas, we know by analysis that 200 vols. am-
niacal gas result from the combination of 300
vols, of hydrogen and 100 vels. of azote. Then,
by adding the specific gravity of azote 0,9722
to three times the specific gravity of hydro-
gen 0,0694 + 3= 6,2082, and dividing the
sum 1,1804 by 2,* * we have the specific gra-
vity of the compound gas.

Again, we can determine what are the
proportions by weight of the elements which
constitute a compound gas ; it is sufficient
for this to take the weight of the vols. of the
simple gases, which enter into tlie composi-
tion of the compound gas ; for example, the
weight of ammoniacal gas will be equal to
0,9f22 (sp. gr. of azote) 0,0694 -1- 3=0.2082
(:i times the sp. gr. of hydrogen) : — if we
wmuld reduce these numbers to others more
simple, we may institute the following
proportion : 9722 : 2082 : ; lOO ; a?. . * . a ==
9722 of azote combine with
2'J82 of hydrogen, 100 azote will combine
with 21,41 hydrogen.

If we wish to ascertain the composition of
a gas formed of a gaseous element and of a
solid body, we shall speedily arrive at it, by
taking into account the specific gravity of the
compound gas, that of the elementary gas en-
tering into its composition, and the condensa-
tion which the latter gas has experienced in
combining with the solid body. For example,
if we wish to know the quantity of hydrogen
andof sulphur entering into the composition
of 100 grains of hydrosulphuric acid gas, we
can ascertain it thus ; we know beforehand,
that the volume of hydrogen gas contained in
the lOO grains of hydro sulphuric acid gas is
equal to that of this gas ; we know also the
specific weights of hydrogen gas and of hydro-
sulphuric acid gas ; we then establish the
following proportion, if we desire to find the
quantity of hydrogen which it contains ;

1,1805 : 0,0694 : : 100 ; x = the quantity
of hydrogen in the gas; that is, the specific
gravity of the compound gas, 1,805, is to the
specific gravity of hydrogen, 0,0694 as the
absolute weight of said compound gas, scil,
100 grs. is to the absolute weight of the quan-
tity of hydrogen contained in the 100 grains
of the hydro-sulphuric acid gas. f Therefore,

* The process maybe rendered clearer thus :
specific gravity of the compound would be equal
0.9722X '.0694-1-3=1.1804 divided by 4=0.2951,
did the component gases suffer no contraction ;
but as they contract to one half, the real specific
gravity is double what it otherwise would be,
or 0.5902.

* The principle on which this process depends
is, that the bulk of any two bodies being given,
their absolute weights are as their specific gra-
vities 5 in the present instance it was stated,

by multiplying the means and dividing by the
first term, we shall have the weight of the
hydrogen contained in the 100 grs. of the
hydro-sulphuric acid gas, and consequently
the weight of the sulphur.

Having now considered the doctrine of
definite proportions, we come to a subject
not less important, and one which is intimately
connected with that doctrine, viz. the consi-
deration of Chemical Equivalents. The na-
ture of Chemical Equivalents will be best
illustrated by comparing the relative quanti-
ties of different bodies which combine together.
Thus, 8 parts weight of oxygen unite with
I of hydrogen, 6 of carbon, 16 of sulphur, 36
of chlorine, 200 mercury. Such are the quan-
tities of these bodies, which are found to com-
bine with 8 parts of oxygen ; and when any of
these bodies combine with each other, they are
found to combine either in the proportion
expressed by these numbers, or in multiples
of them. Thus sulphuretted hydrogen con-
sists of hydrogen and 16 of sulphur; 30 of
chlorine combine with 1 of hydrogen to form
muriatic acid. Protosulphuret of mercury
consists of 2J9 parts of mercury and 16 parts
of sulphur ; the bisulphuret of 200 parts of
mercury and 32 parts of snlplmr. Carbonic
oxide consists ofo parts of carbon and 8 parts
of oxygen ; carbonic acid of 6 parts of carbon
and 16 of oxygen. 4'has, hydrogen being
taken as the standard, the combining propor-
tions or Chemical Equivalents of the several
substances just mentioned are :

Hydrogen 1, Carbon 6, Oxygen 8, Sulphur
16, Chlorine 38, Mercury 209. This law of
equivalents is not confined to elementary
substances ; compounds also have their com-
bining proportions, or equivalents, which are
found by adding together the equivalents of
the several elementary substances which
enter in their composition ; thus, the equiva-
lent of sulphate of potash is ascertained
by adding together the equivalents of sul-
phuric acid 4U (16 sulphur-{- 8x3 =24
= 40) and that of potass 48 (== potassi-
um 40 + oxygen 8 = 48,) so that its equi-
valent is 88, The equivalent of muriate
of soda is 69, as being composed of muri-
atic acid, 37 X soda 32. This law of
the combining proportions of bodies may be
thus expressed : If two bodies combine to-
gether in definite proportions, the proportion
in which they enter into combination will
have a relation to the proportions in which
they combine with all other bodies ; thus, if
1 part of hydrogen combine with 8 ofoxygen,
the same quantities of hydrogen and oxygen

that the bulk of volume of the hydrogen con-
tained in lOO grains of hydrosulphuric acid gas
was equal to the bulk or volume of the 100 grains
of hydrosulphuric acid gas itself ; therefore, as
the specific gravity of hydrosulphuric acid gas
1,1805, is to the specific gravity of hydrogen
0,0694, so will loO grains of hydrosulphuric acid
gas be to the absolute weight of a volume of
hydrogen equal to the volume of said lOO grain?,
which is the precise quantity of hydrogen con-
tained in the lOO grains of hydro-sulphuric acid
gas.

84 ADVANTAGE OF ACQUAINTANCE WITH CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS.

will each combine with the same quantity of
any other substance, as 10 of sulphur. This
law was inferred by Richter from a fact first
observed by himself ; viz. that when two neu-
tral salts decompose each other, the resulting
salts are likewise neutral. Thus, sulphate of
soda being added to muriate of lime will give
perfectly neutral sulphate of lime and muriate
of soda. The reason of this will immediately
appear, on considering the equivalents of these
substances ; thus, if we take 72 parts of sul-
phate of soda and 05 parts of muriate of lime,
the following decompositions take place :

ts ( Soda. Muriatic Acid. g

■2 32 37 I S

cS i I rl

^ 1 “ P

St 1 Sulphuric Acid. Lime. §’

w L ^0 28 J o

Here the 40 parts of sulphuric acid combine
with the 28 parts of lime, and the 37 of muri-
atic acid with the 32 of soda, no part either
of the acid or alkali remaining in an uncom-
bined state. The neutrality will not be at all
affected by our taking more or less than 72
parts of sulphate of soda; for if we take
more, some of the sulphate of soda will remain
undecomposed ; if less, we shall have some
of the muriate of lime remaining. From this
observation Richter inferred, that^ the quan-
tities of ttvo alkaline bases, sufficient to neu-
tralize equal weights of any one acid are pro-
portional to the quantities of the same bases
requisite to neutralize the same weights of
every other acid. For instance, (i parts of
potass and 4 of soda neutralize 5 of suUhuric
acid ; and 4.4 of polass are sufficient to
saturate 5 of nitric acid. Therefore, to find
the quantity of soda sufficient to saturate this
weight of nitric acid, we institute the follow-
ing proportion : as ihe potass equivalent to
the sulphuric acid is to the potass equivalent
to the nitric acid, so is the soda equivalent
to the first, to the soda equivalent to the
second ; or in numbers thus : as 6 : 44 ; ; 4 :
2,93= the required quantity of soda. In a
similar manner, if 80 parts of soda and 72 of
lime saturate 100 parts of sulphuric acid, and
if 109 parts of soda saturate 103 parts of muri-
atic acid, \ve can then determine the quantity
of lime sufficient to neutralize the 100 parts of
muriatic acid ; thus 80 : 72 ; : 109 : 98= the
required quantity of lime.

The converse of this inference of Richter’s
is also true ; viz. that the quantity of any two
acids requisite to neutralize equal weights
of any one base are proportional to the quan-
tities of the same acids requisite to neutra-
lize equal weights of any other base ; thus,
126 parts of sulphuric acid and 87 of muriatic
acid neutralize lOO parts of the soda, and 138
of sulphuric acid neutralize 100 parts of
lime, how much muriatic acid will produce
the same effect ? This may be determined
by the following proportion; as 126:87; :
138: 95,3 = required quantity of muriatic
acid.

The advantage to be derived from an ac-
quaintance with these principles of chemical
combination in proportional quantitites, are too
manifest from the examples already given to
require further comment. By their aid cal-
culations which otherwise would be tedious
and difficult, may be made with ease and cer-
tainty ; and the precise quantities of sub-
stances necessary to produce any required
effect at once determined, a matter of consi-
derable importance to the success of chemi-
cal manifulations in general, as well as to the
conducting of pharmaceutical operations with,
certainty and despatch. A few instances
may be adduced from the Pharmacopoeia by
way of illustration.

If we want to test the strength of distilled
vinegar, we have an easy and sure mode of
doing it by ascertaining its neutralizing power.
We know that the equivalents of acetic
acid and of carbonate of lime coincide ; there-
fore it is obvious that the quantity of marble
dissolved by lOO grains of vinegar or any
other solution of acetic acid will represent the
percentage; of real acid in such a sample.
For example, let 500 grains of such a solution
of acetic acid be put into a basin or flask with
10.) grains of marble in fragments, and after
the first effervescence is over, warmed, and
the neutrality ascertained ; the solution is then
to be poured off and the remaining pieces of
marble washed, dried, and weighed ; if 60
grains have disappeared, 60 grains of dry
acetic acid were present in the ouO grains of
the solution employed. Again, sui)pose we
wish to test the strength of any solution of
hydrocyanic acid, we proceed as follows: to
loo grains, or any other convenient quantity
of the acid, contained in a phial, small quan-
tities of the peroxide of mercury in fine pow-
der are successively added, till it ceases to be
dissolved. The weight of the oxide, divided, by
4, gives the quantity of real acid present. The
rationale of this test is ; the equivalent of the
periode of mercury (216) happens to be just
eight times that of hydrocyanic acid (27).
Now, as the prussiate of mercury consists of
two proportionals of acid to one of base, it is
manifest that the quantities of acid and of
base in the salt are in the ratio of 1 to 4.
Again in the preparation of carbonate of mag-
nesia, for example, the ingredients pi-escribed
are sulphate of magnesia and carbonate of
potass ; and the quantity of sulphate of mag-
nesia directed being 23 parts, we may ascer-
tain a priori the necessary proportion of the
carbonate of potass, having recourse to their
respective equivalents ; thus the equivalent of
sulphate of magnesia is 123, and that of car-
bonate of potass is 70. Now, 123 : 70 : : 25 ;
14 q. p the proportion of carbonate of potass
required. For other instances of useful ap-
plication of the doctrine of equivalents to
pharmaceutical purposes, see my Translation
of the New Dublin Pharmacopoeia, where I
have pointed out in the notes the advantage of
this doctrine in determining a priori the re-
quisite proportion of the several ingredients.
The method of determining the proportonal
numbers will be considered, when we have
come to the subject of the Atomic Theory.

FORM AND AGGREGATION

TIEDEMANS PHYSIOLOGY
OF MAN.

®N THE EXTERNAL CONFIGURATION AND IN"
TERNAL AGGREGATION.

(Continued from page 53.)

Crystals do not exhibit, in their form and
aggregation changes that can be considered
as the results of development or of the epochs
of age ; they suffer no change whose cause is
inherent, and dependent on their duration.

XLIII. All organic bodies, nlants as well
as animals, in their figure and aggregation,
possess a certain duration, varying considera-
bly, according to the genera, soecies, and in-
dividuals, but which, notwithstanding, de-
pends chiefly on circumstances inherent in
themselves. The duration of the form and
aggregation of inorganic bodies, crystals for
instance, is not confined to any determinate
period ; when they are destroyed it is by the
efl’ect of extrinsic circumstances.

XLIV. The origin and production of new
organic forms of a species is the result of
manifestations of activity in forms already ,
existing. These manifestations of activity,
which are called generation, are not the ef-
fects of chemical affinity and cohesion, but
of a peculiar power, appertaining to organic
bodies, exhibited, with specific modifications,
in the different species of living bodies, pro-
pagated or diffused through the product
during the act of generation, and directing
the form and aggregation of it, in such a
manner that none but beings of the same
kind are produced and formed.

The production of new crystalline forms, on
the contrary, supposes the destruction, the
annihilation, the solution in a liquid, of cry-
stals already existing. Such new crystalliz-
ed forms, developed as they are according
to the simple laws of affinity and cohesion, at
the expense of former materials dissolved in a
liquid, may differ considerably. Indeed, the
researches of Mitscherlich'^ have taught that a
body composed of the same principles, in the
same proportions, is capable of assuming
different forms. The crystalline form, there-
fore, does not depend on the nature of the
atoms, but on their number and mode of ag-
gregation. The same number of atoms, united
in a similar manner, produce one ami the same
crystalline form.

XLV. The form and aggregation of organic
bodies can only subsist and enjoy a certain
duration on condition of a reciprocity of ac-
tion with external things, and more especially
on that of a continual change which is going
on in their material substance. All organic
bodies take from everything around them, and
attract the constituent princiiffes of the air
water, and food, which they introduce into
their composition and form. At the same
time divers matters are eleminating form,
their composition and form. It is only so
long as this change and reftewal takes place
in the materials, that they continue in the
form and aggregation peculiar to them.

« Konigl. Vetens. Acad. Handling, 1821, p 4.

OF INORGANIC BODIES. 85

On the other hand, the existence and per
manency of the form and aggregation of in-
organic bodies, crystals for example, suppose
their composition to be in absolute repose,
and that no change whatever occurs in them.
If external things, which have a greater affini-
ty with their materials, should acton them,
they combine with them according to the laws
of affinity, and thence follows the destruction
and annihilation of their form and aggregation.
A renewal of matter, therefore, a thing abso-
lutely necessary to the subsistence of organic
bodies, exerts a destructive action on inorga-
nic bodies.

XL VI. From the parallel which has been
established between the form and aggregation
of organic and those of inorganic bodies, essen-
tial differences are collected. Ail organic
bodies have a regular form, terminated by
undulating lines and surfaces w'hich are not
flat. They all proceed from an assemblage
of heterogeneous parts, both liquid and solid,
hai ing a peculiar mode of arrangement and
distribution, and connected so as to produce
an harmonious whole ; in other words, engag-
ed in a reciprocity of action necessary to the
preservation of the individual. The form and
aggregation sway each other mutually ; the
destruction of one leads to that of the other.
All organized bodies preserve their form and
aggregation by virtue of an internal activity,
under the influence of external circumstances,
and amid incessant changes in their material
substance of their composition. They are
developed from each other, produce them-
selves, are formed and maintained by their
own activity, are subject to regular changes,
and enjoy a certain durability.

These bodies thus constitute separate be-
ings, whose various parts, with their different
qualities, have a configuration and an aggre-
gation of such a nature that unity, harmony,
occurrence of actions to a common end, the
pre.servation of the individual and of the
species, may, and in fact do, follow as results.
They are relatively more perfect than inor-
ganic bodies.* This superiority of relative

* Absolute perfection belongs to every being
whatsoever, since each one is what it ought to be
according- to the laws of nature. But the differ-
ent groups of beings present differences as to
relative perfection. Bonnet (Contemplation de
la Nature, vol ii. cap. 2) has very clearly ex-
pressed himself on this subject, in the following
manner : “ Tons les etres sont parfaits, con-
sideres en eux-memes ; tons repondeut a une fin.
Les determinations, ou les qualites propres a
chaque etre, sont les moyens relatifs a cette fin-
Si ces determinations changeoient, elles ne
seroient plus en rapport avec la fin et il n’y
aurait plus de sagesse. Mais a une fin plus
noble repondentles moyens plusreleves. L’etre
appelle k reiiiplir cette fin est enrichi de facultes
qvii hii sont assorties. Consider es sous ce point
de vue, les etres nous offrent dilferens degres de
perfection relative. La mesure de cette perfec-
tion est dans les rapports que chaqu' etre soutient
avec le tout. L etre dont les rapports au tout
sont plus varies, plus multiplies, plus feconds,
possede une perfection plus relevee.” We ap-
preciate the relative perfection of an organized
body by the multiplicity, the diversity, and the
development of its parts. Whenever we observe
a gi-eac diversity in the organic conformation, we
also uniformly see a great variety and combina-
tiou in the juanifestation of life.

86

THE CAUSE OF ORGANIZATION'.

perfection is exhibited by the greater number
of different parts and matters entering into
their composition, as also by the more inti-
mate connexion and more exact I’eciprocity of
action existing between all these parts and
matters, so that we cannot but i-ecosnise a
train of coincidences tending to one end or to
unity of end.

XL VIE If, lastly, we put the question, on
what rests the property which organized
bodies have of exhibiting this disposition, the
combination and reciprocity of action, in the
parts which compose them, we have no other
answer to make, except that it ought to be
sought for in their material substance itself, in
organic matter All organisms proceed, as far
as we can judge of them by observation, from
organic matters, which are presented to us as
susceptible of organization. At one time they
are formed at the expense of an organized
individual in which putrefaction is established,
as is seen in the case of spontaneous genera-
tion, wherein the organisms develope vary
according to the external influences to
which the organic matters are submitted.
At other times, organisms, or organic tissues
are formed in a determinate manner, and with
an equally determinate form, in the midst of
liquid organic matters, produced by the mani-
festations of activity of organisms already
existing, as is observed in generation properly
so called, and in the acts of development, of
formation, and nutrition. Each species of
animal and vegetable presents an organization
peculiar to itself, and possesses the faculty of
preserving itself, notwithstanding the perish-
able character and the continual renewal of the
individuals. Should we seek to discover
whence proceeds this quality of animal and
vegetable species, we are lost in the regions
of obscurity. Neither do we know more
touching the origin of the first individuals of
any animal or vegetable species, than con-
cerning that of the organic matters on the sur-
face of our planet. Provisionally we shall de-
signate the faculty or povrer which organic
matters have of taking on organic form and
aggregation, in certain circumstances, by the
name of plastic power, or power of organiza-
tion, and regard it as a quality peculiar to
these matters, so that we shall consider
aggregation by means of purely mechanical or
chemical attraction as an especial property of
inorganic matter.

THE ACTION OF SALINE SOLUTIONS
ON FIBRIN.

By Harry Rainy, M. D.,

Lecturer on the Theory of Physic in the Univer-
sity of Glasgow.

To the Editor of the Records of General Science,

.Sir, — ^You will oblige me by giving the fol-
lowing remarks a place in your Records of
General Science. They were partly suggest-
ed by Professor Muller’s valuable paper on

the blood, which appeared in one of your fate?
numbers.

I am, Sir, your obedient servant,
Harry Rainy.

Glasgow, \4th Oct., 1835.

Though it has been generally admitted that
fibrin agrees in its chemical properties with
coagulated albumen, it lias been stated expli-
citly by Tiedeman and Gmelin, and more
recently by Muller, that fibrin is distinguish-
ed by the property of dissolving readily in a
solution of muriate of ammonia. Such autho-
rities would seem to leave no doubt with
regard to the fact ; yet, on repeating the ex-
periment frequently some months ago, I did
not observe any solution ; and I have since
noticed that Berzelius had been equally un-
.successful. From these discrepancies it was
obvious tliat there must be some peculiarity
either in the state of the fibrin itself, or in the
manner of conducting the process, that mate-
rially influences the result.

My attention has recently been recalled
to this subject by accidentally observing that
.some fibrin prepared from human blood, dis-
solved almost entirely in a solution oK common
salt, into which it had been put for the pur-
pose of preserving it in a moist state. 1 was
led, by this circumstance, to perform the fol-
lowing experiments ; —

1. A portion of moist fibrin, recently prepa-
red from human blood, and very carefully
washed, was put into a diluted solution of
common salt, at the ordinary temperature.
It gradually swelled, assumed a gelatinous
appearance, and in the course of twenty-four
hours, dissolved in the liquid, with the ex-
ception of a weak portion of a mucous-like
substance, which formed a thin stratum at the
bottom of the phial, and which did not dissolve
by adding fresh solution.

2. The solution of fibrin (1.) was clear, and
frothed readily on agitation . When heated^
it became opaque, and deposited copious white
coagula. This took place at 130“ Fahren-
heit; consequently, rather at a lower tempe-
rature than that at which ordinary albumen
coagulates. The precipitate did not re-dis-
solve on cooling, and seemed, in every res-
pect, to agree in its properties with coagulated
albumen.

3. It was natural to suspect, from the last
experiment, that the fibrin would not dissolve
in any solution of salt heated to 130® or up-
wards. fl’his conjecture was fully confirmed
on trial. Fibrin put into solution of salt at
any temperature above 130®, did not dissolve,
and could not afterwards be dissolved, even
at the ordinary temperature.

It is, therefore, evident that exposure to
heat produces some change on fibrin, which
prevents its dissolving in solution of salt, exact-
ly as heat renders ordinary albumen insoluble
in water. This accounts for the failure of my
first trials with muriate of ammonia, for I had
heated the solution with the view of accelerat-
ing the process ; and Berzelius appears to
have operated in the same manner.

4. The portion of fibrin which dissolves
bears a striking analogy to soluble albumen.

8?

INTERESTING EXPERIMENTS ON THE NATURE OF FIBRIN.

This led me to suspect that its coagulation
wiight be owing to some serum still adhering
to the fibrin ; but the same results were ob-
tained however carefully the fibrin was wash-
ed. And, on the other hand, the fibrin, when
liept in pure water underwent no perceptible
change, and the water did not extract from
it any albuminous matter, for it remained per-
fectly transparent whenboiled. The presence
of the salt, therefore, is necessary to resolve
the fibrin into the albuminous matter.

5. Some of the solution (1) was mixed with
an aqueous solution of corrosive sublimate.
No precipitate was produced. I at first sup-
posed that this indicated a decided difference
between soluble albumen and the substance
which the saline solution extracts from fibrin ;
but, on making the trial, 1 found that a solution
of white of egg, mixed tvith common salt, is
not precioitated by corrosive sublimate. This
fact I now find had been previously noticed,

6. Some of the same fibrin, prepared from
human blood, carefully dried at the ordinary
temperature, and which had been kept in the
dry state for several weeks, was acted on by
the solution of salt almost exactly as the recent
moist fibrin. It swelled, became white, then
transparent and gelatinous, and in a few hours
dissolved, leaving a minute quantity of
whitish matter, which did not cohere like the
mucus left by the recent fibrin. The solution
yielded copious coagula when exactly
like the solution of the recent fibrin .

7. The solution of common salt emnloyed in
experiments was dilute, A saturated soV\-
tion does not appear to have any effect in dis -
solving fibrin ; but a mixture of equal parts of
saturated solution and water acts distinctly ;
and when the saturated solution is diluted
with four or five times its bulk of water, it
acts still more rapidly. I have not ascertained
what degree of dilution produces the most
effective solutions, but a solution diluted with
five times its bulk of water, acts more power-
fully than a stronger solution.

8. From some trials I am inclined to think
that by far the greater part of the fibrin dissol-
ved is coagulated and precipitated by heat.
When this is deposited the solution still re-
tains a minute portion of animal matter,
ai)pai’ently similar to that which is extracted
from fibrin by boiling it in water.

9. Solutions of muriate of ammonia, muri-
ate of lime, muriate of barytes nitrate of
potash, sulphate of soda, tartrate of potash
and soda, and acetate of soda, have exactly
the same effect on the fibrin of human blood,
that solution of muriate of soda has. They dis-
solve by far the greater part of th^ fibrin,
leaving a slight residuum which is either of a
mucous consistance, or whitish, and without
cohesion. The solution coagulates about 130°
Fahr., depositing white flocculi. In like man-
ner fibrin, if once heated to 130°, is not
affected by any of these solutions. It is very
probable that many of the salts which I have
not tried produce similar effects. Solutions of
hydriodate of potash, and subborate of soda,
dissolve the fibrin, but do not coagulate when
heated. I believe they prevent the coagula-
tion of ordinary albumen.

10. The above experiments were made, as
I have stated, on fibrin of human blood.
The experiments which I have made on the
fibrin of ox blood, and sheep blood, have
given different results. Fibrin from these
soui'ces does, indeed, yield .some albuminous
matter to the saline solutions, but it is in
small quantity. The fibrin retains its cohe-
sion, and the liquid only yields a slight mud-
diness, or, at most, a very few flocculi w^hen
b )iled. The solutions of muriate of ammo-
nia, common salt, nitre, and sulphate of soda,
appear to be the most effective.

U. I have made some experiments on the
action of some of these solutions, on muscular
fibre, freed as much as possible from cellular
membrane, and carefully washed. In no case
was the muscular fibre completely dissolved,
or even so much changed as to destroy its
fibrous appearance, when viewed with the
microscope ; but, in general, the muscular
matter was softened, and the liquid gave more
or less albuminous precipitate when boiled.
These effects were most distinct with human
muscle, less so with the muscle of haddock,
very slight with the muscle of ox, and scarce-
ly perceptible with the muscle of sheep.

12. It follows, from these facts, that fibrin
differs materially in its properties, according
to the source from which it is derived ; that
in general it yields to saline solutions, at the
ordinary temperature, a substance resem-
bling soluble albumen ; that the proportion of
this substance yielded by fibrin varies materi-
ally ; that it is greatest in the fibrin of human
blood ; that fibrin cannot dissolve in solutions
of muriate of amonia if heated above 130'";
and that several kinds of fibrin are very slight-
ly acted on by that solution at any tempera-
ture.

ON THE SE3QUI SULPHATE OF MAN-
GANESE.

By Thoma-s Thomson, M. D., F. R. S., &c.,

Regius Professor of Chemistry in the
University of Glasgoiv,

When neutral solutions of sulphate of zinc
and chloride of manganese are mixed toge-
ther, no sensible change takes place. But if
the mixture be concentrated it gradually de-
posits yellowish-white coloured crusts, which
constitute a hitherto undescribed salt of
manganese.

This salt dissolves readily in water, but I
could not succeed in obtaining it in crystals.
Its taste issw'eetish and astringent, and slight-
ly acid.

6*26 grs, of it, rendered as dry as possible
by pressure between the folds of blotting pa-
per, and subsequent exposure to a gentle heat,
were dissolved in water and mixed with a
great excess of carbonate of ammonia. The
mixture was left for twenty-four hours, and
dui'ing that time was frequently agitated. It
was then thrown on a filter, to collect tlie
white precipitate which had fallen. This preci-
pitate became brown by exposure to the air,
and by ignition acquired a reddish tint. In

88

BECQUEREL AND BRESCHET’S IMPORTANT EXPERIMENTS.

this state it was red oxide of manganese. It
weighed 5’7S grs. = 5'38 grs. of protoxide o>f
manganese.

The ammoniacal liquid was passed through
the filter being evaporated to dryness, and the
residue re-dissolved in water, left a small
quantity of matter, which became red by
ignition, and was also red oxide of manganese.
It weighed 0'()7 = O'OGa gr. of protoxide.
So that the whole protoxide of manganese
contained in l6'26 grs. of the salt amounts to
6’445 gr.

The liquid thus freed from base was treated
with nitrate of silver. The chloride of silver
obtained weighed after ignition, 0-5 gr. = 0‘12
gr. of chlorine.

The excess of silver being removed by the
addition of a little common salt, the liquid was
precipitated by muriate of barytes. The
sulphate of barytes obtained being collected,
washed and ignited, weighed 2l;'tiG grs.= 8'5
gr. sul[)huric acid.

What is wanting to complete the 1G’2G grs.
must he water. For no other constituent
could be obtained.

Thus, it appears that the salt is composed
of Sulphuric acid 8‘5, Chlorine 0T2, Pro-
toxide of manganese 5’145. Water 2*195,
Total 1 6. 20

The chlorine was doubtless combined with
manganese, probably in the state of tris-
chloride. We must, therefore, subtract 0.33
from the protoxide of manganese. I'he re-
mainder, .5*1.85 is the quantity of manganese
in combination with the sulphuric acid. Now,
5*1 is to 8*5 as 4*5 to 7*5. So that the salt
is conu'osed very nearly of atom sulphu-
ric acid 7*5, 1 atom protoxide of manganese
4*5. 2 atoms water 2*'25, Total lt-2;).

The water was rather less than two atoms.
Probably a little had been driven ott’ in the
attempt to dry the salt by heat.

To what the yellow colour is owing, which
ibis salt possesses I do not know. The so-
lution of it in water is colourless, so that
none of the manganese can be in the state of
red oxide. I could detect no oxide of zinc
in the oxide of manganese, and none could be
extracted by digesting the newly precipitated
oxide in caustic potash. — Records of Science,
18.5.

ANIMAL HEAT.

Becquerel and Breschet are at present en-
gaged in a series of experiments upon this
subject. Their mode of determining the
temperature of dififerent parts ofanimal bodies
is by means of a thermo-electric multiplier,
vvith needles and probes formed of two dif-
ferent metals, soldered in certain points only.

The needles are of two kinds, the most
simple being composed of two other needles,
the one of platinum, or copper, the other of
steel, soldered atone of their extremities in
the direction of their lengths, each of them
being about half a millimetre (0-0196 inch)
in diameter, and a decimetre (3*93 inches)
in length. One of these needles is introduced
into that part of the body wliose temperature
is to be determined, the soldered part being
placed in the same medium. Tlie two free

erids are then made to communicate with th®
vvires of the multiplier. The points of junc-
tion, platinum and copper, steel and copper^
if the platinum and steel needle is employed,
or the points of junction of steel and copper,
if the steel and copper needle is en)ployed„
are placed in melting ice, in order tliat the
temperature may remain constant. The
magnetic needle then deviates, in conse-
quence of the difference of temperature which
exists between the point examined and zero.
Experience shows that the maximum effect
is found between & 259 ; therefore, before
commencing the experiment, the multiplier
may be so adjusted that the needle shall stand
between 20*^ and 25®, in order that the most
minute deviations may be noted. When
the magnetic needle has acquired a fixed
equilibrium, the probe is withdrawn from the
part examined, and the corresponding sol-
dered part is plunged into a water-bath, of
wliich the tempeiature is raised until a devia-
tion is produced, considerably, above that
which was previously obtained. The water
is allowed to cool, and the temperature cor-
responding to this deviation is marked by an
excellent thermometer. By this method of
procedure the following temperatures were
obtained. A &: B distinguish two persons
aged 20 years ; C, a person aged 55 years ; —

FIRST SERIES OF EXPERIMENTS.-
TEMPERA I’ URE OF THE AIR 539.6'.

NAME OF THE PART, TEMPERATURE.

Brachial biceps of A. 97*75 F. Adjacent
cellular tissue 94-4G, Mouth 98*24, Brachial
biceps of B 98*29, Adjacent cellular tissue
95*81, Mouth 98 06, Biceps ofB 98*18, Cel-
lular tissue 95*59, Mouth 98*6.

BLACK DOG.— Flexor Muscle of the
thigh 101*12, Cellular tissue of the neck 98*6,
Abdomen 101*3, Cliest 101*12.

ANOTHER DOG.-— Muscle of the thish
100*4, Chest 98*6, Abdomen 100*58.

SECOND SERIES OF EXPERI-
MENTS.—TEMPERATURE OF 4H£
AIR 53*6. Biceps of B 98.29, Cellular tis-
sue 96*04, Calf of the leg 98*42, Mouth 98*6
Biceps of C 98*42, Cellular tissue 95 59.

THIRD EXPERIMENT.— BLACK
DOG ALREADY SUBMITTED TO
EXPERIMENT.— Muscle of the thigh
101*48.

THIRD SERIES OF EXPERIMENTS,

NAME OF THE PART, TEMPERATURE.

Mouth of B 98^*33, Mouth of A 98*51,
Mouth of B by thermometer 98*6.

SECOND EXPERIMENT.— Biceps of
B 93*78, Cellular tissue 95*86.

THIRD EXPERIMENT.— CARP

(CYPRINUS CAP10.)_DifFerent parts
56*3, Water 55*4.

FOURTH SERIES OF EXPERI-
MENTS.-MADE WITH PROBES

WITH TWO BRANCHES, '1 ERMED

NEEDLES OF THE SECOND KIN D.

Biceps of B 1*181 inch deep 98*15

Muscles of the calf. .. .1*572 ,, 98*15

Adjacent cellular lissue.O 393 ,, 94*1

Pectoralis major 1*573 „ 98*15

Adjacent cellular tissue.0'393 ,, 94*1

ON PYROXYLIC SPIRIT BY DUMAS AND PELIGOT.

89

SECOND EXPERIMENT,-A YOUNG
GRIFFIN OF MEDIUM SIZE.

Pectoralis major 1.572 inch deep 100’85

Cellular tissue 0'393 ,, 99 5

THIRD EXPERIMENT UPON B.

Biceps at ...1*18 inch deep 97*7

Cellular tissue 94*1

FO U R r H EX P E R I M E N F U PON
A DOG. — Muscle of the thi‘'h 101*3, Cel-
lular tissue of the thigh 100'31, the Lung
101*3, Abdomen 101*3.

FIFTH SERIES OF EXPERIMENTS,
WITH rVVO MULTIPLIERS. -A DOG.
— Muscle of the thigh 100*85, Chest 101*9
Brain (the two ends of the probe were ad-
mitted by trepanning a small portion 100*85.

From these experiments it appears that, 1.
In man the temperature of the muscles ex-
ceeds that of the cellular tissue by 4® and

2. The mean temperature of the muscles of
three young persons, aged 20 years, was
found to be 98*186. With the common
tlrermometer, Dr. Davy estimated the heat
of the human body at 98*^; and Despretz
found the mean temperature of nine men,
aged 30 years, 98S'*85,* of four men, aged
68, 98*^*83 ; of four men, aged 18 years, 98'58.
While John Hunter found the temperature
of the rectum of a healthy man between 979
and 989.

3. 'The mean temperature of the muscles of
several dogs is 100'94; while Despretz makes
it 1039'06. This difference may be attributed
to accidental circumstances. It is to be ob-
served, also, that the state of the health has
an effect upon the temperature. The tem-
perature of the brain was 100*85: this tem-
perature was suddenly reduced some degrees,
and in a few minutes the animal died.

4. The temperature of the common carp
was only about fg of a degree above that of
water.

5. The contraction of the muscles aug-
ments the temperature, while the compression
of an artery diminishes the temperature.
Agitation, motion, and in general every thing
which determines a flow of blood, tends to
elevate the temperature. Whether the ner-
vous system has any share in producing a
rise of temperature remains to be determined.*

PYROXYLlC~SPIRIT AND ITS
COMPOUNDS.

Dumas and Peligot have published an ela-
borate examination of pyroxylic spirit, (Ann.
de Chem. Iviii. 1.) which will be found inter-
esting to British chemists, as this substance is
becoming a very important article in the la-
boratory. It was discovered by Philip Tay-
lor, in 1812, who termed it pyroligneous
ether, from the mode in which it is prepared.
The lowest sp. gr. to which, as far as we are

• Ann. de Chim. et de Phys. lix. 113. (It is
to be regretted that the authors do not mention
the season of the year when these experiments
were made ; for, as has been remarked to me,
by a distinguished comparative anatomist, the
relative temperatures of fishes, and the medium
in which they are placed, vary according to the
»«ason.— Edit.)

aware, it has been brought in this country, is
*812. Dumas, however, states that its den-
sity at the temperature of 68® is *798, and
that of its vapour 1* 120, Its boiling point,
according to the same authority, is 1519|, at
a pressure of 38 inches.

1. Pyroxylic Spirit, or Hydrate of^ Car-
hydrogen. — For the purpose of analysis, the
pyroxylic spirit was rectified with lime newly
burned, and lastly distilled with mercury in a
retort supplied with a thermometer which
indicated the temperature from the

beginning to the end of the process. Its
composition was found to be, carbon, 37*7 ;
hydrogen, 12 5; oxygen, 49*8 This agrees
very nearly, taking into consideration the sp.
gr., with

1 vol carbon . .

=*4166 =

: 1 atom .

. .75

2 vols. hydrogen

*1388

2 atoms

. . .25

^ vol oxygen....

*5555

1 atom .

. 1*

1*1111

2*00

Hence, this substance is a hydrate of car-
bydrogen, CH X FIO. Dumas has, unne-
cessarily, coined a new name to distinguish
this base, viz. Methyleiie, (from wine,

and wood), W hat advantage is gained
by this innovation it is difficult even to guess
at. The disadvantages of designating- simple
compounds by arbitrary names (since tliis
compound turns out to be one of the simplest
organic compounds with which we are ac-
quainted) are sufficiently obvious, and we
trust that this name will not be adopted by
British chemists.

The existence of this simple compound of
hydrogen and carbon in pyroxylic was de-
monstrated in 1828 by Dr, Thomson. (Edin.
Trans, xi. 15, Inorganic Chemistry, i.
191, ii. 294.) It is difficult to allow our-
selves to suspect that Dumas should have
been ignorant of this fact, which ha.s been
published for nine years, but in consequence
of the absence of any allusion to it, it is im-
possible, in charity, to avoid drawing such a
conclusion. Dr. Thomson obtained the
compound ofl atom carbon X 1 atom hy-
drogen the basis of pyroxylic spirit, accoicl-
ing to Dumas, by mixing 3 parts of muriatic
acid, 1 part nitric acid, and 1 of pyroxylic
spiiit, applying heat, and receiving the gas
disengaged over mercury. The product was,
a mixture of a new inflammable gas 29 parts,
deutoxide of azote 63, azote 8.

The new gas was composed oflvol. car-
bon, 1 vol. hydrogen, and IJ chlorine,
containing half an atom more chlorine than
the chlrohydrate of methylene of Dumas,
which was prepared by heating a mixture of *2
parts of common salt, 1 part of pyroxylic
spirit, and 3 parts of concentrated sulphuric
acid,

2. DIHYDRATE OF CARBYDRO-
GEN, — If 1 partof pyroxylic spiiit be dis-
tilled with4paits of sulphuric acid, asimi-
lar appearance is presented as when alcohol
and concentrated sulphuric acid are distilled.
During the whole process much gas passes
over, containing* sulphurous and carbonic
acids, which may be removed by caustic-
potash. A gas then remains, which is ab-
sorbed by water, possesses an ethereal odour.

90

INTERESTING TO BRITISH CHEMISTS.

and burns with a flame like tliat of alcohol.
It is a dihydrate of carbydrogen, or the hy-
drate of methylene of Dumas, and bears the
same relation to pyroxylic spirit that either
does to alcohol, It required 3 vo's. oxygen
to burn it. Its density, by experiment, was
TG17, which corresponds nearly with
2 vols. carbon ..= •8332 = 2 atoms T5
2 vols. hydrogen.. '1389 2 atoms ‘25

1 vol. vapour of water ’6250 1 atom T125

1-5972 2-875

Hence, its composition is exactly the same
as alcohol, in so far as regards the propor-
tions of the elements ; but it is obvious, from
the difference in their properties, that the
elements are differently arranged, the dihy-
drate of carbydrogen being 2 C H + H O.

The dihydrate is a colourless gas, with an
ethereal smell, and does not liquify vvhen
cooled to — 16*^ (3^^^ F.) Water dissolves
about 37 times its volume at the temperature
of 18° (64° 4)> acquires a smell of ether,
and a taste of pepper. Alcohol dissolves it
in greater quantity. Sulphuric acid dissolves
much of it, and abandons it when diluted
with water. It is but justice to state that
Macaire and Marcetdiscovered this gas. It
is always a subject of regret to see one man
undervaluing the labours of another. Dumas
and Peligot have, in the present and pre-
ceding instance, by omitting to state the ex-
periments of their predecessors, laid them-
selves open to this charge. W^e are willing
to believe that it is a fault of omission, rather
than of commission, proceeding from their
ignorance of the expeiiments referred to.

3. HYDRO-CHLORATE OF CARBY-
DROGEN, or of methylene, according to
Dumas, is prepared by heating a mixture of
2 parts of common salt, 1 part of pyroxylic
spirit, and 3 parts of concentrated sulphuric
acid. A gas comes over which may he col-
lected over water. It is a neutral body. It
is colourless, smells of ether, with a sweet
taste; burns with a white flaine, having green
edges. W'^ater absorbs 2-8 times its volume
at the temperature of 61°. It does not liquify
at zero. Its density is 1*736. Hence, its
composition is,

1 atom carbydrogen .... 4860. . . .875

1 atom hydrochloric acid 1-2847 . .4*625

1-7707 5-500

Its formula is therefore C H, X Ch H.
this gas is decomposed into hydrochloric acid
and carbydrogen by a red heat.

4. HYDRIODATE OF CARBYDRO-
G EN, is formed by distilling 1 part of phos-
phorus, 8 parts of iodine, and 12 or 15
pyroxylic sprit. The iodine is to be dissolved
in the pyroxylic spirit, the solution placed
in a retort, and the phosphorus added gra-
dually; a lively action ensues. When it has
subsided the rest of the phosphorus is added,
and the mixture distilled. On either passes
over consisting of pyroxylic spirit and hy-
driodate of carbydrogen. The latter is sepa-
rated by the addition of water, which imme-
diately precipitates it. This hydriodate is
still impure, and requires to be distilled over
an excess of chloride of calcium and massi-

cot, in a water-bath. When puie it is
colourless ; slightly combustible, sp. gr !
2.237 at 714°. Boils at 104° or 122°. The i
density ofits vapour is 4*883 by experiment.
Hence, it consists of

1 vol. hydriodic acid 4-4097

1 ,, carbydrogen ‘8460

4-8957

5. SULPHATE OF CARBYDllO-
G ION. — An oily substance produced by dis-
tilling 1 part of pyroxylic spirit with 8 or 10
parts of concentrated sulphuric acid. It is
separated by decantation from the liquid with
\yhich it is mixed. It is then agitated with a
little water, to separate sulphuric acid, then
with chloride of calcium, to remove the
water, and is afterwards rectified with
caustic-bai-ytes, to get rid of sulphurous
acid. Lastly, it is kept for some time in a
vacuum witli concentrated sulphuiic acid
and potash. It possesses a smell of garlic.
Sp. gr. 1-324. Boiling point 71 The
density of its vapour is 4-565. It consists
of CH X S X HO. Its atomic weight
is, therefore, 7*

6. NITRATE OF CARBYDROGEN,
may be obtained by distilling 50 parts of
nitrate of potash, 50 of pyroxylic spirit, and
100 sulphuric acid. A thick and colourless
ether remains at the bottom, which must be
separated from that which swims over it, by
decantation and distillation several times,
with a mixture of massicot and chloride of
calcium. Even yet it is not pure, for a por-
tion of it boils at 140°. When the tempera-
ture rises to 150° the remainder is nitrate of
carbydrogen. It burns with a yellow flame.
Sp. gr. T182. When heated in a tube it
detonates violently, which renders it difficult
to analyze it. It is easy to see the cause of
this, because it contains nitric acid, hydro-
gen, and carbon, like gunpowder. The
density of its vapour is 2-640. Its composi-
tion is probably Az -\- CH.

7. OXALATE OF CARBYDROGEN,
is obtained by distilling equal parts of sul-
phuric acid, oxalic acid, and pyroxylic spirit.
A liquid is procured which, in the air, cry-
stallizes in rhomboidal plates. When the
distillation has terminated, the retort is cooled,
and 1 pait of pyroxylic spirit is added, and
distillation performed again with the same
results. The crystals are laid on filtering
paper, purified by fusion in an oil bath, and
distilled over massicot, to deprive them of
oxalic acid. They fuse at 124°. Oxalate of
carbydrogen dissolves in cold water. It dis-
solves in alchol and pyroxylic spirit. Am-
monia changes it into oxamide. It consists
of CFI+C^' 03 + Aq.

8. ACETATE OF CARBYDROGEN,
may be readily procured by distilling 2 parts
of pyroxylic spirit with 1 part of crystalliza-
ble acetic acid, and 1 part of common sul-
phuric acid. The product is agitated with
chloride of calcium which separates an ether
containing much acetate of carbydrogen, A
little sulphurous acid and pyroxylic spirit re-
main, which may be removed by agitation
with caustic lime, and digestion for 24 hours
with chloride of calcium The density of its

COUERBE’S METHOD OF ANALYZING OPIUM.

91

vnpour is 2-563. It. consists of C H -I- C* IP
03 j-i o. It boils at 136"^. Its density
is 919,

9. formate OF CARBYDROGEN.—
This ether was prepared l)y distilling a mix-
ture of equal weights of sulphate of carby-
drogen and formate of soda, 'bhe product is
distilled over a new portion of formate of soda,
and lastly, in a retort from a water-bath.
Its formula is C H + 0^ H O^ + HO.
The density of its vapour is 2-4.

10. benzoate of CARBYDRO-
GEN, is formed by the distillation of 2 parts
benzoic acid, 2 sulphuric acid, and 1 part
pyroxylic spirit, and precipitating the product
by water. By redistilling tlie residue of the
first operation with new portions of pyroxylic
spirit, more benzoate of carbydrogen passes
over. The product, after precipitation by
water, should be agitated with chloride of
calcium, decanted and distilled over dry
massicot. It is then to be boiled till the tem-
perature remains fixed about 388°. It is
oily, colourless. Sp. gr, 1*10. _ The density
of the vapour is 4-717, It consists of C H
C15 H6 Q3 H O, or I atom of each of the
ingredients.

IT. CHLORO-CARBONATE OF CAR-
BYDROGEN.— When pyroxylic spirit is
admitted into a vessel containing chloro-
carbonic acid, muriatic acid and chloro-car-
bonate of carbydrogen are formed. The
latter separates in the form of a heavy oil.
Its precipitation is secured by the addition of
water. It is then decanted, rectified with a
great excess of chloride of calcium and mas-
sicot. It is a colourless liquid, very volatile,
with a penetrating odour. It burns with a
green flame. It consists of 1 atom of acid
and I of base.

12. SULPHO-CARBYDROGIC ACID,
can be formed by the action of sulphuric aci(l
and pyroxylic spirit, but more readily by
dissolving the double sulphate of carbydro-
gen in water, precipitating the barytes by
sulphuric acid, and crystallizing the liquid in
a vacuum. The crystals are white needles.
It is strongly acid, and forms salts with all
the bases.

SULPHO-CARBYDROGATE OF BA-
RYTES is prepared by adding gradually 1
part of pyroxylic spirit to 2 parts concentra-
ted sulphuric acid ; much heat is extricated.
The liquid, after the cessation of action, is
diluted with water, and supersaturated slight-
ly with barytes.

The liquid is then submitted to the action
of carbonic acid, and again filtered. _ Sulpho-
carbydrogate of barytes remains in a pure
and neutral state. By careful evapoiation it
is obtained in the form of beautiful square
plates. The salt is colourless, and effloresces
in the air. When strongly heated it is de-
composed, and sulphato of barytes remains.

The salt of lime is deliquescent. 'J'hat of
potash crystallizes in pearly plates.

13. AMMONIA SULPHATE OF CAR-
BYDROGEN, or sulpho-methylene of Du-
mas, is formed by passing a current of dry
ammonia over sulphate of carbydrogen. A
soft crystalline mass is formed. It may be

also procured by the action of liquid am-
monia upon sulphate of carbydrogen. The
liquid which remains after the re-action,
when evaporated in vacuo, furnishes beauti-
ful crystals, whose composition is exactly
represented by an atom of anhydrous sulphate
of carbydrogen, united to an atom of enhy-
drous sulphate of ammonia.

14. AMMONIA WITH OXALATE OF
CARBYDROGEN, or Oxamethylane of
Dumas, is produced when a current of dry
ammoniacal gas is passed over oxalate of
carbydrogen. A white crystalline mass is
formed, when dissolved in alcohol ; cubic
crystals are obtained by evaporation. In
order to understand its composition, we have
only to admit that pyroxylic spirit is produced
during the action, 2 atoms oxalate of carby-
drogen, and 1 ammonia being converted into
an atom of oxamethylane, and 1 of pyroxylic
spirit.

15. URETHY LANE, is the name given
to the product of the action of chloro-carbo-
nate of carbydrogen with ammonia; much
sal-ammoniac is formed, and a deliquescent
substance crystallizing in needles.

In remarking upon these compounds,
Dumas observes, that di-hydrate of carbydro-
gen is isomeric with alcohol ; Bycarbonate of
carbydrogen with citric or malic acid ; Oxalate
carbydrogen with succinic acid ; Formate of
carbydrogen with acetic acid ; Acetate of
carbydrogen with formic ether ; Citrate of
carbydrogen with anhydrous sugar.

ANALA'SIS OF OPIUM.*

Couerbe gives the following method for
analyzing this complicated substance, as pro-
posed by Gregory :

The Opium is first taken up by cold wafer,
and then concentrated, chloride of calcium
is adrled to the solution, in the proportion of
2 ounces to the pound of opium It is then
boiled and allowed to crystallize. When the
whole has become solid, the crystals are sub-
initted to pressure. The crystals contain
Codeine and Morjjhine united to muriatic acid.

The liquid portion which possesses a very
black colour, with the consistence of syrup,
contaiiiS, Bimeconate of lime, pure Morphine,
IS’arceine, Thebaine, Meconine, pure Narco-
tine. In order to separate these substances,
the liquid is brought to the consistences of
molasses, and in order to free it from an im-
mense quantity of a peculiar black substance,
which is improperly termed fat, it is diluted
with water acidulated with muriatic acid.
The addition of the acid causes this matter
to swim on the surface; it is then skimmed
off; it contains much ulmine. Ammonia is
next poured into the purified liquid, by which
means, Morphine and Thebaine are precipi-
tated. This deposit is dried, pulverized and
treated with boiling ether. The Thebaine
though little soluble in this liquid, dissolves.
The ethereal solution is distilled when the
Thebaine remains behind in the form of small
reddish crystals. These are purified by dis-

* Aim. de Chiniie, lix. 151.

92

BRUNxVER ON THE BAROMETER.

solving them in alcohol, and by animal char-
coal ; lastly, in order to have it perfectly
pure, fit should bedisrsolved in ether and eva-
porated spontaneously.

The ammoniacal liquid is concentrated to
the consistence of liquid honey, and agitated
strongly with etlier. 'J he liquid dissolves tlie
meconine. By distilling the ether this sub-
stance remains ; it is purified by solution in
water and charcoal, and when the aqueous
solution is evaporated, white crystals of long
prismatic needles make their appearance.

When we wish to obtain the other sub-
stances, all these processes are not necessary,
it is sufficient after having precipitated the
infusion ofopinm by muriate of lime, to con-
centrate the liquid and treat it directly with
ether. By this means, rather more meconine
is olitained. When the ether has ceased to
act, the black liquid thus taken up is decant-
ed and exposed in a cool place where it
assumes a crystalline form ; it is then ex*
pressed and treated with boiling alcohol.
'I'he product dissolved in this case is Narceine.
But it is firoper to state, that as this substance
is not soluble in ether, and as the black' sub-
slances which accompany it are soluble in
alcoliol, there are some difficulties accom-
panying the process for obtaining it ; it is
always procured pure by em ploying boiling
water. No notice is here taken of meconic
acid, which combines with the lime, and
forms himeconate of lime, because Robiquet
has sufficiently explained tlie method of ob-
taining it.

Wiili regard to the double muriate of mor-
phine and codeine, it is dissolved several times
in boiling water, passing it through charcoal
in order to decolourize it, or decom[)osing it
by ammonia, which precipitates almost all
the moriihine, and leaves in the solution the
codeine, with a little morphine combined with
the muriatic acid, constituting the salt of
Gregory. The morphine is purified by the
usual means.

'The solution of the triple salt is evaporated
until it appears about to crystallize; then
caiK^tic potash is added in excess, which pre-
cipitates the codeine and retains tlie morphine
in solution ; the solution is then heated
slightly, and allowed to stand for a day. The
codeine, which at first appeared as an oil,
crystallizes. It may be purified by solution
in ether or alcohol. The former is prefera-
ble; because, if it contains morphine, this
will be a direct method of separating it.
From 40 lbs. of opium Couerbe obtained by
this process,

1 oz. of meconine
,, codeine
f ,, narceine

1 ,, thebaine

50 ,, morphine

He did not extract narcotine, which exists

in the refuse of opium and is well known.
These substances present the following ap-
pearances when agitated with sulphuric acid
containing a little nitric acid. Morphine gives
a brownish colour. Codeine, a green colour.
Thebaine a yellow rose-colour. Narcotine, a
blood-red colour Meconine, a turmeric yellow,
then a red colour. Narceine, a chocolate
colour.

THEBAINE crystallizes from an ethereal
solution, in flat rhomboidal prisms, with a
fine lustre, and white colour. It is strongly
alkaline.

When exposed to the temperature of 266®
it fuses, and becomes solid at 230®. Narco-
tine fuses at 338° and solidified at 266°.
Codeine fuses at 302, and meconine at 194°.

The strong acids convert thebaine into
recin, and when diluted form crystallizable
salts. The following results were obtained
by Couerbe : —

Carbon. Oxygen. Hydrogen. Azote.
Narceine, . .5G'818 3T900 6-626 4-656

Thebaine,.. 71-976 15-279 6.460 6-385

Codeine 72-846 14 775 7-148 5-231

The Paramorphine of Pelletier was obtain-
ed l)y 'riiiboumei y by treating the- infusion of
opium with slacked lime. He obtained by
this means a clear liquid, and a precipitate
containing much lime, which was treated
with alcohol, and the solution gave, instead
of mor{)hine, this new substance, which ap-
pears the same as tlie thebaine of Couerbe.

The proportion of morphine in opium,
Couerbe states may be determined in the
course of two hours, by boiling the infusion
of opium with an excess of lime, and passing
the solution through a filter. If an acid he
added, taking care not to add in excess,
morphine precipitates.

DESCRIPTION OF A BAROMETER,
By C. Brunner, of Bern.

Poggendorff's Annalen der Fhysik und
Chimie.

Band, xxxiv. 1835.

The author observes that the atmospheri-
cal pressure may be measured in two differ-
ent ways, either by observing the height of a
liquid column contained in a tube, the up-
per part of whicli is deprived of air, and the
lower extremity is expo-ed to the excess of the
atmosphere, as in the common barometer,
01 by the volume wliich a gas occupies in a
closed vessel, when the latter is completely
elastic, or the act of enclosing the gas in the
vessel is effected without perceptible resistance.

4'he apparatus of Varignon, described in
1705 ; tlie sympiesometer of A die the baroskope
of Prechll, and the differential barometer of
August, are examples of the latter. Fie then
proceeds to describe an instrument which he
has constructed upon similar principles, and
which may be termed the volume barometer.
The peculiarities of his contrivance depend
upon having the surface of the liquid in the
tube, and that surrounding it, on a level :
that the liquid shall be of such a nature as
to have no perceptible tension at common
temperatures: that it shall not perceptibly
adhere to the glass, lest a portion remain
hanging in the tube, and the enclosed volume
of air be undervalued : that all the observa-
tions be taken at the same temperature, or that
the influence of the temperature upon the
enclosed air be taken into account.

He recommends it as being very convenient
for making the necessary reductions for gas
mixtures.

IMPORTANT SCIENTIFIC INTELLIGENCE,

m

ON ALTITUDE BAROMETERS OF
THE MOST COMPLETE CONSTRUC-
ITON, BY GEORGE BREITHAUPT,
OF CASSEL.— The writer states that he has
devoted much time to the perfecting of these
important instruments. He describes his
precautions for purifying the mercury, which
he prepares from cinnabar, by distillation
with lime. It is then strained through card
paper many times, heated nearly to the boil-
ing point, and filtered into the tube. The
nonius scale he forms of the most delicate

Lind, extending to millimetre i line and
adjusts a microscope to it.

DESCRIP ITON OF AN APPARATUS
FOR ASSAYING SlLVl.R, IN I HE
WET WAY, BY E. JORDAN, OF CAS-
SEL.—This is somewhat similar to the ap-
paratus described by Gay Lussac, in his work
upon the assay of silver. It differs in this
respect, however, that by the proceeding of
Jordan the contents of an alloy are determined
in the direct way.

OBSERVATIONS ON THE DECLI-.
NATION AND DAIi.Y VARIATION
OF THE NEEDLE A T PEKIN, BY Hr.
KOWANKO, MEMBER OF I'HE IM-
PERIAL RUSSIAN MISSION AT PE-
KIN, COMMUNICATED BY A. T. KUP-
FFER.— The observations were naade with
Garabey’s declination compass. The wes-
terly declination was found to be for March
1832, 2^ 15' 42". The westerly progress of the
needle from December .1831 to March 1832,
was 12'. At Petersburgh, during the same
time the easterly deviation was 3 , where the
total deviation was on the 22d and 23d De-
cember, 6^ 27 5 ', and on the 2Uth and 21st
March, 6® 23' 58". Hrn. G. Fuss, who pre-
ceded Kownanko at Pekin, found the decli-
nation there in December 1830 1° 38 W, in
May 1831, P 55' VV, and in June 1831, P
48' W,

The needle reached its easterly variation
on 2 1st December at 9 a. jvi. On 22d De-
cember at 10 A. M. On 20th March at 9 a.
M., and on 21st March at 9 a. m. While its
westerly daily variation was a.s follows . 21st
December, 2 p. m. var.= 4' 10" 22d Decem-
ber 2 p. M. var. = 2'20th March . 2 p. m.
var- = 5' 41" 21st March . 2 p. m, var. =6'.

M A G N ETI C A I, O BS E R V AT 1 0 NS AT
N E RTSC H I N S K , COMMUNICATED
BY A.T. KUPFFER.— Cancrin found the
inclination of the needle at this place, on the
5th August 1832, at 10 a. m. 66^ 33' 4". 'The
declination on 5th August, 2 to 4 p. m., was
4° 14' 15" W. 22d September 4° 7' 43" W.

ON THE MAGNETISM OF THE
EARTH, BY PROF. L. MOSER, OF
KONIGSBERG.— In a previous paper, Mo-
ser endeavoured to prove, from various data,
that the magnetic intensity of the earth is
.situated on its surface. He follows up the
subject in the present paper. He considers
as demonstrated, that the magnetic distribu-
tion over the earth is proportional to the line
of its breadth, and calculates the inclination
and intensity. He also discusses the theoreti-
cal grounds from which the temperature of
the earth has been calculated by mathema-
ticians. He calculates the intensity to be in
54® 42' 50' N. L., TG037, and the inclination
71® 8' 20'. The mean temperature of the north-
ern hemisphere he finds 15® R. (65“f) in
the 30th® of latitude. That of the southern
hemisphere is 63°. 34.

MAGNETIC INFLUENCE PRO-
DUCED BY THE ELECTRICAL MA-
CHINE,— M. Llambias, of Port Mahon, in
a communication to the Academy of Paris,
observes that magnetism can be developed in
this way. 'Fhe two electrical currents in a
metallic conductor discharged from a Leyden
jar, may be separated, at least, in part, by
having the conductor adjusted so as to
separate into two or more arms, which gives
origin to a spark in any arc or part of the
same, where the two currents unite in passing
through ; it is in general the positive sireaiti
(that proceeding from the positive to the
negative pole) which contiacts the power of
communicating the magnetic influence.

LIST OF EARTHQUAKES, VOL-
CANIC ERUPTIONS, AND RE-
MARKABLE METEORIC APPEAPv-
ANCES SINCE THE YEAR 1821, BY
K. E. A. V. tlOFF,9Tn PART. — This forms
the concluding portion of an important list of
meteoric phenomena, registered with con-
siderable minuteness. It terminates with a
summary exhibited in the following tables,
comprehending 10 years, from 1821 to 1830

1

KARTHQU AKE5.

VOLCANIC

EliUPTIONS.

NORTH

SOUTH

NORTH

j SOUTH

HEMISPHERE

HEMISPHERE

HEMISPHERE

! HEMISPHERE

January

31

2

1

0

February

36

0

2

1

March

31

1

2

0

98

3

5

1

April

29

1

1

2

May.

33

3

0

0

June

33

1

1

0 !

95

5

2

2

July....

20

3

2

i

August

31

2

1

0

September.

24

3

0

0

75

8

3

1

October

41

2

2

November

26

1

1

1

December

34

1

4

1

! 101

4

6

4 '1

Total

369

20

16

8

94 OCCURRENCE OF EARTHQUAKES AT DIFFERENT SEASONS,

From this table it appears that the occur-
rence of earthquakes in the different seasons
was as follows : —

NORTH HEMISPHERE.

In the three harvest months=10l
,, winter ,, 98

,, spring ,, 95

,, summer ,, 75

SOUTH HEMISPHERE.

In the three harvest months=5
,, winter ,, 8

„ spring „ 4

,, summer „ 3

In reference to the hours at which they
took place during the same period, we have
the following data for earthquakes :

A.M.

P.M.

From 12 to 1 o’clock.

= 15

6

„ 1 2 „

11

7

„ 2 „ 3 „

12

10

„ 3 „ 4 „

14

13

„ 4 „ 5 „

16

8

„ 5 „ 6 „

11

6

79

50

„ 6 „ 7 „

= 6

5

7 „ 8 „

8

13

» 8 „ 9 „

7

11

9 „ 10 „

8

10

„ 10 „ 11 „

18

8

„ 11 „ 12 „

5

6

52

53

Total. . . .

=131

103

EARTHQUAKES AT BASLE.—
According to Professor Merian, the earth-
quakes at Basle are correctly estimated as
follow : —

In the 11th century, 3

„ 14th „ 4

,, 15th „ 5

„ 16th „ 23

In the 17th century, 59
„ 18th „ 24

„ 19th „ 4

Total 122

118 occurred in the different months, as

follows : —

January 12

February 14

March 6

! April 5

May 11

June 3

July 7

August '. 8

September 12

October 11

November 14

December 15

The most severe earthquakes were on the
18th October 1356, when 300 persons lost
their lives ; on the 21st July 1416, 7th Sep-
tember 1601, and 17th November 1650.

Compounds of Ferro-cyanodides and Am-
monia, by Dr. Bunsen, of Gottingen.

1. AMMONIA FERRO-CYANODIDE
OF COPPER. — When a salt of copper
is precipitated by ammonia, and an excess of
the latter added, so as to re-dissolve the pre-
cipitate, if ferro-cyanodide of potassium be

brought in contact with the solution, a pre-
cipitate is not immediately produced, but
after standing for some time, or by boiling, a
brown crystalline substance falls in fine
scales. After drying, the substance forms a
brownish yellow mass, which is soluble in
ammonia, but not in water or alcohol. When
heated in a glass tube it becomes first blue,
then purple-red, and assumes a dark colour,
but gives out no water. By caustic alkalies
it is resolved into hydrate of copper, and
ferro-eyanodide of ammonia ; and by acids
into ferro-cyanodide of copper, and aramoni- i
cal salt.

Dr. Bunsen found its composition to be,
iron 13*20, copper 3033, cyanogen 38'08,
ammonia 16*14, water 2*25 = 2, 4, 6, 4, 1,
atoms respectively. This composition may
be expressed, considering the ammonia as
occupying the place of water, by 2 Fe Cy +

2 Cu Cy + 4 N H^^ HO = 76125 the
atomic weight.

2. AMMONIA FERRO-CYANODIDE
OF ZINC, is prepared in the same way as
the preceding. It is a white crystalline pow-
der. Analysis afforded for its composition,
iron 13*15, zinc 32 27, cyanogen 39*04, am-
monia 1T50. water 4 0 = 2 Fe Cy -f- 2 Zn
Cy -1-3 NIP 4- 2 HO.

3. AMMONIA FERRO-CYANODIDE
OF MERCURY. — The preparation of this
salt is attended with some difficulty; because,
ammonia nitrate of mercury dissolves nitrate
of ammonia when excess of alkali is present.
When Ferro-cyanodide of potash is added to
this solution, a yellowish precipitate subsides, 1
which, when the solution attains its proper
degree of dilution, settles on the sides of the
glass, in the form of small, transparent, shin-
ing, wine-yellow, four-sided prisms. But, in
order to obtain them, several precautions are
necessary. The solution must contain as
little water as possible. The solution must not

be too much concentrated, nor must the pre-
cipitation be conducted by heat, because part
of the mercury wilt be reduced, and the pro-
duct will have a gray colour. It is best to
discover the necessary degree of concentration
by some preliminary trials, — to precipitate the
compound in a vessel surrounded by ice, and
then to agitate the solution. A yellowi.-h pre-
cipitate subsides, from which the supernatant
liquor is to be removed, and a quantity of
concentrated ammonia poured over it. As
long as the salt is impregnated with ammonia
it retains a fine citron -yellow colour, and
crystalline structure. By drying in the open
air it undergoes partial decomposition. When
treated with water it becomes red. It consists
of iron 8*58, mercury 59 09, cyanogen 23 74,
ammonia 5*19, water 3*40: expressed by Fe
Cy -F 2 Hg Cy 4- NH^ + HO.

4. AMMONIA FERRO-CYANODIDE

OF MAGNESIUM, is procured by adding to
a solution of magnesia salt, ammonia, till no
further precipitation takes place, and then
pouring in a solution of ferro-cyanodide of
potassium. After standing or boiling, a white
powder falls. It consists of iron 18*86, mag-
nesium 10*72, ammonia 10*75, cyanogen 56*27,
water 3.40 = 7 ( Fe Cy + 2 Mg Cy + 5 (Fe
Cy +2NH3Cy) + 6HO.

INDUSTRY OF DR. WALLICK & MUNIFICENCE OF THE DIRECTORS. 95

Another compound was formed by using
ferro-cyanodide of calcium instead of the salt
of potash. 7’he constituents were, iron 18'24,
magnesium 8-93, ammonia 11'43, cyanogen
53‘91, water 7'49, abstracting the lime which
was found in it. Tliis is equivalent to (Fe Cy
+2 Mg Cy) + Fe Cy + NIP) + 2 HO.-
Records of Science, 1835.

THIO TRANSACTIONS OF THE LIN-
NEAN SOCIETY OF LONDON,
Vol. xvii. Part. I,

Contents. — I. Description of the organs of
voice in a new species of wild swan ( Cygnus
Buccinator Richardson.) By VV. Yarrell,
Esq., F. L. S., &c.

II. Description of three British species of
fresh water fishes belonging to the genus
J^encisGus of Klein, by W. Yarrell, Esq.,
F. L.S., &c.

III. Observations on the Tropaeolum
pentaphyllum of Lamarck, by Mr. David
Don.

IV. On the adaptation of structure of the
Sloths to their peculiar mode of life, by Pro-
fessor Buckland.

V. Observations on Naticina and Den-
talium two genera of Molluscous animals, by
the Rev. Lansdown Guilding.

VI. Monograph of the East Indian So«
laneae, by C. G. Nees Esenbeck, M. D.

VII. On the Lycimnof Dioscorides, by J.
Forbes Royle, F. L. S.

Vill. A review of the natural order Myr-
sinese, by M. A. De Candolle.

IX. On tlie Modifications of Aestivation
observable in certain plants formerly referred
to the genus Cinchona. By Mr. David
Don.

X. Additional Observations on the Tro-
preolum pentaphyllum. By Mr. D. Don.

All these papers, with the exception of the
two last amounting to six pages, were read
before the Linnean Society in 1832. The
quality, however, of the materials of which
this volume is composed does not produce the
same disappointment which is experienced in
reference to the quantity. We may refer more
particularly to Esenbeck’s Monograph, and
the distinguished De Candolle’s review, for
the materials of both of which we are indebt-
ed to the industry of Dr. Wallick and the
munificence of the East India Company. It
is remarkable, however, that of 145 pages, of
which the volume consists, 90 are written by
foreigners. 1 conceive that a short outline of
these papers will be highly acceptable to those
who may not have an opportunity of reading
the transactions themselves.

THE PAPER OF ESENBECK TREATS
OF TWO NATURAL ORDERS, VIZ-
SOLANE^ AND VERBASCIN.T:, IN
REFERENCE TO INDIAN SPECIES.

SOLANEjE.

I. SOLANUM.

I. Maurella. — A Pedicles equal to the
common peduncle.

1. S Fistulosum ; 2. S Incertum syn nig-
rum ; B Pedicles of the fruit, shorter than the
common peduncle ; 3. S Rubrum.

2. Gemini folia. — 4. S Spirale; 5. S mem-
branaceum ; G. S leave; 7. S denticulatum ;
8. S bigeminatum ; 9. S Neesianum ; 10. S
crassipetalum ; II. S decemfidum; 12. S ma-
crodon ; 13. S lysimachioides.

3. Verbnscifolia.—\4c. S verbascifolium ; 15.
S auriculatum ; 16. S giganteum; 17. S
vagum.

4. Melongena. — 18. S melongena ; 19. S
heteracanthum.

5. Torva, (acute lobed leaves.)— 20. S
Wightii; 2!. S barbisetum ; 22. S ferox ; 23.
S torvum ; 24. S Indicum ; 25. S jacquini ;
26. S procumbens ; 27. S sarmentosum ; 28.
Strilobatum.

6. Nycterium.— 29, S (nycterium) pube-
scens.

7. Pinnatifolia. — 30. S tuberosum ; 31. S
calycinum.

20. Has been named in honour of the in-
defatigable Dr. Wight of Aladras, who for
some time has employed painters and collec-
tors at his own expense, for the purpose of
elucidating the botany of Madras.

25. Under this species Esenbeck includes
the S diffusum of Roxburgh, It is an abun-
dant plant in Madras and Bengal, and 1 have
found it occurring plentifully in the neigh-
bourhood of Bombay.

30. This merely refers to the potatoe as
cultivated in Madras and Bengal. It does
not attain any considerable size in the hot
parts of these presidencies, but near Bussorah
I believe it thrives much better.

II. Lycopersicum Dun.

1. L esculentum ; 2, L Humboldtii.

III. Capsicum Litt7i.

1. C grossum ; 2. C fastigiatum ; 3. C
frutescens, the Tschili or Chili ; 4. C cha-
maecerasus.

IV. Physalis Linn.

1. P somnifera ; 2. P Peruviana ; 3. P
pubescens ; 4. P minima; 5. P angulata ;
6. P Indica.

V. Anisodus Lin.

Luridus.

VI. Datura Linn.

1. D alba; 2. D fastuosa ; 3. D trapezia;
4. D ferox ; 5. D stramonium ; 6. D tatula.
vii. Nicotian A.

N tabacum, Hab. near Katmandoo.

VIII. Hyoscyamus.

H Niger. Hab. near Futteghur, Moradabad,
Delhi.

VERBASCINAE.

I. Verbascum thapsus. Hab. near Gossain
Than in Nepaul.

2. V Indicum. 3. V spec. dub.

II. Celsia coromandelina. 2. C Viscosa.

III. IsANTHERA peimollis.

The paper of De Candolle does not require
such a minute analysis as the species of the
order Myrsinece, which he has therein illur-
tiated, are all natives of foreign climates, and
cannot, therefore, be so generally interesting
as those of the order of Solanecc. A fcw facts
may, however, be stated, which exhibit in a
striking point of view the rapid progress which

RUSOT XJSEFUL IN INFLAMMATION OF THE EYE,

botany is at present making in regard to the
discovery of new species.

The order Myrsineae is now placed between
the orders Sapoteae and Primulaceae, from
the latter of which it seems to differ in the
indehiscence of its fruit, and from the former
by the constant deficiency of stamen alter-
nating with the lobes of the corolla. This
order is divided by the author into three tribes,
j. Aegicereae, with an erect embryo; 2.
Ardisiae, including the bulk of true Myrsi-
neae ; 3, Moeseae, wdth an inferior ovarium,
approaching to primulaceae.

He has proposed two new genera, Weigel-
tia and Conomorpha, and a third, Choripe-
talum, which has not been sufficiently exa-
mined. The species of this older produce a
resinous substance, wdiich appears in the
form of dots or reservoirs, in different parts of
the plant, chiefly on the leaves, flowers, and
berries, and also in the hard wood of the
Myrsine and Aegiceras. It melts and burns
in tlie flame of a candle, is notsolublein water,
but is so in oil or alcohol when moderately
heated, giving to the latter a rose colour,
These facts were particularly observed in the
berries of the M. semiserrata. The dots are
dark or light brown, reddish or yellow, vary-
ing in size, shape and position, in different
species. The fruit of Embelia ribes possesses
a styptic taste, which the author supposes to
depend on this resinous substance.

Of 180 species of myrsineae 58 are describ-
ed for the first time by the author. They
grow commonly on the hilly and mountainous
regions of the hottest parts of the globe. None
have yet been found beyond the 39th or 40th
degree of latitude, viz. in Japan, whilst they
abound in Java and in some parts of India
and South America. No species is known in
Africa except at the Cape and at the Canary
Islands, Mauritius, Bourbon and Madagas-
car. The 180 species are distributed as fol-
lows : 112 in Asia and New Holland, 48 in
America and 20 in Africa.

Mr. Don, in his paper, shews that the form
of aestivation of the corolla is of great import-
ance as a character to distinguish different fa-
milies, especially among the monopetalous
orders, except in the order Rubiaceae, where
examples of every kind of modification occur.
In the Cinchona grandiflora and rosea it is
imbricate, in C lanceolata and the rest of the
true cinclmnae it is valvate, while in the
VVestIndian species it is in duplicate and in
the Cexefsa plaited. Of the genus cinchona
he enumerates seventeen tiue species, 2.
Combuena, (C grandiflora) two species ;
obtusifolia a.r\d uciminati ; 3. Lasionema (C
rosea) rosenm. ; 4. Exostema, seven species;
5. Hyrnenodictyon (C excelsa) excelsum and
thyrsijiorum. ; 6. Luculia gratissima and

cuneifolia ; 7. Pinckneya pubens.

DON’S OBSERv'aTION ON THE
T RO P A E 0 L U M P E Nl’ A P H Y LL U M
OF LAMARCK. — The other paper of Mr.
Don is upon the Tropaeolum pentaphyllum
of Lamarck, which has been introduced into
this coi’.ntry by Mr. Neil of Edinburgh. He
shews that it differs from the genus Tro-

paeolum in having the aestivation of its calyx
valvate, that of Trapaeolum being imbricate.

In the nature of its fruit, which is a black
juicy berry resembling the Zante grape, and
in the reduced number of its petals. He has
formed it into a new genus, and terms it
Chymocarpus pentaphyllus. Its calyx is per-
sistent, while that of 'rropaeolum is decidu-
ous. The embryo is small and white, con-
tained in a thin cartilaginous testa, and the
cotyledons round and compressed. It be-
longs to the natural order Tropaeoleae, and
is a native of the s indy plains of Buenos
Ayres. It was first observed by Commerson, ,
and afterwards by Tweedie. 1

MR. ROYLE HAS ENDEAVOURED
TO IDENTIFY THE PLANT TERMED
LYClUM BY piOSO RIDES.— The ly-
cium of Asia Minor he considers may be
made from the Rhamus infectoriiis, or differ-
ent species of Rhamnus, or the BeiberisvuL
garis. The lyciiim of India, again, he identi-
fies with the produce of the Berberis aristata^
occurring on Choor mountain, 6000 to SOOO'
feet high, called in Arabic Amburbarees, in
Persian Zirishk, the Wood darkhuld and
darchob, the extract hooziz, the hill name
being chitrach, and also with the extract ob-
tained from the B lycium growing at Mus-
sooree, 3000 to 5000 feet of elevation, called
Kushmul, the extract rusot.

This rusot can be procured in every bazar
in India, and is used by the native practi-
tioners in chronic and acute inflammations of
tlie eye, both simply and combined with alum
and opium. It was employed by Mr.
M‘Dowell in the Egyptian ophthalmia, and
JMr. Royle has applied it with beneficial
effects in cases succeeding acute inflamma-
tion. The extract is rubbed to a proper con-
sistence w'ith a little water, sometimes with
opium and alum and is then applied in thick
layer over the swollen eyelids. The addition
of a little oil renders the preparation less
desiccative.

It is mentioned in the Rhikhzun-ool-ud-
wieh, (store house for medicines) under the
name of /oo/yon, which is obviously the same
as lookyon of the Greeks. Dioscordies des-
cribes it as being formed from a shrub called
Lonchitis, which is thorny, and has branches
three oi more cubits in length, whose bark,
when bruised, becomes of a reddish colour
and whose leaves resemble those of the olive.

In these respects Mr. Royle’s plant agrees
with that of Dioscoiides. Indeed we have
rarely seen a more plausible deduction from
etymology than is exhibited in the present
instance. It is to be regretted, however, that
the rusot has not yet found its way into che-
mical hands.

COMPARATIVE ANATOMY, &c.'-~
Mr. Yarrell describes the organs of voice
in the Cygnus huccinatur, a new species of
swan, figured by Dr. Richardson, from the
interior of the fur countries of North Ameri-
ca. I’his species, which is called the Trum-
peter, furnishes the largest portion of the
supply of swan skins imported by the Hud-
son’s Bay Company. Its beak is black ;
trachea is made up of narrow bony rings and

NATURE OF THE LOWEST SPECIES OF PLANTS,

97

small intervening membranous spaces as far
as the first convolution within the sternum;
but the returning portion of the tube, forming
a second convolution, is composed of broader
and stronger bony rings, with wider intervals.
The course of the trachea within the sternum
differs from that of the hooper, after descend-
ing by the neck it passes backwards within
the keel, and between the two plates of the
back bone to the depth of six inches, then
curving horizontally and slightly inclining
upwards, returns at first by the side of and
afterwards over the first inserted portion near
two thirds of the whole distance. A second
curve of this returning portion is then sudden-
ly elevated two inches above the line of the
superior surface of the keel, and traverses the
interior of a hollow circular protuberance on
the dorsal surface of the sternum itself. The
usual ascending curve of the trachea then
takes place, by which the tube, ultimately
receding, grains the interior cavity of the
breast. The bronchiae are two inches long.
Such are the peculiarities which characterize
this new species.

TWO SPECIES OF LEUCISCUS. OR
DACE FAMILY OF FISH, ARE DES-
CRIBED BY MR. YARRELL, ONE OF
MHICH, L. LANCASTRIENSIS, WAS
MERELY NOTICED BY MR. PEN-
NANT AS LIKELY J O BE NEW UN-
DER THE NAME OF GRAINING. IT
IS MORE SLENDER THAN THE
DACE. — In the latter the length is to the
depth as 4 to 1, but in the graining as 5 to 1.
The head and back are of a pale drab colour,
tinged with red ; irides, yellowish-white; the
fins pale jellowish-white. In the dace the
back and sides yellowish olive-coloured, tinged
with blue ; lower fins pale red, with a smaller
number of fin rays in some fins, in others less.
It occurs in a stream which rises in Knowsly
Park, in the Mersey and in the Alt. L,
elongatus, pinna dorsali supra pinnas ven-
trales posita, caudali profunde biloba, capitis
lateribus supra subparallelis ore parvo, dorso
lateribusque superne subrufescenti, isabellinis
inferne ventreque argenteis.

The other species, L ccdruleiis is quite new.
He gives it the English name of Azurine. Its
depth is to its length as 7 to 2, resembling the
red eyexu. shape, but is easily distinguished
from that species by the silvery whiteness of
the abdomen, which in the red eye is of a bril-
liant golden orange, and also by its white fins,
which in the other are vermillion. L ovato-
lanceolatus, pinna dorsali pone pinnas ven-
trales posita, dorso pluinbeo, ventre argenteo,
pinnis albis.

B 3 D 10 P 16 V 9 A 12 C 19.

MR. GUlLDING~OBSERVES THAT
THE NATICIDAL FORM A VERY DIS-
TINCT EAMILY FROM THE NERITI-
DAE. — The former are apparently blind, the
operculum has no appendages ; their useless
tentacula are weak and turned back on the
shell, while in the act of creeping the head
and its organs are perfectly veiled by a broad
expended hood, the sensible contractile apex
of which serves to guide its motions, at first
sight they rather resemble the Bullidae.

He describes and figures two species of
Dentalium, viz. D Semistiolatum, and D
Sowerbyi. A^ery little is known with regard
to this genus. M. Deshayes had previously
thrown some light on its history, but its posi-
tion in the natural sptem is not yet made out.
Mr. Guilding isinclined to place it near pa-
tellae. It resembles in its vent the genus
fissurella, in its apical fissure the posterior
marginal rima of emarginula, — Records of
Science, 1835,

OBSERVATIONS ON THE FORMATION
AND CHANGES OF THE INFERIOR
ORDERS OFPLANTS By F. J. Kutzing.^

The nature of the lowest species of plants is
a subject of interest. M. Kutzing, from many
observations which he has made upon them,
has drawn some important results.

Distilled water remained stationary for six
months, without -shewing any appearance of
green matter on its surface. Water which had
been distilled over plants presented a diJferent
aspect.

In some of them a mucus began to shew
itself in the course of eight ^ays;in rosewater
in about two weeks. First the mucus is depo-
sited, and the characteristic odour of the water
disappears, Henee, this mucilage would ap-
pear to be formed at the expense of the essen-
tial oil. No filaments or globules can be dis-
covered at this stage ; but if the water is less
exposed to the dire ct influence of the sun, they
appear at first colourless in the mucous mass,
and then the different forms of Hygrocrocis
and Leptomitus shew themselves. This con-
stitutes the second step; the light of the sun
determining whether Protococus or Hygrocro-
cis shall be developed. The lowest state of
these globules is well exhibited in the genus
established by Kutzmg, of Vryptococcus which
is inferior to Protococcus ; for in the former
the organic mucus is only observed in the form
of minute globules, while in the latter, they are
larger and possess colour with a more solid
texture. The third step is the formation of
filaments, by the union or elongation of the
colourless globule.s, giving origin to Hygrocrocis
orLeptomitus.The Leplumrda is an advanced i
state of Cryptococcus. The latter is formed
in moist windows. Kutzing has observed the
formation of an Oscillatoiia which he calls
fenestralis, over a stratum of Cryptococcus,
which previously became a Pulmella. If we
term the transformaticn of Cryptococcus into
Hygrocrocis eixiid Leptomitus a. direct progres-
sive step, w^e may call that of Cryptococcus into
Pabnella and , Protococcus, latterally progres-
sive,^

It is worthy of remark, that the Protococcus
is often found in dry places, for it seems that
itnever appears in water except when the sun
is shining on it, and the Hygrocrocis and Lep-
tomitus appear in the shade. It has been ob-
served that the algae (algues) are formed after
the death of the Jnfusorii, especially the
Enchelys pulvisculus. When the water in

* Ann. des Scien. Nat. II. 129.

A VALUABLE PAPEK ON MALT,

which this animal is found, is evaporated, the
latter contracts after death into globules. These
possess at first their transparency at the ex-
tremities, which correspond to the head and
tail ; but gradually they contract into a ring sur-
rounded by other globules, and assume an ap-
pearance resembling Protococcas ; only it is
mucilaginous when united in large masses, and
is therefore more like Palmella,

At this time an Oscillatiria begins to ap-
pear, which Kutzing terms brevis. It is always
the same plant. The author confirms the ac-
curacy of the observation of Treviranus with
regard to the motion of the sporuies of algae. He
observed the motions of millions of globules
while examining the Draparnuldia piamosa,
ina glass of water. Under the microscope he
noticed, that as the green border (which was
formed on the second day after depositing the
plant in water), increased, the filaments of the
Draparnuldia, lost their green colour and be-
came hyaline, and the globules resembled then
the CynibeLla (Frustu’ia.) These movements
somewhat resemble those of pollen in spirit of
wine, camphor in water, &c., but they are of
longer duration. By keeping a Protococcus
which was seated on sandstone constantly wet,
the globules became connected, filaments were
formed, and a conferva produced, which he
calls tenerrima {C Muraiis Spreng.) This
plant is found in the waters of reservoirs, and
is transformed into an alga of a superior order,
the Incderma, Kutzing observed the Aly-
sphceria flavo-virens to be produced froin the
protococcus viridis, by the conversion ol the
globules into dichotomous filaments.

He found likewise, that by examining the
structure of the Parmelia pcirietina, it is ob-
served, that the globules of the Protococcus
viridis which occurs on trees along with the
lichen, enter into its frond, and that the latter
is the first state of the lichen. Upon the upper
part oftrunks of trees, we observe the Parmelia
parietina. At the base we notice filaments of
Protonema, which are generally converted into
Orthotrichum, Plypnum and other mosses.

Kutzing has distinctly observed these threads
of Protonema formed by globules of Protococcus>
These globu’es swell, being filled in the intenor
with a green liquid, and are gradually expanded
into filaments. It appears that the formation of
Alysphccria does not necessarily precede that
ofihe lichens, but that it is an independent struc-
ture. Kutzing observed the Barbula muraiis
a moss, produced from Protonema and also
from a Protococcus. The genera Zygnema and
Alongeotia are generally found in shallow water.
When the water containingthese plants is evapo-
rated, the Conferva quadrangula appears
From the Mongeotia genuflexa in this way pro-,
ceeds the Riccid crystallina. From his ob-
servations Kutzing infers

1. The formation of organic matter cannot
take place, except from elements of other organic
in-inciples already dissolved.

2. Simple globules ( Cryptococctis Palmella
and Protococcus), may produce difierent plants
according to the influence of light, air and tem-
perature,

3. The superior algee are plants ot very
simple structure,

4. The same superior .structure may be r>rodu-
ced from original structures altogether different.
Thus, the Barbula muraiis, is formed from
the Protonema which comes from a Protococ-
cus, and again proceeds from the remains of the
dried Palmella hotryoides, without passing
through the stage of Protonema. — Records of
Science, 1835,

ON MALT.

By Rorbet D. Tho.iison, M. D.

At a time when so much excitement exists
in regard to the subject of Malt, it will not,
perhaps, be considered a superfluous under-
taking if I attempt to lay before my readers
an outline of the process to which grain is
subject before it acquires this designation.

A knowdedge of the peculiarities of this
interesting process is important in a double
point of view, because it affords a remarkably
beautiful specimen of the chemistry of nature,
and because its product forms a stap’e com-
modity of British manufacture, no less than
forty millions of bushels of malt being an-
nually consumed in the United Kingdom,
which, at 6 )s. per quarter, exceeds in value
the large sum of £ 24,000,000, and contributes
a revenue to Government at 2j?. Id. per
bushel of more than £ 5,000,00 ) per annum.

It would throw no light upon the chemical
nature of malting if we were to endeavour to
investigate the history of its discovery, be-
cause the changes which grain undergoes
during the stages of the process, are not yet
fully developed ; and we are, therefore, led
to infer that the introduction of this prepara-
tory step to fermentation was the conse-
quence of some accidental observation.

It is sufficiently well known indeed that
the method of inducing the vinous fermen-
tation was understood at a very early period.
Thus the Chinese distil samshoo, an ardent
spirit, (and we are sure that any practice
which exists among them is of very high
antiquity) from rice and the roots of plants,
and the savages of the Pacific Ocean prepare
a similar product from the masticated roots
of herbs.

The Abyssinians have long been in the
habit of fermenting the husks and stones of
grapes, and distilling the brandy which is
highly concentrated through a hollow cane
called shambacco.'^ And the _ Germans, at
the earliest period to which their history car-
ries us, were so partial to fermented liquor,
that they believed if they obtained the favour
of their divinity (Woden) by their valour,
they should be admitted after their death
into his hall, and reclining on couches, should
regale themselves with beer from the skulls
of their enemies whom they had slain in
battle, f

But for these objects malting is not neces-
sary, for even in this country much spirit

• Pearce’s Travels, i. ’iST.
t Hume’s History of England, i. 31.

IMPORI'ANT TO EUROPEANS IN INDIA.

99

is made from raw grain. The quantity of
grain consumed in this way amounted, in
1834, to 6,694,34-1 bushels.

We may consider the subject, first in re-
ference to its physical nature, or the process
of malting, and secondly in an economical
point of view, or the duty on malt.^

I. PROCESS OF MAL I ING-

Any kind of grain may be converted into
malt, but in this country there are three species
of plants belonging to the order Cercales
which are peculiarly emt)loyed for this pur-
pose. These are Hordeum distichum, H.
vulgare, and H. hexastichon.

1. TheH. distichum is commonly

termed barley, \ and is characterized by hav-
ing two lateral rows of seeds which are imbri-
cate. The average lengtli of a seed is 0.343
inches. Breadth 0.143 inch. Thickness 0. 08
inch.

2. H. vvlyarelAxiw, in herb. Errh. PI.
Olf. 421. Herb. Dava'l. 1802, described
by Linneus as having two rows of seeds more
distinct, but there are two additional imper-
fect ones. The length of a spike of average
grain is 3 inches. Length of a seed .3/5 inch.
Breadth 0. 16 inch.

It is to this species that the name bigg,

I believe, is more peculiarly applicable. The
term is one employed by the country people
in Scotland, who are not in general, as else-
where, very precise in their definitions,
and are apt to apply one term to different
species. Indeed, the whole of the species
are often indiscriminately called bear, a mix-
ture being often sown which is termed blend-
ed bear.

3. H. hexastichon, Linn- Spec. Plant.
125. Hort. Ups. 23, This species is described
by Linneus as posessing universally herma-
phrodite flc^wers, with the seeds placed
regularly in ^ix rows. The seeds in my speci-
men were in length .323 inch, in breadth .15
inch, and much inflated and rounded on the
external surface. Length of the spike 1,7 inch.
I have been favoured with the authority of an
extensive farmer for identifying this species
with the Scotch bear, “ Bigg,^’ says he,

has four rows on the head, two of which
are better than the others and contain also
more grains. Bear, has six rows, is a
strong coarse grain and be easily known after
separation from the straw, by its thick husk
and long awn.” The first of these drstinc-
tions niay be a tolerable criterion, but the
latter is decidedly not so, because in Irish
specimens which I possess, the awns of the
H, are much longer than those of the

H. hexastichon. It is, therefoi’e, a matter
of great doubt whether in all cases these
species of grain can be distinguished after
separation from the straw.

. correct discrimination of these species
IS of great importance, because the quality of

* See Papers presented to the House of Com-
mons in 1799, ls04 and 1806.

t Through the kindness of my friend Mr.
Don, I have had an opportunity of identifying
this and the following species with the speci-
mens in the Linnean herbarium.

the malt is inferior in the two latter. From
the experiments made in 1806 by order of
Government, it apf>ears that the value of
barley is to bigg as ,100 to 89^, taking the
mean of the value of English and Scotch
barley as the standard ; butif we considered
the Scotch barley still as of inferior quality to
the English, then the relations will be as in
1806, English barley 100, Scotch barley 93,
Bieg 86 ; or the malt of bigg is 14 per cent,
inferior to that of English barley, and 7 per
cent, inferior to that of Scotch barley Their
relative values ■ may, perhaps, be better
appreciated by attention to the product of
spirit derived from each. Thus the quantity
of proof spirits per c[uarter of each, exhibited
in the following table :

Wine measure. Imperial measure,
English Barley. 20.79 gallons. 17.20 gallons,
Scotch Barley . .20.02 ,, 16,70 „

Scotch Bigg.. 18.96 „ 15.72^ „

They differ also in respect of weight, so
that the quality may be in some measure
detected by this test. The average weight of
each kind of grain is represented as follows :

lbs. avoird. Imperial measure.

English Barley .... 49,871 per Winchester
bushel. 51,444

Scotch Barley 49.734 „ 51.327

Scotch Bigg. 47,3.32 „ 48.849

From experiments, it appears that the grain
does nut lose any weight by keeping. After
an interval o/_-fiix months, the difference of
weight stjarcely ever amounted to yj^th, and
this was generally in favour of the grain which
had been kept longest.

If we inquire into the natural history of
these different species, we shall be able to
throw some light upon the causes of the
difference in the value of their grain,

(To be continued.)

TRAVELLING LIFE- APPARATUS.

Sir, — The accompanying drawings repre-
sent a travelling life-apparatus, (he inten-
tion of which is, to combine in one expedi-
tious travelling carriage every means which
can contribute toward the salvation of the
lives of shipwrecked nmriners.

It consists of a life boat gun for having
lines — a catamaran for clearing surfs — and a
carriage for the conveyance thereof ; which
last can be used for the transportation of
anchors and cables, scaling-ladders for cliffs,
and in war fot defence of the coast. It
might also be used for the purpose of accom-
panying armies, and enabling them to cross
rivers ; uniting, in one machine, the bag-
gage-waggon, pontoon, and gun-carriage.

The models (of which the accompanying
are correct drawings) have been already laid
before several of the public boards ; and I
have been endeavouring for these two years
to get it adopted, but without success.

An invention on such a subject should not
be kept a secret, particularly at this stormy

iOO

AN INGENIOUS PLAN FOR A LIFE BOAT.

seson of the year, when the dangers of our
coast are so much aggravated, and call so
loudly for every means which can be used to
ameliorate the horrors of shipwreck. Will
you, then, assist me in giving it additional
publicity, by recording it in the pages of
your valuable Periodical ?

lam. Sir, yours obliged,
Henry Duncan Cunningham.
Gosport, March 28, 1835.

P. S. — I shall be much pleased to see my
machine noticed by some of your French
subscribers. I am informed, they are at pre-
sent forming stations along their northern
coasts.

DE.SCRTPT10N OF THE ENGRAVINGS.

Fig. 1 is the life-carriage with its ap-
pendages, ready for travelling. 'Fhe interior
construction of the boat A A may be under-
stood by the dotted sectional view : ./'/’is a
platform parallel with the line of floatation,
which is taken when the boat is fully manned
and equipped. From this platform are tubes
which communicate witii the water, through
the bottom. There, are two of these tnbe.s
between each thwart, one upon each side,
and close to the keel, and by them any
water the boat ships runs out again. But to
enable the boat to free herself as soon as
possible, increased buoyancy is given by all
the parts not occupied by the rowers and
setters, being fitted in with a casing of wood,
flush with the thwarts, and covered with fine
painted or oiled duck. The boat is on the
dimensions of a 10-oared cutter. A hollow
copper, or tin gun-wale streak, is carried
round the outside, capable of holding several
gallons of air. By these precautions, the
danger of swamping is entirely removed, and
the difficulty of capsizing so great, as to per-
mit the boat to right when the keel is nearly
parallel with the surface, of the water. The
midship tubes are advantageously employed
for the purpose of weighing or carrying
anchors, the fall being led through them to a
w'indlass also placed amidships.

On the hindmost axletree of the carriage
are two levers, of which G is one. The head
of the bolt, or linch-pin, is so constructed as
to form the fulcrum to another large lever B,
equal to the tvvo smaller ones G G. The
lii ch pin is represented by the dotted figure
at C. The parallelogram which hides it
from view is the end of one of the magazines
for supplying ammunition to the carronade
O, intended to heave lines to ships in dis-
tress. By mean.s of the levers the boat is
atlached to the carriage, and they are so pro*'
portioned as to allow one man at each small
lever, and two men at the large one, to heave
the boat up. The ends are secured by the
rope F, and the ring bolt d; b and a
are slings attached to the boat. A better
idea of the formation of the carriage, &c. may
be conceived by fig. 2,

The process of vvoiking the apparatus is
this : — In attaching the boat to the carriage
the latter is wheeled over the former, and
the slings in the sides and stern of the boat
hooked to the levers, which are then hove
down and secured. The whole operation
might be done in a few minutes, and in a
reversed manner with the same speed.

The gun is used by withdrawing the linch-
pin C, thus detaching the shaft E from the
fore-axletree, the end of which being allowed
to go upon the ground prevents recoil. A
line is then fired, and a communication esta-
blished between the ship and the shore-rif

r-jg; . 2.

the distance is great, by means of the lifeo
boat, but if through much surf by the cata-
maran, which would in that case be the safest
mode.

There are many parts of the coasts of
England which consist of long flat bays, in
every part of which ships are liable to go on
shore, or be in distress ; for instance, White-
Sand Bay, near Plymouth, which extends for
ten or twelve miles. Now, a life-apparatus
cannot be stationed at every part of tliis dis-
tance ; consequently, the only way which
such a place can be supplied effectively, is
to have a machine which can be transported
to any part, and any distance, with facility
and speed.

Suppose a life-machine, on this plan, were
stationed at Looe, and a vessel is observed
to be in distress in the middle of the bay.

THE APPARATUS ADAPTED FOR WAR AND DEFENCE. 101

The carriage would be dispatched with all
expedition, and in a short time arrive at the
spot. Bnt, in the interim, the ship has gone
on shore, and in such a situation that the
only way of communicating is by means of a
rope. In a few minutes the boat is detached
from the carriage, the gun brought in opera-
tion, and a line having been fired, the people
are taken out, by means of the catamaran,
before tiie vessel goes to pieces Many
other examples might be adduced, which
will appear evident to those who are acquaint-
ed vvitli the dangers of a sea-coast.

Finally, for war and defence of the coast,
this apparatus would be eminently useful.
Suppose each intermediate coast-guard sta-
tion were furnished with a life-carriage, and
that an attack from boats were anticipated
at any point, bj'^ means of signals, a brigade
of guns, served by the station men, might in
a short time be formed, sufficiently strong to
repulse even a very serious attack- Again,
in the event of an army campaigning in a
country intersected by rivers; and of their
requiring not only artillery, but means to
pass the aforesa'id rivers, a brigade of these
machine-s, with flat-bottomed boats, would
answer the purposes of both. By heaving
lines across a floating bridge might in a
time be constructed, thus superseding the
use of pontoons. The guns of the carriages
might, if required, be employed to cover
the landing.

THE CATAMARAN.

The catamaran consists of tvvo copper
boats, strongly joined together, as in fig. 4.
Between them is an iron cradle 'see fig. 3).
D D is the interior view of one of the boats ;
A A is one of the frames of the cradle, fur-
nished at the bottom with a flat iron sledge,
and sliding freely in the slides B B. The
bottom of the cradle is grated, and upon
this the man stands : his weight being thus
considerably below the line of floatation, or
the centre of gravity, and the two boats act-
ing in opposition to each other, the possibi-
lity of upsetting is almost entirely removed.

As the catamaran is represented in fig. 3.
it is afloat; but when it takes tlie ground the
cradle slides up, and the bottom coming on
a level with the bottom of the boa-.s,- its
passage over sand or shingle, when being-
beached, is very easily effected.

After the line from the gun has taken
effect, the catamaran is hauled off by those
on board, another rope attached to it beino-
held by those on shore. ^

The catamaran will hold two or three
persons, and is placed or carried in the life-
boat when the machine is travelling. If
used at night, a light may be attached to it,
as in the life-buoy.

. THE PNEUMATIC RAILWAY.

(Continued from page 63, J

It is well known that notwithstanding the
prosperous condition of the Manchester Rail
Road Company, yet their expenditure in loco-
motive power has been so enormous as to cause
considerable anxiety on the part of the Ma-
nagers ; and some of them have even inclined
to the opinion, that the question of stationary
power deserves to be reconsidered. This
opinion would probably be confirmed and
strengthened, if the practicability of the
pneumatic system were satisfactorily demon-
strated by experiment upon a sufficiently large
scale.

On the whole, it appears to me that if the
mechanical difficulties of maintaining the
pneumatic tunnel sufficiently air-iight be over-
come, the system presents a fair prospect of
being practically successful. These difficul-
ties are not so great as they may at first ap-
pear. It should be recollected that nothing
approaching to the exhaustion of the tunnel
can be necessary ; nor even any considerable
degree of rarefaction. Supposing the tunnel
to have an internal diameter of 40 inches, the
impelling diaphragm would have surface of
about 9 square feet. If in such a tunnel a
degree of rarefaction were produced suffi-
cient to cause a parometiic gauge to fall 2
inches (which would be an extremely slight
degree of rarefaction indeed), an impelling
force would be obtained amounting to one
pound on every square inch of the snrffice of
the diaphragm, which would give an impel-
ling force of more than half a ton. It is cal-
culated that on the common railways the
amount of load is above 200 times the force
of traction, and it would therefore follow that
this force would be sufficient to draw a load
of 100 tons. If an additional incli of mercury
be made to fall in the barometric gauge to
balance friction, &c., still the raretaction
would be extremely inconsiderable, and the
contrivances to prevent leakage would ap-
pear to be attended with no great mechani-
cal difficulty.

From the various reasons which I have
above stated, I am of opinion that the present
project would, if carried into execution, be
likely to be attended with greater economy
and safety than any other method ot woiking
railways now practised ; and I see no reason
against the attainment of as much speed as
is obtained by the locomotive engines. At all
events, having explained the season on which
I have grounded this opinion, every one can
judge to what weight it may be entitled. 'J'he
project would appear to be w ell deserving of
trial on some railroad of limited length, such
as that between London Bridge and Green-
wich, where it would be sufficient to have
stationary engines at the extremities. In
such a case, I see scarcely any limit to the
speed which might be attained with safety ;
and the economy, as compared with locoma-
live engines, would probably be very great.

Dion. Lardner.

H. D C.

London, Feb, 19, 1835.

102

THE NECESSITY FOR LEVELS OBVIATED;

OPINION OF PROFESSOR FARADAY.

Mr. Hocking to Professor Faraday.

44, Berners-street, Jan. 28, 1835.

Dear Sir, — As you have witnessed the ex-
periment upon the improved or pneumatic
system of railway, and expressed a highly
gratitying opinion of its merits, I am anxious to
be permitted to cite yon as an authority on those
important points on which you can speak most
confidently, and on which alone its practical
application depends.

The efficacy of the power is, of course, in-
disputable ; and it is but to witness the ex-
periment, as you have done, to admit that the
mode of its application which this improve-
ment embodies is equally simple and certain.

To put the power which nature supplies
in action, and apply it to the object, local
steam-engines are employed, as these yield
the services of the gigantic force of steam in
the cheapest possible manner. Local steam-
engines possess, moreover, this further im-
portant and valuable quality, that the inten-
.sity of the force may be greatly varied upon
them, so that they may be worked at a low
pressure for levels and descents, and be in-
creased in their effect to almost any extent to
work acclivities.

The possession of the means of increasing
the active force as the occasion may require,
obviates the necessity of obtaining a level,
or even a near approach to a level ; and as it
is this necessity which involves the enormous
expense of cutting down or tunneling through
bills, and of embanking across valleys, for
the locomotive system, the advantage of ob-
viating it needs only to be pointed out to be
admitted.

In the mechanical construction of the rail-
way, whilst the cylindrical form which is
given to the body, and its inflexible conti-
nuity, make it independent of artificial found-
ations, the attachment of the_ rails to the
cylinder upon its horizontal diameter gives
them the important advantage of being at
once inseparably connected, and totally in-
dependent of extraneous or artificial support.

Besides the general stability which the
peculiar form and mechanical construction of
the improved railway give it, the system upon
which it is worked renders it free from any
tendency to derangement, since the carriages
run along upon the rails with the even and
unexciting pressure of the load alone ; and
this system employs no ponderous locomotive-
engine, whose violent concussions might
promote any such tendency, nor is the rail-
way burdened with an incumbrance which
wastes upon its ov\m unprofitable w'eight a
large proportion of the power it brings.

The attachment of the governor, or exter-
nal carriage of the travelling apparatus, to
the dynamic traveller within the body of the
rail way, and its connexions with the railway
itself, are such as to preclude the possibility
of its being thrown off: and as the train of

carriage must follow the governor, and every
carriage has its peculiar attachment, their
security is absolute. Indeed, it appears to ,
me difficult to suppose an accident arising
from tlie railway itself, or from the mode of
transit, or that could happen to either, that
could have the effect of rendering the car-
riages insecure, or even affect in the slightest '
degree their safety.

I do not trouble you with questions as to
the costs of formation and construction, as ]
that is a mere matter of estimate the fact
that the power emiiloyed is capable of being
increased at pleasure, to overcome acclivi-
ties, shows an important saving in the most
expensive item ; and in working a railway,
the difference between the expense of local
and locomotive steam-power alone, is so be-
yond all comparison in favour of the former,
that no one at all conversant with the subject
will require evidence of the great advantage
in point of economy to be derived from its
use.

Your confirmation of the correctness of the
views herein stated will much oblige,

Dear Sir,

Your faithful servant,
William Hocking.

Michael Faraday, Esq., F. R. S,,

&c. &c. (Sec.

Professor Faraday to Mr. Hocking.

Royal Institution, Feb. 3, 1835.

My dear Sir, — The points in your letter of the !
26th of last month, which you put to me for an
opinion, are such that I have no hesitation in
agreeing with you upon them.

To enumerate briefly these points : — the prin^
ciple of communication of power is correct — ■
the use of local steam-engines is highly ad-
vantageous, both for cheapness of force, and
capability of varying it when required — the
necessity for levels will, I presume, tlierefore
be greatly obviated— the association of cylinder
and rail is such that the whole road must (with
sufficient thickness in the cylinder) have great
strength and firmness — the absence of locomo-
tive-engines removes much of the cause of de-
rangement which the road would have to sustain
— and 1 do not see how the governor and car-
riages can leave the railway.

You know my objection to giving a general
opinion ill reference to the profitable application
of the plan in question ; but 1 may here add,
that the reserve I feel originates simply in my
possessing no practical knowledge of the con-
struction, expense, and profit of ordinary rail-
roads.

I am, my dear Sir,

Very truly yours,

M. Faradav.

William Hocking, Esq. F. A.,

&C. &C.&C.

THOMSON ON CALICO PRINTING.

103

ON CALICO-PRINTING.

By Thomas Thomson, M. D,, F. R. S.

L. and E. &c. &c.

Regius Professor of Chemistry in the Uni-
versity of Qlasgotv.

{Continued from page 64.)

III.— RLSIST PASTES.— These are sub-
stances which have the property of restoring
tlie blue colour of dissolved indigo, and thus,
of preventing it from becoming fixed on those
parts to which the resist-pastes have been ap-
plied. Any substance which the property of
readily parting with oxygen, answ'ers this pur-
pose. ISulphate of copper, or any salt contain-
ing black oxide of copper, when put into the
indigo vat, instantly revives the indigo, by
communicating oxygen to it. The hydrated
black oxide of copper has the same effect,
and so have the sesquioxide and deutoxide of
manganese.

The calico-printer’s indigo vat is a very
deep large vessel filled with water, into which
indigo, sulphate of iron, and an excess of lime
are put. The lime decomposes the sulphate
of iron, and the disengaged protoxide of iron
coming in contact with the indigo at the bot-
tom of the vat, deprives it of an atom of oxy-
gen, and thus renders it capable of combining
with the lime, and of forming a compound
which dissolves in water, and forms a yellow
liquid. Where this solution is in contact
with the atmosphere, the indigo is revived,
assumes its blue colour, and loses its solubi-
lity. Hence, the blue scum which always
covers the surface. But this scum, in some
measure, protects the rest of the vat. When
cloth is dipt into this vat it comes out yellow.
But from the exposure, the indigo gradually
absorbs oxygen and becomes blue. The cloth
at first, from the mixture of the blue and yel-
low, has a green colour, which slowly deepens
into blue. But if, to any parts of the cloth
before it be dipped into the vat, something
has been applied w'hich has the property of
giving out oxygen to the indigo ; all the indigo
which would be imbibed by these parts is
revived, before it comes in actual contact
with cloth ; and, in the revived state, it is in-
capable of combining chemically with the
cloth, but may be easily washed off. Hence,
the parts covered by resist-pastes remain
white,

' The following are the principal resist-
pastes used by calico-printers :

1, BLUE PASTE OR VITRIOL con-
sistofa mixture of sulphate and acetate of
copper, and the solution is thickened with
gum-senegal and pipe-clay for the block, and
with flour, for the cylinder. When the cloth
on which this paste has been printed is dipt
into the indigo vat, the indigo is revived be-
fore it has time to reach the surface of the
cloth. After dyeing, the piece is passed
through weak sulphuric acid, to remove the
oxide of copper which has been precipitated
on it.

2, MILD PASTE consists of sulphate
of zinc, gum, and pipC'Clay, It is used along

with colours which copper would injure, or
which would be destroyed by immersion in
sulphuric acid. It resists a pale blue and the
removal of the oxide of zinc by an acid, is not
necessary, as it is when copper has been em-
ployed.

Sulphate of zinc, as well as all the other
metallic salts and all the acids, precipitates
indigo from its solution in lime. It does not
revive the indigo like the salts of copper; but
when the base of indigo is precipitated, it is
not so readily fixed as a state solution. The
oxide of zinc with the gum and pipe-clay,
acts mechanically in keeping it at a distance.

3. RED PASTE consists of the alum
mordant already described, mixed with acetate
of copper, gum, and pipe-clay. It resists
pale blues, and the alumina remains upon the
white portions of the cloth, to be afterwards
dyed red, with madder or yellow by quer-
citron bark.

4. NEUTPvAL PASTE is a name given
by printers, to a compound of lime juice,
sulphate of copper, gum, and pipe-clay. It
resists during a short dip in the blue vat ;
and the lime juice gives it the property of
remaining white when the piece is dyed
in madder, even when the preceding red
paste goes over it. Tliis acid also prevents
the lime of the blue vat from precipitating
copper upon the cloth, which would cause
the parts to assume a deep brown tinge when
dipt into the madder vessel.

5. CHROME YELLOW RESIST
PASTE consists of a mixture of a salt of cop-
per, to resist the blue vat with a salt of lead,
to produce a yellow with bichromate of po-
tash, after having been dyed in the blue vat.

The preceding observations were necessary,
to give the reader an idea of the various pro-
cesses, followed by the calico-printers, and
with the rationale of them. I shall now pro-
ceed to explain the different colours. And
both the simplest and most intelligible method
of proceeding seems to be, to place pieces of
printed calico before the eyes of the reader,
and describe the way in which the colours on
them have been produced. We shall begin
with the simplest colours, and proceed gra-
dually to more complex ones,

1. MADDER RED.— The alum more
mordant described above, is made into a paste,
and printed on the cloth by the cylinder. Af-
ter being dried and exposed in a warm room,
till the alumina has had time to leave the
acid with which it was united, and combine
w'ith cloth, it is passed through a hot mixture
of cow’s dung and water. It is then washed
in cold water, and agitated a second time in
the same hot mixtuie. After being thus
freed from all soluble or loose matter, it is
dyed in madder. This process consists in the
exposure of the cloth to the action of madder,
suspended in water. In consequence of the
very sparing solubility of the colouring mat-
ter of that root, and the difficulty of applying
it equally to all parts of the cloth, the pro-
cess requires to be conducted slowly, and the
heat to be very gradually raised. The purest
portion of the colouring matter being first
given out by the madder, the degree of heat

104

IMPORTANT discovery BY E. DAVY, F. R. S.

is varied, acoordins to the fineness of the
colour we desire to obtain.

After dyeins; those parts of the cloth in-
tended to be white, are always, more or less
tinged with the madder, and much pains are
necessary to restore their purity. For this
purpose, boiling with bian, or with soap,
exposure to light upon the grass, clearing
with chloride of lime, or other substances,
which have the property of dissolving or
destroying this colouring matter, with repeat-
ed washings in cold water, are all resorted to
according to circumstances. And several of
these operations have the additional effect of
brightening the red, by abstracting a brown-
ish matter, which always combines with the
alumina, atthesame time with the red colour-
ing matter.

(To he continued.)

PROGRESS OF SCIENCE.

By the recent arrivals w^e have received
our Journals up to January 183G, on Science
and the Arts. The following' are among the
interesting articles from which we have
already made a Selection, and shall make
others next month.

Experimental researches into the laws of the
motion of floating bodies. By J. S. Russell.

On an economic application of electromagnetic
forces to manufactui’ing purposes. By Robert
M allett.

On a new rotative steam-engine. By John
Taylor, Esq.

On the simultaneous vibrations of a cylindri-
cal tube, and the column of air contained in it.
By the Rev. James Challis.

On recent experiments made to protect tin
plate, &c , from corrosion. By Edmund Davy,
F. R. S., &c.

Donisthrope and Raw'son’s improvements in
the combing of wool, &c. (with an engraving).

Taylor’s improvements in instruments for mea-
suring angles and distances, applicable to nau-
tical purposes (with an engraving).

Whiteside’s improvements in wheel of steam
carriages, and in the machinery for propelling
the same (with an engraving).

Losh’s improvement in the surface or pattern
roll of the surface printing machines, and in the
mode of working them (with an engraving).

Carter’s improved apparatus for regulating
the supply of gas to the burners, and for stopping
oil the same, &c. &o. (with an engraving).

Leeming’s improvements in water-wheels and
paddle wheels (with an engraving).

Potter’s improvements in rendering fabrics
water proof.

Hudson on certain machinery applicable in
block printing on silk, <&c., and on paper (with
an engraving).

Boydell on improvements in machinery for
tracking or towing boats or other vessels (with
an engraving).

Schafliautl’s improvements in the manufac-
turing malleable iron.

Garner’s improvement in the art of multiply-
ing certain drawings, &;c.

ON SOME RECENT EXPERIMENTS
MADE WITH A VIEW TO PROTECT
TIN PLAl'E Oa TINNED IRON
FROhl CORROSION IN SEA-WATER.
WITH SOME PROBABLE APPLICA-
TIONS; AND ON THE POWER OF
ZINC TO PROTECT OTHER METALS
FROM CORROSION IN THE ATMOS-
PHERE. BY EDMUND DAVY, F. R.
S., M. R. 1, A., &c., PROFESSOR OF
CHEMISTRY TO THE ROYAL DUB^
LIN SOCIETY.— If a piece of tin plate is
exposed in sea-water for a few days, it will
exhibit an incipient oxidation, which will
gradually inciea-^e ; the tin will be preserved
at the expense of the iron, which will be cor-
roded. But if a small surface of zinc is at-
tached to a piece of tin plate and immersed in
sea-water, both the tin and iron will be pre-
served, whilst the zinc will be oxidated, on
tlie principle first made known by the late
Sir H. Davy.

The author has exposed for nearly eight
months in sea-water a surface of tin plate
nailed to a piece of wood by means of tinned
iron tacks, inseiting between the wood and
the tin plate a small button of zinc. Under
these circumstances the tinned plate has re-
mained clean and free from corrosion ; the
zinc has of course been corroded. In a com-
parative experiment, in which a similar piece
of tin plate was nailed to the same piece of
wood, and exposed during the sarne period
to the same quantity of sea-water, without the
zinc, the edges on two sides of the tin plate
were quite soft from the corrosion, which had
extended to about one-eight of an inch. These
experiments seem worthy of being repeated
and extended.

The present demand for tin plate is very
great; should these statements be confirmed, a
vast increase in its consumption might he anti-
cipated. The opinion may be entertained that
it is practicable to substitute double tin plate
for sheet copper in covering the bottoms of
ships, &c., using zinc in small proportions as
a protector. Such applications would proba-
bly occasion a saving of nearly three-fourths
of the present expense of copper sheating.

It also seems deserving of inquiry, whether
tin plate vessels, protected by zinc, may not
be advantageously substituted for copper ves-
sels in many of our arts and manufactures,
and even in domestic economy. Although it
might be presumed, from Sir H. Davy’s
experiments and observations^, that zinc would
protect tin plate from corrosion in sea-water,
the author is not aware that any direct expe-
riments on the subject have been published.
Sir H. Davy briefly refers to some obvious
practical applications of his researches, to the
preservation of finely divided astronomical
instruments of steel by iron or zinc ; and that

* Phtl. Trans., vol. cxiv , foi* 1824; [or, Phil.
Mag., first series, vol. Ixiv., p. 30, 233 ; vol. Ixv.,
p. 203.— Edit.]

ON ELECTRO MAGNETIC FORCES.

105

Mr. Pepys had taken advantage of this last
circumstance, in inclosing fine cutting instru-
ments in handles or cases lined with zinc.
The author has not heard whether such ap-
plications have succeeded, but he has made a
number of experiments with a view to protect
brass, iron, copper, &c., from tarnisli and cor-
rosion in the atmosphere by means of zinc ;
the results obtained, however, lead to the
conclusion, that contact with zinc will not
protect those metals in the atmosphere, the
electricity thus produced, without the in-
tervention of a fluid, being apparently too
feeble to counteract the chemical action of
air and moisture on the surfaces of the me-
tals’^.

EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCHES IN-

TO THE LAWS OF THE MOTION
OF FLOATING BODIES. By J. S.

RUSSELL.

It was the object of these inquiries to assist
in bringing to perfection the theory of Hy-
drodynamics, and ascertain the causes of
certain anomalous facts in the resistance of
fluids, so as to reduce them under the dominion
of known laws.

The resistance of fluids to the motion of
floating vessels is found in practice to differ
widely from the theory, being in certain cases,
double or triple of what theory gives, and in
other and higher velocities, much less. These
deviations have now been ascertained to
follow two simple and very beautiful laws: —
1st. A law giving a certain emersion of the
body from the fluid as a function of the velo-
city. 2nd. A law giving the resistance of the
fluid as a function of the velocity and magni-
tude of a wave propagated through the fluid,
according to the law of Lagrange. These two
laws comprehend the anomalous facts, and
lead to the following

RESULTS.

1. That the resistance of a fluid to the
motion of a floating body will rapidly increase
as the velocity of the body rises towards the
velocity of the wave, and will become greatest
when they approach nearest to equality.

2. That when the velocity of the body is
rendered greater than that due to the wave,
the motion of the body is greatly facilitated:
it remains poised on the summit of the wave
in a position which may be one of stable
equilibrium ; and this effect is such that at a
velocity of nine miles an hour the resistance
is less than at a velocity of six miles behind
the wave.

3. The velocity of the wave is independent
of the breadth of the fluid, and varies with the
square root of the depth.

4. It is established that there is in every
navigable stream a certain velocity at which
it will be more easy to ascend the river against

• [The negative results thus obtained by Mr. H.
Davy, agree exactly with those of some trials
which I have witnessed for protecting steel by
this means.— E.W. B.]

the current than to descend mt]\ the current.
Thus, if the current flows at the rate of one
mile an hour in a stream four feet deep, it will
be easier to ascend with a velocity of eight
miles an hour on the wave, than to descend
with the same velocity behind the wave.

5. That vessels may be propelled on the
summit of waves at the rate of between twenty
and thirty miles an hour. — Proceedings of the
British Association at the Dublin Meeting,
August, 1835. Lond. &; Edinb. Phil. Mag.,
vol. vii„ p. 302.

ON AN ECONOMIC APPLICATION
OF ELECTilO-MAGNK/nC FORCES
TO MANUFACTURING PURPOSES.
BY ROBERT MALLETT.— d'he separa-
tion of iron from brass and copper filings, &c.,
in work-shops, for the purpose of the refusion
of them into brass, is commonly effected by
tedious manual labour. Several bar or horse-
shoe magnets are fixed in a wooden handle,
and are thrust, in various directions, through
a dish or other vessel containing the brass and
iron turnings, &c,, and when the magnets
have become loaded with iron, it is swept off
from them by frequent strokes of a brush.
This is an exceedingly troublesome and
inefficacious process.

It appeared to the author that a temporary
magnet of great power, formed by the circula-
tion of an electric current round a bar of iron,
might be substituted advantageously. The
following is the arrangement which he has
adopted. Several large round bars of iron are
bent into the form of the capital letter U,
each leg being about six inches long. They
are all coated with coils of silk-covered wire
in the usual way of forming electro-magnets
of such bars, and are then arranged vertically,
at the interval of five or six inches from each
other.

All the wires from these coils are collected
into one bundle at their respective poles, and
there joined into one by soldering, a large
wire being placed in the midst of them and
amalgamated. A galvanic battery is provided,
which, if care be taken in making the junctions
at the poles, &c., need not exceed four, or, at
most six pairs of plates of from twenty inches
to two feet square. The poles of this terminate
in cups of mercury, which are so placed that the
large terminal wires of all the coils can be
dipped into them, or withdrawn easily.

The rest of the arrangement is purely me-
chanical. The required motions are taken
from any first mover, usually a steam engine.
The previously described arrangement being
complete, a chain of buckets is so contrived
as to carry up and discharge over the top of
the magnets a quantity of the mixed metallic
particles : most of the iron adheres to the
magnets, while the so far purified brass falls
into a dish or tray placed beneath to receive
it. This latter is also one of a chain of dishes,
the horizontal motion of which is so regulated
that the interval between two dishes is im-
mediately under the magnet.s, in the interval
of time between two successive discharges of
the mixed particles on the bars.

At this juncture the communication between
the galvanic battery and the magnets is in-

106

ANALYTICAL THEORY OF HYDRODYNAMICS.

terrupted by withdrawing the wires from the
cups of mercury, and the result is, that the
greatest part of the adhering iron drops oft'
and falls in the space between the two dishes.
'J'he next dish now comes under the magnets,
the communication is restored, and a fresh
discharge fi om the buckets takes place, and
so the process is continued.

Some iron constantly adheres to the magnets,
but this is found of no inconvenience, as it
bears but a small proportion to the total
quantity separated.

The author has bad an imperfect apparatus
of the sort above described at work for some
time, and has found it to answer ; and sug-
gests the application of electro-magnets_ for
somewhat an analagous objects in various
manufactures. He particularly mentions
needle and other dry grinding. — Proceedings of
the British Association: Loud, and Edinb*
Phil, Mag., vol. vii.,p.305.

ON A NEW ROTATIVE STEAM-
ENGINE OF INCREASED POWER,
CONSTRUCTED BY MR. SIMS, BY
JOHN 1 AYLOR, ESQ., F. R. S., TREAS.
G. S., &c, — It is very well known to those
who have observed the duty of steam-engines
employed in the mines of Cornwall, that an
enormous difference has existed between those
which raise vvater by a reciprocating motion,
and those which for other purposes have that
motion converted into a rotative one by the
intervention of a crank. The cause of this
difference has often been speculated upon,
but has not, I believe, been well explained :
it is important in an economical point of view,
as while in the pumping engines sixty millions
pounds are commonly raised one foot by each
bushel of coal consumed, the rotative engines
for stamping ores have seldom raised more
than twenty millions, and those for winding
up the ores from under ground are found to
be even far below this in effect.

Now, it should be observed, that the pump-
ing engines are at present universally, I
believe, single engines, that is to say, re-
ceiving the steam from the boiler on one side
of the piston only, the principle of working
double, as it is called, which was introduced
by Mr. Watt, having been for some time
discarded; and in these single engines the
method of working high pressure steam ex-
pansively, which we owe to Mr. Woolf, has
long been used with the greatest advantage,

I’he rotative engines in Cornwall, like all
others which are used for manufacturing
purposes, are double engines, and receive the
steam alternately above and below the piston ;
and though attempts have been made to work
them expansively, these attempts have not
been very successful.

The object of my present address to you, is
to notice an engine which has lately been con-
structed for a mine in which I am interested,
which is a rotative one for stamping tin ores,
and which, when I visited the mine a few
days since*^, was calculated to be performing

* Mr Taylor’s letter is dated ‘‘ Bedford Row,
Oct. 12, 1835.”— A. T.

a duty of about sixty millions, or nearly equal
to the average of the better class of recipro-
cating engines, and nearly three times, as
much as tlie best rotative engines have hi-
therto done.

I wish to call the attention of persons con-
cerned in the use of steam-engines to this
fact, because if it should be found that this
rate of duty can be maintained, a very great
improvement may take place in all such as
are most generally employed.

This engine is at work at the Charles Town
united mines, near St. Austle ; it was erected
for us under the direction of Mr. Sims, an
engineer of great experience in Cornwall. It
differs from the general construction, in
being a single engine, having the beam load-
ed at the outer end ; and the rotatory motion
of the crank is rendered almost completely
uniform by the assistance of the flywheels.
It works nearly as expansively as the pump-
ing-engines.

It was predicted, T understand, before the
engine went to work, that a steady rotative
motion could not be produced in this way,
and some believed that the crank would
never pass the centre ; I can, however, bear
witness that the action is extremely good, and
will, I believe, by a little alteration in the
weight and diameter of the fly-wheels, be
made perfect ; and as it must be an object to
save at least one half the fuel ordinarily con-
sumed, I point it out as deserving attention
and inquiry. I have desired that its per-
formance may be legularly reported in the
monthly duty papers.

I am informed by Captain Thomas Lean,
who reports the duty of most of the engines
in Cornwall, that this is not the first construc-
tion of the kind, but that a similar one was
erected formerly at VVheal-Vor tin-mine, by
Mr. Peter Godfrey, and that it then surpassed
in duty any other stamping engine of its day,
but that for some reason it never attracted
much notice.

Mr. Sim.s is constructing a w'inding-engine
for the same mine, on a similar principle. —
Lond. Sc Edinb. Phil. Mag., vol. vii.,
p. 369.

ON THE SIMULTANEOUS VIBRA-
TIONS OF A CYLINDRICAL TUBE
AND THE COLUMN OF AIR CON-
TAINED IN IT. BY J’HE REV.
JAMES CHALLIS.— Mr. Challis, in his re-
port on the Analytical Theory of Hydro-
dynamics, and elsewhere, has expressed the
opinion that to complete the theory of musical
vibrations in a cylindrical tube, it is necessary
to take into account the vibrations of the tube
itself.

In this communication he states some results
which he has arrived at theoretically, respect-
ing the kind of influence the tube will exert
on the aerial columns.

It is assumed that the tube is capable of
vibrating so that its particles move in planes
perpendicular to the axis, with the same mo-
tion in all directions from the axis, in the
same transverse section. Then, if the vibra-
tions of the tube be of very small extent, and

NEW INVENTION OF A BLAST WHEEL.

107

ifs diameter small, compared with its
length, the following are the principal ma-
thematical results respecting the motion of
the air, so far as it is consequent upon the
vibrations of the tube.

1. The motion of the particles situated on
the axis wilt take place in the direction of the
axis, and will be nearly the same as if an im-
pulse were originally given in this dii'ection,
and the propagation were rectilinear.

2. At all points of the same transverse sec-
tion, the motion, estimated in a direction pa-
rallel to the axis, will be nearly the same.

3. If the tube be made to vibrate isochro-
nously, and so as to contain, at equal interya's
a'ongits length, nodal sections and sections
of maximum vibration, it wall produce in the
fluid vibrations of the same duration, with
points of quiescence and of maximum vibra-
tion at intervals corresponding to vibrations
of that duration in air.

4. But unless the nodal sections of the tube
be fixed, the duration of these simultaneous vi-
brations will not be permanent till the intervals
between the nodal sections become the same
in the tube as in the column of air : and then
a nodal section of the tube is nearly coinci-
dent with a section of maximum vibration of
the fluid.

From these results it follows that there are
certain transverse vibrations of the tube which
will impress on the fluid column the same
kind of motion as it is known can be given to
it by vibrations excited near one extremity of
the tube, when the other is onen. Mathemati-
cians have succeeded in satisfactorily repre-
senting the circumstances of the motion in the
latter case of disturbance, by assuming, from
experiment, that the open end is a position of
maximum vibration, or nearly so ; but hitherto
no distinct cause for this fact has been assign-
ed Mr. Challis thinks it may be shown mathe-
matically, that the aerial vibrations, ex-
cited at the extremity of the tube, and
propagated along its interior, will put it
into the state of vibration, wliicli, as appears
from the foregoing results, will produce an
effect the same in kind as that observed.
But to what decree the phenomenon may be
attributed to this cause, can be learnt only
from experiment; by ascertaining whether
the vibrations of the tube have any consider-
able influence on the intensity of the musical
sounds. The following fact seems to favour
the idea of a sensible influence. A sound
produced under glass (for instance, the tick-
ing of a French clock under a glass covering),
is louder than when the glass is removed,
plainly by reason of the internal reflections
and the propagation of the vibrations along its
surface, which cause it to vibrate so as to act
with increased effect on the external air. It
is not easy to discern that the glass vibrates,
but the increase of sound is proved to be
owing to this cause, when, on pressing the
glass with the palms of the hands, the inten-
sity is diminished. This experiment may sug-
gest the means of detecting the influence of
the vibration of a solid, in other instances of
a similar nnime.— Proceedings of the British
Association: Land, and Edinb. Phil. Mag,,
xml. vii., p. 300.

HYDRAULIC BLAST-WHEEL,

In founderies, smitliles, and other manufac°
tories, large quantities of atmospheric air in
rapid motion are in constant demand, and a
jarge proportion of the motive power is spent
in the supniy. The pressure of fluids being
equal in all directions, the aggregate amount
of force employed in transmitting air by means
of bellows, air-cylinders with pistons, &;c., is
very considerable, there being the same pres-
sure on every square inch of the blowing-
apparatus, as on the like space of the orifice
through which the air is transmitted.

The accompanying drawings represent a
blast-wheel lately invented by me, of which
the following is a description. I have had a
model of it made, and it fully verifies the cor-
rectness of my calculations ; and in this case
the effects must be the same in proportion on
a large scale.

Fig. 1. A is a hollow cylinder (the length
of twice its diameter), which is made to re-
volve on the pivots O by means of a rope or
belt acting on the pulley B, or by any other
mechanical power. C is a stationary nose or
tube, fixed to the side of the oval trough D.
'Phe trough is nearly full of water, its level
being above the centre of the cylinder A, and
of the small cylinder within it, hereafter de-
scribed. Within the cylinder A is a spiral
leaf wound round a cylinder of about 1th of
the diameter of the external one. The size
of the internal cylinder need not be increased
in proportion to that of the external. The
leaf is soldered to both cylinders, and so ren-
dered air-tight; it may be made of the slight-
est material.

Fig. 2. The water is here seen occupying
the lower half of the cylinder and trough, the
top being always filled with air. On the
wheel’s making one revolution, the water in
E is conveyed into F ; that which was before
in F escapes at G, and flows round the sides
and bottom of the trough, outside the cylinder,
to re-enter the latter at H. The air in I
(which is continually supplied by atmospheric
pressure of 15 lbs, to the square inch) is con-
veyed to K,and so in proportion for less than
a revolution ; and the air which was before in
K is forced through the pipe at C, to which
branch-pipes may be attached. A continuous
blast of air is thus produced, and may be con-
veyed to any part of a building, The pre.?sur0

108

rj:id on the simpxicity- of chemical apparatus.

of the water beins: equal on all sides ; and as it
is set in motion by the inclined plane of the
screw, but little power is required to keep
tl’.e wheel going, for the particles of fliii.ls
move eavsily amongst themselves. The trough
should be of an oval Ibrm. In order that no
air may escape between the tube and the
cylinder, a small strap of leather is fastened
to tlm tube (which is fixed) to lap over the
cylinder at P, fig. 1, and is kept dov\'n by a
small w eiglit, hnng at the corner of each side,
thus. No air, once enclosed or detached from
the atmospiiere by the end Hof the spiral leaf
being immersed in the water, can possibly
escape but through the nose or tube.

Fig. 3. Transverse sections of both ends of
tiibp; and outline, as seen from its under side.

The wheel may be made of any size requi-
red. To ascertain the quantity of air dis-
charged at each revolution first, find the
whole contents of the cylinder, which we will
suppose to be 14 feet in diatneter, by first
finding the area of the base by multiplying
the square of the diameter by "7854 ; then
multiply the area by the length of 28 feet, thus,

14 X 14=: 196 X *7854:1: 154, nearly, X 28—
4312 contents of cylinder. Hut as it takes
two revolutions to empty the cylinder, 4312 ~-
2 — 2156 feet of air and water discharged at
each revolution, 2156 2 ~ 1078 feet of air
less 78 feet for internal cylinder, &c. = 1000
cubic feet of air discharged at every revolution.
If the motive-power, or the ^ elocity, cannot be
easily regulated, a sling-valve may be made in
the side of the tube C,

Alfred T. J. Martin-

Helston, Cornwall, June 6, 1835.

P. S. — Since writing the above, a practical
difficulty has been suggested fo me, viz., that
(he pressure of air for smelting should be 2, 3,
and even 41bs. to the square inch, equal to tlie
pressure of a column of water about 7 feet
high. I do not see how this desideratum can
be obtained by the foregoing plan ; but still
the invention may prove useful where large sup-
plies of air are required without any consider-
able pressure. — Mechanic’s Magazine, 1835.

BRITISH ASSOCIATION.

GEOLOGY AND GEOGRAPHY.— A
memoir was read by Captain Denham, on the
basins of tlie Mersey and Dee : —

The paper was regarded by every one as of
extreme value, and was received with great
enthusiasm. We regret we can merely refer
to it with great brevity, but we understand it
will be speedily made public. He showed the
difference between the horizontal impetus of
running water, and its force when acting
downwards by pressure. Channels had Deen
opened to receive the tide, being more per-
pendicular to its course, and yet the tide liad
capriciously avoided them and no mud had
been deposited. By many experiments and
observations, he has determined, that while
tlie high and low water levels are variable,
the height of the mean tide or half tide is the
same at all times ; a fact of the highest im-
portance, both in a scientific and practical

point of view. Let us hope that future ob-
servations may speedily confirm tliis matter,
and thus give us a secure standard as a base
line for all onr measurements.

DR. REID DELIVERED HIS VIEWS
UPON A PLAN 1’KILD AT EDIN-
BURGH, FOR 'I HE EXTENSION OF
THE STUDY OF PHYSICS.-Ile pro-
posed to have large classes formed for observ-
ing chemical experiments, and that nothing
should be employed in these experiments which
were not easily procurable by every person. A
bit of glass as glaziers throw away, a piece
of charcoal, and a blow-pipe, would be in-
struments enough with which to make from
one hundred to one thousand experiments,
and these would illustrate the essential ope-
rations of chemistry. Bythismearrs a pecu-
liar knowledge would be obtained, and tlie
mode of conducting an examination on a small
scale. Dr. Reid here made some experiments
on a small piece of glass, and afterwards on
paper, showing the formation of crystal.s,
&c., and the effects were as distinctly marK-
ed as could be desired. He recommended
that the pu[)ils should write down on paper, at
the time, the changes observed by them during
the experiments. Dr. Reid then made some
beautiful experiments, by applying tests to dif-
ferent liquids and solids. He took some lead
ore, and adding nitric acid to it, myriads of lit-
tle globules were at once reduced from the ore,
and fell upon the paper. At the term ination
of each experiment the persons present were
handed the specimens. The lecturer said,
that a common beer-bottle with a tube, and
another bottle I’or a receiver, would answer
for the preparation of gases, and the conduct-
ing of operations on a small scale was the-
better to the student, as the substances pas-
sing frcm one state to another were distinctly
seen in a simple apparatus. Fron» calcula-
tions made in different places, he found tliat
from 2/. to 5L would provide apparatus and
materials sufficient to show many thousand
experiments. The great object was to render
this department of Liovvledge accessible to
all persons ; and, as to the time its fitudy
should be commenced, he (Dr, Reid) would
say from three to nine years of age would
rot be too early. This species of information
was easier ofacquisition than thatof language.
The greatest difficulty with children was to
arrest their attention, on account of the live-
liness of their sensations, and obstruct sub-
jects were not sufficient to excite interest.
Objects in external nature they observed, and
were ready to attend to any instruction afford-
ed in reference to them. The lecturer then
noticed the necessity of persons devoting a
short time to informing themselves of the
principal practical results ef chemistry in re-
liition to the knowledge of the purity of water,
the component parts of agricultural materi-
als, &c. This species of knowledge would be
of the highest utility to the emigrant, and by
imparting it to the natives of the district in
which lie located himself, he Mould be ele-
vating the character of liis own countrymen,
and receiving the friendship and support of
strangers.

IMPORTANT SUBSTITUTE FQR STEAM.

109

FOREIGN VARIETIES.

PROOF OP FRENCH SILK.— The
French have adopted a system of security
against fraud in the sale of silks, by submitting
it to exam ination and expeiiment in an esta-
blishment called the conditio??. Silk exposed
to a hiunid atmosphere, and yet more to wet,
will imbibe a considerable quantity of humi-
dity witliout undergoing any perceptible
change in external appearance. The esta-
blishment, of which there is one at Lyons and
another at St. Etienne, receives about three-
fourths of the whole consumption of silk. It
is submitted during twenty-four hours to a
temperature of from 18 to 20 degrees of
Reaumur (72.1- to 77 of Fahrenheit), and if the
diminished weight be from 2g to 3 per cent,
tire application of the high temperature is con-
tinued during another twenty-four hours. On
a certificate granted by the condition as to its
true weight, the invoice is made out. The
means of correctly ascertaining the real humi-
dity of vsilk are now the subject of investi
gation at Lyons, and it is believed that the
purity of the material will, ere long, be as ac-
curately tested as is that of metals by an assay.
The quality of silk is estimated by deniers,
which represent the weight of 400 ells
would off of on a cylinder; the number, of
course, increases with the fineness. The Alais
silk is sometimes reeled from three to four
cocoons, and weighs only from eight to ten
deniers ; sometimes from seven to eight co-
coons which will give eighteen to twenty de-
niers. Of French organzines, the quality va-
ries principally from twenty to thirty-six de-
niers, and of French trams from twenty-six
to sixty deniers. — Dr. Bowring’s Report.

THE SUBMARINE VESSEL.— The ex-
periment with this machine took place at St.
Ouen, as proposed. The vessel was re-
peatedly sunk to the depth of ten or twelve
feet, and re-appeared on the surface at differ-
ent points. M. Godde de Liancunrt got into
it, and remained there a quarter of an hour.
He stated that he did not experience the least
inconvenience, or any difficulty of respiration,
daring his voyage under water. An oftioial
report upon the subject is about to be submit-
ted to the French Government.

USEFUL ARTS.

IMPROVEMENTS IN THE STEAM-
ENGINE. — Mr. Price of the Durham glass-
works, has published a plate of a steam srfety-
valve and chest, which has been in constant
use for upwards of seven years, without acci -
dent. The following is a brief description of
his apparatu.s, which, if we mistake not we
had the pleasure of noticing when it was first
used Instead of the common valve, there is
placed on the top of the steam chest a cup,
with an apperture for the steam to escape. In
this cup a loose brass hall (weighed to tlie
pressure the boiler can bear) is placed.
When the steam rises about that pressure, the
ball also rises, and allows the steam to escape
through the waste. There is an elhow-pipe
connected w'ith the steem-chest below the

ball seat, which also enters the waste-pipe.
In this is a handled valve, by which the engi-
neer can blow off liis steain, or regulate it.
Let it be perfectly understood the ball
cannot be weighed by the engineer ; so soon
as the steam rises above the safety-pressure,
it escapes, and when sufficiently blown off,
the ball returns to its seat.

SUBSTITUTE FOR STEAM.— The fol-
lowing plan has been addressed by Mr. John
Galt to the editor of the Greenock Adverti-
ser .-—Take a cylinder and subjoin to the bot-
tom of it, in communication, a pipe ; fill the
pipe and the cylinder with water ; in the cylin-
der place a piston as in that of the steam-en-
gine, and then with a Bramah’s press, and a
simple obvious contrivance which the process
will suggest, force the water up the pipe, the
pressure of which will raise the piston. This
is the demonstration of the first motion. Se-
cond. When the piston is raise(|, open a cock
to discharge the water, and tiie piston will
descend. This is the demonstration of the
second motion, and is as cosnplete as the mo-
tion of the piston in the cylinder of the steam-
engine, and a power is attained as effectual as
steam, without risk of explosion, without the
cost of fuel, capable of being applied to any
purpose in which steam is used, and to an
immeasurable extent. The preservation of
the water may, in some cases, be useful,
and this may be done by a simple contrivance,
viz. by making fhe cock discharge into a con-
ductor, by which the water »nay be conveyed
back at every stroke of the piston into the
pipe, at the end of which the Bramah’s press
acts.

ELECTRIC LIGHT.-Mr. Lindsay, a
teacher in Dundee, tdrmerly lecturer to the
Watt Institution, succeeded, on the evening
of Saturday, the 25th ult., in obtaining a con-
stant electric light. It is upwards of two
years since he turned his attention to this
subject, blit much of that time has been de-
voted to other avocations. The light, in beau-
ty, surpasses ail others; lias no smell, emits
no smoke, is capable of explosion, and not re-
quiring air for combustion, can be kept in
sealed glass jars. It ignites without the aid
of a taper, and seems peculiarly calculated for
fias houses, spinning-mills, and other places
containing combustible mateiials. It can be sent
to any convenient distance, and the apparatu.s
for producing it may be contained in a common
chest, — New Monthly Magazine, Oct, 1835,

QUICK AND CHEAP MODE OF RAIL-
WAY lliANSlT WnilOUT LOCO-
MOliVE-ENGlNES.

Mr. Editor, — A great deal has been said
on both sides for and against the undulating
railway principle, but hitherto no satisfactory
practical results have been obtained on which
to found a definitive judgment respecting it ;
and although the shareliolders of the Liver-
pool and Manchester Railway are deriving
c nsiclerahle profits, owing to the immense
traffic betw'een tbe two tow ns, still there are
doubts if many other roads will pay at all,
the expense of locomotive-engines being so

110

MORE DISCOVERIES IN RAILWAY TRANSIT.

great wherever there are considerable inclines
to be overcome, and the first expense of con-
structing the railway so enormous, from the
endeavours made by tunnelling and embank-
ing to reduce that expense. I am, therefore,
induced to send you a new plan of an undu-

lating railway, by which locomotive engines j
(except on very rare occasions, indeed,) will
be dispensed with ; the trains will travel by '
the force of their own gravity from station to .
station, as described in the following dia-
gram : —

E E are stationary steam-engines, and
O O O O inclined planes by which the sta-
tionary engines bring the trains up to a level ;
when the trains, going and returning, take the
roads the arrows point to. I have no doubt
but in many situations falls may be obtained
each way for miles together. Deep cutting
and tunnelling would be thus, in a great mea-
sures, dispensed with; and if tunnels in some
situations were absolutely necessary, by giv-
ing them the required falls for the trains to
go through them, by gravity alone, travelling
through them would not be disagreeable, as
no engine would go with the trains.

I am, Sir, your obedient servant,

Thomas Deakin.

Blaenavon Iron Works, June 5, 1835.

MR. WOODHOUSE’S ANGULAR
RAILWAY BARS.

/-

Slr,_Asthe form of rails best salted for
affording safety, economy, durability, &c. has
occupied the attention of many scientific per-
sons, and formed the subject of several com-
munications in your pages, hope, without
presumption, I may be permitted to propose
the following as a plan, in my humble estima-
tion, calculated to effect these objects.

Some few months since (No. 572), I pro-
posed the use of an angular rail ; my plan
was not then matured, but as I have since
given some little attention to the subject, I
send you the results.

The purpose of giving an angular shape to
the rail is, that the engine wheel (also having
an angular grooved rim to correspond) may
have a greater hold upon the rail, thereby
giving greater efficiency to the power of the
machine, preventing an irregular action,
which must be produced vvhen the wheel
slips on the rail (a circumstance much allud-

ed to at the opening of the Selby Railway),
and thereby much strain to the machinery.
The top surface, one inch broad, is intended
for the train-wheels, and where friction would
be a defect, it is thereby avoided. The form
of the rail is intended to admit of being re-
versed at any future time when the upper sur-
face is worn. The chair is not intended to be
fixed, but the central part, which projects
downwards, is to let into the stone sleeper,
and be bedded in with cement or not, as found
best. The rail is not fixed to all the chairs,
hut only to the centre one ; which proposition
I made with another plan of Rail and Chair
sent to the London and Birmingham Rail-
way Directors. The size of the present rail
is as follows: — Depth, inches; extreme

width, 2^ inches ; surface, 1 inch ; angles,
from 15 to 25^, as the friction is required ;
the calculated weight is rather more than 51
lbs., but upon shrinking, it would probably
not be more than BOlbs. to the lineal yard.

It has been objected to turning the rail
when one side is partially worn down, that
in proportion as it is so worn, its strength
must be diminished. But as long as the in-
ternal structure of the rail is not so perma- !
nently injured as to prevent its return after
deflection to its original horizontal form, it
seems to me that it must be nearly, if not to
the fully, as efficient as ever. !

As respects the supporting of the rails, I |
also proposed that instead of having the rail
resting solely upon the chair, the chair should j
be so planned, that the rail should also rest '
upon the surface of the stone, whereby it
would be strengthened, and the stone, by re-
ceiving a steady vertical pressure, would be
rendered less liable to the casualties so fre-
quently complained of,

I also proposed that the stone-block or
sleeper should be placed in an angular direc-
tion with the length of rail or line of road,
whereby a greater surface of stone would be
placed in the directions most required, viz.
lengthways and sideways. By this plan an
18-inch stone exposes a surface of 2 feet and
more to the pressure. ^ ,

Fig. Is a section of the rail as it rests in
the chau-, which, when the lower portion of
the chair is let into the stone, will rest upon
the stone also ; the two small sections are for
purpose of the fixing the centre of each rail to
its chair. Fig. 2 is a vertical view, showing
the angular position of the stone upon a smaller
scale.

1 am. Sir, yours respectfully,

P, WOODHOUSE.

Kilburn, May 27tb, 1835.

THE INDIA REVIEW

OF WORKS ON SCIENCE

AND

JOURNAL OF FOREIGN SCIENCE AND THE ARTS.

EMBRACING

MINERALOGY, GEOLOGY, NATURAL HISTORY, PHYSICS, &c.

REVIEW.

Journal of the Asiatic Society, 1835.

Analysis of a Tibetan work. By M.

Alexander Csoma De Koros.

(Continued from ly age 81.J

Our author’s view and doctrine of the
natural constitution of the human body are
exceedingly curious. He describes the man-
ner of the existence of the body under four
distinct heads ; the first embraces the quantity
of the several constituent parts of the body
and the existence of those parts on which
the body depends ; the second refers to the
state of the veins and nerves ; the third
regards the nature of those diseases whieh are
pronounced as enemies to the body ; and
the fourth alludes to the apertures for
the circulation of the air.

Thus then the quantity of wind of the
body is specified, the bile, the phlegm, the
blood, the urine, the serum, the chyle, and
the semen have their definite proportions.
The following is the author’s idea of the
anatomy of the human body.

“ Thei’e are 23 sorts of bories ; in theback-
bone, 28 aredistinguished. There are 24 ribs ;
32 teeth ; 360 pieces of bones. There

are 12 large joints of limbs ; — small joints,
250. There are 16 tendons or sinews, and
900 nerves or fibres; 11,000 hairs on the
head 1 1 millions of pores of the hair on the
body. There are five vital parts (or viscera)
(as the heart, lungs,- liver, spleen, and the
I’eins or kidneys) ; six vessels, and nine open-
ings or holes. — In Jumhudwipa the measure
of a man’s height is one fathom or four
cubits — deformed bodies have only 3| cubits,
measured by their own.

With respect to the 2nd section, showing
the state of the veins. There are four kinds
of veins or nerves : 1, that of conception ; 2,

of sensation ; 3, of connexion, and 4, that of
vitality.

The 1 st : From the navel there arise or
spread three veins or nerves, one of them
ascends to the brain, and is acted on by the
dull part of it, generating the phlegm in the
upper part of the body. Another nerve (or
vein) entering into the middle, forms the vital
nerve, and depends for its existence on the
vital nerve of passion and blood ; that part of
it, which causes bile, resides in the middle.
The third nerve (or vein) descends to the privy
parts and generates desire both in the male
and female. That parts of it, which produces
wind, resides in the lower extremity.

The 2nd; There are four kinds of the
nerves of existence or sensation.

For rousing (or exciting) the organs, in
their proper place, there is in the brain a prin-
cipal nerve, surrounded with 500 other smaller
ones. Another nerve for making clear the
organ of recollection or memory, resides in
the heart, surrounded with 500 other smaller
ones.

That nerve, which causes the increase and
renovation of the aggregate of the body,
resides in the navel, surrounded with 500 other
smaller ones.

That nerve, which causes the increase of
children, and descendants, resides in the privy
member, together with 500 other smaller
ones — and comprehends or encompasses the
whole body.

The 3rd ; The nerve of connexion consists
of two kinds, white and black. There are 24
large veins (or nerves), which, like as so
many branches ascending the principal stem
of the vital principle, serve for increasing the
flesh and the blood. There are eight large
hidden veins or nerves for making the con-
nexions of the diseases of the viscera and
vessels.

There are 16 conspicuous veins connecting
the outward limbs, and 77 others spreading
from them, called bleeding veins (that may
occasionally be opened to let out blood.)

There are 112 hurtful or pestilential veins
(or nerves) ; of a mixed nature, there are 189
others. Thence originate 120 in the outer,
inner, and middle parts, that spread into 360

112

ON THE PROCESS OF SECRETION AND EXCRETION.

smaller ones. Thence smaller ones encom-
pass the body as with a net-work.

There are 19 strong working nerves, which
like roots, descend from the brain, the ocean
of nerves ; from among them there are 13
that are hidden, and connect the intestines
— six others, connecting the outward parts,
are visible ; from them spread 16 small ten-
dons or sinews.

There are three vital nerves (oT veins) in a
man. The one encompasses both the head and
the body ; the second, associating with res-
piration, moves accordingly ; the third is
the principal, and connecting the veins or
canals, for the circulation of air and blood,
is occupied with generating or increasing the
body, and being the vital nerve, is called, by
way of eminence, the artery or the principal
vital nerve.”

Judging by the foregoing analysis the au-
thor must be allowed to have been a man of
considerable observation : however erroneous
some of his conclusions may be ; he has
notwithstanding displayed great ability.
Considering the dark age in v/hich he
lived and the rude inhabitants of the
country among whom he dwelt, we are
really surprised at the depth of his learn-
ing, There is scarcely any subject con-
nected with medicine and surgery upon
which he does not fully express his senti-
ments. His opinions on the process of
digestion are worthy of being quoted.

“ The meat and drink, after being digested
in the stomach, are changed into chyle and
faeces. These turn into ordure and urine, that
is, for the nutrition of the body, by increasing
the blood. The blood preserving the moisture
or humidity of the body, keeps up life, and
increases the flesh. The flesh covering and
cleansing the body, both within and without,
produces the fat. This makes the whole
body ixnctuous, and causes the increase of the
bone. This supports the body and increases
the marrow. This improves the essential sap
of the body, and produces the semen virile.
This conduces to the well-being of the whole
body, and to the production of a new one.

The manner in which meat and drink are
changed. Whatever is eaten or drunk, is car-
ried into the belly or stomach, by the vital air
or wind ; afterwards, by aid of phlegm, it
comes into fermentation of a sweet taste, and
increases the quantity of phlegm. Afterwards,
being digested by the aid of bile, taking a hot
and sour taste, it produces bile. Afterwards,
by the aid of the air or wind that conveys an
equal heat to the whole body, the dregs or
faeces being separated, and taking abitter taste,
it generates thin wind. The faeces being chang-
ed into thick (or solid) and thin (or fluid) parts
become ordure and urine.

The chyle, after having passed by nine veins :
from the stomach into the liver, it becomes or ;
changes into blood ; afterwards, successively, '
it is transformed into flesh, and the seven sup-
ports of the body. !

2ndly. The hurtful things or bad humours.
These are three : wind, bile, and phlegm, 1
each with a five-fold division. ’

1. Of Wind. The life-keeping wind or air !
reside in the upper part of the head; that i
which operates upwards, has its place in the '
breast ; that which pervades or encompasses
all, resides in the heart ; that which commu-
nicates or conveys an equal heat to the body,
has its seat in the stomach; that which i
cleanses downwards, abides in the lower
part of the trunk.

2. Of Bile. The digesting bile resides in the i
stomach, between the digested and indigested
part ; that which forms the chyle, resides in ,
the liver ; that which prepares or increases,
in the heart ; that which assists the sight (or ^
causes to see), in the eye ; that which gives

a clear colour, resides in the skin.

3. Of Phlegm. The supporting phlegm re-’j

sides in the breast ; the masticatory, in the;i|
indegested part ; the tasting, on the tongue ;'i;j
the refreshing (or that makes contented), in|!
the head ; the conjunctive or uniting, resides*
in every juncture (or joint). 1

The characteristic signs of the above-speci-“|
fled humours — that of wind ; roughness, light-*®
ness, cold, smallness, hardness, and mobility.!

That of bile ; unctuousness, sharpness,
lightness, foulness, depuratory moisture. l!

That of phlegm : unctuousness, coolness,
heaviness, and dulness, softness, or gentle-S
ness, steadiness, adhesion, passionateness.”*

The service, rendered by the faeces, is : the I
ordure serves for the support of the bowels, *
guts, &c. By urine, morbid humours are a
carried oif ; and it serves also for a suppoi*t of*
the thinner faeces, and carries olf the putrid !
thick sediments.

The office of sweat is to soften the skin,,|!
and to change the obstructed poi-es of thel
hair of the body. «j

Fire -warmth is the common gentle ¥
warmth, or heat, of the whole body. The §
warmth of the stomach is the principal cause of «
the digestion of meat and drink of every kind. ,1
If this warmth is in good state, the digestion 1
of meat and drink is easy ; no diseases then ||
arise, the lustre of the face, the chyle, the f
supports of the body and life, then increase. |
Therefore, the warmth of the stomach must ,»
be kept up, (or if lost, must be restored,) with |
every endeavour. 5

On dietetics our author enters with his !
usual systematic arrangement, not only re- |
garding the several kinds of food and the !
manner of using them, but also rogarding I
those kinds which are inimical to health, I
and defines what may be used together. |

ON THE aUALITY OF FOOD.

113

1 ' For food are used, grain (or corn), flesh,
f' butter, vegetables or greens, and dressed vic-
ji tuals. There are two kinds of grain : 1
growing in ears, and 2, in pods (as pulse).
Flesh or animal food of eight kinds or sorts.

' Several kinds of unctuous or oily substances ;
i: as, butter, oil expressed from grains, kernels,
fruits, berries, and trees or shurbs; grease,

, fat, marrow, &c. To vegetable or green
j things, belong potherbs, &c.To dressed victu-
! als or meals, belong boiled riee, soup, &c.
i'» Drinkable things are milk, water, wine, &c.

: Chapter. — Enumeration of several kinds

I of food that it were dangerous to take together ;
as fish and milk. Sec.

ISth Chapter.— On the proper measure of,
food to be taken, or on temperance in meat and
drink.”

In the concluding part he gives a full des-
cription of the cure of diseases. We shall
give a specimen of the author’s manner of
treating this part of his subject, by quot-
ing the following, with which, M’^e think,
our brethren in Europe will be much
amused.

“ 2. Thectirinig of diseases arising from
wind (or windy humours). There are five
distinctions: 1, causes; 2, accessory cause
and effect ; 3, division ; 4, symptoms ; 5,

mannar of curing (diseases arising from wind.)

, wind) .

3. In the curing of diseases arising from
(or caused by) bile, there are the following
distinctions: 1, cause; 2, accessory cause
and effect ; 3, division ; 4, symptoms ; 5, man-
ner of curing ; 6, and stopping or hindering
its progress.

4. In the curing of diseases caused by
phlegm (or phlegmatical humours), are con-
sidered : cause, accessory cause and effect,
division, symptoms and manner of curing.

5. In the curing of diseases caused by the
: gathering together of the three humours

(wind, bile, phlegm,) and of blood, there are
the following distinctions or considerations :
cause, incident or accessory cause and effect,
place, time, kind or genus, symptoms, man-
ner or mode of curing, and the stopping of it
for the future.

6. In the curing of indigestion, the root (or
primary cause) of inward diseases, there are
the following distinctions or sections : cause,
incident or accessory cause and effect, manner
of its arising, division, symptoms, remedy or
mode of curing.

7. In the curing of a swelling (or a hard con-
glomoration or excrescence), there is treated
of : cause, incident, division, place, manner of
arising, symptom, mode of euring it.

8. The curing of white swellings, a kind
of dropsy. Here are considered : cause, in-

. cident, division, symptom, mode of curing.

9. In the curing of another kind of dropsy
there are the same distinctions as before.

10. The curing of dropsy is taught, by ex-
posing the cause and incident, division, man-
ner of arising, symptom, mode of cux’ing,
stopping or cessation.

11. In the curing of phthisis or consump-
tion of the lungs, there are the following dis-
tinctions : cause, and accessory cause or
effect, division symptom, mode of curing.
And thus there are six chapters on curing
inward diseases.

12. In curing feverish diseases (where heat
prevails) in general, there are the following
distinctions : cause incident, nature, name,,
symptom, mode of cui’ing.

16. In an increased or burning fever, the
same distinctions are as before, except a tri-
fling division.

17 to 20. On curing several kinds of fever,
such as are : the sly, hidden, inveterate, and
the mixed ones.

21. The curing of inflammation of any hurt
or wounded part of the body, with several
distinctions ; and that of inward and out-
ward hurt : the inwards are, the viscera and
the vessels ; the outward parts are, the flesh,
bone, mari’ow, tendon, and fibre.

22. The curing of heat or fever, (arising
from the contest between wind, bile, and
phlegm), in which the mental faculties are
troubled, with several distinctions to be con-
sidered ; and so there are 1 1 chapters on cur-
ing fever (heat of inflamation).

23. On curing epidemic maladies or infec-
tious diseases, with several distinctions and
divisions ; as, a kind of pestilence of Ne-
pal.

24. On curing the small-pox : cause and
effect, definition of small pox, distinction,
symptom, mode of curing ; distinction into
v.?hite and black variolas, each having three
species.

25. The curing of infectious diseases af-
fecting the bowels (colic), with several dis-
tinction ; purging the viscera and the lower
vessels, affecting with greater or less vehe-
mence ; and so there are eight kinds of dis-
eases affecting the bowels.

26. The curing of swellings in the throat
(or of ulcers and inflammations) , and infective
diseases, as the cholera, the first has 4,
the second 11, subdivisions, or minor dis-
tinctions.”

‘‘62. The curing of miscellaneous diseases
of the smaller kind : such as contraction or
sinking of the sinews ; dysentery ; any hurt
caused by fire ; hurt or wound made with a
needle ; or when a needle or the iron-point
of an arrow happen to be swallovred ; choak-
ing or suffocation ; or the stopping of any
thing in the throat, as, a beard of corn, bone,
fish-prickle ; the entering or sw^ailowing in
of a spider or scorpion ; intoxication ; stiff-
ness of the neck ; ill smell of the body ;
hurt of the hands and feet caused by cold
and snow ; the creeping of any insect into
the ear ; the swelling of the teat of a woman.
The curing of all such diseases is called the

14

ON THE MODE OF CURING DISEASES AT TIBET.

cure of small diseases. Thus there are 19
chapters on minute diseases.

The healing of wounds, sores, or ulcers.

63. The curing of ulcers here arecorsidered :
cause, &c. four, with several distinctions.

64. The curing of the hemorrhoids (piles or
emerods in the fundament, cause, &c. four,
with six distinctions.

65. The curing of St. Anthony’s fire, (any
swelling full of heat and redness, cause, &c.
four, with several distinctions, and the places
(or parts) where generally they occur.

66. The curing of the Surya disease affect-
ing the lungs, liver, &c. its beginning, &c.
four, with some distinctions.

67. The curing of cancerous or virulent
bad sores or ulcers : cause, &c. four, with
eight distinctions.”

“ 80. The curing of palsical diseases, and
the telling of the periodical time of their oc-
curence, the symptoms, and the remedies for
preventing their recourse.

81. On the curing of diseases, in which the
body is infested with cancerous ulcers, is eaten
aw^ay and dissolved : considered cause. Sec.
nine, with 18 distinctions respecting its differ-
ent kinds and the places(or parts) which are
generally affected.

The above five chapters are on such diseases
as are supposed to be caused by the infiuence
of some malignant demon.

82. On the curing or healing, in general, of
wounds,made by any kind of weapon or tool.
Here into consideration come; 1, cause ; 2,
accessory cause or incident ; 3, nature (of
w^ound) ; 4, definition or description (of the
wound) ; 5, its name ; 6, place; 7, division;
8, symptom, mode of curing or remedy, exci-
sion or cutting out, cicatrizing.

83. The curing of wounds on the head, here
are considered : the manner of its being ; ex-
amination of the injured part, manner of cur-
ing recovering, or being ovei’powered.

On the practical part of medicine the
following briefly exhibits the author’s
views.

“ The examination of the pulse, wherein 13
cases are enumerated on the character of the
distemper.

2. The inspection of urine, wherein, as it is
said, the vicious state of the whole body may
be seen, as in a mirror.

Thus two chapters are on examining the
pulse and urine.

Afterwards, when the character and name
of the disease has been found out, what sorts
of medicaments are to be administered, is ex-
posed.

3. First liquid medicines, of which there are
54 for curing inward heat, and 23 for assuaging
cold fits or ague. Together there are 77 sorts
of liquid medicine. When by these there is no
remedy, further is an,

4. Enumeration of powdered medicine, or me-
dicaments in powder, of which the mixture is
stated to amount to 96, for assuaging the heat
of any distemper ; and 69 against cold fits.
Both together =165. When they atford no
relief, there is taught of another remedy.

5. Physic or medicaments in pills, of which
the ditferent kinds of mixture amount to 22.

6. The several kinds of sirup, (a kind of
mixture) are described or taught ; of which 15
are for assuaging heat, and five against cold
fits. Both together=20.

For procuring strength to the body, and for
drawing out an inveterate disease.

7. Is taiight of a mixture, called medicinal
butter consisting of several ingredients, of
which there are 14 sorts for curing heat, and
nine for taking away cold fits. Both toge-
ther = 23.

8. 13 kinds of mixture of calcined powder,
for curing an ague caused by a too much
abundance of phlegm.

9. 17 kinds of mixture or syrup, especially
for the purpose of assuaging heat.

10. 19 species of mixture of medicinal wine
(or spirituous beverage), are enumerated, for
curing diseases, in which wind prevails.

11. A mixture, as a remedy against any in-
veterate malady whatever, prepared of preci-
ous stones, for curing the diseases of princes,
and of opulent men. One against heat, and
11 against cold; eight against both; toge-
ther=20.

Since men, in general, cannot have precious
stones required for such a mixtru’e for curing
diseases, in the

12. Is taught of such vegetables or plants
that are procurable by all, of which the several
mixtures amount to 24 for curing heat ; and
14 for assuaging cold fit.

Thxxs taking together all assuaging remedies
from the liquid to the vegetable medicines,
there are 418. So much of the assuaging re-
medies. When they are insufficient in the

13. Is taught of purging or depuratory medi-
cines in general.

14. Of purging medicines operating down-
wards, for carrying away corrupt blood, bile
and the relics of other diseases. There are
three kinds of such purging (or depuratory,)
medicines, operating ; gently, moderately,
and strongly ; of which all there are 82
species.

15. For carrying upwards or ejecting the
remains of such diseases, as belong to the
phlegmatical kind : here vomits are prescrib-
ed, of which there are eight of the stronger,
and eight of the gentle kind, both =16.

16. A composition of medicine, for cleansing
or purging the nose, five of the gentle, and
two of the strong kind.

17. Elixirs or extracted juices, for drawing
downwards the diseases in the entrails or in-
testines and guts.

18. The same continued and specied.

19. Elixirs or mixtures for cleansing the
veins, (or depuratory elixirs for do.) Thus se-
ven chapters are on depuratory medicines.

FOLEY’S PAPER ON THE ISLAND OF RAMBREE,

115

If by the above means there is no sufficient
relief, in another sutra is taaght of other soft
and hard remedies.

20. How to let blood in such distempers,
when heat prevails. There are counted 77
veins, of which any may be opened for letting
out blood.

21. The application of a caustic for curing
diseases, when cold, or cold fits pi’evail.

22. The use of a venomous mixture.

23. On the use of medical bath, for diseased
members.

24. On adhibiting medicinal unguents.

25. On medicines operating downwards.

26. The conclusion. Though there be
many ways (1,200) of examining the heat and
cold prevailing in any disease, they all may be
reduced to the following : to look on the
tongue and urine, to feel the pulse, and to ask
(after the circumstances of the beginning and
progress of the disease in question.

Art. II. — Journal of a Tour through the
island of Rambree, with a Geological
Sketch of the Country, and Brief Account
of the Customs, 8fc. of its Inhabitants.
By Lieut. Wm. Foley.

In the widely extended circle of our In-
dian empire there yet remains so much to
be gathered of general intelligence both with
respect to the manners of the inhabitants
and the character of the soil, that we hail
with peculiar satisfaction the exertions of
individuals who are endeavouring to supply
us with the required information. The
Government is still continuing its grand
trigonometrical survey ; but its progress is
necessarily slow ; and in the mean while
we rule over large tracts possessing many
intrinsic properties with which we are, and
would continue to be but imperfectly ac-
quainted, were it not for the spontaneous
efforts of a few enterprising men, whom the
love of science stimulates to the prosecu-
tion of such enquiry as their leisure from
professional avocation permits. Our ob-
ligation is the greater, inasmuch as the
motive is wholly divested of selfishness.
The only wish on their part, being that their
labors may be found a useful addition to
our stock of general information on the
points in question. Of such a character is
the work before us. It is written by Lieut.
Foley, and although professing to be no
more than a mere “sketch” of manners

and customs with an accompanying dis-
quisition on the geology of Rambree Island,
comprises a great variety of interesting and
instructive matter. The narrative is well
drawn up, free from all pedantry in terms,
and told after a mode so wholly unaffected,
that those the least initiated in “nature’s
mysteries’ ’ may derive gratification from the
perusal.

“ It was with the view ef throwing some
light upon the geology of Rambree that I pre-
pared this Journal for transmission to the
Asiatic Society ; a consciousness of my pre-
sent superficial information on many points
connected with the geology of the island
would have induced me to resei’ve this com-
munication for a more favourable opportunity
was I not apprehensive that such a season
would never arrive, and that the little leisure
I now have at my disposal must of necessity
be devoted to duties of a professional nature.
To a brief geological description of the island
I have aded such other matter connected with
the condition, and manners of the inhabitants
as appeared deserving of mention, either from
its novelty, or the value it may possess in the
scale of utility.”

Lieut. Foley commences his journey at
Khyak Phyoo, the military cantonment of
our Government on the Island, and skirting
along the coast conducts us to the principal
town of Rambree.

In the year 1148, (Mugh series) the
conquest of Arracan was effected by the
Burmese, who divided the country into four
principal districts, naming them Dwyana-
waddee, (or Arracan Proper.) Y"amawaddj
(Rambree Island) Megawaddie, (Cheduba)
and Dornawaddi (Sandoway). Lieut. Foley
supposes Cheduba to be a name given by
the Bengalis, as the proper native name is
Milong.

The Island of Rambree presents along the
coast, high land, covered for the most part
with impenetrable jungle ; it is only in the
interior that spots have been cleared out
for cultivation. The geology of the island
affords nothing very novel. The rocks are
of the newest formation and owe their origin
to the agency of fire. Alluvial and diluvial
deposits are common to the whole tract.
The Hills range from N. N. E. to S. S. E.
and vary in their elevation from 500 to
3,000 feet. Smaller hills, branching from

116

THE GAMES AND FESTIVALS OF RAMBREE.

them form ‘‘ basin-like cavities” which
give room for the cultivation of rice. The
soil of the hills is argillaceous, and their
surface being thus composed of a stratum
of clay, the deposit at their base being form-
ed of the same, affords opportunities for-
cultivation contrasting strongly with that in
the immediate vicinity of the cantonment.

Leaving Khyak Phyoo our traveller pro-
ceeds by the sea-shore towards the villages of
Membrann and Kyaprath ; in the neighbour-
hood of the former he finds some old Pe-
troleum wells, which are no longer worked.
He then reaches Kyakprath, where the hills
have been partially cleared and small
patches of open ground are devoted to the
growth of cotton. While at this last place
our author had an opportunity of witnessing
some of the games to which the inhabitants
are much addicted. These are boxing,
wrestling, and the kulome, described as
something similar to our “ battledore and
shuttlecock only that the ball which is hol-
low and made of cane,” is impelled by the
foot instead of the hand. In addition to
these the Mughs have other peculiar festi-
vals of which the principal are,

SANGRAIN-KYADEH.*

This occurs in the month of Tagoo-la,
(April, at the commencement of the new year,
and during this season, the games of Reh-Ioun~
dee, and LSh-prinedee are held. The former
very much resembles what is’observed in our
own country on New-year’s -clay. The women
throw w’ater over the men, who generally re-
turn the compliment ; no distinction is paid
to rank. The water is thrown indiscriminate-
ly, and with an unsparing hand, upon high
and low, and all seem determined to enjoy a
season that permits of such unlimited free-
dom. The Leh-prinedee is the boat-race,
which is held at the same time : a number of
boats assemble in a broad creek, and start for
a certain place, each striving to outstrip the
other. The boats are impelled with oars,
and those that are light and well manned,
have a surprising speed upon the water. The
shouts of the row^ers, the strains of wild
music, and the gay appearance of the boats
decked out at the stem with branches of plan-

* The whole of these festivals owe their
source to some fabulous narrative, preserved
in the sacred writings or other books, and
religiously believed by an ignorant and super-
stitious people. I regret that I am, from my
very imperfect acquaintance with the language
of this country, debarred an opportunity of
transcribing any part of these.

tain trees and garlands of flowers, give a most !
pleasing and striking efi’ect to the scene. Re- i
turned to the place from w^hence they started,- |
a donation in money, or a piece of silk, is i
generally presented to the winner by the mas- i
ter of the ceremonies. Nautches and enter-'
tainments succeed the boat race, and the
festivities are closed wdth offerings to the
priests and the Rautoo^, who is on this oc-
casion carefully washed and adorned.

2. OOBHO-CHOUNDE.— This festival
is held in the months Wajho, (July,) Wo.goung,
(August,) Tantha-leng, (September,) and
Sadyne-Kyot, (October.) The people fast for
a few days in each month, and proceeding to
the Kioums'f', dressed in their smartest at-
tire, prostrate themselves before the PhraaL
and make suitable offerings to the priests.

3. WINGBAUH-POE. — occurs in the
month Sadyne-Kyot. (October.) — By way of ;
celebrating this festival, a labyrinth is con-
structed by means of bamboo fences, so pla- ■ "
ced, as to make the path very narrow and in- ,
tricate from the numerous turns it takes.

People of both sexes, and of all ages, flock m
to this place in the evening, dressed in their ffli
smartest clothes, ; old as well as young thread !
the labyrinth, enjoying the^fun that is occasion- ' I
ed by their several mistakes in endeavouring
to get out of it. A temple is erected in the |
centre of the labyrinth, and within it are foirr l
images of the Ruddha saint, to which the pas- '|
sengers severally make obeisance, placing i!
small lamps upon different parts of the build - :

ing for the purpose of ilkxmination. The
evening of each day generally closes with a i
display of fire-workes, and the Bouthsey, a
ludicrous dramatic representation, very much
resembling the Putle of India. In addition
to the above, a ceremony, termed the Piiddcy-
sah, is performed during the month of Sadyne-
Kyot. This consists in the construction of
a frame -work, intended to present a tree which
is carried about upon the shoulders of the peo-
ple, and upon it are hung such bequests as
are made by individuals, in the shape of cloth,
silks, dishes, &c. the whole of which are in-
tended for the useofthe inmatesofthe Kioums.
Much is collected in this manner, it being
considered highly meritorious to make even
the smallest gift on this occasion. The pro-
cession is generally accompained by dancers
and musicians, wdiose services are wholly
gratuitous ; for whatever they may indivi-
ally collect, is, in like manner, devoted to the
necessities of the Kioum.

4. The Ruttah-boeh is held in the month
of Tahoo-dioar, (February,) when the cold
weather is supposed to have ended. A small
tree is placed upon a car that had been con-
structed for the purpose, and to each end of
this vehicle ropes are attached. The people
assemble at the place from all quarters, and
two parties (generally selected from the in-
habitants of two neighbouring villages) are

* Image of Gautama.
+ Monasteries.

X Gautama.

GEOLOGICAL CHARACTER OF RAMBREE.

117

formed for a trial of strength : one party pul-
ling against the other. The successlhl party
i s allowed to draw the car away to their own
village, where it is finally consumed.

Several other wrestling matches were made
until it became too dark to prolong the game.
I now returned to the village, and entering my
host’s house found a supper waiting my arri-
val. It was laughable to observe the curio-
sity of the villagers to see an Ingllee at the fee-
ding hour. Men, women, and children moun-
ted the michaun, to the very great hazard of
its coming down. There was in the appear-
ance of my visitors nothing of that fear and
abject submission so characteristic of the na-
tives of India. The women, as well as the
men, stood gazing upon me, and all joined in
the laugh excited by the European mode of
handing the food to my mouth ; to them so
incomprehensible and ridiculous. The chil-
dren were not afraid to approach, and I was
not so uncivil as to refuse them a share of the
viands they apparently coveted. It was re-
ceived with pleasure, and olfered in return
to their parents. A mother had a very pretty
infant at her breast, and I was surprised to
see her give it a piece of bi’ead that had been
previously chewed. I found on inquiry that
a child is fed with a mouthful of boiled rice,
reduced to a state of mucilage, on the second
day of its birth. This it is said conduces to
its vigour, and hastens the period for its final
separation from the breast.

The next stage is Kaeng which is remark-
able as exhibiting the remains of a few mud
volcanoes, the only indication of their ac-
tivity however being the existence of a
spring of muddy water at the summit of
each volcano. “ The mud was of a grey
colour and impregnated with much calcareous
matter.” Other volcanoes or their remains
were visible on the hills to the left as ou^’
journalist approached Kaeng. From the un-
dulating appearance of these, covered with a
fine green sward, and studded with afewJhow
trees (as is invariable where ever these vol-
canoes are found) the effect is said to be
both agreeable and striking. At the foot of
a volcano Lieut. Foley found several
“boulders” of a rock resembling cUnJc-
stone, which he imagines to have been eject-
ed from them while in a state of igneous
fusion. From Kaeng the route continues
to Sadong. This is one of the most fertile
districts of the Island. Extensive plains of
rice cultivation and petroleum wells yielding
“a fair supply of oil are found here, and
such is the fruitfulness of the soil that the

principal exportations of the former are
from this place. One well is said to give
as much as three quart bottles of oil daily
and “allowing that the others afford as
much, the entire quantity would be 70
maunds, between the 1st of November, and
the 1st of June. These wells, and indeed
all those existing in this Island, and that of
Cheduba are farmed by Government, and
sold to the highest bidder. The system is
regarded as a bad one, and in lieu of it
Lieut. Foley proposes as follows.

“ The whole of the wells known to exist in
the islands of Rambree and Cheduba are far-
med by Government, and sold annually to the
highest bidder ; I conceive it would be (in the
end) far more advantageous to Government
was the sale to take place every three years,
instead of annually : was more labour bestow-
ed \ipon these wells, the produce would be
greater ; but the present system deters a pur-
chaser from devoting his labour to the pro-
duction of an article that may become the pro-
perty of a more successful candidate, before
he shall have received any return for the capi-
tal he had already invested in them. The wells
were sold this year for 120 rupees.

The oil is sold in Ladong at the rate of one-
half tillia per rupee. The weight of a tilUa
varies from nine to sixteen seers. The La-
dong tillia of oil is said to be as much as can
be contained in 18 bottles or 13§ seers. The
oil is much used, especially for burning ; it
burns long, and gives a fine clear flame ; it
has, however, a very disagreeable smell, and
is so highly inflammable, that it must be used
with caution.

The oil produced on the Island of Cheduba
is not so abundant or so pure as that of Ram-
bree. One of the Petroleum wells in Ladong
is said to exist on the site of a dormant mud
volcano — a circumstance not at all impro-
bable, when it is considered, that the gasess
and inflammable substances forming the con-
stituent parts of either, are, as far as has
been hitherto discovered, essentially alike.
The soil thrown up from these wells is highly
bituminous, and in some instances abounds
with very beautiful crystals of iron pyrites.”

Whilst at Ladong our author witnessed
the funeral rites performed over the body
of a Phoongee or Buddhist priest, and takcg
the opportunity of making minute enquiry
as to the nature of their religious duties.

“The assumption of the monastic garb is
voluntary ; the person who expresses a wish
to become a Phoongree is admitted into the
convent (without regard to country, or the
religion he may formerly have professed),
provided he stipulates his readiness to con-

118

THE RELIGIOUS CHARACTER OF THE PRIESTHOOD.

form to the Buddhist observances in matters
of faith and discipline, and there exists no im-
pediment (such as his having a family to sup-
port, or his not having obtained the permis-
sion of his parents, &c.), to his abandonment
of earthly pursuits ; sickness, deformity, and
a bad character are also sufficient causes for
rejection. Should none of these obstacles
present themselves, the candidate is admitted
into the Aioifm, and attired, in the prescribed
dress, enters upon the duties of a Phoongree.
If, as is generally the case, his age shall not
have exceeded 15 years, he is appointed to the
performance of the menial duties, and gra-
dually initiated in the peculiar tenets of the
sect, until he shall have arrived at the age of
20 years, the time appointed for confirma-
tion.”

It is remarkable bow most religions (we
altogether except the Mahommedan, which
comhienced by enforcing its doctrines at the
sword’s point, start with a purity from which
the disciples but too frequently diverge. Many
are the proofs that originally there was but
one Law Giver and but one law acknow-
ledged. In all creeds we are taught
that abandonment of worldly objects is the
first and most momentous exaction, but as
society advances, we almost invariably find
the priesthood claiming their privileges in
secular affairs, and entering with avidity
into the schemes, intrigues, and politics of
the Governments to which they belong. It
is evident that religion should remain all
together removed from scenes of contention ;
because it is in its essence immeasurably
superior to them. Such, however, is the
common frailty of our nature that we can-
not divest ourselves of individual claims
in society nor set ourselves wholly apart
for the service of God without for-
feiting those worldly advantages, which it is
one of the weaknesses of our lot to be thus
unwilling to forego. How long the people
whose manners and customs we are tracing
will retain their present habits, is hardly
problematical. Simple as they appear, their
customs are indescribably immoral ; and
characterized with a degree of shameless-
ness which steel their hearts against
those noble and warm endearing affections
which civilization, perfected by the doctrines
of unsullied Christianity, inspires. Our
intercourse, if enlightened with such views,
will assuredly engender other thoughts

and offer other prospects, when the period I
arrives which will fit them for a simpler and Ij
holier creed. On the other hand, if the inter- I
course of Europeans with them be unsancti- j
fied by any religious feeling, how much of evil i|
passions now dormant will not be awakened, |
how mnph of primitive simplieity will be r
exchanged for the cunning of the world’s il
knowledge and craft among these pupils I
ofBoodha. We shall follow up this H
review in our next No. and offer to our
readers some general remarks on the neces-
sity of pursuing this species of investigation
with a more determined vigor. The advan-
tage would be to the Government as the |
power to perform it certainly is. Will it be 1
exerted ?

TIEDEMAN’5 PHYSIOLOGY OF
MAN.

PARALLEL BETWEEN THE MANI-
FESTATIONS OF ACTIVITY OF OR-
GANIC AND THOSE OF INORGA-
hJlC BODIES.

{Continued from page 86.)

OF THE MEXIFF.STATIONS OF ACTIVITY COMMON
TO ORGANIC AND INORGANIC BODIES, AND
TIIFIR MODIFICATIONS IN THE FORMER.

XLVllT. The nianifestations of activity
and of power of inorganic bodies are reducible
to repulsion and attraction. The first is shown
by impenetrability and extension, the second
by mechanical attraction, gravity, cohesion,
adhesion, and chemical affinity. Physical
philosophers designate by the names of attrac-
tion and repulsion those inherent causes in
bodies on which these phenomena depend.
They have discovered a great portion of the
laws according to which these forces act,
without being able to detect their fundament-
al cause.

XLIX. Similar phenomena, or manifesta-
tions of activity, are observed in living bodies.
All of them possess extent and weight ; cohe-
sion and adhesion is exerted in all of them,
and we see besides, in all, the play of chemi-
cal affinities. But these phenomena, although
the effects of general physical forces, are modi-
fied by the manifestations of activity peculiar
to organic bodies, called life, and by powers
of a particular kind, viz. organic powers, AH
the physical and chemical properties of plants
and animals, the manner in which they fill
space, their extension, their gravity, their cohe-
sion, the chemical affinities which operate in
them, depend more or less on the organic pow-
ers by which they are animated. A further
proof of this is, that plants and animals are

MANIFESTATIONS OF LIFE INEXPLICABLE BY GENERAL LAWS &c. 119

produced from other living bodies of the same
species as themselves, and that all their qua-
lities, form, peculiarities of weight, of adhe-
sion and cohesion, the form and composition
oftheir parts, in short the mode ofshowing
their own action, are determined by the orga-
nic powers of the bodies which originate them.
We know of no living body generated by the
action of purely physical or chemic^ forcp.
All the qualities, therefore, of organic bodies
should be looked upon as the effects of life.
Even those phenomena seen in them, which
they exhibit in common with organic bodies,
undergo modifications of their specific action,
and should be considered as subordinate to
the organic powers.

L. The weight of different living bodies
depends on their life, and varies according to
the periods of age, the state of nutrive func-
tions, and divers influences, external as well
as internal, which modify the manifestations
of activity of these functions, 'l'he_ specific
gravity of all their solids and liquids is also
subject to continual changes during the course
of their existence. The liquids contained in
the different spaces, cavities, or vessels of the
plants and animals, are not distributed accord-
ing to the law of gravitation alone*, they are
frequently moved against their gravity, and
their manner of movement and of distribution
is dependent on their manifestation oflife.

LI. The degree of cohesion, of adhesion,
and consistence of organic bodies, of all their
liquid and solid parts, varies extremely accord-
ing to the duration of their existence and
manifestations of activity. Plants and ani-
mals have but little consistence and cohesion
in the first period of their existence. 'J’hese
properties become more pronounced in them
in proportion as they are developed, and for
the most part they attain their maximum in
advanced age. Various influences, which
modify their manifestations of life, as heat,
light, the atmosphere, water, and food, pro-
duce changes in their state of cohesion. This
changes even in consequence of their internal
action, as is particularly seen in the contrac-
tion of the muscles. The same is the case
with the chemical affinities met with in living
bodies. The composition of these bodies, as
well in their entire as in their different parts,
together with all the changes which take place
during the existence of organic bodies, should
be considered as the effects oflife.*

Neither does heat spread over living bodies
in the same manner, nor after the same laws,
as in bodies not endued with life. The

* Berzelius also (Lelirbucli der Chemie, v. 3,
part 1st, p. 136) recognises tliis, wheu he says,
“ The elements seem to obey, in living bodies,
other laws than those in dead bodies, or bodies
not endued with life. The cause of this differ-
ence has hitherto been withheld from our
enquiries, and we attribute it to a power of a
peculiar nature, belonging only to living bodies
—the, vital power. This something is plared
altogether beyond inorganic elements ; it is
not one of their original qualities, as gravity,
impenetrability, electric polarity, &c.; hut
we can neither conceive what it is, nor how it
is generated or finishes.-'

greater number of animals maintain the tem-
perature peculiar to them, although that of
the surrounding media be different.

LI I. Even when the life of organic bodies
is extinct, we should consider the qualities
which they possess, from the time of death to
the complete resolution of organization, as
results oithe organic powers which have been
active in them. Besides the powers of life,
Bichat* admits, in organic bodies., par-
ticular qualities, amongst which he _ classed
extensibility, contractility, and elasticity of
the tissues, which he regarded as inherent in
their texture and the arrangement of the mole-
cules of which they are composed. He thinks
them independent of life, because they remain
after death, and are only annihilated after
the establishment of putrefaction and destruc-
tion of the organs. He adds, that life cer-
tainly augments their energy, but thatitisnot
the cause of it. These properties are also the
eff'ecfs of forces which life has put into action,
for the tissues which possess them have been
produced during life and by life. The qua-
lities which still remain inherent in them after
death proceed from their composition and
texture, and these are produced by the mani-
festations of life. So soon as chemical affini-
ties take the upper hand in dead bodies, during
fermentation and putrefaction, these proper-
ties of the tissues also disappear and are de»
stroyed as the last remaining effects oflife.

LIII. Hence it follows that the qualities
of organic bodies, as well those observed in life
as those remaining even alter death, should
be considered as the effects and results of spe-
cial powers that are exercised in these alone.
All the phenomena of these bodies, even those
of general physical forces, are produced or
modified by life and its powers. Reil, there-
fore, 'b was right when he said that, in a
living organ, nothing is dead, not even elasti-
city, and that all therein is modified by what
w*e call life.

The manifestations of life, such as we
recognize them, are inexplicable by the general
laws of physics. J Neither the power of

* On Life and Death, p. 43. General Ana-
tomy, V. i, pai't 1, p. 36.

+ Archiv. fiir die Physiologie, v. vii, p. 438.

% Buffon (Histoire Nat., v. ii, p. 60) says,
“ J’avoue que je pense bien differemment de
ces philosophes ; il me semble qu’en n’admet-
tent qu’un certain nombre des principes
mechaniques, il n’ont pas senti combien ils
retrecissoient la philosophie, et ils n’ont pas
vu, que pour un phenomene qu’on pourraity
rappeler, il y eu avoit mille qui en etoient
independens. L’idee de ramener Fexplication
de tous les phenomenesa des principes mecba-
niques, est assurement grande et helle: ce pas
est le plus hardi qu’on putfaire en philosophie,
et c’est Descartes qui I’a fait; mais cette idee
n’est qu’uu projet. Le defaut de la philosophic
d’ Aristote etoitd’employercomme causes tous-
les effets particuliers ; celui de celle de Des-
cartes est de ne vouloir employer comme
causes, qu’un petit nombre d’effets generaux,
en donnant I’exclusion a tout le reste. Il me
semble que la philosophie sans defaut seroit
celle ou I’on n’employeroit pour causes que
des effets generaux, mais ou I’on cher^ heroit
en meme temps a en augroenter le nomi re,
en ta, hant de generaliser les effets parti',u-
liers.”

120

THE RESEARCHES OF AVOGRABO.

repulsion, nor that of attraction, with all their
modifications, is sufficient, according to re-
searches hitherto made, to explain life. Already
it has been more than once attempted to
deduce life from the laws of mechanics, phy-
sics, and of chemistry. This error has been
committed by the physiologists and physi-
cians of the iatromathematic and iatrocliemi-
cal schools. In every age distinguished natu-
ralists discovered this error and opposed it.
The difficulty of explaining the manifesta-
tions of activity of living bodies by the laws
of other natural powers, probably depends
on the imperfect knowledge which is possessed
concerning natural phenomena in general ;
but so long as we cannot succeed in account*
ing for them in this manner, we are authorized
in attributing them provisionally to powers
of a particular species.

(To ie continued.)

ON THE RELATION OF THE SPECI-
FIC HEAT OF BODIES TO THEIR
ATOMIC WEIGHTS.

This paper is intended to convey a con-
densed view of the researches of Avogrado,
an Italian philospher, as related in two
separate memoirs.^

It may be proper to observe that in a pre-
vious paper,'!' from the consideration of the
affinity between the density and specific heat
of bodies, he had established the formula
m

d— — where the density of the ductile metals,

as

is simply proportional to the mass of the atom
divided by the cube of its affinity for heat, or
affinitary number as it may be termed; a repre-
sents the quantity which corresponds with the
cube of the distanceof the centres oftheatoms,
thatis tosay,thisdistanceis simply proportional
to the affinity of each substance for heat,
the mass of the atom not entering into its
determination.

The affinitary number is obtained by divid-
ing the atomic weight of a body by that
of potassium, which is considered unity :
thus, the affinitary number of gold will be
,|:^=2'5. or, as Avogrado makes,

5 073. Then m=5 073, d=22-18 and d=r^s

the

affinity of gold for heat.

M. Avogrado, by his experiments on the
specific heat of bodies, has confirmed the
accuracy of the law deduced by Dulongand
Petit, from their researches, that the specific
heat of the atom of a compound gas is expressed
by the square root of the whole, or fractional

* Ann. de Chim. et de Physique, t. Iv. and
Ivii.

+ Memorie della Reale Accademia delle
Scienae di Torino, xxx. 91.

number of the atoms of the simple gases, by f
whose combination the cornpoundatom is formed.

He has, however, been more particular in ;
his expression of the law, which, according -
to him, is of the following import : the specific
heat of an atom of a compound body is equal ;l
to the square root of the whole, or fractional ;
number, expressing the atoms or portions of '<
atoms which, by their combination, from the i
atom of the compound body, whether in the ■
solid or liquid state, adopting as unity thespe- r
cific heat of some simple body in the same state. !
This rule, however, is not easily applied to '
solids and liquids, because the atoms and j,
volumes of gases are equivalent ; whereas, in
the former classes, it is a question requiring 1
much investigation to resolve, what is the '
composition of the compound atom in the '
solid or liquid state. For the composition,
according to theoretical considerations, is often
different from what it is in the gaseous or i
vaporific state. Impressed with a desire of '
dealing up this difficulty, Avogrado was led l!
into the discussion of the subject of the atomic
weight of bodies, and has considered it proper
to reduce the numbers attached to them by the ,
Continental chemists to one-half. These new
numbers being deduced from the consideration ?
of the specific heat, he has termed them ther- i
mic atoms. The numbers were ascertained by '
means of an instrument of simple construction. 1
The vessel in which the substance to be ;
experimented on was placed, consisted of a i
cylinder of thin brass, with a flat upper edge. i
To this is applied a brass plate, pierced with
three holes in its circumference, to enable
three screws to pass which rise on the edge of
the vessel, and are tightened from above by
nuts, so that by interposing between the plate
and the edge of the vessel a portion of oil
skin, the access of water and external air is
completely prevented. This vessel is con-
tained in a large 'one, also made of brass,
intended to hold adeterminate quantity of water
at the temperature of the atmosphere, in
which is placed a small mercurial thermo-
meter with a brass scale, and covered bulb,
which is completely immersed in water.

To ascertain the specific heat, the small
vessel was filled with the substance in powder,
if it was a solid, and the weight noted. The
vessel was then closed with the brass plate,
and was kept in a vessel full of boiling water,
until it was concluded that it, as well as its
contents, had acquired all the heat which
could be communicated to it by boiling water.

The temperature of the air ; that of the
water contained in the interior vessel of the
apparatus, and that indicated by the thermo-
meter which was plunged into it were marked ;
the small vessel was then rapidly reinoved
from the vessel of boiling water, by means
of a pair of pincers, and placed in the exte-
rior vessel. This being done, the temperature
indicated by the thermometer of this vessel
was marked every minute. This tempera-
ture increased at first rapidly, then slowly,
and generally reached its maximum in eight
or ten minutes. It is obvious that this
method would be a very easy one for deter-
mining the specific heat of bodies, if it did not

DULONG AND PETIT’S LAW OF THE SPECIFIC HEAT OF SIMPLE BODIES. 121

happen that during the experiment, the water
in the exterior vessel is constantly giving off
heat at the expense of the substance, which is
the object of experiment, and conveying it to
the vessel andsurroundingbodies. Avogrado,
however, corrected this source of error by
applying Newton’s law, according to which,
the communication of heat is continually pro-
portional to the actual difference to tempera-
ture between the two bodies, a law which is
exact for moderate temperatures. He found
also a formula nearly accurate, in which the
I excess of temperature of the exterior vessel,

I and of the water contained in it, above that of
I the surrounding air, as well as of the interior
vessel, and the substance contained in it above
that of the water, is regarded as being a mean
during the experiment between the initial and
final excess. .

According to the law of Dulong and Petit,
the specific heat of simple bodies, taking for
unity that of an equal weight of water, mul-
tiplied by their atomic weights, gives us the
constant number ‘375, (or *376*) In other
words, the specific heat of anatom of these
bodies is -375, adopting as unity the specific
heat of a body of water, equal in weight to
that of an atom of oxygen. From which it
follows that if the same law applies to oxygen,
and if the relation adopted between the atoms
of different bodies and that of oxygen, is really
that which exists between the atoms, to which
the law refers, and which may be called their
thermic atoms, the specific heat of oxygen in
the solid state, ought to be 0'375, taking as
unity that of an equal weight of water. This,
however, cannot be verified by experiment,
because we are unacquainted with any me-
thod of operating upon oxygen in the solid
state. It is obvious, therefore, that to fix the
atoms ofbodies relative to oxygen, is some-
what arbitrary ; for the rule of the equality of
the specific heat of atoms, would be verified
by doubling all the atoms in relation to that of
oxygen, or in taking a half or third, provided
that we changed at the same time the constant
number.

Let us turn our attention to various bodies
with this object in view. I. The specific heat
of carbon appears to indicate that we may,
reduce the atoms of sulphur, and the metals
to one-half of the numbers attributed to them
at present. The atom of carbon is really
0 764 (or rather -75, as will be presently seen)
of the atom of oxygen. The same relation
ought then to subsist between the atoms of
carbon and oxygen, both in the solid state.,
in order that the law of Dulong and Petit
may be applicable. The specific heat of car-
bon, according to the determination of Crawd-
ford and Avogrado, is 2.5, or one fourth of
that of water. Now, *75, the true atom of
carbon (and not *764, the number adopted on
the Continent) + .25 == *1875, or the half
of *376, and exactly the half of .375, the
co-efficient adopted by Avogrado. From this
fact Avogrado argues that the co-efficient of the
law of Dulong and Petit ought to be reduced
to this half number, .1875, and for the
same reason that the atoms of sulphur and the

metals should be reduced to the half of the
numbers which represent them at present. The
specific heat of carbon would then be, accord-
ing to this modified law g:i|75~o*25, or
exactly the result of experiment. The num-
ber deduced by Avagrado is, however, incor-
rect, because he adopts *764 as the atomic
weight of carbon, instead of *75, the number
obtained by Dr. Thomson, and which is here
substituted.

In this view of the subject the specific heat
of oxygen, in the solidstate, ought to be '1875,
a number which Avogrado also finds to be
nearly the specific heat of oxygen in the state
of gas, by a calculation founded on the experi-
ments of Berard and Delaroche, relating to
the specific heat of the oxygen of the air com-
pared to that of water; and it is probable that
the specific heat of a body, which preserves
the same atomic composition may not differ
much in each state. This could not happen,
however, if the numbers are preserved to
which Dulong and Petit applied their law,
because the specific heat of oxygen would
then be *375, or the double of that which it
possesses in the gaseous state.

2. PHOSPHORUS. — The specific heat
of this substance was determined by Avogrado,
by observing how many degrees, phosphorus
at several degrees below zero cooled the liquid
(which was spirit of wine) in the exterior ves-
sel. The mean of two experiments gave for
the specific heat of phosphorus 0 385, taking
that of water as unity. Now, that atomic
weight of phosphorus being 2* we obtain an
approximation to this number if we take the
fourth of it, or -5, and divide the co-efficient
*1875 by it. The quotient is *375, or the spe-
cific heat of phosphorus in the solid state.
Hence, according to the view laid down by
Avogrado, the thermic atom of phosphorus
will be ‘5. In the gaseous atom he considers
that there would be 8 thermic atoms,

3. ARSENIC. — The atom of this sub-
stance is 4-75, the half of which is 2'375. To
obtain the specific heat we have

*79 or *80. The number obtained by the
experiment was *81. Mitscherlich has found
the density of the vapour of arsenic correspond
to double the number at present received as
the atom of arsenic. There would, therefore,
be in the gaseous atom four thermic atoms.

4. IODINE. — For the specific heat of
this substance in the solid state, Avogrado
obtained the number ‘089.

Now, to procure an approximation to this
number theoretically, we must divide the atom
15*75 by *8, and we have T9G7. Now,

-095. Hence arsenic is analogous to phos-
phorus.

We may, perhaps, extend the same analo-
gies to bromine, and chlorine. Avogrado infers
that the combining atom of azote is formed
of 2 thermic atoms ; those of chlorine, iodine,
bromine and phosphorus, of 8 thermic atoms,
and that of arsenic of 4 true or thermic atom,
each multiple atom requiring 5 atoms of oxy-
gen to form nitric, chloric, iodic, bromic,
phosphoric, and arsenic acids.

Now, with regard to compound bodies,
Avogrado considers that the law deduced from

** Thomson on Heat and Electricity, 97.

122

TWO HAIR SALTS DISCOVERED AT THE CAPE.

the experiments of Dulong or the specific
heat of compound gases applies equally to the
specific heat of compound bodies in the solid
state, viz, that the specific beat of the com-
pound atom of a solid body, taking as unity
that of a simple atom, given by the law of
Dulong and Petit, is represented by the square
loot of the whole or fractional number, which
expresses the atoms or portions of simple atoms
of different kinds, entering into the formation
of this compound, a number, which, for brevi-
ty’s sake, may be termed the coistituent num-
ber of the compound atom. Consequently, to
obtain the constant number, T875, it is neces-
sary to multiply the specific heat of compound
bodies (taking that of unequal weight of water
as unity) fust by the weight of the compound
atom, taking that of oxygen as unity, as for
simple bodies, and to divide by the square root
of the constituent number ; and reciprocally
to obtain the specific heat of a solid bo<ly,
taking as unity that of an equal weight of
water, we must multiply the square root of
the constituent number by * * * § *1875, and divide
by the weight of the compound atom. It will
now be proper to consider the afrplication of
this law to the different kinds of compound
bodies.

EXAMINATION OF HAIR SALT, OR
NATIVE SULPHATE OF ALUMINA
AND IRON.

By Robert D. Thomson, M.D.

The salt known under the name of hair salt
and feather alum, which is produced by the
decomposition of strata containing' iron pyri-
tes, has been examined hy different chemists ;
but hitherto no definite composition has been
assigned to it, notwithstanding the length of
time which has elapsed since it was first
noticed.

Dioscorides presents us with a detail of its
characters so striking as to prevent any mis-
take in identifying it.* IIS describes it as
being very white, astringent, in capillary pior-
tions, which resemble what was called in
Egypt trichitis. Pliny likewise mentions it
particularly : “ Concreti,” says he, “ alumi-
nis unum genus schiston appellant Graeci, in
capillamenta quredam canescentia dehiscens.
Undequidem tricliitin potius appellaver. Hoc
fit e lapide ex quo et chalcitin vocant,”

The indefatigable Tournefort visited the
island of Milo, from which the salt described
by these ancient authors was derived, and has
satisfied us that the characters, as givezi by
Dioscorides and Pliny, are quite accurate. J

I. Klaproth examined a salt of a greyish-
white colour becoming yellow hy exposure to
the air, occurring in alum state, and found
its chemical composition to he Alumina 15*25,
Protoxide of iron 7 ’50, Potash *25, Sulphuric
acid and water 77, total 100*§

If we consider the alumina and iron to be
saturated the constituents will he, Alumina

* V. 323

i Piin Nat. Hist. xxxv. 16.

t Tournefort’s Voage 177.

§ Beitrage, iii. 103, Chemische Uutei'suchung
des federalaujis von Freyen^yalde.

15*25 7, Protoxide of iron 7*5 1. Sulphuric i
acid 41*77 8, Water 35*48 31, total 100*00*
equivalent to 7 Al. S. -{-31. Aq.

2. The same chemits states that the hair i
salt from the mercurial mines of Idria, (Ha- I
lotrichum Scopolii), found in alum slate, j
possesses a silvery white colour, and consists (
essentially of sulphate of magnesia, united
with a small portion of sulphate of iron. Ac- | )
cording to a recent analysis hair salt from c
Idria consists of

Magnesia 16*389 - 1 atom. ;

Protoxide of iron. . 0*226 -

Sulphuric acid 32*303 - 1 ,,

Water 50*934 - 7 atoms i

99*852t

which answers to MS. 7 Aq. mixed with a
little sulphate of iron, agreeing exactly in i
composition with the right prismatic crystals !
of the common Epsom salt. A similar mine-
ral from Calataynd, in Arragon, yielded,
Magnesia 16*495, Sulphuric acid 31*899,
Water 51*202, 99*596

3. Berthier has published the analysis of a
hair salt, (Thomson’s Inorganic Chemistry,
ii. 768.) consisting' of Sulphuric acid 34*4,
Protoxide of iron 12* Alumina 8*8, Magne-
sia 0*8 Water 44* 100* corresponding with ^ ,
Al. S. 4-/8. -1- 15 Aq.J

4 In the course of an excursion to the
eastern parts of the colony of the Cape of
Good Hope, H. Hertzog discovered two hair
salts in a cave on the Bushman River, 200 .
feet above its bed, in 30» 30' S.L. and 26" 40'
E.L., twenty miles from the sea. The cave
was thirty feet wide, seven feet high, and
twenty deep, having its upper part coated
with feather alum, presenting the appearance
of gypsum. The salt is snow-white,
fibrous, with a silky lustre, the darker coloured
fibres being very elastic. The fibresare partly
straight and partly bent. The mineral
consists, according to H. Stromeyer, of
Alumina 11*515, Magnesia 3*690, Protoxide
of manganese 2* 167, Sulphuric acid 36*770,
Water 45*739, Chloride of potassium 0.205,
100*0S6§ which is expressed hy
2^ Al. S. -f. (I M. -p mn.) S. 20{ Aq.

Under the alum a bitter salt is found, which
is frequently crystallized in four-sided prisms,
and when pure, is white. The mass accom-
panying the bitter salt is weather-beaten,
earthy, and has a salty appearance, and a
greenish-white colour. It contains scales of
mica, or talc, which are parallel with its
cleavage. H. Stromeyer found it to contain
silica and alumina in considerable quantity ;
very little iron, much manganese, and one
per cent, lime and magnesia. Water exti’acts
from it common salt, gypsum, bitter salt,
sulphate of manganese, and a trace of sulphate
af alumina.

The salt itself consists of Magnesia 14*579,
Pi’otoxide of manganese 3*6l6, Sulphuric
acid 32*258, Water 49*243, 99*696, correspond-
ing with 11 MS. -J- mn S. 91 Aq.

CTo be Continued)

* Beitrage,iii. 104.
t PoggendorfF, Aniialen, xxxi. 144,
t Ann. des Mines, v. 239.

\ Poggendorff, Ann. xxxi. 143.

f[

i

! PLATINUM FOUND IN GADOLINITE. 123

; CHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF GADOLI-
NITE, TOGETHER WITH AN EXAMI-
NATION OF SOME OF THE SALT OTF
' YTTRIA AND CERIUM.

, By Thomas Thomson, M.D., F.R.S.,

! L. AND E., &c.,

j Regius Professor of Chemistry in the Univer-
[ sity bf Glasgoio ; and Andrew Steel, M.D.

\ The specimen of gadolinite which furnished
1 materials for the experiments contained ia
I this paper, was purchased several years ago
from a German mineral dealer. He stated
that he had accidentally observed it in a col-
lection of minerals in Sweden, from the pro-
prietor of which he procured it, and that its
orignal locality was not certainly known. It
weighed several ounces.

It was an amorphous mass, having a very
deep green colour, so as to appear to the eye
almost black.

The lustre on the fresh fracture was vitre-
ous and splendent. But when broken in cer-
tain directions it presented a sui’face almost
dull, having a whitish aspect; but when viewed
ed throxigh a microscope no extraneous mat-
ter could be observed. The colour and want
of lustre was probably owing to long exposure
to the air, which had acted through certain
natural rents in mineral. For it broke with
much more facility, so as to exhibit the dull
than the splendent surface.

Hardness 6'5 ; specific gravity at 60° from
4*1493 to 4*1795. The mean was 4*1607.

Its other chai-acters being the same as those
of common gadolinite need not be described
here. Twenty grains, by ignition, acquired a
brownish colour, and lost 0*198 grains of
weight, or almost one per cent. This loss was
doubtless owing to the escape of water.

During the pounding of the mineral for
analysis small metallic looking grains were
observed, which were carefully picked out and
submitted to the following examinations. They
were malleable, infusible before the blowpipe,
not acted on by muriatic acid, but dissolving
slowly in aqua regia. The solution had a deep
orange colour, a few blackish grains remain-
ing at the bottom. It aftbi-ded a yellow pre-
cipitate with sal ammoniac and salts of potash
and was obviously platinum. From 120 grs.
of the mineral 2*33 grs. of platinum were
picked out. But the quantity was found to
vary in different pieces.

We attempted to analyze gadolinite by the
processes employed by Berzelius. But we
found that the peroxide of iron, wEich we had
precipitated by benzoate of . ammonia, con-
tained also'glucina, from which we could not
separate it by means of benzoate of ammonia,
however carefully added. This led us to a
careful investigation of the properties of
cerium, yttria, and glucina. The facts ascer-
tained suggested the following method of
analyzing gadolinite : —

A. 25 grs. of the mineral, finely pounded,
were boiled in a flash with aqa regia, till the
whole was decomposed. The gelatinous silica
remaining, collected on a filter, and well
washed, weighed, after ignition, 6*22 grs.

B. The residual liquid was evaporated to
dryness, and the solid matter remaining,
digested for some time in distilled w^ater. A
solution of oxalic acid was then added as
long as it occasioned a precipitate, and until
this precipitate was of a perfectly white
colour. The oxalic acid retained in the solu-
tion the iron, glucina,. &c., and threw down
the yttria and cerium imthe state of oxalates.
The whole was thrown upon a filter, and the
white insoluble matter was well washed.
When dry it was a beautiful light, snow-white
powder, and weighed, after ignition, 12*617
grs. It had now assumed a light yellow
colour and was a mixture of oxide of cerium
and yttria.

Various methods of separating these two
substances from each other were tried, but
without success, on account of the perfect
correspondence of the two in all their pro-
perties. We were, therefore, obliged to have
recourse to the common method of putting a
quantity of solid sulphate of potash into a
neutral solution of the yttria and oxide of
cerium, which threw down the cerium and
left yttria. But as the quatities w^ere never
absolutely the same in two successive expe-
riments, this method is certainly suspicious.
By this method the 12*176 grs. were resolved
into

Yttria 11*087

Peroxide of cerium l*530=143protoxide.

12*617

C. The oxalic solution from (B.) was eva-
porated to dryness, and ignited to destroy the
oxalic acid. The residue was dissolved in
muriatic acid, by the assistance of heat, with
the exception of a few blackish grains. These
were at first supposed to be charcoal from
the oxalic acid, but after being collected and
ignited they proved to be platinum, weigh-
ing 0*45 grs.

D. The muriatic acid solution was now
evaporated to dryness, and to insure perfect
neutralization, heated, so that a small portion
of the iron became insoluble on its being
again digested in water. Into this muddy
liquid a quantity of benzoic acid was thrown,
and well stirred. After standing 24 hours
the whole iron was found to be precipitated,
while glucina remained in solution.* The
benzoate of iron was collected on a filter,
washed, dried, and ignited. The peroxide of
iron obtained weighed 3*75 grs. =3*375 pro-
toxide. On trial it appeared perfectly pure.

E. The residual solution was now mixed
with ammonia, which threw down a white
floculent precipitate. It was collected on a
filter, well washed and dried. After ignition
it had a dirty brownish white colour, and
weighed 3*182 grs.

It dissolved in acids, forming very sweet
tasted salts. The sulphuric acid solution

* It had been ascertained by experiment that
benzoate of ammonia throws down glucina,
which benzoic acid does not; and that, with
care, the peroxide of iron may be completely
thrown doAvn by benzoic acid.

124

THOMSON’S ANALYSIS OF GADOLINITE.

crystallized, though imperfectly. The solu-
tion gave the following characters with
re -agents :

Prussiate of potash : No precipitate.

Caustic ammonia : A white precipitate,
not soluble in an excess of the alkali.

Caustic of potash : A white precipitate ,
soluable in an excess.

Oxalic acid : No precipitate.

Oxalate of ammonia : No precipitate.

Benzoate of ammonia : No precipitate.

Tincture of nutgalls : A white precipitate.

Gallic acid : No precipitate.

The white matter obtained was therefore
glucina.

The preceding analysis gave the constitu-
ents of gadolinite as follows : —

Silica. 6-22024-880Yttria 11 •00744-348Pro-
toxide of cerium 1-430 5-720 Glucina 3*182
12*728 Protoxide of iron 3*374 13*500 Platinum
0*450 1*800 Moisture 0*247 1*088. Total

25.991 104*064.

Suspecting that the increase of weight in
this analysis, which rather exceeds 4 per cent.,
might have been owing to the yttria not
having been sufficiently ignited,* it was
repeated in the following manner : —

A. 30 grs. of the finely powdered mineral
were boiled in a flask with nitro -muriatic
acid till the whole was decomposed. The
silica separated in the usual way, and most
carefully washed with boiling distilled water,
weighed after ignition, 7*3 grs. It was beau-
tifully white and pure.

B. The residual solution w*as mixed sal-
ammoniac, and evaporated to dryness.
When again dissolved only a mere trace of
platinum remained.

C. The solution was now mixed with
oxalic ^acid, and, to ensure the precipitation
of any manganese that might exist in the
mineral the whole was evaporated to dryness.
The white matter remaining undissolved on
digesting the mass in water, after being well
washed and ignited, weighed 15 grs. It was
of a light-yellow colour.

D. It was dissolved in nitric acid. The
solution was evaporated to dryness, the
residue dissolved in a small quantity of water,
and crystals of sulphate of potash were
allowed to remain in the solution for a week.
The clear liquid was then drawn off, and the
white matter, after being well washed in a
saturated solution of sulphate of potash, was
dissolved in dilute nitric facid, and precipi-
tated by ammonia and boiled in a flask, to
ensure the complete separation of the sulphu-
ric acid. The peroxide of cerium, after
ignition, weighed 1*400 grs. = 1*3 grs pro-
toxide.

E. The sulphate of potash solution from
(D) was mixed with a solution of carbonate
of ammonia in great excess. To what
remained after the clear liquid had been drawn
off fresh solutions were added, and this was
repeated six times before the whole was dis-
solved. There remained only a few flocks,
not weighing 0*01 gr. As they became black

* We had found that the carbonate of cerium
is not decomposed by exposure to a pretty
strong red heat.

when dried they probably consisted of oxide
of manganese, but the quantity was too small
to permit the use of re-agents to determine
its nature.

The 15 grs. of white matter were therefore
composed of Yttria 13*6, Peroxide of ceri-
um 1*4 Manganese, trace total 15*0

F. The oxalic solution from(C.)was preci-
pitated by ammonia, and the precipitate
washed to get rid of the oxalic acid. It was
then dissolved in muriatic acid. To separate
the glusina from the iron, caustic potash,
and then carbonate of ammonia were tried ;
but neither of these methods was found to
answer. The separation was therefore accom-
plished by the same process as in the former
analysis. There were obtained Peroxide of iron
4*53 4077 protoxide Glucina 3*47.

This analysis'gives the composition of ga-
dolinite as follows : — Silica 7*300-24*33 Yttria
13*600-4*533 Protoxide of cerium 1*300-4*33
Glucina 3*470-11*60 Protoxide of iron 40*77-
13*59 Platinum trace-trace Manganese trace-
trace Moisture 0*296-098. Total30*043 100*17-
This analysis gives us the' constituents of
gadolinite as follows: — 12*16 atoms silica
8*06 yttria 0*88 protoxide of cerium 3*91
glucina 3. protoxide of iron.

Were we to suppose the protoxide of iron to
be an accidental ingredient, we might consider
gadolinite as composed of 2 atoms silicate of
yttria, 1 atom silicate of glucina and cerium,
or we might consider it as composed of 1
atom silicate of cerium, 4 atoms silicate of
glucina, 8 atoms silicate of yttria.

If the protoxide of iron be an essential con-
stituent, the oxide of serium, glucina, and
protoxide of iron must be in the state of
disilicates.

II. EXPERIMENTS ON YTTRIA.

The neutral colourless sulphate of yttria
was dissolved in water, and the solution,
when treated by re-agents, exhibited the
following properties : —

1. Prussiate of potash : A white chalky
precipitate.

2. Ammonia : A white precipitate, hot
soluble in excess.

3. Potash : A white precipitate, not solu-
ble in excess.

4. Alkaline carbonates : A white precipitate
soluble in excess.

5. Infusion of nutgalls O.

6. Gallic acid : O.

7. Tincture of nutgalls : White, merely
from the alcohol.

8. Alcohol: White.

9. Chromate of potash ; Yellow.

10. Bichromate of potash : O.

11. Hydriodate of zinc : O.

12. Sulphate of potash : O.

13. Oxalic acid : A white precipitate.

14. Oxalate of ammonia: A white preci-
pitate.

When a solution of muriate of yttria was
exposed to the galvanic action, chlorine was
given out at the negative pole, and a small
quantity of some other gas, (probably hydro-
gen) at the positive pole. A quantity of
gelatinus matter collected round the nega-
tive wire.

125

RICHARDSON AND BERZELIUS’S ANALYSIS OF WOLFRAM.

Yttria is not altered by having a current
of sulphuretted hydrogen passed over it while
heated to redness in a green glass tube.

When phosphorus in vapour is passed oyer
yttria heated to redness, a vivid ignition
takes place, but no combination is formed.
The weight of the yttria remains unaltered.

To he continued.

ANALYSIS OF WOLFRAM.

By Mr. Thomas Richardson.

In 1781 Scheele discovered a peculiar sub-
stance in a heavy white mineral found in
Sweden, to which he gave the name of Tungs-
tic acid base being called Tungsten from
its weight. Shortly after this Messrs.
D’Elhuyart obtained the same acid in a
mineral called by the Germans wolfram,
which had been analyzed in 1761 by Lehmann,
who considered it to be a compound of iron
and tin. Weigleb and Klaproth also analyzed
this mineral, but nothing can with any con-
fidence be drawn from their result, both of
them having a deficiency of upwards of 21 per
cent. Vauquelin repeated the experiments
of the Elhuyarts in 1796, and obtained the
following : Tungstic acid, 67.00 Protoxide of
manganese 6*25, Protoxide of iron 18’00,
Silica 1 •50,92*75, Part of the iron Vauquelin
supposes to be in the state of peroxide. But
even if this supposition were adopted there
would still be too great deficiency to warrant
us in drawing any conclusion from the ana-
lysis. Berzelius published a set of experi-
ments upon tungsten in 1815, and states the
composition of this mineral to be according to
his analysis : Tungstic acid 74*666 Protoxide
of manganese 5*640, Protoxide of iron 17*954,
Silica 2*100,100*000. The quantity of tung-
stic acid was determined from the loss, which
prevents us from placing so much confidence
in it as we could otherwise have done, from
the known dexterity and precision of the
analyst.

This mineral occurs generally along with
tinstone, in veins and beds ; it is met with
also traversing greywacke, with ores of lead,
&c. It is found in almost all the Saxon and
Bohemian tin mines, as also in several places
in Cornwall.

It is thus found in France : In Siberia it
occurs accompanying the emerald, and also
in the United States of North America.

It occurs massive, and often crystallized.
The primary form being a right oblique
angled prism. The specimen subjected to
analysis was from Zinnwald, in Bohemia,
and seemed perfectly pure.

It possessed the following characters : —

Foliated ; not very brittle ; fracture une-
ven ; streak, reddish brown ; colour, blueish
black ; lustre, approaching metallic ; opa-
que ; hardness, 5*0 to 5*5 ; sp. gr. 7*017.

Before the blowpipe, decrepitates when
heated alone, but may be melted in a high
temperature into a globule, possessing the
metallic lustre.

With soda, on platinum wire, it fuses into
an opaque green coloured bead in the oxydiz-
ing flame, which changes to pink in the
reducing flame ; with borax fuses easily into a
transparent red coloured in the oxydizing
flame, which becomes pale yellow in the
redueing flame. With salt of phosphorus fuses
readily into a transparent yellow coloured
bead in the oxydizing flame, which becomes
red in the reducing flame. On adding a small
piece of tin to this red coloured bead and con-
tinuing the flame for a short time the
colour changed to green.

It was analyzed in the following way ; —

A. 20. grs. of the mineral, in fine pow-
der, were kept fused with 60 grs. of carbo-
nate of soda (anhydrous) for half an hour.
The whole, upon cooling, was digested in
water for 48 hours. The insoluble portion
which remained behind was separated by a
filter, and well washed with distilled water.
The solution which came through the filter,
together with the washings, being evaporated
to a convenient bulk, pure nitric acid was
added, and the tungstic acid precipitated of a
beautiful yellow colour. After being well
washed with distilled water, acidulated with
nitric acid, dried and ignited, it weighed
14*39 grs., or 71*95 per cent.

B. The undissolved portion which remained
on the filter in (A.) was dissolved off by
muriatic acid, and the solution neutralized as
exactly as possible with carbonate of am-
monia. The whole was now boiled with
benzoate of ammonia in a flask on the sand-
bath, and the benzoate of iron which it pre-
cipitated was separated by a filter. After being
clean washed, dried and ignited, the peroxide
of iron which remained weighed 2.58 grs.=
2.362 grs. protoxide of iron.

C. The solution and washings from (B.)
being evaporated to dryness, the whole was
exposed to a red heat, to get rid of the am-
moniacal salts. What remained was dissolved
in water, and boiled with carbonate of
soda. The manganese which precipitated
was separated by a filter, and after being well
washed, dried, and ignited, weighed 3.37 grs.
red oxide = 3.137 protoxide of manganese.

Hence, we have for the composition as
follows *. — Tungstic acid 14.390 or 71.950
Protoxide of iron 2,362 ,, 11.810 Protoxide
of manganese 3.137 ,, 15.985 Total 19.889
99.445

The difference between this and the pre-
ceding analysis of Berzelius induced me to
make another, and the result of the second,
executed, in the same way, gave as follows : —
Tungstic acid 73*60, Protoxide of iron 1 1*20,
Protoxide of manganese 15*75. Total 100*55.
Agreeing with the first very nearly except in
the quantity of tungstic acid.

If we adopt Dr. Thomson’s atomic weight
of tungstic acid, as given in the last Edition
of his System of Chemistry, and calculate, we
obtain the following: —

atoms.

Tungstic acid 4*74 or 1*90

Protoxide of iron 2*49 ,, 1*00

Protoxide of manganese. . . 3*50 ,, 1*40

Which approaches very nearly the following
formula ;

126 RUDBERGE ON THE MEAN TEMPERATURE OF THE GROUND.

/2 Tn. 4- 1| mn. Tm.

But, if we deduce the atomic weight of
Tungstic acid from the last analysis, we have,
26*95 (the whole bases) :

4:' 5 Can atom of base) ::

73*60 fV/ie lohole acid) :

12*28 (an atom of acid)

Approaching 12*25 as nearly as can be
expected from the inaccuracies incidental upon
experiments. Employing 12*25 then, as the
atom of tungstic acid, and calculating as before
we get. atoms.

Tungstic acid 6*00 or 2*41 nearly 2^

Protoxide of iron 2*49 ,, 1*00 ,, 1^

Protoxide of manganese 3*50 ,, 1*40 l|

represented by the formula,/ Tn. -j- la Tn.

The diiference between this and former
analysis would lead to the opinion that they
M^ere different species, since both that of
Berzelius and the present one agree exceed-
ingly well, with the atomic proportions
deduced from the formulae by which they are
represented.

Great doubt still hangs about the atomic
weight of tungstic acid, _ and further experi-
ments are required to elucidate the subject.

ON THE MEAN TEMPERATURE OF

THE GROUND AT VARIOUS DEPTHS.

By f. Rudberge.*

At the end of December 1832, three ther-
mometers, by my suggestion, and at the
expense of the Academy of Sciences at Stock-
holm, were put in the ground at that place.
They were filled with mercury, and were
compared while in the vertical position with
an accurate thermometer, so that the influ-
ence of the mercurial column was provided
against. The thermometers were placed in
glass tubes, which were shut at the bottom
by perforated stoppers, and filled with fine
sand. The depths at which the balls of three
thermometers were placed, were one, two,
and three feet respectively. The place where
they were buried lies in the middle of that
considerable plain on which the astronomical
and now also the magnetical observatories are
situated.

The observations began in December of
the above year; but during the first six months
they were made only onee a day. After that,
however, the thermometers were observed
three times in the day, at 6 a. m. and at 2
and 9 r. M. As the natural equilibrium of
temperature would of course be disturbed by
digging up the earth, and a considerable time
would be requisite to allow this to return to
its usual state. I shall here omit the observa-
tions of the first half year, and state only
those from the 1st. of July 1833, to the 1st.
of July 1834. The monthly means of these
are the folllowing : —

TEMPERATURE AT THE

DEPTH OF

ONE

TWO

THREE

FOOT.

FEET.

FEET.

1833. July ....

60*548 F

59*000

56*966

August . .

55*616

55*456

55*184

September .

53*924

53*610

53*474

October . .

48*146

48*344

49*262

November

39*002

40*316

42*206

December. .

33*458

35*186

37*004

1834. January. .

29*282

31*244

32*720

February . .

31*316

31*964

32*432

March ....

32*640

33*134

33*440

April

38*041

37*436

36*932

May

48*020

46*562

45*104

June

56*570

54*500

52*312

If we lake the mean of the result of each
thermometer, then will the mean annual tem-
perature of the ground at Stockholm be.

At the depth of 1 foot 43-880
“ 2 feet 43*898

“ 3 feet 43*906

Whence it follows that the mean temperature
of the ground, at least to the depth of three
feet, is independent of the depth ; and in all pro-
bability this proposition will be correct for
all depths, till the point where all variation
of temperature ceases.

The table shews, besides, that temperature
at the end of September and the end of march,
or at the time of the vernal and autumnal
equinox, is the same at all these depths.

Although more observations maybe required
to settle these two propositions, I have,
nevei*theless, thought it proper to draw the
attention of meteorologists to them that they
may try their accuracy in other places.

This mean temperature of the earth is greater
than the mean temperature of the air at
Stockholm, which is only 42*24 F.

ASHMOLEAN SOCIETY OF OXFORD,
1835.

THE FIRST MEMOIR PRINTED BY
THIS SOCIETY IS ENTITLED, “ ON
THE ARCHROMATISM OF THE EYE.
By the Rev. Baden Powell, A. M^&c.

It is well known that when rays of light are
inflected by a lens they undergo a deviation,
by which they are prevented from concentrat-
ing in the same point or focus. This aber-
ration gives origin to the production of colour
at the foci of lenses, and constituted a great
imperfection in refracting telescopes until the
discovery was made, that a compensation for
the deviation of the rays of light might be
effected by employing compound lenses. Those
telescopes in which this improvement was in-
troduced were termed achromatic. Now, as
there appears no compensation in the eye
for this aberration, it is natural to inquire into
the reason of our seeing objects without pris-
matic colour. Such is the question which
Professor Powell undertakes to investigate in
the present paper. He presents vis first with

* From Fogg. Ann. xxxiii. 351.

INTERESTING FACTS REGARDING THE HISTORY OF THE WASP.

127

the opinions of various philosophers in refer-
ence to the subject, and then supplies us with
inferences drawn from his own experiments.
D’ Alembert admitted the want of achroma-
tism in the eye, but considered the aberration
very small. Euler held an opposite opinion,
and Dr. Maskelyne refuted the arguments of
Euler. Dr. Wells has observed that the eye
has no principle of achromatism, and Sir
David Brewster says that “no provisionis made
in the human eye for the correction of colour,
because the deviation of the differently coloured
rays is too small to produce indistinctness
of vision.” Mr. Coddington states that
the eye, when employed in its natural and pro-
per manner, is achromatic. The fact is, that
we see objects without the slightest degree
of pi-ismatic colour or indistinctness. The
question then is, how can this be reconciled
with theoretical considerations ? Mr. Powell,
by ingenious calculations, has inferred that
in such a combination as the eye, exact achro-
matism is perfectly possible in theory, and
that the principle of its achromatism, although
not effective in oblique excentrical rays, may
be in general achromatic for direct rays. He
give^ the results of a series of experiments,
in which he has “endeavoured to ascertain
directly the actual prismatic dispersions of
the crystalline, and vitreous humours, by mea-
suring micrometically the separation of the
different parts of the spectrum of a line of
light produced by looking through a prism
formed of each medium, from the eye of an
ox, between inclined glass plates.” From
which he concludes “ that the media of the
eye have as neaidy as possible those disper-
sive powers and relations of indices for the
different rays, which theory requires for pro-
ducing achi-omatism by means of a single lens,
when the focus is formed in a dense medium,”
Mr. TWISS of UNIVERSITY COLLEGE
EXHIBITED SOME SPECIMENS OF
THE PAPYRUS FROM SYRACUSE.
Fehruary 1.3, 1835. — Both in its natural
and manufactured state. He read some obser-
vations upon it, describing the locality
where the plant grows on the banks of a
small stream issuing from the fountain of
Cyane, near Syracuse. It is now manufac-
tured merely as a curiosity.

Some discussion took place on the sup-
posed identity of the pap3u-us with the lotus.
Mr. TWISS EXHIBITED TO THE SO-
CIETY A SERIES, ALMOST COM-
PLETE, THE SILVER AND BRONZE
COINS OF THE ROMAN REPUBLIC,
AND READ A DISSERTATION UPON
THEM. — In this paper the author com-
mences with observing the gradual decline in
weight of the As from the time of the kings
through the successive ages of the republic.
The value of the copper is compared with
that of the silver coinage ; and the author is
of opinion that the rise in the value of copper
is chiefly accounted for from the diminution
of the supply, both from the exhaustion of
the mines, and the interruption of the com-
merce with the Carthaginians, as well as
from the circumstance of copper being
re-exported to Sicily; these causes acting moi^

powerfully about the time of the second Punic
war, when the As was diminished to an
ounce, from its original weight of ten ox-
twelve. The last diminution, to half an
ounce, took place in the time of Sjdla. Sil-
ver was introduced into the currency after
the conquest of Compania and Lower Italy.
Obsei’vations are made on the silver coinage;
and particularly on the devices appearing on
them : and the author then gives a general
sketch of theiinancial arrangements, and state
of the currency, at successive periods of the
Roman history.

A PAPER WAS READ BY THE REV.

E. T. BIGGE OF MERTON COLLEGE

ON THE NATURAL HISTORY OF

THE WASP,

February — The object of this paper

was to correct the mistakes into which several
writers have fallen, and to state the results
of the author’s own observations on two spe-
cies, the. Vpspa Vulgaris and Vespa Britan-
nica.

The former is common in all parts of the
kingdom ; the latter, though occasionally
met with in the southern coxxnties of Eng-
land, is abundant in the northern districts,
and in Scotland, as well as in the northern
parts of Europe, The V Vulgaris of Lin-
neus is the V Britannica, the French having
called tiiat species vulyaris, which was most
common, and which formed its nest in the
groxxnd. The V Vulgaris of the present
entomologists is the'V Gallica of Linneus.

Leach gave the name Vespa Britannica to
the tree wasp. The points of difference
beween the two species are as follows : —

1. The ti-ee wasp (V Britannica) has a red-
dish-bi'own spot near the point of insertion
of the wings, which is seldozn visible in dried
specimens,

2. In the males and neuters the base of the
antennae is yellow on the outer side, instead
of being entirely black, as on the ground
wasp, but the females often present excep-
tions to this distinction.

3. The tree wasp has two yellow spots on
the back part of the corslet, while the ground
wasp has from foxir to six,

4. The spots on the abdomen of the tree
wasp are not so much detached from the
black bands as in the other scocies, and less
so in the males than the females . Linneus
drew a distinction between the hornets (V
Crabro) and the true wasps, founded on these
marks, which cannot be considered as decisive,
because they vary in different individuals.

5. The tree wasp has more black upon the
body generally than the other species.

6. The tree wasp is rather lai-ger. 7. The
organs of generation in the males of the two
species vary considerably. 8. The abdomen
in each species contains the same number of
x-ings, viz. six in the females and neuters, and
seven in the males.

Mr. Bigge states some intei-esting facts in
illustration of the natural history of both
species. Societies of wasps, as of bees, con-
sist of three different classes of inhabitants,
males, females, and neutei-s. The females,
which are much larger than the others, are

i‘28 A PECULIAR KIND

the large breeding wasps which appear in the
spring. The neuters, or imperfectly deve-
loped females, are the common wasps which
infest onr houses and gardens, and form the
majority of the colony. The males, about the
size of the neuters, have longer antennae, a
more slender form, and are destiLite of a
sting. The females, which alone survive the
winter, early in the spring, having fixed on
a suitable place for a nest, form a few cells,
in which they lay the eggs of neuters only.
Each nest is the work of a single female.
The nests are often suspended from the beam
of a shed, from the eaves of a house, from
the branch of a young tree, or in a thorn
hedge,

Mr. Bigge has observed them in the
Scotch fir, elm, and beech, very frequently
in larch trees, and still more so in gooseberry
bushes, but never in the silver fir, as stated
by Mr. Renni.*

The nest consists of fi'om ten to sixteen
layers of a paper like substance, procured
principally from fir wood, and disposed one
over the other in such a manner that each
sheet barely touches the next. The struc-
ture enables it to resist the havicst rains.
In its earliest state it does not exceed an
inch in diameter, and contains five or six
cells only.

It is formed of two semicircular layers of
the paper, the upper one projecting a little
over the other, so as to shoot off the rain, a
hole being left at the bottom large enough
to admit the female wasp. As soon as the
first workers quit their cells, they begin
the task of enlarging the nest, and of adding
fresh layers of cells, in which the female
immediately deposits more eggs. Mr, Bigge
states that the nest is enlarged from one
inch to twelve in diameter, and considers
that Leach is in error when he affirms that
wasps build two nests in the year.

Is not the loose structure of the external
covering intended to facilitate its expansion ?

The egg is hatched in eight days, and then
assumes the form of a grub. It is then fed
by the female for thirteen or fourteen days,
when the grub covers the mouth of its cell
with a silky substance. It remains in this
state for nine days, and then eats its way
through the covering and joins the rest in
the labours of the nest. As soon a& the
neuters are hatched the care of feeding the
larvae devolves upon them. The males
appear to employ themselves in cleaning and
preparing the cells for successive broods.

Mr. Bigge has never found, in any single
instance, a male larva in the cells appropid-
ated to females. He has repeatedly found
male grubs in the upper layers, which are
devoted to neuters, but never the contrary.
The beautiful arrangement by which the lay-
ers in the nest are attached to each other so
as to allow room for the wasps to walk
between them deserves attention. In the

* I have frequently observed nests situated
on wild I'ose hushes (Rosa tomentosa and canina,')
(in Scotland. The choice ofthese shrubs hy the
wasps is probably to be ascribed to the facilities
which they afford for obtaining- food. Enix.

OF WASP’S NEST.

ground nests the supports or braces ave
round, like small columns, and dispersed at
irregular distances. The upper end is spreoed
along the edges of three cells so as to <livide
the pressure, and yet allow room for the
grubs to work their way out when they are
of pillar like braces, thin slips of the paper
of which the whole nest is composed but made
stilfer for this purpose, are continued along
the edges of a number of cells, so as not to
interfre with the inmates, and are finally
fixed to the layer below.

The autnor has never seen a nest of either
species, in which he did not observe after &
o’clock in the summer months, a sentinel
watching the entrance to the hive. He has
sometimes thought, that he could discern a
second ^entincl, behind the first one. A lan-
tern held near the sentinel does not disturb
him, but on touching the ground near him,
he instantly disappears for a few seconds,
and the inhabitants sally out immediately.^
Several wasps pass the night in sum-
mer on the outside of the tree nest, but the
centinel is notwithstanding always at his
post.

The ground nest has two apertures, one
for entry, and the other for exit. The tree
nest has usually only one, but in large colo-
nies there are two, at each of which a senti-
nel is stationed. It is curious, that, if we
stop up a wasp’s nest, the returning wasp
will not sting the aggressor, while those
which escape from th e inside will attack him
instantly. The grub of a species of volucella
is found in the nests of wasps. An ichneu-
mon as large as the wasp itself, with a black
head, yellow abdomen with a dark streak !
down the back, black legs, and under wings, j
and dusky upper wings has been observed I
by Mr. Denison, and another (Anomalon
Vesparum) by Mr. Wood.

Mr. Twiss mentioned a peculiar kind of
wasp’s nest which he had observed on the
Cactus in Sicily. The author suggested
the query, whether it was not the Epipone
Fidulans, sometimes found also in England.

CTo be continued.)

PLATE-GLASS. — A French paper states,
that the largest piece of plate glass ever
manufactured has just been finished at St.
Gobiu. It is 175 French inches high by 125
wide. At the last Exhibition at the Louvre,
the largest plate shown was 155 inches hy 93
THERMOMETERS. — Professor Johnson
exhibited some alcohol and mercurial ther-
mometers constructed by him of large size
and admitting of graduation to hundredths
and even two hundredths of a degree Fahr.
He showed a curious fact not noticed in des-
criptions of the thermometer, namely, that
the first effect of heat on one of these instru-
ments is to cause a fall in the liquid, and
the reverse on reducing the temperature —
effects produced as was explained by the
expansion and contraction of the glass. —
Monthly Meeting Franklin Institute.

129

THE PRINCIPLE OF TWIN BOATS AND THEIR USEFULNESS.

SAILINO AND ROWING TREBLE BOAT.

==

cr.

r

JLi

h 1

L_i

Sir, — I beg tlirougb the medium of your
valuable journal to show to the public one
way by which the principle of twin-boats may
be applied, if not to any extent of usefulness
at least in making an addition to the recrea-
tions of amateur’s in rowing and sailing, and,
therefore recommended to those who are
fond of both.

The plan in question has for its object
to unite sailing and rowing, in the most
convenient manner, so that any person or
club possessing a rowing-boat of any des-
cription, from a twelve-oared galley to a
wherry or skiff, may contrive to make a
good sailing-boat, and still have her in rea-
diness for use as a rowing-boat, perfectly
unencumbered with masts, sails, ballast,
&c. ; in fact, in the same state as if she
had not been used for sailing.

The proposed sketches will sufficiently
elucidate my meaning, it being quite unne-
cessary to determine upon the shape, size, or
dimensions, of the twin-boats, which may
be formed to suit all fancies, for the attain-
ment of whatever good quality they may be
required to possess.

AA are the twin-boats, which may be of
such capacities and distances asunder as
may be judged proper for stability. B is
the row-boat, which is placed in the centre
between the others, and secured to the beams
by screws passing through them into her
gunwales, or by their passing through the
beams with screw nuts, or any other simple
and convenient method, thus forming a treble-
boat. Although the central boat offers her-
self conveniently enoughfor housingthe mast,
I do not take advantage of it, beceuse it
would be a hindrance to using the boat
with dispatch ; besides, it is of little conse-
quence, as owing to the great spread of the

rigging, very little housing would be neces-
sary, a wooden shock fixed to one of the
beams, or a low thwart from one beam to the
other, would answer every purpose. Fig. 2
shows how she may be rigged as a cutter,
for instance, and she is represented as sail-
ing directly before the wind, with her bow-
sprit, containing her fore-sail and jib spread
over on the opposite side of her main-sail,
which is made to revolve at its inner end C,
fig. 1 ; and when the boat is sailing upon a
wind, it is secured to the stern by a clamp,
by which method the necessity of a square
sail is avoided, a plan of this nature being
manageable enough upon a small scale ; how-
ever, as the rigging part has nothing to do
with the first intention of the plan. I leave
that entirely to the judgment of the amateur.

After the above explanation, it will be
readily imagined that the central boat is
always in a state of readiness, and when
it is considered that the largest class of yacht
cutters cannot conveniently stow a large,
galley, the convenience of the plan is obvi-
ous ; by way of an example, I will suppose
a club of gentlemen having a rowing galley,
and being desirous of making a long excur-
sion coastwise, or from one river to another,
now instead of over-fatiguing themselves by
rowing the whole of the distance, they might
anchor the treble-boat in a place of security
at the mouth of one river, and row up the
other, which latter may be supposed to be
too narrow for the treble-boat to work up,
and the same i-easoning would hold good for
those who possessed Thames, wherries, or
small skiffs. As the twin-boats would be
decked out and made water-tight, the sail-
ing would be attended with the safety of a
life-boat. When the treble-boats, too, were
on such scale as, to exceed the length of 25
feet, the twin-boats would then be capacious
enough for the accommodation of sleeping-
berths, — small cabins, as their owners might
think fit, properly shut in with hatch-ways.

I can recommend the plan the better from
having fried it ; therefore, an observation or
two, as to how she works, may not be amiss.
The display of good judgement all depends
upon the distance of the twin-boats from
each other, together with their capacities
suiting whatever weight of mast, rigging,
and quantity ofconvass it is proposed to give
the boat.

Should the twin -boats be of small capaci-
ties and too far asunder, the longitudinal
stability or liability to turn over in sailing
before the. wind may be less than the lateral,
or that required in sailing upon a wind ; this
is the point in which the stability differs so
widely from single boats. I have read in
some publication that it would be next to
impossible for a twin-boat to be upset, but
that is a fallacy, as any vessel maybe masted
and rigged in proportion to her stability,
which I have learnt by experience for having
so masted my treble-boat, as to oblige me to
take in reefs when other vessels did, I was
once all but upset ; the lee boat was appa-
rently entirely submerged, audit is clear that
the maximum of stability must be in that

130

PROGRESS OF SCIENCE AND ARTS IN AMERICA.

situation, with the whole weight of the wea-
therboat suspended in the air,, when, if sail
be not immediately reduced, a rapid capsize
must follow, unlike to a well-ballasted boat
which would be finding her equilibrium. It
is true that a treble-boat may be under-mast-
ed for her stability and still answer every pur-
pose, and then her comparatively superior
stability would become her best coasting
quality, and if with a moderate breeze she
outsailcdevery other boat of her length, that
Avould certainly be the most prudent course
to adopt. I only mean to remark, that tre-
ble-boats similarly to single ones may be
adapted either for safety, convenience, or
racing, and that many good qualities are only
attainable but at the expense of others.

The experience which I gained with my
treble-boat (14 feet only in length) was, that
in sailing free or before the wind, she flew past
every other boat, and she forereached and
worked w^ell to wind-ward, but did not hold
abetter Avind than in common, which I ascribed
to the circumstance of her stability haAing
been gained by great breadth of beam with no
AA'eight of ballast, and, consequently, her pre-
senting above the Avater-line so much more
surface of hull than a Avell -ballasted single
boat Avould have done; however, there is no
determining upon the achievements of a boat
of larger dimensions than mine. I had only
two strong beams to unite my little treble-
boats together ; of course, longer boats would
require more, but it is only on a large scale that
it Avould be indispensable to resort to stronger,
combinations of unity, as diagonal trussing,
Ikc. As it is advantageous to have the tAvin-
boats a good depth, and, at the same time, a
proper height out of the Avater, I should
recommend to any person Avho may construct
one upon a large scale, not to mind should the
height of the beams require the central boat to
be lifted out of the Avatcr, or merely, to skim
upon the surface, when she is bolted to them,
as she Avould not add much to the stability,
but on a small scale she cannot so Avell be got
rid of, and her services must not then be des-
pised.

Notwithstanding my haAong said that the
present plan can only benefit the recreations
of a quatic amateurs, that I might not appear
to give it more importance than it merits, I
think that it is one of the many of those
plans which CA'^ery naA'al officer should make
himself acquainted Avith, to enable him to have
recourse to, in case of need. I can conceive
many situations a ship may be placed in, Avhich
would call it into action, especially in the sur-
vey of coasts and rivers in foreign parts, Avhen
at any time with the materials she had on
board a ships cutter might form the central
boat of a very respectable treble one, possess-
ing all the advantages already pointed out.
Again, if a ship were standed on a desolate
coast without the loss of her materials, she
could make all her boats treble ones Avith
sufficient capacities to convey the Avhole of ber
creAv with a certain quantity of provisions and
water to any other place of safety.

I cannot conclude without remarking, what
a pity it is that a book containing nothing but

naval inventions and plans relating to nautical
matters, has not been published for the
exclusive use of seamen, as many plans, parti-
cularly “ make-shift ” ones, Avhich have
answered admirably, and others which have been
proposed are buried iri oblivion, leaving the
officer in the time of difficulty to the resources
of his oAvn mind, unassisted by the labours and
experience of the many.

In the hope that I have sufficienly explained
the plan, and that the above hint may be taken
by some one of your intelligent readers Avho
may have the means of compiling a work of
the kind.

I remain, Mr. Editor,

Your faithful servant,

0

June 12, 1835.

THE RAILROAD SYSTEM IN AMERICA.

The New Brunswick FreeJonian says : —
“Railway stocks are all the go ooaaa a-days
among the speculators and capitalists. A
few days since books Avcrc opened in Phila-
delphia for subscription to the stock of the
Lancaster, Portsmouth, and Harrisbugh Rail-
road. In thirty-one minutes every share Avas
taken, and a large number applied for beyond
the ability of the Commisioners to supi)ly.
The stock of the NeAV Jersey Railroad and
Transportation Company is gradually advan-
cing to its real value. It is eagerly sought after
noAvat 126, and will, it is believed, not stop
mucb,if any, short of 200?. The stock of the
Camden and Amboy Railroad is also selling at
an advance of something like 60 per cent.

POWER OF THE SCREW.— There is
ascrcAv-dockin NeAV York, at Avhich a ship
Aveighing 200 tons can be raised a height of
tAvo" feet in thirty minutes by the power of
only fifteen men applied to the scrcAVS.

PRODIGIOUS FORCE OF EARTH-
QUAKES.— An English merchant ship,
which AAms nearly four miles from the land
(at the time of the late earthqiml^e in Chili) ,
and going seven knots, seemed in a moment
to be arrested, and her bottom grated as on a
hard sand. So perfect Avas the illusion,
indeed, that the master Avas in the act of lower-
ing his boats to save the crcAv, considering
the vessel irrecoverably Avrecked on a bank
when it was ascertained that there Avere no
soundings even at ninety fathoms ! — Extract
from a private Letter in the Athenaeum.

EVAPORATION OF PLANTS.— Forests
cool the air by shading the ground from the
sun, and by evaporation from the boughs.
Hales found that the leaves of a single plant
of helianthus, three feet high, exposed nearly
forty feet of surface ; and if it be considered
that the wmody regions of the river Amazons,
and the higher part of the Oroonoko, occupy
an area of 260,000 square leagues, some idea
may be formed of the torrents of vapour
Avhich arise from the leaves of forests all
over the globe. However, the frigorific
effects of their evaporation are counteracted
in some measure by the perfect calm which
reigns in the tropical wildernesses. — Mrs.
Somerville.

SELECTIONS FROM THE REPERTORY OP ARTS 1836.

131

SPECIFICATION OF THE PATENT
GRANTED TO JAMES MICHELL, OF
TRURO, IN THE COUNTY OF CORN-
WALL, GENTLEMAN, FOR AN IM-
PROVED PROCESS IN SMELTING
ARGENTIFEROUS ORES.

Sealed June 22, 1835.

My invention consists in the processhereaf-
ter deseribed, of submitting successive char-
ges of calcined argentiferous ores to be fused
with the sidphuret produced by a previous
charge of calcined argentiferous ores in
admixture with sulphur or with iron pyrites,
till sufficient silver is concentrated, or where
the argentiferous ores contain sufficient sul-
phur, then after the first charge of uncalcined
ore has been fully smelted and the slag
removed, the process hereafter described of
submitting successive charges of calcined ar-
gentiferous ores to be reduced and concentra-
ted by the sulphuret obtained by the smelting
of the first charge of the furnace.

Having thus stated the nature of my in-
vention, I will proceed to explain the best
manner I am acquainted with of perfoi'ming
my said invention. The smelter having
ascertained the composition of the various
parcels of ore to be smelted, and having
ascertained the best mixture which will give
the whole when in a melting state the great-
est degree of fusibility, all which is well un-
derstood and commonly practised, he calcines
the mixture so made in order to subiimate
the sulphur and arsenic, and to decompose
the earthy oxides this process should be
continued till nearly the whole of the arsenic
and sulphur are expelled. These remarks
relate to argentiferous ores which before
calcining do not contain sufficient sulphur
for the first charge, and to receive subse-
quent charges of calcined ore as hereafter
described.

Tile argentiferous ores when calcined are
found better for the after process of fusion if
left exposed to the influence of the atmos-
phere for a week or more.

The smelter proceeds to charge a rever-
beratory furnace, with a quantity of the
calcined ore (say one ton), together with the
usual fluxes, such as lime, flour, &c. These
are to be intimately blended with about three
cwt. of sulphur, or otherwise with six cwt.
of iron pyrites. This mixture is to be sub-
mitted to an intense heat until the whole is
brought into very perfect fusion, when the
silver will subside from the sillicates and
other earthy oxides, constituents of the slag,
into the sulphuret. The slag thus freed
from the silver is to be skimmed or tapped
olf very carefully from the surface of the
metallic sulphuret, taking care that as little
as possible of the sulphuret is removed in
the process of tapping or skimming. Ano-
ther charge of calcined ore alone (about one
ton), is to be put into the furnace with the
fused metallic sulphuret produced by the former
charge, and the whole is to be brought to a
perfect state of fusion, the concentration of
the silver contained in the second charge of
calcined argentiferous ore will take place,

the slag is again to be removed by skim-
ming or tapping, and this process of adding
charges of calcined argentiferous ores, is to
be continued without further addition of
sulphur or of iron pyrites after the first
charge, till the smelter considers there is a
sufficient quantity of silver concentrated,
which he will readily ascertain by testing tlm
slag, and when he ascertains it to contain, in
assaying it, as much as two to two and a
half ounces of silver to the ton, he should
stop all further additions of calcined argen-
tiferous ores to the fused sulphnret in the
furnace, as the sulphuret will then be so
charged with the silver as to materially reduce
its powers of concentrating more from future
charges of calcined ore, withoiit leaving the
slags so rich of silver as to materially lessen
the benefit of adding such additional charge
after the slag has been found to have come
off of the richness before mentioned. The
charge of sulphuret is then to be tapped off
from the furnace for a future operation with
lead, for which purpose it must be pulve-
rized (if it has not been granulated by tapping
into a pit of water) and calcined, and it will be
the better for being submitted to the atmos-
phere for a week before submitting the
calcined sulphuret to the further process,
after which the lead may be added and fused
with the calcined sulphuret in another rever-
beratory furnace, and the silver refined by
cupeltation as is well understood.

It should be remarked that each charge
should be well stirred when in a state of
fusion, and afterwards remain some time, say
twenty to thirty minutes, before the slags are
skimmed or tapped off', and also that each
successive charge of calcined argentiferous
ores should be mixed with the usual fluxes,
and for this purpose it will be found desi-
rable to have a large heap of calcined ore,
well mixed with fluxes, as is well understood.

It will only be desirable further to remark,
that in case the first charge of argentiferous
ore in an uncalcined state, containing suffi-
cient sulphur, be used in place of the applica-
tion of sulphur to calcined argentiferous
ore, as above described, then to the salphuret
produced by the fusing of the same successive
charges of calcined argentiferous ores are to
be added according to the process above des-
cribed. I, however, prefer using calcined
argentiferous ores with the addition of sul-
phur or of iron pyrites,, as above described,
but by either means of performing the process
considerable saving will take place in the pro-
cess of reducing argentiferous ores. And I
would have it understood that although I
have stated three cwt. of sulphur or six cwt.
of iron pyrites to one ton of calcined argen-
tiferous ore for the first charge of the fur-
nace, I do not confine myself thereto, but
only state such relative proportions as the
best I am acquainted with.

Having thus described the nature of my
invention, and the manner of performing the
same, I would have it understood that what
I claim as my invention is the process of sub-
mitting successive charges of calcined argen-

132

AN IMPORTANT DISCOVERY IN WEAVING ELASTIC FABRICS.

tiferous ores to be fused with the siilphurct
produced by the previous or first clxarge,
whether such sulphuret be the x’esult of ap-
plying sulphur or iron pyrites to calcined
argenitiferous ores, or the result of argenti-
ferous ores, containing sufficient sulphur as
above described. In witness whex’eof, Sec.

Enrolled December 22, 1835.

SPECIFICATION OF THE PATENT
GRANTED TO JAMES VINCENT
DESGRAND, OF SIZE LANE, IN
THE CITY OF LONDON, MER-
CHANT, FOR A CERTAIN METHOD
OF WEAVING ELASTIC FABRICS.

I, the said James Vincent Desgrand, do
hereby declare that the said invention of a
certain method of weaving elastic fabrics,
consists in the weaving of such fabrics in
any suitable looms of ordinary construction,
with bare or uncovered stiangs or cords of
caoutchouc or India-rubber interwoven, if
necessary, with any of the kinds of spun
threads or yarns which are commonly xised
in weaving, whether composed of silk, cotton,
tlax, wool, or other fibrous materials ; the
said bax'e strings or cords of caoutchouc or
India-rubber being in till cases used ixi the
said method of weaving elastic fabrics, with-
out applying any previous covering of silk or
other thread aroxxnd such strings or cox’ds.

The said bare strings or cords of caout-
chouc or India-rubber lieing in soxne cases used
to form the warp of the elastic fabric, spun
tlireads or yarns of any sxxitable fibrous ma-
terials being used for the weft, or as part of
the weft ; or in other cases the said bare
strings or cords of caoutchouc or India-rub-
ber being used for or as part of the weft,
the warix being composed of spun threads or
yarns. Or in other cases such cox'ds or strings
of caoutchouc or ludia-x-ubber being used both
for the warp or as part thereof, and also for
the weft or as part thereof. And the said
weaving of bare or uncovered sti-ings or cords
of caoutchouc, either wither without combi-
nation with spuxx yarns or threads of any
of the kinds usually woven, in looms maybe
perforxned in looms of the ordinary con-
struction by the ordinax'y maxxipulations
of weaving other fabrics, those manipula-
tions being conducted wdth the aid of
certain precautions wdxich I will hereinafter
point out. The elastic fabiic prodxxced by
the said xnethod of weaving bare or unco-
vered cords or strings of caoutchouc or In-
dia-rxibber will possess more or less elasti-
city in one or both directions according to
the quantity and arrangement of the unco-
vered caoutchouc strings or cords that ax'e
interwoven into the said elastic fabrics ; the
aforesaid caoutchouc coxxls or strings are
formed in the same manner as hex-etofore px-ac-
tised for producing such cords or strings,
viz., by cxitting caoutchouc or India-rubber
into thixi strips, and stretching them out in
length and winding them upon bobbins ox-
reels, where they are left for a sufficient time
until they have entirely or in great part lost
their natural elasticity.

And as- before sTated they may then be
woven according to the aforesaid xnethod
either alone to produce an entirely elastic
fabric or they may be combined in several
Avays with spun threads or yarns of other
kinds of materials to produce partly elastic
fabrics. Byway of example I wall state some
of the kinds of elastic fabrics which may be
woven according to the said method.

For instance, I sometimes forxn the warp
exxtirely of barecox’ds or strings of caoutchouc,
or else it may be partly of such cords ox-
strings and partly of spun yarns or threads
of suitable xnatei-ial, and I introduce that
warp into a loom of an ordinary constrxxction,
which is harnessed suitable for the textury
of the fabric that I intend to v/eave ; and I
work the loom so as to caxxse the w’arp to be
opened and separated by the hax-ness in a
proper order for all the bax-e cox-ds or strings
of caoxxtchouc in the Avarp, as Avell as the
spun yarns or threads that may form a pai-t
of the Avarp, to be more or less covered and
concealed by the threads of the weft : the
latter being, in this case composed of spun
yarns, or thx-eads of cotton, silk, AAmrsted, ox-
other like fibroxxs material. Wlien the Avarp
consists as aforesaid of strings or cox-ds of
bare caoutchouc with spun yax-ns of some
other xnaterial interxningled, the spun threads
or yarns of such material are wound on a
separate yarn-beam from the beam Avhereon
the cords or strings of caoutchouc ax-e wound,
and all the yax-ns, cords, or strings, that axe
to foi-xn the warp, are brought froxn their
several beams through the eyes of the proper
heddles, with suitable arrangexnent to pro-
duce the kixid of fabric desired, whether the
same be dimity, or satin, or twilled stuff, ox-
other of the fabrics vAvoven usually in looms
of known constrxxction. Another kixid of
elastic fabric may be woven by the said
method, by forming a portion of the wai-p of
spun thx-eads or yax-ns of cotton or silk, ox-
other like filamexitous material wound on one
or more yarn-beams, and another portioxi
of the Avarp of cords or strings of bare
caoutchouc Avound on another beam. The
said strings or cox-ds of caoutchouc and spun
yax-ns or threads being properly intermingled
and brought together into one warp in the
loom, axid the loom being so harnessed and
wox-ked, that in the woven fabric, the
caoutchouc cox-ds or stx-ixigs Avill be enclosed
betweexi two complete webs or av oven fab x-ics,
one above them and one beloAV them, the
shuttle being throAvn sometimes above and
sometimes below the caoutchouc cords ox-
strings ; and the order of the opening of the
warp is such, that the spun threads of cotton,
or silk, or other like material in the warp,
or certain of the same, pass in and out fx-om
the upper web to the lower, that is, the same
warp-thx-ead will be found in the woven
fabric to pass over one of the weft-thx-eads
of the upper web, then down between the
berecords or strings of caoutchouc ofthcAvarp,
and under a weft-thread of the loAver w-eb,
and then up again, and so on. The bare
cox-ds or stx-ings of caoutchouc are thus sepa-
rated one from the other in the woven fabric.

THE KINDS OF ELASTIC FABFaC DESCRIBED.

133

by the cotton or other kind of spun warp-
thrcads interposed between them ; and the
upper and lower web are united, so that the
woven fabric produced will l)e a double tissue,
with strings or eords of bare caoutchouc
included between the two tissues, and running
in the direction of the warp ; these two
tissues being sufficiently united and tied
together by the weft-threads to unite them
as one, without confining the strings or cords
of caoutchouc.

Another kind of elastic fabric may be
woven according to the said method by arran-
ging in the loom one or more warps formed
of cotton, silk, or other like spun yarns,
and either using bare cords or strings of
caoutchouc to form the entire weft, or else
by using two or more shuttles, one contain-
ing bare cords or strings of caoutchouc, and
the others containing cotton, or silk, or wool,
or other like kinds of spun yarns. The loom
being harnessed and worked in a proper man-
ner to cause the threads of the warp to cover
entirely the caoutchouc cords or strings of
the weft. I sometimes use bare cords or
strings of caoutchouc, both to form the warp
and the weft, without any admixture of any
spun yarns of cotton, silk, or other material.
The fabric woven by this method will be
very elastic in every direction, and may, after
being woven, berendered waterproof, as will
be hereinafter described. By weaving with
a double warp (in the way before-mentioned
as being used to produce a double stuff with
cords or strings of bare caoutchouc inclosed
within it), but without uniting the two webs,
as there descifibed, by all or some of the spun
warp-thre.ads of each web, passing in and
out between the weft threads of the other ;
and by harnessing the loom in the way
usually practised for weaving tubular webs
for bolting cloths or sacks without seams, I
can produce elastic pipes or tubular webs
without seams ; and if they be woven entirely
of bare cords or strings of caoutchouc they
may be rendered waterproof, by the means
hereinafter described. That is to say. in
order to render waterproof the elastic fabrics
woven by the said method with bare cords
or strings of caoutchouc, without the admix-
ture of any spun yarns of cottom, silk, or
other material, I dip them in boiling water,
or sprinkle boiling water over them, and then
I subject them to strong pressure. The
effect of this process is to cause the several
bare caoutchouc strings dr cords of which the
woven fabric is composed, to agglutinate
together, and thus to make it very impene-
trable to water. Note — The cords or strings
of bare caoutchouc being strained, as afore-
said, to their utmost tension before being used
in the loom for the said method of weaving
elastic fabrics so as to have lost in great
part their natural elasticity, the fabric woven
in the loom will possess but little of the
intended elasticity immediatelyonquittingthe
loom ; but it is afterwards rendered again
elastic by the application of heat, that is to
say, by ironing the said fabric with a heated
iron, or passing it around or between heated
cylinders. The heat thus applied causes the

caoutchouc strings or eords to shorten.
Hence, if they form the warp, the stuff’ will
lose in length by such application of heat ; if
they form the weft, the stuff will lose in
breadth ; or, if they form part, or the Avhole,
of both warp and weft, then the stuff' will
contract in both length and breadth. The
amount of contraction of stuff, in any of the
kinds of weaving above described, should be
ascertained at first by trial, before com-
mencing to weave a large quantity of goods,
and then according to the result observed,,au
allowance should be made in setting up the
loom for the particular kind of stuff’, and the
particular kind and fineness of caoutchouc
cord or string used therein ; that is, if the
caoutchouc cords or strings are in the warp
and not in the weft, the l)eat up of the lay
should be regulated so as to beat up the
threads of the weft more or less close together
according to the contraction that will take
place in the caoutchouc cords or strings of
the warp ; and yicc versa, if the caoutchouc
cords or strings are in the weft only, then
the threads of the warp should be laid more
or less close together in the loom, accoding
to the degree of contraction that will take
place in the caoutchouc cords or strings of the
weft. It is obvious that no precise directions
can be given on this head, but the fact being
pointed out, it must be in the discretion of
the weaver to set up and work his loom
according to the quality of the bare caoutchouc
cords or strings that he uses, and the pecu-
liar arrangement that they may be intended
to have in the stuff that he is going to weave.
Note — I have sometimes found it advisable,
in order to give the caoutchouc cords or
strings an equal degree of tension in the
loom, instead of winding them on a yarn-
beam, to wind each separately on a bobbin,
all the bobbins being loaded with equal
weights, that they may draw off Avith an equal
tension in the weaving. Also to prevent the
puckering, or rucks, or inequalities Avhich
might arise in the stuff, notwithstanding the
precautions taken to strain the bare cords
or strings of caoutchouc equally, I sometimes
introduce at each selvage a cord or string of
caoutchouc or India-rubber thicker then those
contained in the staff; and sometimes a
wire (which I have found better), which wire
is withdraAvn as the work advances, but serves
during the weaving to prevent the India-
rubber cords or strings from being pressed
more at one shoot of the w^eft than at another.
And. note. — ^To cause the bare cords or strings
of caoutchouc to pass smoothly and freely
through the dents or spilts of the reed,
without getting shagged or roughened, which
they are apt to do if no precaution be taken
to prevent it, I apply to them in the loom
when the warp is formed thereof, hogs’ lard,
or other like greasy material.

It will be seen by the foregoing descrip-
tion, that the method of weaving elastic
fabrics, described therein, is applicable to
the Aveaving of clastic fabrics of any texture,
usually wmven in looms of the ox’dinary and
known constructions ; and it is obvious, that
various patterns may be produced by varying

134

EXPERIMENT TO OBTAIN A SUBSTITUTE FOR STEAM.

tlie colours and arrangement of the spunyarns
of cotton, silk, or other material, used in
weaving various fabrics.

And the bare cords or strings of caout-
chouc that form the warp or weft, or both,
or a part of either, in the elastic fabrics
woven in such looms, may be combined with
yarns or threads of any other materials,
with which the quality and degree of fine-
ness obtainable in the bare eords of strings
of caoutchouc may render them fit to be
mingled and worked. On the character and
extent of these combinations no pi’ecise
directions can, from the nature of the sub-
ject, be given, but they must be left to the
discretion of the weaver.

And whereas cords or strings of caoutchouc
have been heretofore used in various ways
for composing elastic articles, as for instance,
by introducing such caoutchouc cords or
strings in the said articles to act as springs,
the same being contained in pipes or cases
of leather, linnen, or cotton, or other similar
material, in the manner described in the spe-
cification of a patent granted to Thomas
Hancock, on or about the 29th of April, 1820.

And whereas such caoutchouc cords or
strings covered by platting, winding, or
otherwise with cotton, or silk, or other like
filamentous material, have, or may have,
been combined by laying them together, or
platting, or interlacing, or netting them
together, to form cables, ropes, lines, bags,
and other like fabrics or articles, as described
in the specification of a patent granted to
Robert William Sievier, on or about the 1st
day of December, 1831.

And whereas also, such caoutchouc cords
or strings so covered with cotton, or silk, or
other like material, have, or may have, been
woven in combination with cotton, or flax, or
other similar yarns, to produce a fabric par-
tially elastic ; but bare cords or strings of
caoutchouc have not been heretofore used in
the warp or weft of a fabric woven in looms
of any ordinary construction, and with the
usual modes of harnessing such looms.

Now I do hereby declare that I do not claim
the use of cords or strings of caoutchouc
when the same are so covered with silk, or
cotton, or otherlike material, wound, platted,
or otherwise laid around them ; or when the
same are used merely as springs, or in any
other wuiy than that I have described herein-
before. I claim only the method, which I
have described, of weaving elastic fabrics
with uncovered or bare cords or strings of
caoutchouc or India rubber in looms of any of
the ordinary constructions ; the said bare
cords or strings of caoutchouc forming cither
the entire or any portion of the warp or of
the weft, or of both the warp and the weft
of such elastic fabrics. — In witness where-
of, &c.

Repertory of Arts 1836.

ON WATER AS A SUBSTITUTE FOR
STEAM.

Mr. Editor, — On perusing Mr. Galt’s
“ substitute for steam power,” No. (129, p.
403, and the subsequent remarks of “ Hy-
draulicus,” No. 031, p. 400, I was reminded
of an attempt made about two years ago by
myself and an engineer, who has since con-
structed for me a steam-carriage, to employ
water on the principle of Bramah’s hydrosta-
tic-press, as a substitute for steam. My
object was to propel a slow heavy cariage as
a substitute for the carriers’ waggons in ])re-
sent use. The experiment may be said to
have failed : the utmost velocity tliat the ex-
periment promised, supposing all intermedi-
ate difiiculties could have been successfully
combated, would not have exceeded a quar-
ter of a mile an hour — too slow for my
purpose. The same ideas, or some modir
fication of them, seem to have presented
themselves to Mr. Galt and to Hydraulicus.,
Should my experiment, and its result, pos-
sess enough of interest to entitle them to
a place in the Mechanics’ Magazine, you
will oblige me by inserting this paper, whilst
attention is directed to the subject.

Having, in the first place, prepared
suitably strong iron stage, and an iron frame
to carry a four-inch iron shaft, with a nine-
inch throw carnk at its centre (the same I
now have in ray steam-carriage) ; there was,
in the next place, fixed upon the centre of
the stage, or platform, an ordinary double -
acting steam-cylinder, 12 inches diameter,
18 9 stroke. An ordinary sliding valve,
moved by an eccentric upon the shaft,, whicl).
valve I now use to govern the ingress and
egress of steam, was used, on that occasion,
to regulate the ingress and egress of the
water. To get over the dead points, a com-
pensating fly, just previously patented by
ray engineer, was added at his suggestion ;
this w^as intended to supersede the necessity
of introducing a second cylinder ; the mo-
tion was, however, too slow to demonstrate
the utility of that fly. After the water,
which was conducted from the pump into
the w'orking cylinder by a two-inch pipe,
had caused the desired motion of the piston,
it escaped through a two -inch eduction pijm
into the tank to perform again and again tlie
same circulation. In' the tank, which w'as
of cast-iron, and firmly fixed upon the plat-
form or stage, was fixed a double-acting
pump on the principle of De la Hire. This
pump is, I presume, so well knowm as to
need no description. In virtue of certain
arrangements for working this pump, by
which it was filled four times, and emptied
four times, by one revolution of its lever or
handle, I hoped to obtain four times the

AN EXPERIMENT WORTHY OF REPETITION,

135

speed that could be divided from a single-
acting pump : these arrangements were as is
below stated. The pump was strongly fixed,
horizontally, in the iron tank. The rod of
its piston was restrained to perfect perpen-
dicularity of action by a strong guide. In
the parts which may be denominated the
continuations of the piston-rod, was a joint
just without the guide ; at about 1 8 inches
beyond this was another, a double joint,
where was united, at right angles to the line
of direction of the piston-rod, a rod from
the lever or handle ; and at about 20 inches
farther was another joint near to the fulcrum,
which was as firmly fixed as our ingenuity
could contrive. When the machine was
worked, by raising and depressing the lever
or handle, the- double -joint oscillated past
the line of direction of the piston-rod. When
the continuations of the piston-rod were in
a right line, the piston was at the bottom of
its stroke ; when these continuations were
at their extreme angle, the piston was at the
top of its stroke. The piston of the pump
was thus worked by an oblique leverage ;
such as is, I believe, regarded as the pecu-
liar principle of the Russel printing-press,
According to theory, the force moving the
piston of the pump, is augmentable to any
extent, by shortening the oscillations of the
double -joint.

By thus uniting the principle of the Rus-
sel printing-press, to be worked by a com-
mon lever — that of the double-acting pump
of De la Hire, made to double its celerity of
motion by an arrangement of parts of its
piston-rod, and that of Bramah’s hydrosta-
tic-press, to move the piston of a common
double-acting steam -cylinder, so as that as
little as possible of the resulting force should
be neutralised by friction, I did hope to
obtain an efficient power, which might be
advantageously employed to propel heavily
laden, slowly moving vehicles. But the

Z is the cast-iron water-tank ; y the dou-
ble-acting pump of De la Hire, strongly
fixed horizontally in the tank, under water ;
X the guide of the piston rod ; W the end
of the eduction -pipe from the working

experiment failed, in as much as the motion
afforded was manifestly too slow for the
purpose. When two men were working the
lever, the engineer dryly remarked, “ the
principle throughout is good and correct, no
doubt ; it only wants a steam-engine to
.work the pump.”

If — in mechanical pursuits, ^is often a
stiffly perverse monosyllable : it sometimes
sticks, like a totally insuperable obstacle,
right in the way of what you would do. If
the resulting velocity had been satisfactory,
the advantages contemplated were numer-
ous. Amongst them are the following. The
stock of water, costing nothing, would have
circulated somewhat like the sanguineous
fluid of an animal, and lasted an indefinite
time. The expenses of fuel, of repair of
injuries from fire, &c, &c., to which the
steam-engine is liable, would have been avoid-
ed. Almost any imaginable force, at all
events any force likely to be required to
propel the most heavily laden carrier’s wag-
gon up the steepest roads in England, would
have been obtained from the bodily strength
of two or three men, simply by shortening
the oscillations of the double-joint ; but the
machine would have crawled more slowly.
When the machine was moving upon a plain
road, or down a slight descent, the oscilla-
tions might have been augmented and the
speed increased. Whilst descending the
steepest declivity, the velocity could have
been entirely governed, either restrained or
the machine quite stopped, through the
incompressibility of the water, at the will
of the men working the lever.

Lest my verbal description of the pump
used be unintelligible, I subjoin a rude
sketch of its working parts. This, however,
Mr. Editor, you are, of course, quite at
liberty to suppress, if you consider that it
is superfluous, or that it would be a waste
of space in your valuable pages.

cylinder, which returns thewater to the tank,,
to be used over again ; « 1, « 2, are the
induetion pipes of the pump, having valves
opening towards the pump, or upwards. In
using this pump for a common well, these

136

THE VALUE OF THE DISCOVERY OF THE PUMP.

pipes may be united below the valves, so
that one tube only may run down into the
water ; 6 1, 6 2, are the eduction or force
pipes of the pump, having valves opening
from the pump, or upvrards ; they convey
the water to the working cylinder, wliich is
not represented. In adapting this pump to
domestic uses, these pipes may be united
above the valves, to form one main, which
may be carried to the top of the house, if re-
quired ; c is the first joint of the conti-
nuations of the piston rod, situated just
without the guide X ; d\s the second or
double joint of the continuations of the
piston rod ; at this point the rod d /*, from
the lever or handle, joins the piston rod at
right angles ; e is the third joint of the con-
tinuations of the piston rod, situate near
the fulcrum ;y’is a joint which unites the
rod df to the lever or handle k', g h another
joint of the lever or handle, situate near its
fulcrum^'.

The fulcri hj being immoveably fixed,
when the lever or handle k is raised, the
double joint d will be moved through the
point dl 1 to d! 2, above the line of direction
of the piston rod; and when the double
joint shall have attained the position of d 2,
the piston will be drawn to the end of its
stroke upwards, near the pipes a2,b 2. By
this motion the pump will be filled once,
through the pipe a 1 ; and emptied once,
through the pipe h 2. On depressing the
handle or lever k, until it regain its original
position, the double joint will travel through
the point d 1 , and attain its original position
at d. The piston will be forced to the end
of its stroke downwards, near the pipes a 1,
i 1; and the pump will be discharged, for
the second tinie, through the pipe b 1, and
synchronously filled, for the second time,
through the pipe a 2. On continuing the
depression of the handle or lever below its
present position, until the double joint d
passes through the point 1 to d 2, below
the line of direction of the piston rod, the
piston will be again drawn to the upper end
of its stroke, near to the pipes a 2, b 2 and
the pump will be discharged, for the third
time, through the pipe b 2, and filled, for
the third time, through the pipe a 1 . On
now raising the lever or handle until it shall
have regained its original position, (when it
will have completed just one revelation,)
the double joint will pass through the point
d 1 , below the line of direction of the piston
rod, to its original position at d ; and the
piston will be forced again to its original
position near the pipes a 1, b \. By this
motion the pump will be emptied, for the
fourthtime, through the pipe b 1 ; and filled,
for the fourth time, through the pipe a 2^
Thus by one revolution of the lever or handle,

or by one oscillation of the double joint dy
the pump will be emptied four times, and
filled four times. When efficient power is
to be derived from the principle of Bramah’s
hydrostatic-press, the expeditious filling of
the working cylinder is the grand desidera-
tum— the difficulty. In short, from the re-
lations of the two pistons concerned, (upon
which relations the power of the machine
depends,) it is impossible the filling of the
working cylinder can be quickly enough
effected, if the power to be used is to be
derived solely from the principle of the
hydrostatic-press. From this circumstance
arose the necessity of lessening the dispro-
portion between the two pistons ; so as, in
the first place, to derive only part of the
efficient force required, upon the principle
of the hydrostatic-press ; and, in the next
place, makeup in some degree by advantage-
ous leverage, that could be worked quickly
and powerfully, to impress the first impetus
upon the water. This leverage seemed
attainable most easily through the principle of
oblique action used in the Russel printing-
press ; and if obstacles should arise, such as
ascending a steep hill, greater than the
primary force at command could overcome
by full strokes of the piston, the resultant
force might easily be augmented, by the
employment of only the same primary force,
by using half- strokes of the pump, by keeping
the oscillations of the double joint between
the points d 1 above and d 1 below the line
of direction of the piston rod.

Although the combination of levers for
working the pump was, I think, unexcep-
tionable, and might be advantageously used
on some occasions, still the experiment, on
the whole, failed.

If there be any originality in the combina-
tion, I have no desire do reap any advantage
from it by way of patent. I should,
indeed, more desire to hinder any one else
from so doing ; first, by offering herein the
unlimited use of it to any one who may
chance to see its utility and applicability ;
and, secondly, by stating, that I have lately
constructed another pump upon nearly the
same plan. This pump, during the summer,
I have had fixed half-way down in a deep
well — the surface of the water being o6 feet
below the surface of the earth, and I have
carried the eduction pipe, or main, up to
near the top of an adj oining chimney. From
the main go lateral pipes, of less diameter,
to coppers, sinks, dairy, &c.

This pump raised water faster than either
of the cocks upon the lateral branches would
deliver it, whilst subject to only the pres-
sure of the atmosphere. The water then
accumulated in the main, more or less,
according to the strength and activity of the

AS A SUBSTITUTE FOR FIRE ENGINES.

137

pumper. The weight of the column of
water in the main, which kept augmenting
only until it reached a point now to be
noticed, was adding continually its pressure to
the weight of atomosphere, by which the
delivery was accelerated by the cocks upon
the lateral branch, turned on till it attained
a point of equilibrium- — a point at which
the cock upon the lateral branch, although
of less diameter than the main, or the barrel
of the pump, delivered water just as fast
the pump could raise it.

When all the cocks upon the lateral
branches were turned off, the discharge up at
the chimney, at the top of the main, was so
profuse and forcible, that it led me to expect
that, if a pump of this description were fixed
in every house, and a flexible or hose pipe
fitted by an union joint to the end of the
main, or at some more convenient part, it
might, in the case of fire in the establish-
ment, be of considerable use as a fixed
fire-engine, as well as serve the purposes of
an ordinary pump for domestic uses.

Ka-ppa.

.Sept. 21, 1835.

ELECTRO-MAGNETIC MOVING
POWER.

that the model would continue working.
The acid best suited to the purpose was a
mixture of one part nitric acid, two parts
sulphuric, and one hundred water ; he also
stated that the acid in practice could be
always renewed by having a constant drop-
ping of fresh acid liquor into the trough,
while a similiarly gentle discharge of the
spent acid from the trough could be kept up.
He stated, that a numerical comparison of
the economy of this mode of producing
motive power with that depending upon the
agency of steam, would give a vast prepon-
derance in favour of this method, w^hile the
part of the power’ consumed in w^orking the
machine itself might be left entirely out of
account, since the apparatus which changed
the poles in his model, would equally suffice
in a machine capable of working with the
power of one hundred horses. In his model
he only worked one of the two soft iron
magnets, and its power was only that of
lifting seven pounds, and yet this appeared to
be sufficient to overcome all the friction,
inertia, and other impediments to motion, of
the several parts of the machine.

The exhibition of this model was received
with sincere and reiterated applause, and
many scientific men present expressed san-
guine cxpeetations of the value of the method
in a practical point of view, all agreeing that
it was the best attempt yet made of the many
schemes that had been proposed for produc-
ing motive power by the electro-magnet. —
Athencewm.

British Association, — Section of Mathematics
and General Physics.

The Rev. Mr. M’Gauleyexhibited the work-
ing model of a machine for producing moving
power by the application of electro-magnetic
influence. The model consisted of a pendulum,
the lower part of which was a magnet placed
with its poles opposite to the ends of two
horse-shoe bars of soft iron, round which
were coiled helices of wire so arranged that
by the end of the helices dipping into cups of
mercury the poles of a simple galvanic battery
could be alternately made to communicate
with the cups in one order, and the next
instant the machine reversed that order by
means of a system of bent wires, caused to
vibrate upon an axis, the ends of these bent
wires alternately dipping into one pair of cups,
and the next vibration into another; by these
means the soft iron horse-shoes are at one in-
stant a magnet’with the poles in one order, the
pendulum being then attracted towards both
these poles, but the next instant, the poles
being reversed, the pendulum is thrown for-
cibly back, while the opposite soft iron horse-
shoe is now a magnet ready to attract it ;
then again it is thrown back from this second
temporary^ magnet by the instantaneous
reversing of its poles, and so on. The model
worked smoothly and with a very uniform
regulated motion, and appeared to be capa-
ble of working for a great lenth of time.
Mr. M’Gauley stated that the erosion of the
zine plate was so inconsiderable, that there
•v\ras hardly any limit to the length of time

PAINTED BINDING.— Many beautiful
subj ects may be formed on the sides of books by
the workman skilled in painting. The volume
is prepared by being pastewashed, so as to
present an uniform fawn colour, the desings
slightly traced, and afterwards coloured accord-
ing to the pattern, the colours being mixed to
the proper shade with water. The shades
must be tried on pieces of refuse leather, as,
being spirit colours, when once laid on, no art
can soften them down if too strong ; and a
peculiar lightness of touch will be necessary
to produce eftect. Portraits, &c., may also
be executed in this manner ; and many superb
desings have at times been executed by
the best binders of this country and France.
M. Didot, booksellers, of Paris, presented
a copy of the “ Henriade,” published by him-
self, to Louis XVIII., most elegantly orna-
mented in this style. It was executed by Mr,
Bellier bookbinder, of Tours, and presented
on one side a miniature portraite of Henry IV.
and on the a similar one of Louis XVIII. , both
perfect likenesses. The greatest difficulty con-
sisted in the portraits, which were first
imprinted on paper, very moist, and immediatly
applied to the cover, on which they were
impressed with a fiat roller. When perfectly
dry, they were coloured with all the art of
which the binder was capable, and the other
ornamental paintings executed by hand. This
proceeding requires great care in the execu-
tion ; and will be applicable to any design
where the binding will justify the expense. —
ArnetVs Bihliopeyia.

138

VARIOUS INTERESTING DISCOVERIES,

EMBOSSING ON WOOD.

Sir, — I have been shown some very beau-
tiful specimens of embossing upon veneer,
principally floral and arabesque designs,
upon rosewood maple, mahogany, elm, and
other hardw^oods. The relief is almost alto, and
has quite the appearance of carving. I un-
derstand the invention is patented, but that
the inventon ; or, M. Caccia, an Italian, has
been prevented from bringing it into extensive
operation from the premarily expensive
nature of the machinery, and the jealousy of
cabinet-makers, who declare that it would
supersede carving and enlaying, and so spoil
their business. The process may be so varied
that the relief will be brought out in different
colours ; it is also applicable to the emboss-
ing of cloths, kerseymeres, waistcoat-pieces,
paper-hangings, and things of a like nature.

This is the first instance, as far as I know,
in which designs have been impressed upon
wmod— embossing is common enough upon
card, paper, calico, and such fabrics ; and
unless there be some improvement in the
process, I do not know that the patent will
hold good. Making the parts in relief come
up of different colours, I believe to be new ;
and upon this possibly the patent rests.

Embossed hard fancy woods might be very
extensively and very beautifully applied to the
ornamenting of cabinets, work boxes, &c.,
and to the panels of doors and wainscoting.
Hei-ewith I send you some specimens that, in
the effect produced, you may judge for yourself.

I am, &c.

P. B. T.

November, 1835.

AN AIR VIOLIN. — A newly and ingeni-
ously invented instrument has lately been pre-
sented to the Acadimie des Sciences of Paris,
by M. Isoard It resembles the common vio-
lin, with the strings extended between two
wooden or metal blades ; it is vibrated upon
at one end by a current of air, while at the
'other the player presses on them, shortening
them by the pression of the finger. In fact,
the strings of this instrument are acted upon
by a current of air, instead of the common
bow. The sounds vary between those of the
French horn and the bassoon.

A HAND WATER-ENGINE.— A hand
water-engine, on an entirely new principle,
has lately been invented by Mr. Read, the
patentee of the best of all our garden syringes.
This new invention is very little larger than
the syringe, but it has a tube added to it,
which, being inserted in a pot or bucket full
of water, give^ the instrument all the powers
of a garden-engine, with less than half the
exertion required for working the latter
machine. The power gained is by the condensa-
tion of air in a tube or barrel, parallel to that
in which the piston works ; so that the inven-
tion might not unjustly be called Read’s
double-bai'relled syringe. The whole instru-
ment, including the length of the handle, and
the tube, which can be screwed on and off, is
only three feet long, and the barrel part is but
half that length. The price is only 50s. We
have seen it at work, and consider that, for
all ordinary purposes, it will supersede both
the garden-syringe and the Garden-engines.
— Gardener's Magazine.

[The above-mentioned specimens may be
seen at our office, by any party who may
think the subject worthy attention. — Ed.
M. M.]

STEAM -PLOUGH. — At a meeting of the
Grantham Agriculture Association, Mr. Han-
ley stated that he had seen a steam-plough
at work in Lancashire, which did its work
remarkably well, and turned up an acre of
wet land, at a depth of nine inches, in 1 hour
and 50 minutes.

SUGAR FROM INDIAN CORN.— M.
Pallas lately presented to the Academie des
Sciences of Paris a sample of this substance,
extracted from the stem of the plant, which
has been found to contain nearly 6 per cent,
of sirop boiled to 40 degrees, a part of which
will not crystallize before fructification ; but
it condenses and acquires more consistency
from that period to the state of complete
maturity. The most favourable time to
obtain the greatest quantity of sugar, is imme-
diately after the maturity and gathering of
the fi’uit. The matter left after the extrac-
tion of the sugar, is capital to feed cattle or
to make packing paper.

THE MOON INHABITED.— Professor
Gruithausen, of Munich, has publicly declared
that he has discovered irrefragable proofs
that the moon is inhabited like the earth.
All Europe has answered by railleries the
declaration of the Bavarian astronomer, but his
firmness has been no more shaken than that
of Christopher Columbus was, when he
announced the existence of a new world. The
German Journals have published the observa-
tions of Professor Gruithausen, combined with
those of his learned brother, the astronomer
Schroeler. Their common conclusions are,
1st, that vegetation upon the surface of the
moon extends to the 55th degree of latitude
south, and to the 65th degree of latitude north ;
2dly, that from the 50th degree of - latitude
north to the 47 th degree of latitude south, may
be perceived evident traces of the abode of
animated beings ; 3dly, that some signs of
the existence of lunar inhabitants are suflfici-
ently apparent to enable a person to distin-
guish great roads traced in several directions,
and particularly a colossal building situated
nearly under the equator of the planet. The
crtsem&Ze presents the aspect of a large town
near to which may be distinguished a building,
perfeetly resembling that which we call a
redoubt, or horn work. — [Q,uery — Are there
any mines or railway 8 ?— Ed. Mining Jow'nal.

, /

WHITELAW’S PAPER ON PERSPECTIVE DRAWING. 139

PERSPECTIVE MADE EASY,

Siiv-^The follovmig paper on Perspee-
iive Drawing is intended to be useful to
those readers of your Magazine who want
infoi’mation on that subject, and who are
not mathematicians enough to understand
the ordinary treatises. By giving it a place
in the Mechanics’ Magazine, you will very
much oblige.

Yours truly,

James Whitelaw.
Glasgow, July 27, 1835. ^

1. If a person behind a transparent plane
kept his eye exactly in the same position
till he traced on the plane the objects on
the other side of it, by means of a pencil
carried over the parts of the plane, where
the rays of light reflected to the eye from
all the lines in the objects cut the plane,
the delineation would be a perspective draw-
ing of the objects.

2. Fig. 1 is a ground plan of a number of
objects, marked A B C D, standing on a

UO PERSPECTIVE DRAWING MADE EASY,

horizontal surface : these same letters in fig.
3 point out the same objects in elevation ;
and fig. 2 is a perspective view of them.

3. In order to draw the perspective view,
make first the ground plan and elevation,
as in figs. 1 and 3, then draw a line « i in
fig. 1, to represent the transparent plane,
which stands perpendicular to the surface
on which the objects A B, &c. stand ; and
after this, fix upon the point e, in the same
fig, for the position of the eye. But before
making a full view, it may be as well to
illustrate the method, by finding the per-
spective of the line d e, in fig. 1, which
stands perpendicular to the transparent
plane. The point f, which marks the posi-
tion of d e, in the elevation, is on a level with
the eye. From the ends of the line d c,
draw the lines d c and e c to c, the point of
sight; and the part /d! of the transparent
plane or picture -sheet contained between
the lines d c and e c, will be the perspective
in the ground plan of the line d e, because
the lines d c and e c represent the rays of
light reflected to the eye from the ends of
the line d e. From what is now said, it will be
evident that/’/i shows the perspective in the
ground plan of the part e of the line d e,
and that k d is the perspective in the same
plan of g d, the other part of d e. If a line
is drawn through c, parallel to d e, till it
meets the picture-sheet in i, r d will show,
in fig. 1 , the perspective of the line d e,
if it is indefinitely extended in the direction
d e. For by inspecting the ground plan,
it will be seen that the more distant from
the picture sheet any point e is taken, the
line drawn to the eye from that point
becomes more nearly parallel to c i, and in
consequence of this, 2/ becomes smaller the
more distant the point is taken. Although
we cannot name a distance from the picture-
sheet for the position of the point c that will
make i and/ exactly coincide, yet we can
place e so distant, that the space betwixt i
and y* will be smallar than any quantity that
we can form a notion of, and for this reason
V d must be considered the perspective in the
ground plan of the line d c, when it is
indefinitely extended from the point d in the
picture-sheet, or from the point/in the eleva-
tion on a level with c, the point of sight in
the same view.

4. We now know how to represent on an
edge view of the transparent plane or picture-
sheet, the perspective of any line or part of
a line running pei*pendicular to the trans-
parent plane on the same level with the eye ;
but in order to make a picture, the perspec-
tives of the lines in the objects to be repre-
sented must be shown, not on an edge, but
on an elevation of the picture-sheet. Let
figs 2 be this elevation, and in this fig. drawn

the line a h, which is just a continuation of
ab hv fig. 3, the line representing the sur-
face on which the objects stand ; then draw
a line perpendicular to a h, in the perspective
view, from the point c, in fig. 1, and a
horizontal line c m from c, which marks the
position of the eye in the elevation, and the
point c, in fig.2, where these lines meet, is
the position of the eye in the perspective
view. The points c and i in the ground
plan coincide in the perspective view, as
the line d c stands perpendicular to the
picture sheet in the side as well as in the
up and down direction. And as this line
<?<?has its commencement at the picture-
sheet on a level with the eye, if lines are
let fall from the points dh and /, in the
ground plan, perpendicular to the line a b,
in the perspective view, these perpendicu-
lar lines will cut the horizontal line cm,
in fig. 2., in the points and/, and these
points will be the perspectives of the points
marked d,g, and c, respectively, in the
ground plan. If the points d and /, in
fig. 2, are joined, the line df, will be the
perspective of the line d e ; the part d e
of this perspective line, is the perspective
of d g, part of d e, and a line joining the
points d and c, in fig. 2, is the perspective
of the line deio. the ground plan, when
it is indefinitely extended in the direction c? e.

5. Let the line fig. 1, have its com-
mencement in the elevation at d, one of
the corners of the cube A; its perspective
view is found as follows : — From the point
d,m fig. 1, draw a line do, perpendicular
to the line a b, in the perspective view ;
and from d, fig. 3, draw a line d n, parallel to
a b in fig. 2, and the point n, where the
line dn cuts the line 0, is the commence-
ment of the perspective of the line d e ;
join n c, and this line will be the perspec-
tive of the line de, when it is indefinitely
extended. A line joining the points 0 and
eis the perspective of the line de, if it is
indefinitely extended when it has its posi-
tion in the elevation at the corner of the
cube under d. The point 0, where the
perspective line 0 c commences, is found
in the very same way as the point n was
found. As nc is the perspective of de,
when it is indefinitely extended from d,
in fig. 3, one of the top corners of the
cube A ; and as 0 c is the perspective
of d e, when it is indefinitely extended
from the corner under d of the cube A-
in fig. 3, the triangle wco is the perspec-
tive of a parallel surface, standing perpen-
dicular to the surface on which the objects
A, B, &c. stand, and running at right
angles to the picture-sheet to an indefinite
distance from it. The side of the cube A,
that is, towards the centre of the picture.

THOMSOI^’S EXPERIMENTS IN CALICO-PRINTING.

141

and the same side of the cube under the
pyramid, form part of the perspective of
this parallel surface. The point where
the line let fall from point h in the
ground plan, perpendicular to the line « 6
in the perspective view, cuts the line o c,
is the perspective of the bottom corner at
of the cube A ; and the place where
this same line lip cuts the perspective
line n e, is the perspective of the top corner
g^ of the cube marked A, in fig. 1. So now
we have got the perspectives of the four
corners of one of the sides of the cube in
front of the picture, and by joining these
corners we get the surface np, and this
smface is the perspective of the side of
this cube, that is, towards the object D.
A perpendicular, let fall upon the line a h,
in fig. 2, from the point/, in the ground
plane will cut the lines n-c and o e, so as
to give the perspectives of the top and
bottom corners at e of the cube under the
pyramid ; and the other two corners of the
side of this cube, that is, next the object
C, is obtained in a similar manner. The
manner of demonstrating what has been
said in this paragraph about the perspec-
tives of lines running perpendicular to the
picture-sheet, from any point in it, to an
indefinite distance from their commence-
ment, is shown in paragraphs 3 and 4.
Before proceeding farther, it may be as
well to turn over and read remarks 2, 4,
and 6.

6. We now know how to find the per-
spective of any point in a line that stands
perpendicular to the transparent plane ; but
if the perspective of a point, which is not
in a line so situated, be wanted, we can draw
a line perpendicular to the picture-sheet
through the point, (or suppose a line so
drawn,) and find the perspective of the
point, as if it had its place in this line.
The following rule to find the perspective
of any point in an object, rests upon this
principle. When the perspectives of all
thepoints in an object are found, the perspec-
tive drawing of the object is completed by
joining these perspective points.

To he continued

ON CALICO-PRINTING.

By Thomas 1’iiomson, M. D., F. R. S.

L. and E. &c. &c.

Itegius Professor of Chemistry in the
University of Glasgow,

(Continued from f age 104.)

2. MADDER PURPLE.— The iron
mordant thickened in the same way as the
alum mordant, is similarly applied. The
cloth is then exposed to the air for a few days,

and the iron fixes itself on thecloth in propor-
tion as it becomes peroxidized. The piece is
then cleaned and washed as described in the
last process, dyed in madder, and cleared in
the same way as in the red just described.
The depth of the purple depends upon the
strength of the iron mordant. If its specifiio
gravity be as high as 1*04, it forms a black, as
appears in the three succeeding specimens.

3. This piece shows two different shades
of purple, or rather black and purple along
with red, all dyed at once. The black and
purple are printed together by the cylinder
machine, with two copper rollers, and the
purple is printed afterwards by the block.

4. COCHINEAL PINK.— After the
black in this pattern has been produced in
the way already detailed, it receives an alum
mordant on those parts which are intended to
become pink. It is then cleansed and dyed in
cochineal in a similar way as when cloth is
dyed with madder. The cochineal does not
tinge the ground as madder does ; and there-
fore, does not require, nor is it of sufficient
permanence to bear the same clearing opera-
tions. So much colouring matter does the
cochineal insect contain, that one ounce is suf-
ficient to dye fifteen or twenty yards of such a
pattern, as No. 4.

5. LOGWOOD BLACK.-The same
alum mordant which forms a red with madder,
becomes black when dyed with logwood. The
iron mordant has the same property ; but it
forms a brownish, and less pleasing colour.
Rincing the piece of goods in hot bran and
water, is sufficient to remove the tinge of log-
wood from the white ground.

6. The two shades of colour in_No, 6, are
obtained from mixed alum and iron"mordants,
dyed in a mixture of madder and quercitrspn
bark. The mode of producing the black and
white figures on it, will be explained after-
wards.

7. PRUSSIAN BLUE.— The iron mor-
dant is applied, and the cloth cleansed in
the way already described. It is converted
into Prussian blue of various hues, by immer-
sion in cold prussic acid. This acid is libe-
rated from a weak solution of prussiate of
potash, by an equivalent of sulphuric acid. A
more convenient process for this colour, is
now employed, and it will be explained, when
we come to speak of steam colours.

8. BUFF FROM IRON.— This pleasing
colour is merely the peroxide of iron. A
mixture of sulphate of iron and acetate of lead
is printed on the cloth, constituting in fact,
sulphate and acetate of iron together. After
exposure to the air for a considerable time, to
produce as large a deposit as possible upon
thecloth, the iron is farther precipitated by
immersing the piece in thick lime water, or
in a mixture of caustic potash and lime. A
portion of black oxide is thus thrown down
along with the red, which speedily changes
in the fresh water and air to which it is after-
wards exposed.

9. MANGANESE BRONZE.— A solu-
tion of sulphate of manganese is printed on
tli§ cloth by the copper I'oller. VYheudry,

142

DR. THOMSON ON MALT.

the piece is passed through a strong caustic
alkali, and then allowed to fall into a vessel
containing chloride of lime. This converts
the manganese into sesquioxide. wdiichhasa
strong affinity for cotton.

10. CHINA BLUE.— Indigo may be
fixed upon cotton in a variety ofways. By
having it with orpiment and caustic potash,
it is deoxidized and dissolved. If gum-senegal
or basted starcli be not dissolved in thesolution,
it forms what is called pencil blue, which may
be printed upon cloth by means of the cop-
per roller, or by the block from a sieve of a
peculiar kind. Applied in either of these
ways, the indigo soon recovers its blue colour,
and being no longer soluble, it remains upon
the cloth, while water removes the substances
with which it was mixed.

By another process, indigo in the blue state
is mixed with orpiment in a solution of sul-
phate of iron,anddeoxidized after being printed
on the cloth, by alternate immersions in
lime and copperas. It is known that indigo
in the doxidized or white state, is soluble in
alkalies, forming a yellow coloured solution.
This solution deposits its deoxidized indigo on
the cloth by mere contact. In this way the
indigo which is at first loosely laid upon the
fibres, and easily removeable by washing, is
slowly combined with them, and thus becomes
fixed on the cloth. A large quantity of iron
is necessarily attached to the cloth during this
process, and a continued action of sulphuric
acid is necessary for its removal.

A third process consists in dissolving pow-
dered indigo in a hot solution of potash, and
stannite of potash, or by boiling it in potash
or soda, along with metallic tin. It is then
precipitated in a white state by muriatic acid,
and the precipitate being thickened and mixed
with fresh chloride of tin, is printed on the
cloth. When dry, the piece is immersed in
a solution of carbonate of soda. The indigo
becomes yellow by combining with the soda,
and in this soluble condition, attaches itself
permanently to the cloth. It soon afterwards
becomes blue, by the absorption of oxygen
from the atmosphere.

U. CATECHU BROWN.-This impor-
tant dy-stuff, formerly known by the name
of terra japonica, is procured by boiling the
brown heart wood of the acacia catechu, or
khair-tree. It is obtained by simply boiling
the chips in water, until the inspissated juice
has acquired a proper consistency. The
liquor is then strained, and soon coagulates
into a mass. It comes to this country both from
Bombay and Bengal, It consists chiefly of
tannin, but contains also a little alumina,
which may perhaps assist in fixing the colour
on the cloth.

The catechu is dissolved in acetic acid ; a
solution of copper and sal ammoniac is added to
it, and the whole printed on the cloth. It is
allowed to stand a few days, during which the
colourdeepens very much, and is then worked
off.

CHROME pRANGE.— The dichromate
oflead is precipitated upon the surface of cot-
ton cloth, by printing on it a solution oflead,
and then immersing the cloth in a hot solution

of a chromic salt of potash, or of lime, contain-
ing a slight excess of base; or, it is some-
times obtained from the yellow chromate of
lead, produced from the bichromate of potash,
by abstracting a portion of its acid in hot
lime-water..

To be continued.

ON MALT.

By Rorbet D. Thomson, M, D.

(Continued from pages 99.)

Bigg and bear are susceptible of exposure
to greater vicissitudes of climate than barley is.
They require also less time to attain to
maturity, 'fhus, the averagetimein which they
usually remain in the ground is from ten to
fourteen weeks; whilebarley liesfromfourteen
to twenty weeks. An instance is recorded
where the interval between seed time and
harvest, in the cases of hear, was only nine
weeks; and another, on the contrary, where
barley was twenty-six weeks of ripening. Bear
and bigg in common years are malted by the
Highlanders, but in those seasons which are
un propitious for the ripeni.ng of oats, they
form the chief article of food. Hence, the
legislature have been induced to charge a
duty of 2s. 7d. per bushel on malted barley,
and 23. only on malted bear and bigg. In
1789 and 1799, which were late years, the
whole of the barle'y sown in Aberdeenshire
was destroyed, a circumstance which operated
RO powerfully upon the farmers, that in 180-3,
little, more than 100 quarters were raised,
while from 35,000 to .50,000 quarters of bear
and bigg were produced.

Now, Aberdeenshire consists of 832,000
English acres and possesses a mean tempera-
ture of 4U. 14.

Mr. Forbes Royle observed barley growing
on the Himalah mountains, at an elevation of
8000 feet, the mean temperature of the place
being 55^ F. But some very important deduc-
tions have been obtained by M. M. Edwards
and Colin, ^ from their interesting experi-
ments upon the germination of different kinds
of grain. They exposed barley, wheat and
rye to a cold equal to that at which mercury
freezes or— 38'6‘> F. for 15 minutes, and found
that their vegetative powers were not in the
least deteriorated. They ascertained tliat if
barley, wheat, French beans or linseed were
immersed for a quarter of an hour in water at
the temperatureof I54f, the powerof germina-
tion was completely destroyed, and it was not
till the heat of thewater was reduced to 122«,
that these kinds of grain after being immersed
in it would vegetate. Hence,. in water, 122o
maybe considered the highest limit at which
it is possible for barley to grow. But the
temperature varies according to the media
through which the heat is communicated.
Thus these seeds if exposed to a temperature
above 143g^ in vapour, or 167 in dry air, are
deprived of their vegetating properties. While
wheat, barley, oats and rye, when kept in hot
sand possessing a heat of 113o, would not ger-

Anii, de Scien. Nat. for May, 1836,

STABILITY IN THE NATURE OF STARCH,

itninate. Immersion in water of the tempera-
Sure of 167o for 15 seconds was sufficient to
destroy the power of germination in most in-
stances ; but this invariably occurred, if the
exposure to this high temperature was protract-
ed for 5 minutes. The method in which the
heat operates in these cases, appears to be in
some measure elucidated by the researches of
Biot, Persoz, and Raspail,who observed that
the temperature 1670 is that at which the
grains , of starch burst. Hence, it appears,
that in dry air barley may be exposed to a
range of temperature equivalent to 205o at
least, and^ may still retain its germinating
powers unimpaired.

We have two quantitative analyses of barley,
one by Einhof and the other by Proust. The
following are their results. Einhof obtained
from Hordeum vulgare.

Starch not quite free from gluten 67.187,
Volatile matter9*375, Saccharine matters. 208,
Husk with some gluten and starch 6‘770,
Mucilage 4'583, Gluten 3*515, Albumen 1*114,
Phosphate of lime and loss 2*243

100 000»

Proust obtained Yellow resin 1* Gum 4
Sugar 5, Gluten 3, Starch 32, Hordein 55,

100* t

Tn these results we observe considerable dif-
ferences, which are to be attributed to the
mode in which the analyses were conducted.

Einhof determined the weight of the starch
and gluten together, when they had been de-
posited from water in which the meal con-
tained in a linen bag had been kneaded.

The water from which the starch was
separated was filtered and boiled ; coagulated
albumen .subsided, and by evaporation an
extract was afforded which was treated with
alcohol. It gave gluten and sugar. These
substances were separated by mixing the
alcoholic solution with water and distilling the
alcohol. The gluten felldown, and the sugar
remained dissolved in the fluid. The alcohol
left undissolved some gum and phosphate of
lime. The former was taken up by water and
left the latter in a pure state. The matter
im the linen bag consisted of vegetable fibre,
mixed with a little gluten and starch. The
hordein of Proust was obtained equally well
by means of hot or cold water, which dissolv-
ed the starch and left the hordein in an
insulated state. Raspail considers thissubstance
to be the pericarp of the seed or what we term
bran. The propriety of thisopinion is streng-
thened by the circumstance that there is very
little of it existing in pearl barley. The sub-
stances reckoned by the French chemists as
constituents of starch, viz. amidone, diatase,
amidine, and dextrine, there is strong reason
to consider as products of the analytical opera-
tions.J

It is a remarkable circumstance, in reference
to the starch which forms such a principal
constituent of the seed of barley, that it is
possessed of a most durable nature when pre-

* Gblen, vi. 83, Thomson’s Chemistry, iy,
t Ann. of Phil, xiir 201.
i Records of General Science, i, 196.

served in dry magazines. This fact is illustra-
ted in a very striking point of view by some
researches of the French chemists.* In 1817
a dep6t of barley was discovered in the citadel
of Metz, which had remained closed up from
the year 1523, and notwithstanding that it had
remained in this state for 294 years, it afforded
excellent bread when converted into meal.
A similar magazine was also recently detected
in some villages destroyed by the Turks ira
1526, where the corn appeared to have lost
none of its qualities proper for forming an.
essential article of food.

These though remarkable instances of the
capacity Which the starch of barley possesses
of with standing decomposition, must yield
infinitely in importance to observations which
have been made upon grain preserved in the
collections of M. Passalacqua, That gentle-
man brought from the ruins of Thebes, in
Egypt, some grain, which, when examined by
D’Arcet, Vauquelin, Bailly.and Fontennelle,
was found to be slightly acid, and to contain
Its proper quantity of starch, but no gluten.
Raspail subsequently confirmed the accuracy
of these chemists. When Passalacqua sold
his collection of antiquities to the king of
Prussia, Champolion found between the limbs
of a mummy which he recognised as the re-
mains of Pharoah, son of Marsaroun Main-
oute, or priest of a great tribe, attached to the
worship of the goddess Netpha, the Egyptain
Rhea mother of Osiris and Isis,) a small
brown compact loaf, surrounding a number
of grains of barley, which had germinated
and been slightly scorched. These seeds,
which must have! been above 3000 years old,
were examined by M. Julia Fonteiineile, who
could detect no gluten in them, but found
that the starch, by its action on iodine, was
not impaired in its properties, A little acid
was also present, as was demonstrated by tha
reaction on;

When exposed to the air and moisture,
however, staich undergoes a remarkable
change. M. Lassaigne examined some wheat
which was found in pulling down a house ia
Paris, at the Quai de la Greve. It possessed
a black colour, as if it had been converted into
charcoal. It contained neither starch nor
gluten, but amch ulmine or ulmic acid, Tha
appearance of the grain led this chemist to
believe that it had been partially converted
into coal, in a manner similar to that in which
trees and smaller vegetables have been changed
into coal, jet, and pekt. Wheat found at
Royat, near Clemont, (Auvergne) in ;the
mountain called the Granaries of Caesar," M.
Lassaigne ascertained had undergone a similar
change.

The precise researches of Raspail enable us
to comprehend in some measure the cause of
this stability in the nature of starch. Accor-
ding to him, starch consists of grains which
vary in form and dimensions, the diameters not
exceeding, in maturity, *00393 inch ; but
before they have attained their full size, being
exceedingly more minute. Those of the Hor-
dium vulgare dixe about *0098 inch in diameter.

* Journ, de Chim, medicale, i, 63, gnd. ser.

144

DISCOVERIES IN THE ARTS IN AMERICA.

In each grain, when viewed under the mic"
ropcope, the rays of light are strongly deviated
at their entry and departure, so tliat only those
reach the eye which pass through the interior
of the globule, and hence, they appear as
black balls with a white nucleus. They
consist of vesicles, filled with a gummy mat-
ter, which hardens in contact with air. In
water of the temperature 122° the bladder is
expanded, probably by the increase in vo-
lume of the gum. In boiling waterit is ruptured
and precipitated, while the gum (the dex-
trine of Biot) dissolves in the water. Iodine
colours the grains not by combining with
them, but by merely attaching- itself to the
exterior of the visicles. The form of the grain
is not altered ; for, if inorganic salts capable
of combining with the iodine, and forming
hydriodates, are mixed with the starch, the
colour disa'-'pears, and the starch remains
colourless.'^

The nature of the diates which Payen and
Persoz have found in starch, Raspail explains
in this way: In the act of germination the
grains of which starch consists increase by
successive layers, beginning nearest the coty-
ledon, while at the same time acetic acid is
formed ; now this acid is formed ; now this
acid dissolves gluten, and renders it equally
soluble in water and alcohol. If the flour of
germinating barley be macerated for an hour
in pure water, the water will dissolve the
gum, sugar, and gluten combined with the
acetic acid. When exposed to heat a flocky
precipitate will be produced by the disen-
gagement of a portion of the acetic acid by
heat, or of its saturation by some base,
disengaged from the tissue by the temperature.
Alcohol will increase the quantity of the preci-
jritate. Raspail digested for a few minutes
some wheatflour in acetic acid, at first concen-
trated, and then diluted with a hundred times
its weight in water. It was filtered, and the
liquid poured into a solution of starch. A pre-
cipitation of the tegumentary matter immedi-
ately ensued.

These facts are extremely important when
considered in connexion with the process of
malting, because they exhibit in a powerful
manner the gieatness of the change which is
produced by the slightest effort of Nature's
operations, and because they enable us to com-
prehend more readily the vaiiety of alterations
which the elements of grain undergo in the
same process.

I'he process of malting consists essentially,
1st., in producing a change in the constituents
of grain by inducing germination ; and 2nd.
in stopping the vegetation when it has been
carried to a certain extent, by exposure to
heat.

RECENT AMERICAN PATENTS.

fS elected from the Franklin Jaurnal for May,
June and July last.)

IMPROVED SUCTION PUMP, ELIJAH
WHITON, MASSACHUSETTS.— The bar-
i-els are to be made of steatite or soap stone ;

+ Nouveau Systeme de Chimie organique
fonde sur des methodes nouvelles d’observati-
®n par F V. Raspail, 8vo, 1833, p. 3, 562.

but the principal novelty is a contrivance
for opening both the valves, and allowing
the water to descend to prevent its freezing.
There is to be a sort of spring catch on the
upper surface of the valve of the lower box,
which, when the pump handle is raised to
the greatest possible height, hooks on to a
ring, or other suitable appendage, on the
lower end of the piston, whilst, at the same
time, a projecting pin opens the valve in the
piston, or bucket, and the water necessarily
descends into the well, or reservoir.

STRAW CUTTER, STEPHEN USTICK,
PHILADELPHIA. — There is, we think, con-
siderable novelty in certain parts of this
machine, but it has the fault of too much
complexity. The straw is to be contained in
a trough, in the usual way, and is to be fed by
fluted rollers of cast-iron. The knife stands
horizontally, or nearly so, across a frame to
which it is firmly attached. The lower edge of
this frame rests upon ways, which from an
inclined plane, and, consequently, as the
frame slides, the knife descends with a draw-
ing notion. To cause the frame to slide
backAvards and forwards, there is a pitman,
worked by a crank, on the shaft of a fly wheel
in front of the machine.

PRESERVING TIMBER FROM DE-
CAY, FORREST SHEPHERD, FREDE-
RICKSBURG.— The wood is first to be
steamed, or boiled, to “ destroy the sap, or
principle of decay,” and after this to be im-
mersed in pyroligneous acid, until saturated.
The patentee says that he also preserves
waod from decay, and from destruction by
■worms, by boiling it in a solution of sul-
phate of iron, sulphate of alumine, and muri-
ate of soda; or, in other words, in a solution
of copperas, alum, and common salt, taking
half an ounce of each to a gallon of water.

We apprehend that the foregoing directions
are altogether empirical, and that the paten-
tee has been guided more by his hopes than
by his expei'ience, which ought, in such a
case, to be the result of long continued and
varied observation. A patent was lately
obtained for saturating timber with lime,
which was to neutralize the acid supposed
to be contained in it ; in the present instance,
it is to be made to imbibe as much acid as
possible ; these views are theoretical, or
rather hypothetical, and must not be depended
upon as guides. The present patentee’s
specification makes no claim, otfers little or
nothing that is new, and merely lays before
us several recipes, from which to make a
choice. The saline solutions named will do
much towards rendering the wood incom-
bustible, if they do not protect it against the
attacks of the dry rot.

HORSE-SHOE-MAKING MACHINE,
E. E. RARRE, AND S. FIELD, OAKHAM.
— In the lower part of a very stout orame of
cast-iron, a horizontal spindle is to fun, in the
manner of alathe mandrel ; one end of this
spindle is to project through a collar, and to
carry a kind of chuck, the face of xvhieh is to
be gi’ooved, so as to form a mould, into which
the heated iron is to be forced in order to
convert it into shoes. This moulding face is

DISCOVERIES IN THE ARTS IN AMERICA.

to be about sixteen inches in diameter, and
the groove about two inches clear of its edge.
When horse-shoes are to be formed, the
indentations for two of them are contained in
the circle, two cutters, or chisels, being placed
in it to divide the iron ; for' ox shoes,
four such cutters are used. There are to be
creasing dies, corresponding with the number
of shoes, on which are raised as many projec-
tions as there are nails to be employed. A punch,
or punches, operated upon by cams, and pass-
ing through the moulder are to throw the
shoes out of the groove.

In order to force the iron into the moulding-
groove, there is a roller revolving vertically,
the lower end of which roller projects through
a collar, and bears against the face of the
moulder. The heated bar is to be passed
through an opening, or notch, which guides it
between the roller and the groove, by which
it is to receive its form.

We do not see in this machinery any thing
calculated to remove the difficulties which have
been hitherto encountered in the attempts to
make horse-shoes by rolling. There has in
every instance, we believe, been a considerable
waste of metal, and fins have been left upon
the edges, which not only increase the waste,
but are difficult to remove ; and, after all, the
horse-shoe is not completed by the machine,
but has to undergo considerable forging to
prepare it for use. We predict, therefore,
that it will prove a total failure.

RECENT AMERICAN PATENTS.

(Selected from the FranJclin Journal for
August.)

GUM ELASTIC SHEATHING FOR
VESSELS AND BUILDINGS, GEORGE
D. COOPER, NEW YORK.— The caout-
chouc or gum elastic is to be used “ to pre-
vent vessels and buildings from leaking, and
to preserve the crews of vessels from
the effects of dampness caused by the
salting of vessels.” We are told to
take the material and to ‘ ‘ divide it and run
it into sheets one quarter of an inch thick,
and of such length and width as the owner
or builder may select, or else to import the
sheets read y cast from Para, the place where
the gum elastic is produced.” These
directions are more easily given than
followed, and it would have been veiy
satisfactory to have been told how to ‘ ‘ run
into sheets ” of the desired length, breadth,
and thickness, without impairing its quaility.
To get such sheets made by the persons,
and in the places, where the gum elastic
is produced, would be no easy task ; we,
however, will suppose this to be done, or the
India rubber cloth which is prepared in this
country, by covering canvass on one or
both sides with that material, to be
substituted, therefore, agreeably to the di-
rections of the patentee? this material

is to be applied between the inner
part of the ribs, and the inner planking ;
between the outer part of the ribs, and the
outward planking; between the outward
blanking of the copper and between the
deck beams and the deep planking.” Par-
ticular directions are given for laying it on,
which, we need not repeat. In covering
houses, the sheets are first to be laid upon
rough planks, uniting their edges by dissol-
ved gum elastic, and then shingling, or sla-
ting, over thewhole, “ so that the roof, &c.
is not only water-tight, but a ir-tight.”
There is no claim made, but the thing
intended to be secured by Letters Patent, is
the interposing the gum elastic between the
sheathing and other parts of vessels and
between the boards and outward covering of
roofs. It may, no doubt, be very ad-
vantageously applied to some of the pur-
poses designated, but in others the test of
experience can alone determine its utility.
Under shingles, for example, the retaining
of the water may tend to rot them very
rapidly ; and it is not imposible that the
agents to which it will be subjected when
used under water, may operate upon
it disadvantageously ; it, however, is well
worih the trial.

SELF-OPERATING INK DISTRIBU-
TER, JOHN MAXSON, SCHENEC-
TADY.— Various machines have been
patented for the purpose of inking the form
in the common handpress, without the aid
of a second person ; but, after a fair trial,
they have generally been abandoned, as they
are liable to get out of order, and do not
execute the work as uniformly as by a roller-
body. The machine before us is spoken of
as though it had no predecessor, and the
end to be attained, as though it had pre-
viously been unattempted, which, as we
have already intimated. Is incorrect. Con-
siderable ingenuity is manifested in the
plan before us, and the machine is sufficiently
novel in its construction to maintain its
claim to a patent, but we do not see in it
any thing calculated to obviate the objection
which experience has shown to exist against
those which have been tried. To describe
it without the drawing would be difficult,
and would interest but few of our readers.

RAILWAY PHENOMENON.— On Mon-
day last a gentleman in this town, who had
taken his place in the hindmost carriage of one
of the railway trains from Bolton to Kenyon,
witnessed the following singular occur-
rence : — He was placed with his back to the
engine, and had a clear view of the receding
line of railway. The train was going down
the inelined plane from Bag-lane to Leigh,
at the apparent rate of from 30 to 40 miles
per hour. A man who was standing on the
side of the railway threw a stone about th©^

146

ON THE TOPOGRAPHY OP INDIA.

size of a hen’s egg in a horizontal direction,
and with considerable violence, at the train.
The stone was distinctly seen by the gentle-
man in its progx’ess to the carriage in which
he was seated, and, having attained its maxi-
mum of velocity, it appeared, like Mahomet’s
coffin, to be suspended in the air for a few
seconds within a foot of the gentleman’s
head. He seized hold of it, and h^e describes
the sensation which he felt in doing so as
somewhat similar to that which would be
felt in grasping a stone, in a state of rest,
suspended by a thread. — Bolton, Chronicle. —
[This is easily accounted for ; both the train
and the stone had attained the same velocity.}
— Manchester Advertiser.

NEW HYDROSTATIC ENGINE.— We
have had an opportunity of examining the
recent discovery made by the Rev. J. T.
Porter, of the ’Close of this city, which he
had named an hydrostatic-engine, and which.

when brought to perfection, will in all pr<y*
bability, vie with the astonishing power of
steam. The principle upon which the en-
gine acts is the well-known law of nature,
“ the pressure of fluids.” The construc-
tion of the apparatus is simple, consisting
of four cylinders, two of which act as
pumps the other two as working cylinders,
each of them having proper pistons. The
double-acting power (of the model) is put in
motion by only 25 ounces of water, assisted
by the lever. Some idea may be formed of
the force of the pressure, when we say that
with the stroke of one of the cylinders of
the piston, an ash bough, an inch and a half
in diameter, was broken with the greatest
ease. The rev. gentleman is verg sanguine
as to the ultimate success of his discovery,
and affirms that a ship, laden with the usual
freight, may take a trip to the East Indies
and back, the engine requiring for its total
supply not more than a half hogshead of
spring- water. — Salisbury J ournal.

EXTRA LIMITES,
TOPOGRAPHY OF INDIA.

COMPILED EROM VARIOUS WORKS AND MANUSCRIPTS
BY THE EDITOR

THE TOPOGRAPHY OF ARRACAN

It is difficult to please every class of our readers, and being apprehensive
that the historical portion of our Topography may be deemed irrelevant to a
Medical Journal, we shall give this portion of our labours to the Scientific

Journal, and that vyhich relates to
Medical,

ARRACAN.

(Continued from page 334. J

In their entertainments they have plenty of
provisions; but then they are such as are
neither pleasing t9 the eye nor taste. They
mix with their choicest dishes the flesh of rats,
mice, serpents, and other loathsome animals.
They never eat fish till it is in a state of corrup-
tion, thinking it has the best relish when it
stinks the most. They take of this putrid fish,
after it has been dried in the sun, and, beating
it into a consistency, make a kind of mustard
of it, which they call sidol ; and this they strew
over all their victuals. The better sort make use
of the flesh of crabs, mixt with other ingre-
dients : which not being so rotton as the other
fish, is somewhat less intolerable. They
serve up their meat in small dishes, one
hundred or two at a time, that every body
may meet with what he likes. Instead of
bread they use rice, both parched and bruis-
ed, or otherwise ordered in the flour * Their

climate, situation, diseases, &c. to th®

usual drink is water, or a liquor called au%e,
which is the juice of a tree much like the
palm: and taken from it by incision, in the
same manner as in the other peninsula of
India*.

The people of Arrahan have an aversion to
appear moral even which they look on as
something low; and therefore hire the Du tefe
sailors, or any strangers, to be quilty of
every indecency with their females.

The courtshi p begins by little presents and
interviews ; and when matters are concluded,
the parties confirm their engagements before
the idol, in presence of their parents : the
Talipoin (or priest), of whose sect they are,
performing certain ceremonies besides. On
these occasions there are presents made of pre-
cious stones to the bride : fire-works and
feasts are prepared, accompanied with
music and dancing. The men are allowed.

OviiigU ubi 8upr-

* Sebouten, p. 231,

MARRIAGE AND FUNERAL CEREMONIES AT ARRACAN.

147

meral wives ; they may likewise keep concu-
bines, and public dancers*.

When any fall sick, the physician is sent
for ; but the RauUn, or priest, is the person on
whom they most depend for a cure. They first
blow their breath on them, repeating certain
prayers; and if this does not do, they tell the
patient that he must offer a sacrifice to Chaor
£aos, that is the'god of the four winds, who,
they say, is the author of all distempers. This
sacrifice, called Kalouko, consists of fowls,
hogs, and other animals ; and must be repeat-
ed four times, to every wind distinctly, in case
he does not recover time enough to prevent
the expence. On these sacrifices the priests
feast themselves. But if, after this, the dis-
temper proves obstinate, then the wife, or
nearest relation, must make a vow to perform
another piece of priestcraft, called a Talagno
To this purpose a chamber must be hanged
with rich tapestry, and an idol placed upon an
altar raised at one end of it ; when all things
are made ready, on the day appointed, the
priests, with the sick person’s relations, repair
thither, and are feasted for eight days toge-
ther.

To complete the farce, the person who
makes the vow is obliged to dance as long as
he is able to stand ; and when his legs will
support him no longer, he must take hold of a
piece of cloth fastened to a beam, and conti-
nue dancing till he has quite exhausted his
spirits, and drops down on the spot. Then the
music is redoubled, and the spectators, who
are as great fools as the vow-maker, envy his
happiness ; supposing him all the while he
lies in this condition to converse with the Idol,
This exercise he is obliged to repeat every day
as long as the feasting lasts ; but if he has not
strength to go through it, some near relation is
to dance in his place. In case, after the
Talagno is completed, the patient happens to
recover, he is carried to the pagoda, where he
is anointed with perfumed ofis from head to
foot : but if, on the contrary, be dies, the priest
tells his relations, that the sacrifices were well
accepted by the gods ; and that the reason
why they did not grant him a longer life was,
because they designed him a greater favour, by
taking him to themselves.

Their funerals are no less superstitious, and,
consequently ridiculous: for the corpse being
brought into the middle of the house, the
walks round it, and says over it cer-
tain prayers, whilst others perfume the place
with incense ; and the family beat upon a
broad piece of brass, keeping strict watch at
the same time, lest a blach cat should pass
over him : for in that case be would be con-
strained to return to life again with ignominy,
and be deprived of bliss. Before the body is
carried out of the house, they invite to a ban-
quet a sort of people called Gr«ii, whose refu-
sal causes dreadful lamentation among his re-
lations ; as taking it for an infallible sign that
his soul is condemned to the house of smoke, so
they call hell.. The coffin is adorned accord-
ing to the ability of the people ; and, as they
hold the metempsychosis, they paint on it the

figures of horses, elephants, eagles, cows, li-
ons, and the like noble animals, as it were to
direct the departed soul to the best lodging ;
unless, out of humility, the deceased had or-
dered rats, frogs, and the most contemptible
creatures, to be drawn in their stead, as more
suitable receptacles for his polluted soul. Af-
ter this, the body is carried into the field, and
burnt to ashes. The Raalia kindles the fire,
which the relations attend, clad in white ;
which is their mourning colour, only they
wear a black band round their head*.

At their funerals they have always hired
mourners, who attend sometimes all night as
well as day, and pretend much sorrow. They
who cannot afford wood to burn the corpse,
for it is very dear in this country, carry it to
the river at low water, and leave it for the
next tide to carry it off : but as the dead car-
cases often remain in the river, either sunk or
floating, it gives an ill taste to the water. This
also fills the country with ravens, kites, and
other birds of prey, which not only feed on,
these corpses, but attack the buffaloes, and
other horned cattle ; fixing on their backs, and
tearing off the flesh to the very bones, in spite
of all their efforts to shake them off. The na-
tives not only carry the dead bodies to rivers,
but also expose the living in the^same manner,
when afflicted with grievous diseases, which
they judge to be incurable ; so that if the water
does not carry them clear away, they are snr®
to be drowned. This they call humanity, cha-
rity, and compassion for the sick person;
who, by this means, they say, is delivered
from a most miserable state here, and sent to
enjoy great happiness in heaven-f .

The people of Arrakan trade very little by
sea. All their navigation extends no farther
than Bengal and Pegu ; whither, upon occa-
sion, they send their Teliyasses of war. For
they neither covet subduing the possessions of
other nations, nor of sending colonies into
other parts ; much less do they delight in
foreign commerce. What trade they have is
brought home to them by the merchants of
distant countries^. As the country produces
timber for building, some lead, tin, sticklack,
and elephants teeth, there are some of the
Great MogoVs subjects who trade hither ; and
sometimes they meet with bargains of dia-
monds, rubies, other precious stones, and
gold Rupis; which says our author, are to be
supposed some of Soltan Sujah’s treasure, pil-
fered by the avaritious priests§ : of which
more will be spoken hereafter.

Whatever foreign commerce there is in
Arrakan, it is carried on by the Mohamme~
ddns, who are settled here in great numbers;
particularly zlBandel. Some trade in elephants
which they send to Orisha (or Orixa), the
coast of Choromandal iGolkonda and Persia ,
in return for which, and other goods, they
carry back calicoes, silks, spiceries, and the
like. Very few are natives of Arrakan; but

* Ovingt. ubi siiprp. 570, & seqq.
•f Sellout, ubi supr, p. 337.
i Ibid. p. 228.

\ Hauiilt. ubi supr. p. sa.

+ Schouten,p. S39, & scq.

PROGRESS OF TEMPERANCE SOCIETIES IN THE ARMY.

148

come from other parts of India to settle there
and dress as they do elsewhere.

The inhabitants of Arrakan are idolaters ; on
which account, says iic/iojttegu, they are called
Moges (Q) ,• worshiping devoutly their ima-
ges, made of clay, baked in the sun*. They
are very superstitious, and look on the barking
of a dog, or the like, as the presage of some
remarkable event. On every such frivolous oc-
casion the priests are sent for; who know how
to make their advantage of the people’s folly.
The idols in their temples are so numerous,
that one of them is reported to contain no few-
er than 20,000. They are built in the form of
pyramids or spires. Besides the temple-idols,
they have their domestic ones. To both sorts
they offer victuals every day ; and both are
clothed by them in winter, that they might
not catch cold. They wear the mark of their
household god branded on their arms, sides,
or shoulders. On their anniversary festival,
in commemoration of the dead, they carry in
procession one of their idols, Quiay Poragray
(li); which is carried in a heavy chariot,
with ninety of the priests, clothed in yellow
sattin. Many throw themselves under the
wheels, others hang themselves on hooks
fastened for the purpose, and sprinkle him
with their blood. These martyrs to folly are
in such veneration with the people, that he
thinks himself happy on whom one drop of
their blood happens to light. Nay, the hooks
are taken down by the priests, as sacred
relicks, and carefully preserved in their tem-
ples. From these instances our readers may
perceive, that the religion of Arrakan tallies
with that of the Hindiis, in the hither parts of
India ; and their priests impose upon them no
less by subtil artifices.

Their priests, called RauUn, or Raidini,
are divided into three orders, distinguished by
the names Pungrini, Panjani, and Shoshom ;
something resembling the orders of bishops,
priests, and deacons, in the Christian hierarchy.
The chief of their priests is called Shoshom
Pungriy which title imports as much among
them as that of Pope does at Rome. On him
depend all ecclesiastical causes, and he is had
in so great veneration even by the king, that
his majesty places him on his riglrt hand, and
never speaks to him without a profound
reverence. The place of his residence, or
see, is in the island of Mimay, already
mentioned. All the priest-hood are clothed in
yellow (S), and have their heads shaven.

* Sellout, p. 239- 235.

iQ) Or Moghes. If this be so, we then learn
wbai Ovington tells us, p- 582, he could never find,
whence the kitm derives the appellation of Moghi,
which he assumes.

(It) He is their supreme deity. See p. 580 of
Ovington.— Hamilton says, the name of
the titular god of the kingdom is Dagon» Vol. ii.

p. 28.

(S) Schoutin snys, they wear black, which Is the
colour of modesty, as well as mourning, in Arra.
/can, Voy. vol. i p. 335.

All go uncovered, excepting the Pungrini, or
those of the first order, who wear a yellow
mitre, with the point turned and falling back-
ward. I’hey are obliged by vow to live
single; and, in case of disobedience, are de-
graded : by which means they are reduced to
the condition of laics, and are taxed as such*.

To be continued.

THE PROGRESS OF TEMPERANCE
SOCIETIES AT THE SEVERAL MI-
LITARY STATIONS OF INDIA.

We consider the effects of ardent spirits
upon the health of troops so destructive
that we shall make no apology for calling the
attention of our professional readers to the
progress of temperance societies. We have
just received the last report of the Chunar
Auxiliary Temperance Society, a station at
which more scenes of debauchery and
drunkenness among old invalids were once
exhibited than at any other on this side of
India ; but such has been the effect of a
Temperance Society there ; that out of the
few troops they have recorded no less than
108 members who have stood steadfast. We
find from this report that during the last
year, a branch association has been instituted
at Buxar consisting of 52 members: an
excellent beginning in proportion to the num-
ber of residents. A native Temperance
Society has also been instituted at Chunar,
consisting of 100 members. The following
extract from the report affords additional proof
that these societies merit every support the
Government can give them.

‘ ‘ Another proof, if another were now
wanting, of the absurdity of the opinion that
ardent spirits are necessary to support
strength under fatigue, has been recently
furnished by the members of the European
Regiment Temperance Society, during the
late march of that regiment from Dinapore
to Agra. On this interesting subject an
extract may be given from the first report
of that Society lately published. We quotfr

Ovingb p. 575, & seqq.

FREE SCHOOL EXAMINATION.

tilt whole passage verbatim ; its inaccuracy
•of style cannot impeach the truth of the
doctrine it advocates. “The opprobrium
and ridicule, those who relapse and recede
from the Society are exposed to ; the pro-
bation they have to serve before they can be
re-elected, and above all the noble example
the late march afforded, of a body of 44
individuals (many of them reclaimed from
excessive intemperance) completing a nearly
two months’ journey, exposed to the
extremes of cold and heat, sometimes accom-
panied by rain, without having recourse to
spirits, has made the Society better under-
stood, and in the opinion of the Committee,
placed it on a sure basis, inasmuch as it has
led those who now join, it is believed, to
weigh well what they undertake before doing
so, and confirmed those members in their
temperate habits ; and afforded so striking a
proof, that ardent spirits are neither neces-
sary for increased exertion, arduous duty,
nor fatigue ; that since the arrival of the
regiment at its destination, there has been
an accession of 22 members to the Society,
besides 110 individuals undergoing proba-
tion, giving a grand total of 4 officers, 2
medical warrant officers, 3 apprentices, 38
non-commissioned officers, 129 drummers
and privates, and 13 women.” The Com-
mittee desire to impress the result of this
experiment on the minds of all those who,
standing on neutral ground, still continue
from afar to survey the operations and
regard the objects of Temperance Societies
with the eye of doubt or distrust. Facts
are stubborn things. The advocates of
Temperance ask but a fair trial for the prin-
ciple of abstinence ; let this be bona fide con-
ceded, and they will entertain no fear for
the result.”

The cause of temperance we learn is gain-
ing ground in other directions during the
last year several societies were established
in the Madras and Bombay Presidencies,
oneatTrichinopoly was organazedin Febru-
ary and has 249 members, besides some
Ladies and 22 Gentlemen, who have come
forward in aid of the society with liberal
subscriptions. In conclusion, we beg to quote
a passage from a letter from the Secretary
British and For. Tern. Society, London, to
the address of the Secretary at Chunar, which
gives an unequivocal proof that the hydra-
intemperance is about to receive a shock
from which we sincerely hope it will never
recover.

“ Many persons have attached themselves
to these Societies in America, and many

more, though not members, are acting upon
the principle of abstinence from distilled spi-
rits;— 10,000 Drunkards have been re-
claimed ; 3000 Distilleries have been stop-
ped; 7000 Dealers have relinquished the
traffic; and 1000 Vessels sail without spirits
on board. A Congressional Temperance
Society has been formed of which members
of Congress only are members. Temperance
Societies were not introduced into this coun-
try till some time after their existence in
America. The facilities of diffusing informa-
tion in this country are not so great as in
America, and spirit drinking is more bound
up with the social customs of society in Bri-
tain than in America ; which may, in some
measure, account for the less rapid progress
of these institutions with us. Still the
friends and promoters of the cause have
reason to be satisfied with its advancement
and are encouraged in the attempt. One
step of obvious importance has been gained —
the bringing the subject under the attention
of the British Parliament, and the appoint-
ment of a Committee of Inquiry, and the pub-
lication of the evidence. An effort will be
made in the present session of Parliament to
place the trade under some restrictions. The
Committee rejoice in these movements in the
national councils ; while they confine them-
selves more particularly to the main object
of the Society- — to publish information by
means of public meetings and lectures, and
the distribution of Tracts ; so as to comdnce
the community to abandon the use of spirits
as unfit to be used with safety as a common
beverage, in any country, and thus to elevate
the tone of moral sentiment on this subject.”

FREE SCHOOL EXAMINATION.

Although we had made arrangements to be
present during the whole of the examination
of the children of the Free School, the na-
ture of our professional duties was such as
to prevent our attending until the examina-
tion of the first class was about to commence.
This afforded us an opportunity of forming
an opinion of the acquirements of the Senior
Division of the children. We deeply lament
to say they were such as to produce disap-
pointment, and we may add, surprise, that
after the expense in masters, &c. there
should be such a great falling off. It
was with satisfaction, however, we observed
the children more healthy in appearance
cleanly and better clothed, for which are we
to thank the press? which receives much
reproach, because it unmasks abuse, and
demands on the part of the public efficient

160

MILITARY ORPHAN SCHOOL.

management of public institutions. We
would gladly have refrained from the fore-
going comments, but we trust they wilj
tend to produce greater activity in all
departments of one of the most valuable
institutions at this Presidency. We look upon
the letter which appeared in the Hurkaru
on the subject of the examination and was
so much reprobated as a satire, worthy of
the days of Swift, when the Press was in
bondage and men dare not speak through
any other medium. We look upon that let-
t er as a piece of wholesome advice to those
ministers whose duty we conceive it was to
be^present and take the most prominent and
active part when the education of the poor
was to be tested in the greatest public chari-
table institution in the Capital of India. The
foregoing observations are made in ignorance
of the cause of the absence of our clerical
friends; but this we maintain, that if sick-
ness or other circumstances prevented their
attendance a note to the Secretary to be read
at the Meeting would have shewn to the
parents of the children that it did not arise
from a disregard of the prosperity and
welfare of the poorest portion of the rising
generation. - -

MILITARY ORPHAN SCHOOL.

It will be in the remembrance of our rea-
ders that we stated in our Rejoinder, page
8, paragraph 20, the great difficulty w'e ex-
perienced in obtaining the published general
statements to explain away paragraph 20 of
the general management’s reply, wherein they
say if the numbers of our figured statements
were reversed “ it would he more correct than
at present," and again they add “ and in no
year does the statement exhibit the correct
number they then refer to a table at the
end of the pamphlet in the appendix. Now
we applied on the 30th of May to the Secre-
tary for the general statements, but received
them only on the 10th of June or five days
after the printing of our Rejoinder, and instead
of all the years for which we required them
we werefurnished with those only from 1825-6
to 1834-5. But we have sufficient grounds
to shew that the errors charged against us
are entirely applicable to the general
management. We therefore retort that
no year does their “ statement exhibit
the correct number." The following is a correct
copy from the general statements, the gene-
ral managements, and our own.

Monthly average Number of wards and
Boarders in the Upper Orphan School during
the following years as noted by the General
Management — as by general statments — as
by Mr. Corbyn.

Year.

Gen. Maiigt.
Statement.

Gen.

Stat.

Mr Cor-
byn’s.

1832-33.. .

1831-32.. .

. I66i^ .

1830-31.. .

171

1829-30.. .

.178 ..

1828-29

. 178|..

1827-28.. .

. 176|. .

1826-27.. .

173

1825-26. . .,

179

Now we trust that the foregoing will
induce the subscribers to send for statements
which ought to be found in every Adjutant’s
office, and permit us again to impress
upon the mind of all that valuable opinion of
Locke’s, “ we should not judge of things by
men’s opinions, but of opinions by things
for it is generally thought to be marvellously
strange that an individual could be right and
a body of men wrong; on this account the
great portion of mankind judge men, not
measures.

When our Subscribers examine Para 19,
Page 11, General Management’s Reply, we beg
they will look at statements for 1831-32 and
1 832-33, refer to the monthly average expense
and receipts at the foot of the 1st paragraph,
and they will perceive the accuracy of ouj,
statement. Also in proof of our accuracy in
explanation of 16 paragraph, look to state^
ments for 1833—34 and 1825-26, and with res-
pect to paragraph 17, it is to be understood
that the figures include deposits for boarders.
We have alluded to these figures not that they
have any thing to do with the main ques-
tion, but because such errors have been laid
to our charge. Indeed so trifling were they
that if they even had occurred ; we would not
have deemed it necessary to delay the printing
of our Rejoinder until we could obtain the
General Statements.

TO CORRESPONDENTS.

The following works will be reviewed in
our next, MacCleland on the geology of
Kamaon. Trans. Hort. and Agricult. Society.

Several of our Subscribers have remit-
ted 8 Rupees for 1836, for the Journal of
science whereas the amount is only 6 Rupees
13 Annas being for nine months at 8 per
annum, the balance will be credited.

f

THE INDIA REVIEW

OF WORKS ON SCIENCE

AND

JOURNAL OF FOREIGN SCIENCE AND THE ARTS.

EMBRACING

MINERALOGY, GEOLOGY, NATURAL HISTORY, PHYSICS, &c.

REVIEW

Some enquiries in the Province ofKamaon
relative to Geology and other Branches
of Natural Science ^ hy Assistant Sur-
geon John McClelland, Member
of the Royal College of Surgeons, in
London yund of the Medical and Physical
Society, Calcutta, Oct. pp. 384. —
Thacker, & Co., Calcutta.

It has been said that no man can be con-
sidered enlightened without knowing some-
thing of Geology. Cuvier was the first to
awaken research in this interesting science
in our own country, and in Geology Bri-
tain now presents the first experimental
School in the world. If we would know
the importance of topographical and
geological illustrations, we have only to
examine the transactions of the Geological
Society of London. By means of this
science we learn what are the resources
of a country, what are its mineral and
vendible products, what are the organic
remains in its rocks, volcanos, and other
geological phenomena. It is this fas-
cinating research which takes the man of
science to survey the lovely face of
nature, the sublime heights of the mountain,
and to direct his attention in a pro-
found admiration to the depths of the valley,
the graceful aspect of the plains, the blue
ocean, the broad lake, and the meandering
river, all which come within the boundary of
his enquiry. His view is not limited by the

stupendous rocks which burst the angry bil-
lows : even the pebbles of the deep and the
mountain stream afford to him equal interest.
WhUe tracing the torrent’s source to the
elevated mountain, which receives continual
accession from melting snow, and swelling and
bursting over its natural banks, carries
with it over the face of the plains deposits
of mineral substances as it passes along
and finally forms delta and other rivers ;
his investigations are made on the sure
grounds of mathematical, astronomical, and
chemical demonstrations. There is no
spot where he fails to discover the universal
and everlasting physical records of
diluvial action, and the physical and moral
evidence of the surface of our planet having
submitted at some period or other to the
mastery of the waters. To the other depart-
ments of this important subject we there-
fore add the study of investigating whence at
the depths of hundreds of feet, we discover
the teeth and tusks of the elephant, whence
the remains of other animals which once liv-
ed. But this science besides posse ssing such
deep interest to the Philosopher, subserves
greatly the cause of husbandry as regards
the admixture of soUs, the application of
manures, the spreading of sea shells upon
the sandy fields, the effects produced by
lime, in the tenacious clays, &c. We
could enlarge in rapturous praise of Geology
as it advanees the cause of medicine
and the arts, but we have not space.
Taking this view of Geological knowledge,
it is with no common feeling of delight that
we behold a work, from the pen of Dr.
McClelland, on the Geology of Kemaon.

152

PRESENT STATE OF GEOLOGY IN INDIA.

Dr. McClelland opens his work by com-
menting on the present state of Geology
in India, and affirming that he has laboured
unassisted in this interesting field during the
greater portion of his residence in the
country, and therefore claims some knowledge
of the causes which retard the cultivation of
this science. Such knowledge is of importance
to the scientific world ; and consequently it
becomes our duty to lay it before our
readers, especially those in Europe who are
deeply interested in the physical and
geological character of India. Dr. Mc-
Clelland says that it is painful to re-
flect that we are as ignorant of the physical
structure of the immense empire of Hin-
dustan as we are of that of China and
Africa. But there has been sufficient cause for
neglecting such important researches. The
British Government in India, we lament to
say, has never once to our knowledge afford-
ed the least encouragement to men of science
and learning to obtain information as to
the physical structure of the country. We
look to the labours of a Moorcroft, a Gerard,
and a Burns as sanctioned more for political
purposes than those of science, although,
their exertions, it is to behoped,were directed
to this purpose, and there may be still some-
thing recorded of them which can be consi-
dered worthy of being placed by the side of
similar information obtained in Britain
France, and America. We have some curious
instances of this indifference towards
science, which we have no doubt, will excite
the surprise of scientific men in Britain and
France. Dr. McClelland states on the au-
thority of Dr Buchanan, that when the natural
and artificial productions of Mysore were re-
quired to be known, he was directed to make
esculent vegetables, cattle, farms, cotton,
pepper, sandle-wood cardamums, mines,
quarries, minerals, mineral springs, manu-
factures, climates, seasons and inhabitants,
the chief objects of his researches. Now
we are sure it will be conceded even by the
Honorable Company themselves in the
nineteenth century, that the list savours
more of import and export than the love and
glory of science. But Dr. McClelland

states that a few years afterwards three
gentlemen were selected to survey the then
unexplored source of the Ganges, the only
instruction they received was to determine
the Geographical question.

There is no spot in the world which
affords such materials for rich mineral and
organic treasures as British India. The
strata and sections of the surface of all
Asia are upon such a grand scale that
Geology might be studied with infinite
advantage and without entailing expense
upon the Government. We would therefore
strongly urge upon their attention the
vast importance of giving encouragement
to individuals who devote their time and
attention to it. The man who is enthusi-
astic in its pursuit necessarily makes great
sacrifices ; he foregoes all comforts ; has to
contend in a tropical climate with oppres-
sive heat ; indeed, he devotes his means,
labor, and time exclusively to such
research.

We have often thought that if France had
been in possession of India, how science
would have triumphed. Even under her pre-
sent relation, we will venture to say, with-
out the fear of contradiction, that her scien-
tific institutions have attained greater per-
fection in Indian Geological discovery than
any of those in Britain. She has sent forth
repeatedly men of superior attainments with
this single object. This is so notorious that it
is scarcely necessary to advert to the circum-
stance beyond the bare allusion to the fact.

But we must pass on, not however
without the expression of deep regret at the
existence of such heartlessness on the j
part of the ruling power as has been hitherto
displayed in the cause of science. Of
which we shall afford ample proof imme-
diately. But notwithstanding we altogether
oppose the following proposition. Our author
observes that the first great step in improve-
ment would be the organization of Geologi-
cal Societies in different parts of India.

In order to give them practical effect, and
to deprive them of the character of mere
amateur societies, their expense should be
borne by the state, and members thus freed
from subscribing aught but their labours to
their support. Libraries, consisting of all

GEOLOGY HAS NOT BEEN ENCOURAGED BY GOVERNMENT.

153

the standard works on natural history, should
be furnished at the expense of government,
as well as all kinds of philosophical instru-
ments and chemical apparata.”

We are unquestionably of opinion that the
less scientific institutions have to do with
Government the better: such a con nection
would bring the noblest institutions in a
state of the most abject dependence and
bondage conceivable. As for ourselves,
we ask liberty — especially in a Geological?
Physical, or any other scientific institu-
tion, and we should like to see always,
as we have seen at the Asiatic Society,
men of authority and power take their
seats only as members. We expect,
and it is not unreasonable to expect,
that Government should come forw’^ard with
the powerful arm of support, not only as
refers to pecuniary assistance, but as regards
its influence in obtaining for such societies
all the aid necessaiy to promote the object
of their foundation. At this moment socie-
ties in India cannot support scientific men
for the pu rpose of travelling and research ;
but the Government has many scientific
men especially in the Medical Service, it
may afl'ord them employment during these
times of peace and affluence, and thus give
an impetus an d encouragement to the cause.
But as to the societies themselves belonging
to Government, we deprecate the idea alto-
gether. Under the principle of encourage-
ment we have advocated, we readily accede
to Dr. McClelland’s following proposition.

“ Stores of this kind should be supplied
either to the public at large, or only to the
members of the societies, at such low prices,
as would merely cover the expense of their
hnportation.

The importance of this may be under-
stood, when it is known, that the expense and
difficulty of procuring philosophical instru-
ments, books, &c. inthe Upper Provinces of
India, amount to an almost total prohibition
of them, thus causing a perfect suppression of
individual industry in the cause of national
improvement, as well as of science. With
respect to those philosophical instruments in
particular, whose only value in their accurate
adjustment, the submission of the purchaser
to the most exorbitant charges for them
seldom protects him from disappointment,
such as is calculated to induce him, if not
to force him, to relinquish all his efforts.”

Dr. McClelland hints that the financial
officers of Government may entertain an

opinion that the Physical class of the
Asiatic Society is sufficient for all the
purposes that are required. We dififer from
our author in the opinion that, however,
useful the Society may have been in regard
to the other branches of Science, it has in
this; “ really done nothing”.

“I very much doubt, if their Transactions
up to a very late period, contain one mineral
description that would be received by a
systematic writer as correct.* The objects of
the Asiatic Society are too comprehensive to
be of much use in the cultivation of geology ;
this science itself requiring a greater variety
of attainments in abstruse details, than could
be well discussed in a Society devoted to
general learning.

In support of this fact, it is only neces-
sary to refer to the Transactions of the
Geological Societies of Great Britain, and
compare w'hat has been done by those insti-
tutions within the last few years, with the
few geological papers to be found in the
whole series of Philosophical Transactions of
London and Edinburgh. The Royal Irish
Academy is perhaps an exception to the rule
here implied ; but if so, it is owing only to
the influence of Richard Kirwan, “ the
father of British mineralogy,” whose writings
on geological subjects attracted the attention
of Europe, and gave a bias to the Society
over v,?hich he presided, something like that
which was occasioned by Newton in favour
of mathematical philosophy. To the influ-
ence of Kirwan is ascribed, the honour
possessed by the Dublin Society, of being
the first institution in the British empire to
endow a geological professorship. Yet,
notwithstanding the interest evinced by
already existing institutions in Ireland in
behalf of geology, it has (I believe) been
recently deemed expedient to increase their
number, by the addition of a Royal Geologi-
cal Society.”

It is but recently that Geological
researches have advanced, and if there has
not been such numerous illustrations of this
part of the globe since 1817, as our author
expected, we must repeat, that it is to be
ascribed to the fact that the rulers of the
country have not encouraged this research^as
a distinct object of attention ; consequently
the surface of our Indian empire has not

* The period to which I refer is 1817; since
which time, some late and much lamented
authors, have evinced their zeal in behalf of
geology, by communications of great interest.
The more minute, and consequently the most
important, portion of their labours have not
yet been published, and it is feared, will be
ultimately lost to the world from the defects in'
our institutions here referred to.

154

ZEAL IN GEOLOGY BY SCIENTIFIC INDIVIDUALS.

been traversed in different directions.
When men of science can however command
a leisure moment from their other arduous
professional employments, we find them
engaged in scientific pursuits and papers of
great value have been transmitted by them to
the society. We have now before us two
volumes of the transactions of the Physical
class, one for 1829, the other for 1833,
replete with the most valuable geological
intelligence, and we boast in the face of the
scientific world in Europe that they are
worthy of a prominent place in their
transactions. Let the reader refer to
the Transactions of the Physical class
for proof in the papers of Voysey, Herbert.
Everest, MacPherson, Ward, Calder, Frank-
lin, Low, Coulthard, Hardie, and others.
We publicly avow our belief that if any
mineralogist were to visit the Society’s
rooms now, and view the specimens in
mineralogy, the arrangement of which is en-
tirely due to the talents and labours of Mr.
James Prinsep, they would receive a full and
satisfactory proof that much has been done
in this department. There are however
a considerable number of specimens
accumulated, wliich yet remain unexa-
mined. These,weshouldbe glad tosee,rescued
from their present situation, and we regret
that other members of the Society should
not have been found to come forward to
assist their over-burthened, but willing and
talented Secretary, whose zeal in Geologi-
cal science entitles him to our warmest gra-
titude and admiration. Our author considers
the objects of the Asiatic Society too com-
prehensive to be of much use in the culti-
vation of Geology. From the facts al-
ready adverted to, we think a separate
Geological Society would be an advantage,
although, such an institution would go far
we fear, to ruin the present institution which
is now so very poorly supported as scarcely
to be able to defray the expenses of a curator
for its museum. Of this we are certain, no
friend to science would lend his aid in anyway
to the establishment of a Geological Society
which would ruin the Asiatic. We would
rather see the Geological branch, as it now
exists, strengthened by more zealous exertions

on the part of the members than risk an
injury to the parent institution.

Dr. McClelland refers to the geological
societies of Britain comparing what has been
done by them with the few Geological papers
to be found in the whole series of the Philoso-
phical Transactions of London and Edin-
burgh. But we must not compare great
Britain and her mighty institutions with the
labours of the few scientific men in India,
where the ability to have separate institu-
tions is so small. In Britain, it is not
necessary to give to the transactions of other
societies the papers to which our author has
alluded; but he himself gives a satisfac-
tory reason for this difference in the folio w-
ing passage.

“ Before the world became acquainted with
the labours of Werner, Bergman, Scheele,
Klaproth, Kirwan, and Haiiy, geology could
not be called a science, and its imperfect
rudiments were then safely confided to Socie-
ties celebrated for general learning. When
however its objects became defined, its
importance pointed out, and principles laid
down and established for facilitating our
knowledge of the Natural History of the
globe — for extending our researches into the
chemical nature of the mineral substances, of
which the crust of the earth is composed,
and their uses in the economy of life : then did
geology present itself to enlightened nations,
as a science entitled to peculiar atten-
tion ; and Societies composed of the most
eminent men were suddenly called into exist-
ence. Great Britain and Ireland alone can
boast of four such institutions : while our
Indian empire, although it occupies a portion
of the earth’s surface, about twenty times
greater, excites no interest or attention.”

Dr. MacClelland is right to awaken
attention to the subject of Geology, by shew-
ing the importance of its study. But it
is our duty to point out the real state of
the case, and by our exposition to refute
the charge — that there has been no interest
or attention excited. We have already
shewn, that were it only for the labours of
Voysey, Herbert, Franklin, and the cele-
brated Dr. Heynes, they would sufficiently
prove that the zeal, spirit, and talents so
conspicuous in our native land has per-
vaded India. Dr. McClelland must at
the same time consider the character

EXTRAORDINARY TREATMENT OF MR. LAIDLAW.

155

of the people who inhabit the Indian
Empire. The enlightened portion would
scarcely fill- an English village. We will how-
ever join our voice to his and call out against
the apathy of the majority of British sojourn-
ers which is in our opinion, too often impro-
perly ascribed to the climate. Why is not a
similar indifference evinced in commercial
and other occupations in which we see an
energy and devotedness which is not to be
surpassed by speculators in any other part
of the world. The following remarks shew
however that a similar apathy existed in our
own parent land. Dr. McClelland’s observa-
tions on Mineral Topography are worthy of
notice.

“ Up to the beginning of the present
century, the English even at home were
sadly behind other great nations in this
department of science, and from 1724 to
1799, nineteen works only were published
on the mineral topography of districts in the
United Kingdom.

In France, from 1750 to 1799, sixty-two,
and in Italy, thirty-six works on mineral
topography were published ; while Germany
and the rest of Europe contributed to the
world, two hundred treatises on the same
subject.

During the time the science of geology
was thus progressing in Europe, (as well as in
America, where twelve descriptions of districts
were published about the close of the
eighteenth century,) it may be curious to
learn what attempts were made in India,
either to improve the resources of our new
empire, or to extend the boundaries of science.
The papers on the subject of mineral topo-
graphy of countries in the East Indies, up to
the end of the eighteenth century, are/owr.* *

The first of these is by’Johannes Gerhardus
Kbnig, and is published in the 4th volume
of the Natural History Society of Upsal,
entitled “ Observationes Mineralogicae, in
India Orientali ; e litteris ejus excerptae a
Joh. Jac. Ferber*.”

* Dryander’s Bibliotheca Banksiana^ vol. iv.

p. 12.

* Dryander’s Bibliotheca Banksiana^ vol. iv.
p. 72. Konig was the pupil and correspondent
of Linnaeus, and the founder of Oriental
Botany. “ He was singularly qualified for the
employment he had entered into;” says Dr.
P. Russell, (pref. Roxb. Plants of Coroman-
del,) “ more covetous of fame than of fortune,
he persevered in his pursuits with an enthu-
siasm that set bodily fatigue, s-pare meals^ and
a scorching climate, at defiance.” He appears
to have been supported during his labours by
a pittance from the Nabob of Arcot ; butthree
or four years before he fell a victim to
science, we are told in the same work, that
the “ Madras Government, with the sanction
of the Court of Directors, made an addition to
his salary,” i. e.an addition to the sum allowed
him by the Nabob ; he died suddenly
before he had time to profit by his labours.

The second is by James Anderson, and is,
“ An attempt to discover such Minerals, as
correspond with the classification of Cron-
stedt, and thus lead to a more extensive
knowledge of mineralogy in this country, the
Coast of Coromandel, 1797*.”

The third is by Carl Peter Thunberg ; and
was published in 1785, under the title of
“ Beschreibung der Mineralien und edlen
steine, auf derinsel Ceylon'j'.”

The other is by Georgius Josephus Kamel,
and is found in the early Philosophical Tran-
sactions, under the title of “ De Mineralibus
et Fossilibus PhilippensibusJ.”

It appears that much was anticipated by
our scientific men in Europe, from the
encouragement which Sir John Malcolm,
when appointed Governor of Bombay, would
give to the “ Mineralogical examination of
India.” Sir John brought out with
him Mr. Laidlaw, a gentleman educated
as a Civil Engineer, and an excellent
practical Mineralogist and Geologist. Our
author says, that Dr. Thomson anticipated
from the labours of this gentleman numer-
ous discoveries as interesting to the scienti-
fic world, as they would prove of great
importance to our Indian Empire. Of the
encouragement Mr. Laidlaw experienced
from “ the triumphantSoldier and success-
ful politician Dr. McClelland speaks as
follows.

“ In the midst of the busy scenes into
which he was hurried, forgot the humble,
and perhaps eccentric, man of science; or
abandoned him with all his faults and peculi-
arities to strangers, who may have expected
to find him all perfection^. Whatever they

* Of James Anderson, we know little more
than that he was an eminent physician in the
army.

t C. P. Thunberg, afterwards knight and
successor to Linnaeus, in the University of
Upsal; a fellow of the Royal Society, and of
most of the learned Societies of Europe and
America.

t Kamel, or Cameli, was a Missionary ; and
probably a native of Portugal. He made
many valuable communications to the Royal
Society about the beginning ofthe last century,
regarding the Natural History of the
Philippine Islands. He was probably the first
European who described the tea plant, and
his name has been bestowed by Thunberg, on
a genus of plants nearly related to tea.

^ The position of parties in this case bears
some analogy to that of Burke and his friend
Barry ; but, alas, how the great Indian
statesman loses by following up the compari-
son. To the forbearance of Burke with the
foibles of genius, the British nation is no doubt
indebted for those sublime achievements of
the painter that now adorn the walls of the
Society of Arts. Burke saw that he must
either bear with his friend’s peculiarities —
that he must at least endeavour to improve
them only by gentle means, or that his country
must lose the benefit of his genius.

156

PROGRESS OF AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES IN INDIA.

may have been, it would be improper in me
to remark very closely, on the unfortunate
causes which led to the failure of this talented,
and once enterprising, man in the noble
design he had formed. I have said unfortu-
nate causes ; for such must be considered,
whatever may have led to the frustration of a
design, from which India might have derived
so much benefit. Even this is not all
that is, in this case, to be regretted; for
in a country where any advancement in
science depends on the enterprise, zeal, and
assiduity of individuals, rather than upon a
large community ; the example of such a
failure is calculated, justly or unjustly, to
deter others from risking, not merely their
lives and fortunes, but also their reputations,
in a cause which has not hitherto been
rightly estimated in India.”

“ That such a case should ever have occur-
ed, that an individual who surrendered his
fair prospect of fortune and fame in his native
land; and at the expence of a small private
fortune, perhaps, equipped himself for a task
of vital importance to India, should be heard
to complain of any want of liberality, calcu-
lated to induce him to relinquish his design,
is more than can well be conceived : yet such
would seem to have been the case. For some
unfortunate reasons, it was deemed expedi-
ent to withdraw all pecuniary support from
the gentleman who had entered so nobly upon
the task above referred to, and thus aban-
doned in one of the most remote corners of
India; a term of seventeen years have now
passed over him, without the means of even
transmitting his property to a place where he
might dispose of it, and by this means return
disappointed and ruined to that home which
he left under the brightest auspices. A deep
sense of the injury he conceives himself to
have sustained has destroyed his confidence
in man, and suppressed the utterance of any
complaint. To those who think and feel, as
become the sympathies of our nature, this
tribute, to the living author of a great design,
will neither appear indelicate, or absurd ;
although his own wrath may be partly antici-
pated, as the consequence of my good inten-
tions*.”

The above is a melancholy picture, and we
dare not comment upon it. We shall conclude
tliis introductory portion of our review with an
expression of concurrence inDr.MacClelland’s
wish that some attempt may now be made to
remove those obvious causes which impede
the performance of useful operations ; for there
is but one permanent source of national
prosperity in the words of our author, ‘'the
cultivation of natural resources.”

* I must here express my obligation to Mr.
It. for the liberality with which he placed his
valuable library at my disposal, which as far
as books were concerned, left me little to
complain of during the latter part of my resi-
dence at Liohooghat ; but, unfortunately, I
was too much employed in practical researches
at the time to admit much reading.

Art. II. — Transactions of the Agricul-
tural and Horticultural Society of In-
dia, Vol. II. Oct.pp. 288. Serampore
Press, 1836.

It is justly said that by bringing the art of
Agriculture to perfection man becomes the
Lord of the universe, subduing by his skill
and industry every part of the surface of the
earth and assuming that dominion which a
beneficent Creator has allowed him. Thus it is
through his operations that the earthismadeto
produce abundantly and in greatest perfection
those vegetables which are necessary for his
subsistence and health. The importance of
the study of Agidculture is best shewn by
adverting to the fact that in proportion as
this art flourished so have nations become
prosperous. Its antiquity is beyond that of
all other arts. It can be traced to Adam, whom
we find tilling the ground in the garden of
Eden. The prodigious length of life which the
antediluvians enjoyed prove in the opinion of
many, that the art of agriculture was at those
early periods in a very advanced state of per-
fection, at least it had made greater progress
than it has in our day. In the time of Abra-
ham agriculture was considered the most ho-
norable employment ; and such was the super-
stitious gratitude of the Egyptians that they
ascribed the invention of the art to Osiris,
and Isis and even the very animals employed
in tillage demanded, in their opinion, a claim
to their worship and adoration. The Kings
of Persia laid aside their grandeur to eat
with husbandmen once a month, and Xeno-
phon declared that where agriculture succeed-
ed prosperously there the arts thrived. But
coming to the present period we may with
perfect safety avow that as in Geology, so in
Agriculture, Britain exceeds all other nations.
The Royal and other Societies have done
much to attain this end, but all modern im-
provements are justly ascribed to the industry
and natural genius of the people. It is there-
fore with great satisfaction that we perceive
our industrious countrymen who sojourn
in India making the improvement of agricul-
ture an object of public attention and en-
couragement.

Agricultural and Horticultural Societies
are at this moment appearing in all parts of
India, and the lively interest so eonspicuous in
the European has been imparted to the native .
Sugar, Tobacco , and Cotton are articles which

IMPORTANT PAPERS ON HORTICULTURAL SUBJECTS,

157

have recently received improved cultivation ;
while the implements of husbandry in vise
among the people, are now being substituted by
those of a far superior description. We need
only mention that the introduction of the
British plough with six ^bullocks performs
twice the work of the native plough with
twelve. This one improvement estimating the
number of ploughs used throughout the
country at one to every family of ten indivi-
duals, and three-fourths of the population of
the British territories as agricultural, we have
six millions of ploughs, which on an average
probably are employed 31 days in the year,
the saving of the half of labour at 3 Rupees
a month for each man and the same for cat-
tle, is calculated to amount to seven crores
and twenty lacs of rupees per annum. But
besides these immense improvements from
the institution of these Societies the intro-
duction of foreign seeds and the distribution
of them over the country will promote the
interests of the governed and the government
to such a degree as to enrich the productions
of India beyond all calculation. From the work
before us, it appears that in the early part
of the Society’s operation these had been con-
fined to what might be termed exotics, but
it was deemed advisable to apply the efforts
and funds to what was considered more conso-
nant to the nature of the institution, the en-
couragement of the great staples of com-
merce. Sugar, Cotton, Coffee, Silk, &c
With the view of stimulating improvements

20.000 rupees were accorded by government
for premiums, and an experimental farm was
established for which the annual sum of

10.000 rupees exclusive of rent was allowed,
together with 4,500 for buildings and stock
for the first year. This proceeding on the part
of government shewed a political tact; for
which it has not been conspicuous in other
respects ; for there could be no question that
this sum, by improving the agriculture of the
country, would eventually be returned more
than a hundred fold to the treasury.

While the eyes of the local government
were therefore thus open to the advantages
which would result to the country from these
institutions, the Court of Directors were also
impressed with their importance, and sent out
considerable quantities of upland Georgia,
Sea Island, and Demarara Cotton Seeds, to-
gether with a saw gin for cleaning Cotton,
Cotton Seed from Tenasserim and a con-

signment from America was at this time also
distributed. The result of these exertions
and the efforts of the Society are fully shewn
in the work under review. The following
are its contents.

Art. I.— On the Bair ox Ber Tree By Baboo
Rarihakiinl Deb. II.— On the Cwpe Fig. By vt ,
Ciacroft, Esq. III. — Remarks on the cultivation
and manufacture of Svgar, in the Pergunnahs of
Chandpore, Bijuore, and fi/iindour, Zillah North
Mooradabad. By N. J. Halhed, Esq. IV.-The
N alive method observed in Mysore of rearing plants
for Seed. By VV- Ingledew, Esq- V,— On the
treatment of Mangoe and Peachlxees. By C. K,
Hobison, Esq. VI.— On the culture of Indigo in
Bengal. Communicated by Geo. Ballaid, Esq.
On the culture of Indigo in Tirhoot. By the same.
On the culture of Indigo \\\ Oude. By the same.
On the nianufaclitre of Indigo By Piddinton. Esq.
VII. — On the early sowing of Cahbagey Cauliflower^
Pease, &c. By C. K. Hobison, Esq. Vlfl.— On
the culture of Cotton in Persia. By W. Bruce, Esq.
IX. — On the cultivation of Indigo. By N. Alexan-
der, Esq X.— Directions for cultivating Teak.
XI. — On a new Wind Mill for raising water.
By D. Scott, Esq. Xil.— Hemaiks on the culture
of Cotton, in the United States of America. From
Capt. Basil Hall’s Travels. XllL— On the culture
of Tobacco in Virginia. Ibid. XlV.— On the best
method of cultivating Now Orleans Cotton. Ibid.
XV.— Further Remarks on Ibid. XVI. —

On the cultivation of Cotton and Tobacco in Cen-
tral India. By Baboo Radlhakant Deb. XVIl.—
Report on two samples of Rice from Arracan, by
W. Warden. Communicated by W. Cobb Hurry, Esq.
XVlIl.— Method of treating Artichokes- By John
Brightman, Esq. XIX.— On the cultivation ofAj-
paragus at the Mauritius. By J. Newman, Esq.
Sirpet intendant of the Royal Botanical Garden.
XX — Report on some samples of Silk from Bom-
bay. By W. Prinsep, Esq. XXI.— On the native
method of preserving Cuttings. By Capt. Wade,
Political Agent at Lahore. XXII.— Observations
on the culture of Cotton in the Dooab aird Bundel.
kund. By W. Vincent, Esq. XXIII — On the use
and preparation of Arrow Boot. By C. K. Robi-
son, Esq- XXIV. — On the Wool of the Jeypore
Sheep. By Lieut. Barberie. XXV.— On the arti-
ficial production of New Varieties of Cotton- By
H. Piddington, Esq. XXVI. — Method of preserv-
ing the Cotton Plant in Cayenne. XXVil,— On
the cultivation of Safflower in the neighbourhood
of Dacca. By Dr. G‘. Lamb. XXVIII.— on raising
Plants from Seed. By J. Newman, Esq.
XXIX.— Report on the cultivation of Jute and
the manufacture of Gunnies in Bengal. By Baboo
Ramcomul Sen. XXX.— Remarks on the progress
of Horticulture at Cherra Poonjee, and on a
method of grafting the Apple on the Kliasiyah
Crab tree. By W. Ciacroft, Esq. XXXI— On
the production of Silkxil Kamptee. By Miss Anna
Calder, with a Report by W. Prinsep, Esq.
XXXII. — On the manufacture of Paper. By the
late Rev. W. Carey, D. D. The same subject con-
tinued. By Baboo Ramcomul Sen. XXXIII.— Re-
marks on a specimen of Cotton, gathered from a
wild shrub. By the late C. F. Hunter, Esq.
XXXlV.— Reports on the advantages of the Saw
Gin, drawn up by Messrs. Patrick and De Verinne
in reply to queries submitted to the Society by
Government. XXXV.— Remarks on the Cotton
of Ava. By Major Burney, British Resident.
Forwarded to the Society by Government.
XXXVl.— On the Cotton of Cachar. By Capt.
'Ihos. Fisher, in charge of Cachar affairs.
XXXVlI.— On several kinds of Cotton cultivated
in the neighbourhood of Dacca. By Dr. G. Lamb.
XXXVIII.— On produced at Cuttack from

Bourbon Seed, and its staple for spinning. By Mr.
J.T. Weekes. XXXIX.— On the Cotton

of the Harrow Hills. By Capt. A. Bugle,

158

ON THE CULTIVATION AND MANUFACTURE OF SUGAR.

Offlciatina: Collector and Magistrate of Rungpore.
XI.— Further particulars concerinn|i! the Cotton of
Ava, By Major Burney. Xll. — On varieties of
sample Cotton imported from Liverpool, with
particulars of prices, &c. Communicated by Messrs.
Willis and Earle. XLII.— Report of Jos.
Wiilis, Esq. on Cotton grown at Duckiiisore, by
Mr. Hastie, from Pernambuco seed. XLllI. — Ue-
poit of Jos. Willis, Esq. oti specimens of Cotton
raised by Col. Coombs at Palaveram. XLlV.— Re-
marks on the culture of Upland Georgia Cotton
at Allahabad. By W. Huggius, Esq. XLV.— On
the culture of Pernambuco Cotton at Tavoy. By
W. Maiugy, Esq Commissioner. XLVI.— On the
culture of Sea Island Cotton in the distiict of
Cuttack. By D. Pringle, Esq. Acting Collector.
XLVil.— On the Gossypium Accuminatum of Dr.
Roxburgh. By N. Wallich, Esq. M. D. XLVIII.— on
produce of Upland Georgia and Sea Island
Cotton Seed. By Major John Colvin, of Engineers.
XLIX.— On the culture of .yea Island Cotton \n
'I’irhoot. By Lieut. Col. Hamilton. L. — General
Remarks on the Culture of the Mulberry Plant,
mode of rearing the Worm, and instructions as to
the best method of manufacturing Silk. By Do-
ver and Norton, Great Winchester Street, London.
LI.— On an improved Machme for tvinding
Silk. With some interesting lemaiks relative
to the coinpuralive modes of cultivating the
Mulberry in Bengal and Western Asia.
LII.— Remarks on the Raw and Manufactured

Silks of Assam. By Capt. Jenkins. Llll On

the Soils best adapted for the culture of Tobacco.
By H. Piddington, Esq. HV.— On the cultivation
Qi Tobacco in the province of Cagayan. By Col.
Joseph De Hezeta. LV. — On Tobacco produced
at Diamond Harbour, from Virginia, Maryland
and Persian Seed. By Capt. C. Cowles. Parti,
culars of the mode of cultivating and curing 7’o.
^acco, adapted by Mr. G. F. Hodgkinson, at Gar-
den Reach. LVI.— Remarks on the proper Soil,
and best mode of curing Tobacco. By Dr. Cassa-
iiova. LVII. — Account of ihe Gum Copal Cuout-
chouc, and Tea Trees. By Lieut Charlton.
LVlll.-On a disease incident to Ulsee and
other grain. Communicated to Governtnent by
Capt. Sleeman. LIX.— Report on Coffee, grown
at Kussapuglah. By F. P. Strong, Esq. LX.— 'Hie
Prangass Plant ; Correspondence between l.ord
William Bentinck and iVlabaraja Ilnnjeet Sing, relat-
ing to a supply of Seed for the Society, if procu-
rable. LVI.— Remarks on the Tea Plant, and
on the culture of Ginger, by G. W. Traill, Esq.
LXl.*— Remarks on Assaniy by T. Hugon, Esq.
LXI.*— On the culture of English Furze and
Broom in India. By Capt. Vincent. LXll.-On
the culture of Grape Vines. By Capt. Sage, Ex-
peiimental introduction of American and

Tobacco in the distiict of Munipore. By Capt.
Grant, LX 1 1 1. — On Cachar Hemp. By Capt.
Jenkins. LXIV.— Observations outlie best mode
of preparing for transmission to India. By

Jas. Gibbon, Esq. LXV.— On the Ginger of Rung-
pore, and the prospect of improving its culture by
importing roots from Jamaica. By Col. Joseph de
Hezeta. LXVL — On the celebrated Melon of
Bokhara. By Lieut, A. Buines. LXVIL— On the
culture of Pufafoe^. By Capt. Richmoud. LXVIH.
— On the culture oi Foreign Maize as an article
of food. By John Bell Esq. LXIX.— On the
Manufacture of Tapioca. By the same. LXX.—
Remarks on the State of Agriculture in Behar.
by Jas. Gibbon, Esq. LXXl.— On the applicability
of Elephants as a moving power for Sugar Mills,
&c. LXXll.— On the culture of Paddy in twenty
different districts. By Baboo Radliakant Deb.
LXX III. —Remarks on the Raewash, a species of
Rheubarb, by Capt. Wade, LXXIV.— Society’s
Farewell Address to Lord William Bentinck.
LXXV.— Lord William Bentinck’s Reply to the
Society’s Address. LXXVI.— Report of a Com-
mittee on the subject of introducing the High-

* Repeated by mistake.

Wheeled Cart of Madras. LXXVlI.-On the treat-
meiit of Peach and Plumb trees. By Lieut.
Kirke. LXXVIll.— On the cultivation of \\\e Arti-
choke- By T. Plowden, Esq. LXXIX — Furlher
remaiks on Assam. By T. Hugon, l-sq, LXXX.—
A new method of Grafting and Budding. By
Lieut. Col. D. Presgiave. LXXXI.-On a newly
invented continuous Still. By C. K. Robison,
Esq. LXXXII. — Instruciions in regard to the
culturo oi Madder- By G. F. Hodgkinson, Esq.

appendix.

Report of the Society for the year 1835. Collector’s
Repoit. Proceedings of the Society. Regulations
for the Agricultural and Horticultural Society of
India, as .sanciioned at a General Meeting, llth
March, 1835, Repoit on certain experiments made
at Akra, in the growth of Foreign Cotton Sugar-
cane and Tobacco.

ORDER OF PLATES.

1. Plan of a Mill for the raising of water, 2.
Drawing of Saw Gin. 3. Plan of grafting and
Budding. 4- Newly invented Still.

From this list we shall take some articles
which appear to us calculated to shew the
nature of the work itself, and to induce the
reader to enter into the objects of the So-
ciety. The paper by W. J. Halhed, Esq.
on the cultivation and manufacture of Sugar
in the Pergunnahs of Chandpore, Bignore,
and Mindour, and Zillah North of Moradabad,
will be interesting to most of our readers, as
there is only one paper on this subject, we
shall quote it entire, and resume the review
of the work in our next.

The land is broken up the month of Assar, and,
after being exposed to the rains for the season, is
manured and ploughed eight or ten times after the
laliis, and being cleared of weeds, is again manur-
ed and ploughed four or five times in February.
Just before the cane is set, 4 cait loads of dung to
eacli cucha beega, in low land, and 5 in high land,
is the usual allowance : in geneial a cane field is
ploughed from 15 to 20 limes; it is well rolled
after the 4 last ploughitigs, and also after the cut-
tings of cane are set. When the cane is set, the
field is fenced with urhur sticks or other brush-
wood : 20 bundles of cane, each 210 canes, 8 indies
long, are used for one kucha beega of land, in low
land, and 25 bundles in high land: the value of
tile cuttings is at the rate of 5 bundles for 3 annas.
When the shoots appear, which is generally in
Maich and April, about 6 weeks after ihe cuttings
aie set, the earth, on each side of the cane fur-
rows, is well loosened with a sort of hoe, with a
sharp point, and broad leaf, in shape sometbing
like a mason’s trowel: this is done 7 times; (the
fiist time it costs 7 annas; the other 6 times 3
annas each time,) and the field is laid out in beds
and channels for irrigation. If the season is usu.
ally dry, the fields, in the low ground, are wateied
in May and June, by means of wells dug for the
purpose, as the water is not more than 12 feet from
the surface: the price of labor for watering twice
is 3 annas per beega, in the high lauds. If there
are no nullahs or ancient puckah wells attbrdiiig
facilities for irrigation, the Ccine takes its chance,
as the cost of a kucha well, on the uplands, (from
10 to 20 Rs.) would he too heavy for an individual
cultivator, and there are not many who would be
found to agree to dig one in partnership, or could
abstain from fighting about the water afterwards :
a kucha well, too, lasts but one season only, as the
soil is light.

Thekhadur, or low land sngarcane, is ripe in
Kartick or October; that on high lands in Novem-
ber, when all the inhabitants of the village ate em-

ON THE MANUFACTURE OF SUGAR.

159

iploycd in the work, or in looking on ; — it is to
them the most inteiesiing period of their lives,
whether they are concerned in the prolit or not.

The sugar mill has been sunk in the ground, the
fuinace covered, the boilers fixed, and the eartlien
plates for castitig the boiling sugar have been well
dried in the sun, a store of fallen leaves have been
collected to be used till the mill trash shall be
dried sufliciently to serve for firing, and all preli-
minary arrangements made a fortnight before,
when the village priest determines a fortunate day
for the commencement of the work, after which
the furnace cools till all the sugarcane juice has
been extracted and boiled; the mill, put in motion
by the pair of bullocks, whicli are relieved fiom
time to time, begins working at about 5 o’clock
in the evening, and does not stop till 9 or lO o’clock
the next morning; this period of about i6 hours,
more or les.s, is called Oseruha or dew fall, and
the average produce is 12 Koondees of juice, each
Koondee 6 Balmees, each Bahnee 6 Syas, each Sya
cotitains abouta half pints Etiglish, or rather more;
say that each Koondee theti contains about 28
quarts, or seven gallons English, the average pro-
duce of a Koondee of juice, when boiled up, is
12^ seers of Goorh, each seer of 96 Sa. Wt.; the
produce of the mill's work then is 175 seers, or
4 inds. 15 seers— the juice is formed into Goorh,
which is the mere inspissated juice; Shukkur,
which is a coaise granulated sugar, made by mix-
ing a small portion of Reh or native soda with the
Goorh, when it is in the melted state on the
mud plate on which it is cast — the fiat) or Khaud,
which is a finer production, and from which the
molasses can be afterwards extracted by pressuie,
which is not the case with Goorh or Shukkur; a
Koondee of juice will give an average of 15 seers
<)( fiat) ; the night’s work, or 12 Koondees, will
give, consequently, 4 mds. 2o seers of Kab.

The average produce of
Koondees^ the beega of sugarcane is 14
Koondees of juice, as per
Best land 20 margin.

Next best,... 16 Pucka beega2304 square yrds.

Next, I2 The following is a table of the

Poor land or 9 expences of a puckah beega of
neglected,. % 8 sugarcane cultivation, suppos-
ing that the owner has his own

bullocks ; the ptjcka beega con-

4 16 tains 3 kulcha beegas : -

• *Land tax 3 kutcha bee-

Average,.. 14 gas 3 Rs. 13 As. 3 P.-f 3

117 9

Ploughing 15 times, at 3 As. 9. P. pay
of the ploughman, suppo.sing the owner to
have no kutnherahs and unable to plough

himself, .3 8 6

Rolling four times 0 2 3

Manuring at 3 As. the kutcha beega, if
the dung is the field owners’ properly,

otherwise double, 0 9 0

Cuttings for the plant at, say 2o hmi-
dles per kutcha beega, 12 As. 3 P. 3,.. 2 4 0

Hoeing and weeding 7 times, 1 K. 9.

As. 6 P. per kutcha beega 4 12 6

Watering twice at 3 As. the kutcha bee-
ga each lime 1 2 0

The Putworee’s fee ^an anna pet kutcha

beega 0 1 6

The ziinieendar and inalgoozar will
claim his fee at 2 As. per beega 0 6 0

Total Rs. 24 5 6

into account, and 3§ seers of Goorh or Shukkur,
per diem.

The Perheeas, who put the canes into the mill,
receive, between them 6i| seers of Goorh.

One Jhoka or fireman, who feeds the furnace,
receives, per diem, a Sya of juice and seer of
Gooi h.

The carpenter and blacksmith receive, for each
day’s work, between them, 2 seers.

Three mootheas, who make up the canes into
bundles, to give to the millers, receive, between
them, for a day’s work, seer.

Two gun-kuttas, 01 cane-cutters, receive, between
them, 4 canes a day and IJ seer Goorh.

The village chtimar, for the leather used in the
mill and harness, leceives daily IJ seer Goorh.

If the field owner has a Kumheiah, or heredi-
tary ploughman, he will give him, at the end of
the season, five seeis of Goorh, a blanket, and a
Rupee for the land he has assisted to till.

And the chowkeedar will also receives seers of
Goorh, at the end of the season, for w-atching.

Six fiupees a season are paid for the use of the
set of 3 boilers, by those sugar cultivators who have
united to hire them.

The daily expenses of the mill will be 16 seers
and I ; its produce is 3 mds. 30 seers of Goorh Shuk-
kur, 014 mauiidsof20 seers of fiab.

riie manufactiiie of the produce of one puckah
beega will take up, say 3^ oserahas.

The manufacture will cost 1 md. 18srs. Half the
proceeds will be of Goorh and Shukkur, 13 mds. 5
SI S.— of Rah, 15 mds. 13 srs. Deducting the ex-
pense of manufacture, the follow'ing will lie the
average net produce of sugar from the pucka beega
of canes : -Goorh and Shukkur 10 mils. 26^ srs.
Ral) l4 mds. srs. ; its value, Goorh at 17 seers,
3.3 Rs. lo As. Rab, at 15 seers, 28 Rs. 7 As. Say
that half the juice is made into Goorh, and half into
Rail, the value of the net produce is 31 tis. 0 As.
6P; from which deduct the land tax and ex-
penses of ciiliivatioti, tliere remains to the cuitiva*
tor a profit of 7 Rupees 1 Anna per puckah beega,
of which say that 9 Annas more is deducted on
account of the Chowkeedaiee, hire of boilers, and
other village expenses, 6 Us. 8. As. clear profit
remain for every pucka beega; and if he has Kum-
lieras, or hereditary ploughmen, servants, and ciiil-
dreii, whose labor is available, he saves further,
say half the expense of weeding, or 2. 6. 3., and
and the whole charge of ploughing and manuiiiig,
or 4 I 6., and of watering I. 2, ; total 7. 9. 9. for
each pucka beega in addition.

This first crop is called Podha and in good lands
the cane siusnps are left for a second crop, called
Perhee, by strong handed cultivators, (i. e.) those
who have kumlierahs and grown up sons and rela-
tives in the family, available : the field, requires

the following processes:

Watering, 5 times, 2 ll 0

Manuiing 0 9 0

Hoeing and weeding, 5 limes, 7 19 6

Puiwarees’ fees, 0 1 6

Malgoozars’ fees .0 6 0

11 11 0

The value of produce will be nearly similar, say
30 Rupees, which, after deduction for land tax
and expenses of culture, or in .ill Rs. 23 2 9,
leaves a profit of 6 13 3 per pucka beega to the
cultivator.

EXPENSE OF MANUFACTUHING SUGAR.

The vvhole of the labor is paid for iu kind, and
the mill and cattle are assumed to be the properly
of the owner of the field.

The Gooryee or boiler, receives a Sya, or rather
more than 3^ pints of juice, which is not taaen

Not the Government land tax, hut the rate levied
by the inalgoozar or contractor for revenue.

The following crop is either of wheat or Patna
rice, or a mixed crop of mustard seed and barley,
the returns of ivhich will give from 6 to6SRs.
per beega profit. It is seldom that poor lands are
ever laid out in sugarcane, so the average of produce
is in reality much higher than has been given above;
while the expenses of culture and land tax are
quoted at their highest rates— the canes are tied
together and wrapped round with the leaves of
the plant, hoed and weeded — the cane tops (Azhola)
used for feeding cattle, are not taken into account

160

ON THE NUNNERIES AT RAMBREE.

as the sale price of ivhat is not used for feeding the
mill and ploughing cattle, (say 3 pairs of bullocks)
or about Rs. 4-8 is a set off against the weai and
tear of ploughs, mills, and cattle, as few if any cul-
tivate sugarcane who are not possessed of means
and spare bands, sugar speculation is not a bad
one for an agriculturist.

Art. III. — Journal of a Tour through
the island of Rambree, with a Geologic
cal Sketch of the Country, and Brief
Account of the Customs, Sfc., of its
Inhabitants. By Lieut. Wm. Foley.
Journal of Asiatic Society, 1835.

( Continued from page 1 1 8
We left our author at the Kioums of the
priests, and it will be seen from the extracts
which we made that they have merited the
notice which has been taken of them. As
we are however, anxious to give to such of
our readers as may not have access to the
original, as full a conception as possible of
the habits of the Hughs, we shall merely
take occasion, in continuing our Review,
to offer a few passing remarks, because with
the object we have stated, we prefer to offer
them as large a portion of the work itself
as our limits will permit. In the large
towns and villages it appears that education
is almost wholly confined to the Phoongrees.
The offspring of rich and poor are without
distinction similarly treated in the course of
their tuition ; nor is any remuneration exacted
by the teachers for the trouble they undergo,
beyond the daily provision of an eleemosy-
nary subsistence from the native communi-
ty. Children are not received into the
Kioums under the age of nine. The out-of-
door discipline, which consists of fetching
wood and water, cleaning the rice, and
attending the priest in his daily round for
food, being considered too severe for a less
tender age. Orphans and the children of
distant residents are both fed and lodged at
the seminaries. The other boys are per-
mitted a specified leave to go home for
meals, but must sleep in th&Kioum, because
what they have read during the day “ is
repeated in the evening or at day break
the following morning.” Our author in-
forms us that this is not the only method

of education, observing that there is an-
other “ equally peculiar to the Hughs.”

” There is another source of education
equally peculiar to the Hughs ; such as are :
not engaged in any pursuit or employment
requiring all their time, devote a portion of
it to the education of children entirely gra-
tis ; less labour being expected from the
children than is imposed upon them in the
Kioums. Children under nine years of age
and of both sexes are admissable to such
schools, the rules, as before observed, being |
less strict than those enforced at themonas- '
teries ; it is therefore not uncommon to j
meet with children of a very tender age at j
such schools.” I

There are nunneries as well as convents,
and the Bhi Jcuni (nuns) are as common as |
the priests. They reside either in the nunnery
or at some separate house near a koo (temple)
superintending offerings and leading a life
of abstinence. The major part of these
are vestals ; but there are others who have
retired from the world at more advanced
ages. Harried in some instances, but only in
those wherein matrimony has been unpro-
ductive. The habiliments of both monks
and nuns are alike and the discipline is in
every other respect similar. The respect
shewn to the priesthood while living is
strongly confirmed to our author’s under-
standing by the honors which are done
to their remains. The scale of this
necessarily depends on the ability of the
parties : but if it happens that the popula-
tion in the vicinity of a Kioum is wealthy,
the ” magnificence” and expense is not un-
der that of their most costly shews —

“ When emancipated from the world, the
body is opened and embalmed; after which it
lies for many weeks exposed to public view.
The body is then confined in a coffin, richly
embellished with gold and silver leaf, and
this is placed upon a lofty car that had been
constructed for the purpose. The inhabi-
tants of the neighbouring villages flock to
the spot, and ropes having been fixed to the
fore and hinder parts of the car, a contention
arises among the villagers for the remains of
the Phoongree. One party pulls against the
other, and those that are successful claim
the honor of finishing the ceremonies. This
is done by a grand display of fireworks, the
greater part of which are skilfully directed
at the car, which is at length set on fire and
the body is consumed*. Should the deceased

* See a full account of the same ceremony
by the late Rev. Dr. Carey, As. Res. xii. 389.
— Ed.

SUPERIOR APPEARANCE AS TO THE CONDITION OF THE MUGHS. 161

Phoongree have maintained a character for
peculiar sanctity, a part of his remains is
not unfrequently preserved from flames and
retained as valuable relics. The influence of
superstition has attached much value to
such remains, and in addition to the worth
they may be supposed to possess from the
religious character of the departed priest,
they are held by the more ignorant to be a
common ingredient in those charms that are
in use with the wizard.

The Hughs hold the practice of burning
the dead to be moi'e honourable than that of
committing the body to the earth or the sea,
probably from its being attended with great-
er expense and publicity. Funerals are,
however, conducted in either way, according
to the means of the relations, or other cir-
cumstances favouring the adoption of one
particular practice. The spot on which a
funeral pile had been raised is not unfre-
quently marked by a cenotaph, a garden, a
clump of trees, or such other monument of
affection as the condition of the parties will
enable them to place over the ashes of a de-
parted relative. In some cases, the funeral
rites are followed with donations of food and
clothing to the priests, and a further evi-
dence of piety is evinced in the adoption of
some young man who shall express his readi-
ness to embrace the profession of a Phoon-
gree.

Leaving Ladong our traveller proceeds
to Woogah. The distances of the stages he
has already traversed are thus stated. From
KhyouJc Phyoo to Kyouprath 16 miles: from
thence to Ladong, by computation 20 ; and
then to Oogah 12 more. The villages in the
Ladong district are described as “ remark-
ably large’’ having a cheerful and comfort-
able aspect; and the whole face of the
country but for the costume and features of
the inhabitants and particular construction of
the houses bore a striking resemblance to
Bengal. Lieut.Foley assumes that the general
appearance of the Hugh would indicate a
condition “ infinitely superior” to that of
the poorer classes in several parts of India.
His coarse though ample clothing, of home
manufacture, and vigorous frame, attes^
that he is sufficiently provided against the
climate, and nourished in his body, his
wants being but few and readily supplied,
there is no necessity for that “ unremitting
labor,” by which the poor of other countries
support themselves. The earnings of one
day suffice for three, and to the more
indolent the forest and the sea afford
“ an inexhaustible supply.” hence Lieut.Foley

deduces that characterestic apathy of the
Hugh, that indifference to the future “ which
is generated by a consciousness of present
superabundance, and he remarks that
“ until some artificial wants are produced by
a taste for luxuries hitherto unknown,”
that these people will continue to be less
anxious than their more civilized ; but pro-
bably “ less happy and less healthy” neigh-
bours. He thinks, however, that the traces
of such a change are already perceptible
amongst those who are directly in contact
with Europeans and natives of India.

“ In the towns of Khyoulc Phyoo and Ram-
hree, we may observe this indication of the
growing taste for articles of foreign manufac-
ture, in the small investments of cutlery,
glass-ware, muslins, and broad-cloth exposed
for sale in the shops along with the pro-
duce of the country. The people have
already become smarter in their dresses,
and were a little more attention paid to their
pattern of piece goods, I have no doubt but
the sale of these would be far greater than it
is at present. Long habituated to a state of
being little remote from that enjoyed by the
brutes of the forest, the present generation
are prepared to value those little luxuries
denied to them during the reign of Burmah,
despotism, and will not be slow in securing
the possession of them if placed within
their reach. It is amusing, though melancho-
ly, to hear these poor people relate the state
of things in former days, in as far as regards
the importation of foreign produce, and the
prohibitions that debarred them the privi-
lege of wearing the muslin turban or
angah, even were they sufficiently wealthy to
purchase the materials for one. As any
exportation of the staple produce of the
soil was seldom or ever permitted, few
returns were made in the shape of Europe or
Indian goods. They did, on some occasions,
find their way into the country by the
Godoohs that returned from Calcutta and
Chittagong, laden with such articles of Eu-
rope or Indian manufacture, as the owners
-were enabled to obtain in exchange for the
gold leaf, deer horns, bees’ wax, and earth
oil, the produce of Ava and Arracan. The
demands of the Burmah Kaeng*. And the
numerous exactions, with the expenses of a
long and dangerous voyage, were, however,
thrown with such severe but necessary
weight upon the original prices of the
several commodities imported, that none but
the rulers of the land would venture to
evince a disposition to become possessed of
them.

Property has now become comparatively
secure ; a stimulus has been given to indus-
try by the freedom allowed to the exportation

♦ Collectors of customs. The duty levied was
usually as much as ten per cent, and not unfre-
quently paid in kind.

162

GEOLOGICAL FEATURES BETWEEN LADONG AND OOGAH.

of pi’oduce ; with an increase of production
there will be an augmentation of capital,
and the agriculturist may look forward to
the attainment of those articles of comfort
and luxury hitherto denied to him. Still
this change for the better will, of necessity,
be very gradual. It is as it were a newly
discovered land, and as such it will require
the united elforts of capital and labour
(joined with skill), to bring its resources
into play. As is well known, the staple
produce of the soil is rice. Great quanti-
ties of this grain are annually exported to
Madras and Penang : the returns being
generally made in kind, and consisting
chiefly of Madras cloths and Europe muslins,
which are either sold in Arracan or retained
for importation into Ava. I am not aware
that any other article of agricultural produce
is exported from Rambree. Both cotton and
indigo ai’e, however, grown upon the island,
the former on the mountain side after it had
been cleared of the jungle; tobacco is also
produced in the ravines and clefts of the
hills, subsequent to the accumulation of
alluvial soil deposited therein by means of
a dam so constructed, as to oppose its
escape with the torrent. But neither of
these are produced in such abundance as
to permit of a large exportation : the
quantity grown being little more than suffici-
ent for consumption in the pi'ovince. A
want of capital, and perhaps a want of con-
fidence in the Government, prohibiting agri-
cultural speculation, the production is gene-
rally confined to what may be deemed suffi-
cient for domestic purposes, or be grown
with the sure prospect of ultimate reward.”

The geological features of the country
between Ladong and Oogah presented no
peculiarity; the soil being a rich clay
mixed in some degree with sand, and sand-
stone the prevailing rock, its inclination,
wherever it could be observed ‘ ‘ being still
to the S. S. W. and S. W. parallel to the
bearing of the hills.”

Leaving the stubble fields of Ladong'’’^
our author once more proceeds along the
beach and sees the village of Oogah before
him “ very prettily situated on a bight of
the sea.” The prospect from the village
is said to be very fine, “beyond it, on
the land side, lay JeeJca, the highest moun-
tain in the island, and immediately opposite
to it was the island of Cheduba, with its blue
hills and undulating plains,” a small vessel
called a Godoo, was at anchor between the
islands bound to Bassem, with beetlenuts
and sundries. The Soogree, or revenue
Collector, and also head man of the village
came out to compliment the stranger and to
escort him to his dwelling house, in front

of which a muchaun had been constructed
for the repose of travellers, and whereon
our traveller rested until a room could be
prepared for his accommodation. He was
cautioned, however, against his wish to sleep
on the same platform during the night,
from the dread of tigers which were fre-
quently prowling about ; and fortune favored
him, for one of these ferocious animals
actually visited the village during the night
and created great alarm . The Collector seems
to have been in easy circumstances ; abun-
dance of poultry and cattle with the I
supreme additional blessing as he supposed
of two wives.

“ Polygamy is common enough in Arra-
can. There appears to be no limitation ; a
man may keep as many wives as he can
afford to maintain. The consent of the first
wife should, however, be obtained pi-evious
to the conclusion of a second contract. It is
seldom that a refusal is given, and equally
seldom that attention is paid to it. Retain-
ing the privileges of a mistress, and probably
aware of her inability to enforce a compli-
ance with the restriction she wishes to im-
pose, the elder wife usually signifies her
readiness to receive into the family a second
helpmate for her husband. This new alliance
is seldom resorted to before the first wife
shall have ceased to retain the charms of her
youth, and have become incapable of perform-
ing the several domestic duties incumbent
upon her.”

Betrothing during infantine years as in
India is unknown, generally, although
instances will sometimes occur that mar-
riage has been the result of a preconcerted
arrangement between the parents. Similar
instances though probably yet more rare
ones,maybe adduced even among Europeans,
but these merely form the exception to the
national custom, and the young people are
“ not unfrequently” permitted to form
their own engagements, the consent of the
parents being readily obtained when there
is no striking disparity in the years of the
parties. It would be common place to cite
the universally acknowledged tokens of a
pure and mutual affection ; but there is one
on the part of the female that is somewhat
out of the way. Cheroots, the manufacture
of her own hand, convey her sense of the
happiness she derives from the assistance
which her lover has given to her labors. When
the attachment is declared to the father

CUSTOMS REGARDING MARRIAGE AND DIVORCE.

163

and mother, the astrologer is consulted,
secundum artem in all places, and if the
result of his calculation proves favorable,
the arrangements are made for completion
of the affair. First of all a present of a fine
silk dress, some gold and silver ornaments,
and little tea mixed with spice are sent
from the lover to the young lady, and then
he follows in the evening of the same day,
proceeded by the ‘ ‘ young unmarried me n
of the place,” who block up his course until
he finds the means of opening by douceur
of money. Arriving at his mistress’s dwell-
ing, the unmarried females enact a similar
fine, when having cleared his path he enters
the house, and the bride seated by his side
“ flowers and water are scattered over
both by the hands of the oldest and most
respectable person present.” This done they
partake of a meal prepared by the parents
of the girl, the hands of the bridegroom
and bride are laid on each other (that of the
latter uppermost) and washed by the same
person who had sprinkled the water and
flowers. The father of the Bridegroom then
takes a ring and places it on the third finger
of the bride’s left hand. The marriage is
now complete and an entertainment follows,
which concludes the ceremony. The bride-
groom remains with his bride at her parents
for 7 days preparatoiy to taking her home.
Such is the general practice ; but a man
may without discredit select a partner with-
out going through these ceremonies, and
be equally certain of receiving respect from
his countrymen. The woman being
regarded in the same light as if formally
united.

With every blessing there will be some
reservation in its measure ; and the lament-
able consequence of what follows apper-
tains to more regions than these where
it was supposed civilization or the lights
and the shadows of a more advanced state
of existence were introduced with the fo-
reigner and the conqueror.

“ A prostitute was a being unknown to the
Mughs before the country had fallen into the
hands of the British. Among the blessings
attending the change of rule and marking the
progress of civilization in Arracan, is the

introduction of a gradual increase of that
unhappy class of people, and withitthemiseries
that are consequent to an unrestrained and
promiscuous intercourse. To the honour of
the Mugh women I must declare, that in-
stances of prostitution on their part are still
of rare occurrence ; the reputation for this
vice is still more generally attached to their
more civilized neighbours the Bengalees.

So much liberty being allowed to the sexes
in early youth, it may be supposed that an
unlicensed intercoui’se will, in many instances,
be found to exist between them previous to
their union. It would be unreasonable to
affirm that a passion which is so often known
to break through the bounds imposed by
religion and morality upon a people who claim
for themselves a superior degree of civiliza-
tion, should not in this country be known to
exist in an equally unbridled state, and pro-
duce the evils consequent to an unrestrained
intercourse and the shame of an avowal. In-
stances of abortion or bastardy are not, how-
ever, of frequent occurrence, the good sense
of the parents, to whom the attachment in
its several stages is generally known, pre-
venting by a timely union of the parties, the
evil which must originate from an intercourse
unsanctioned by custom and authority.”

As yet from the infrequency of applica-
tion for divorce which is easily obtained
amongst the Mughs, it should seem that the
harmony of the married state has not been
much broken in upon. How long this will
continue is hardly problematical, for we
find that the invader has already been
at work, and that pristine simplicity is
likely to sink fast under its proximity to
those who boast of their loftier intellect
and more reflective powers. We have avoided
all observation of our own, save such cur-
sory ones as have been thus elicited because
we wish to give the substance of the work
itself, as connectedly, as we can, intending
when we have gone through, to offer a few
suggestions upon its subject matter gene-
rally ; for the present we must content
ourselves with one more extract on the
manner of divorces, and refer our friends to
the next number for a continuation.

“ Separation may be effected (privately) by
a deed drawn out by husband and wife, and
witnessed by two or more respectable neigh-
bours ; or both parties may appear before the
meeo-woon or magistrate, and a separation is
instantaneously effected on their compliance
with the rules laid down for observance in
such cases. If the wife objects to remain
any longer with her husband, and he shall be
found to have repeatedly ill treated her, she
is at liberty to depart, receiving from him the
whole of her property, as well as the children

164

IMPORTANT IMPROVEMENTS IN SCIENCE.

(both male and female), that may have been
horn to her. The children are, in maturer
years, allowed to reside with either parent as
choice directs. If, on the contrary, the wife
shall be found to have behaved ill, she pays a
certain sum of money (generally about 25_or
30 rupees), to her husband, who also retains
possession of the male children; the wife
receiving no part whatever of the property.
In cases where no criminality is attached to
either party, and both desire to be separated,

GENERAL

NOTICE OF SOME RECENT IM-
PROVEMENTS IN SCIENCE,

COMPOUNDS OF AZOTE.— Inorganic
chemistry we can separate from one sub-
stance, by means of different re-agents, a
number of bodies differing very materially in
their nature from the substance in which they
were previously combined. To ascertain if
this fact held good in reference to inorganic
substances, Liebig submitted to examination
a ternary compound, which he formed in the
following manner : {Ann. de Chim. Ivi.) He
passed through a solution of sulpho-cyanodide
of potassium a current of chlorine gas. When
boiled with dilute nitric acid an orange-
yellow body precipitated, which, in its com-
position, was identical with the radicle of
hydrosulphocyanic acid. Hence, he consi-
dered it as sulpho-cyanogen . This substance,
when heated, is decomposed, and a quantity
of sulphur and sulphuret of carbon comes off,
while a yellow powder remains, which was
employed by Liebig in his sub sequent
researches, Liebig terms this citron-coloured
powder When exposed to a tempera-

ture at which glass melts, it is decomposed
into pure cyanogen and azote. Analyzed with
oxide of copper, carbonic acid and azote
are procured in the proportion of 3 to 2.
He considers it composed of Carbon 458‘622
Azote 708'144 Total 1166'766 and explains
its formation by conceiving 2 atoms of sul-
phuret of carbon — 2 C + 4 S and 4 atoms
of sulphur to be subtrated by the heat from
4 atoms of sulpho-cyanogen, whose composi-
tion he states = 80-}“^^ 4-8 8. There
remains therefore 6 C -V 8 A,

Mellon, when heated in dry chlorine gas,
combines with it and forms a white body,
possessing a strong smell, and acting upon
the eyes. The same substance may also be
procured by heating together two parts
chloride of murcury and one sulpho-cyanodide
of potassium. In a current of dry chlorine
gas. With potassium melion combines and
forms a transparent easily fusible mass, which
dissolves in water, imparting to it a taste of
bitter almonds, precipitating the metals not
as cyanodides, and is decomposed by the
agency of acids.

a fair division of property is made, each receiv-
ing what he or she may have possessed before
marriage, with and equal share of the produce
of their united labours ; the husband retain-
ing the boys, and the wife the girls. The
case being investigated and decided upon, a
paion is broken into two pieces, one of which
is given to each as the emblem of separation.
This done, the divorce has been effected, and
they are both at liberty to contract any new
alliance.”

SCIENCE.

2. MELAIN. — The substance is procured
from hydro-sulpho-cyanate of ammonia, a
salt which is formed by distilling together
two parts of muriate of ammonia, and one
part sulpho cyanodide of potassium. The
composition of the hydro-sulpho-cyanate of
ammonia is analogous w'ith that of urea,
sulphur being substituted for the oxygen of
the latter. When heated, the first effect
is to disengage a considerable quantity of
ammonia, then sulphuret of carbon, and soon
sulphuret of ammonia appears in the neck
of the retort. After the distillation is over a
new subtance is observed in the retort, mixed
with chloride of potassium and sal-ammoniac.'
By washing, the salts are taken up, and the
grey matter called rr^elam, which remains,
is insoluble in water, ether, and alcohol.
It is frequently mixed with a little sulphur,
which may be removed by levigation. It is
decomposed by a strong heat into ammonia,
cyanogen, and azote. If it is boiled in potash
it readily dissolves, and the filtered liquor
deposits a white granular luatfer, which
is melam in a state of purity. Analyzed by
means of oxide of copper, melam yielded.
Carbon 30*550 Hydrogen 3 860 Azote 65 589
Total lOO OOO.

When boiled with nitric acid it dissolves,
and crystals of cyanuric acid deposited on
cooling. Fused with potash, cyanic acid is
formed. Boiled with a solution of the same,
and concentrated, it deposits crystals. The
supernatant liquor retains a trace of this
substance, which is precipitated by sal-
ammoniac or carbonate of ammonia, afford-
ing a white gelatinous product, identical
with the substance procured by treating
melam with muriatic acid.

3. MELAMINE. — By this name Liebig
distinguishes the substance which has just
been described. To obtain it in a state of
purity, he recomends taking the residue
after the distillation of 21bs. sal-ammoniac,
and lib. sulpho-cyanodide of potassium,
and adding to it a solution of 2 ounces of
potash in 3 or 4 of water, and boiling them
until the liquid be quite clear ; after which
it is to be filtered and evaporated gradually,
vvhen crystals of pure melamine are deposited.
These crystals are octohedrons, with a

ON THE COMPOSITION OF MELAMINE.

166

rhombic base, in which the angles are about
75^^ and 115®. They are while, contain no
water, an,d are riot altered by the air. Cold
water dissolves very little melamine, but hot
water readily dissolves it. Melamine, com-
bines with all the acids, and forms very charac-
teristic salts. When heated with a solution
of sal-ammoniac it gives out ammonia, and
combines with muriatic acid. The sulphates
and nitrates of copper, the salts of zinc, iron,
manganese, are decomposed by a solution of
melamine in water, and the oxides are preci-
pitated. Fused with potash, cyanate of
potash is produced ; if it is in excess, mel-
lonuret of potassium is formed. Liebig found
the composition of melamine to be Carbon
28’460 Azote 66673 Hydrogen 4865 Total
100-000.

Melamine, heated with nitric and sul-
phur c acids, yields ammonia, and a substance
which remains dissolved in the acid, and is
identical with the product of the action of
concentrated acids upon melam.

Melamine has a strong affinity for sulphu-
ric acid. The formation of needle formed
crystals is the result of their combination,
which are scarcely soluble in cold but easily
soluble in hot water.

N ITRATE OF MELAMINE.— Is readily
formed by adding nitric acid to a cold solution
of melamine in water, until the liquid be
strongly acid. It is in the form of long
needles. By combustion this salt gives car-
bonic acid and azote, in the proportion
of 6 to 7.

When a solution of melamine is added to
nitrate of silver a white crusialluie precipita-
tion ensues, which consists of

1 atom melamine I6.

I ” nitric acid 6-75

I ” oxide of silver 14-75

37-5

OXALATE OF MELAMINE-ls less
soluble in w-ater than the nitrate. It affords,
by analysis, carbonic and azote in the pro-
portions of 8 to 6, and obviously consists of

1 atom melamine 16.

1 ’’ oxalic acid 4*5

1 ” water 1125

21 625

ACETATE OF MELAMINE- Is very
soluble in water, and crystalizes in large rect-
angular flexible plates.

PHOSPHATE OF MELAMINE— Is
very soluble in boiling water. A concen-
trated solution leaves, on cooling, a white mass
formed ot needles placed concentrically.
Formate of melamine dissolves easily and
crystallizes.

'4. A MM ELI N E.— This substance remains
in solution in the caustic potash when mela-
mine is prepared. It may be sep-arated by
saturating the alakali with an acid. It is best
to employ acetic acid, because the mineral
acids dissolve in it excess. Carbonate of
ammonia and sal-ammoniac precipitate it also
from its alkaline solution. After precipita-
tion it should be washed and dissolved in
nitric acid. Concentrate the solution and
long four-sided colourless or slightly yellow

prisms will besepaiated; or precipitate it
from its solution in niliic acid by means ot
caustic ammonia, or carbonate of ammonia.

AMMELINE — Is a white shining crys-
tallized substance when precipitated by
ammonia, insoluble in water, alcohol, and
ether, but soluble in the caustic alkalies and
in most of the acid''. When heated it affords
a crystallized sublimate of ammonia, and, if
the heat is carried far enough, is coverted
into cyanogen and azote, leaving no residue.
'Towards acids it acts as a base, but it is
weaker than melamine. Its salts are parti-
ally decomposed by water. A mmeline, analyzed
by oxide of copper afforded Carbon 28-553
Azote 55-110 Oxygen 12-451 Hydrogen 3 884
Total lOO-COO

Nitrate of ameline consits of

1 atom ammeline

1 nitric acid

1 water

16*

, 6-75
,.1-T25

23-875

Nitrate of ammeline affords with nitrate
of silver, a precipitate of the same nature
as that produced by melamine, being white
and crystalline, and consisting of one atom
each of ammeline, nitric acid and oxide of
silver. Liebig explains the formation of
ammeline and melamine, by considering that
from 2 atoms of melam and the elements of
2 atoms of water, 1 atom of melamine and 1
atom of ammeline result.

By boiling melam with hydrochloric acid,
ammeline and ammonia are produced by the
aid of 2 atoms of water. Cyanate of potash
is produced by action of potash on dry am-
meline, the cyanic acid in this case being
formed by 1 atom of ammeline combining
with 2 atoms of water, the resulting pro-
duct being 3 atoms of acid.

5. AMM ELIDE results from adding
alcohol to a solution of melam or melamine in
concentrated sulphuric acid. It precipitates
in the form of a thick white precipitate. It
may be also obtained by heating nitrate of
ammeline till the soft mass becomes solid, or
by boiling melamine in concentrated nitric
acid. By boiling impure melam in dilute sul-
phuric acid, it disolves, and crystals of
sulphate of ammeline appear by evaporation,
which are decomposed, if the liquid is boiled
or further concentrated. Ammelide precipi-
tates by the addition of the alkaline carbo-
nates or alcohol. It is a white power and
seems a neutral body. Its composition correc-
ted by theory is, Tar bon -28-444 Azote 49-410
Oxygen 18-606 Hydrogen 8.538 'fotal 100-000.

Liebig considers that it presents an anhy-
drous cyanate of ammonia or urea, which is
deprived of all its water and the half of it
ammonia. It is remarkable, that among the
transformations of melamine, its saturating
properties seem to diminish in proportion to
the quantity of oxygen with which it com-
bines. The same observation is applicable to
vegetable bases, as for example, narcotine
and solanine whose base functions are not
well characterized, but which are distin-
guished from the stronger bases by containing
a greater proportion of oxygen.

166

ON THE PREPARATION OF CHLORO— CHROMIC ACID.

6. CYANILIC ACID.-If the yellow pow-
der which is obtained from the decomposition
of sulpho-cyanodide of potassium by chlo-
rine, and which is mixed with chloride of
potassium, be well washed and boiled with
nitric acid, it dissolves gradually, and the
liquid on cooling deposits colourless and
transparent octahedrons with a square bass,
which consist of pure cyanilic acid. To
accelerate the decomposition of the salt of po-
tash, it is advantageous to add twice its weight
of common salt. At first chloride of sul-
phur distils over, and latterly long needles
of chloride of cyanogen are deposited in the
neck of the retort. The yellow residue is
carefully washed and dissolved in nitric acid,
'i he new acid is more easily soluble in cold
water than cyanuric acid. 1 he crystals
contain water which they lose by heating, to
the amount of 21 percent. Its composition
is. Carbon 28T85 Azote 32’640 Oxygen 36*874
Hydrogen 2*300 Total 100 000 which Liebig
considers equivalent to 6 atoms of each. To
determine the atomic weight of the acid, a
portion was neutralized by ammonia, and
precipitated by nitrate of silver. 93*3 cya-
nilate of silver afforded 54*5 chloride of
diver. 58*2 after being exposed to a red
heat, left 26*4 silver. Hence, the atomic
weight of the acid is 16*25 or double that of
cyanuric acid, which it very much resembles
in its propel ties. Cyanilic acid is converted
into cyanuric acid by dissolving it in sul-
phuric acid, adding water and crystallizing.
All the cyanurates and cyanilites are
decomposed when they are crystallized in an
acid liquor; the bases remain in solution,
and the crystals which are formed are cya-
nuric acid or cyanilic acid. In precipitating
the nitrate of silver by cyaniiate of potash,
Liebig obtained a substance which had pre-
cisely the same composition as cyanurate of
silver, from which it would appear that the
alkalies can change cyanilic into cyanuric
acid.

7. CHLORIDE OF CYANOGEN.—
During the decomposition ofsul pho-cyanodide
of potassium by chlorine, besides chloride of
sulphur, chloride of cyanogen distils over,
which may be separated from the former by
sublimation in a vessel through which a cur-
rent of dry chlorine is passed. Chlorine of
cyanogen thus obtained consists of brilliant
needlees, possessing a strong disagreeable
odour. To determine the quantity of chlorine,
the salt was dissolved in alcohol, ammonia
was added, and the liquid boiled with a
great quantity of water until all the spirit
was volatilized.

Nitric acid was then added in excess, and
precipitation produced by nitrate of silver.
The composition ofthe chloride of cyanogen
was in this manner determined to be Chlo-
rine 57*03 Cyanogen 42*97 Total 100 000 or
equal atoms of chlorine and cyanogen. Chlo-
ride of cyanogen dissolves in absolute alco-
hol without alteration.

8. C YAN AMIDE.-If chloride of cya-
nogen is moistened with ammonia, and
gentle heated, it loses i^s crystalline form,
and is reduced to a white powder, which is
slightly soluble in boiling water, and is pre-

cipitated on cooling in flocks. The same
substance is obtained by passing ammoniacal
gas over chloride of cyanogen in powder.
A white powder is the result which may be
purified by washing. The chlorine which it
contains is not removed by ammonia. Potash
disengages ammonia from cyanamide. Liebig
considers it analogous in its composition to
oxamide, and to a chloride of cyanogen.

URIC ACID. — Liebig states that he was
encouraged to make the preceding researches
in the hope of finding anew combination
w'hich would throw some light upon the
composition of uric acid. Liebig considers
the determination of Dr. Kndweiss, with
respect to the proportion of azote, to be nearer
the truth than any other. He himself makes
the composition of uric acid :

Calculated. Experiment.

Carbon 36.11 - 36*073

Azote 33*36 - 33*361

Oxygen 27*19 - 28*126

Hydrogen 2*34 - 2*441

METHOD OF PROCURING OXIDE
OF CHROMIUM IN CRYSTALS.—
Wohler has found that the green oxide of
chromium, which is well known as a green
powder, may be obtained in the state
of crystals by passing the vapour of chloro-
chromic acid through a red hot glass
tube.* A mixture of chlorine and oxygen is
formed, and the crystals of oxide are depo-
sited in the tube. Thus prepared, it is not
green but black, possessing the metallic lus-
tre, and has the same form as native peroxide
of iron, (fer oli^iste or ihombohedral iron
ore) which he considers a proof of the ismor-
phism of these two oxides. 4'he spec, crav,
in the crystallized state differs little from that
of peroxide of iron, being 5*21.

It scratches rock crystal, hyacinth, and
cuts glass. In the crystallized state it is there-
fore as hard as corundum, which, with the ex-
ception of the diamond and rhodium, is the
hardest of known substances. Chloro-chro-
mic acid was discovered by Professor Thomson
in 1824, and is prepared by distilling in a
glass retort 500 gr. sulphuric acid, with
190 gr. dry bichromate of potash, and 225
gr. of decripitated common salt. According
to Dr. Thomson, it consists of one atom
chlorine, and one atom chromic acid. Rose
considers it a combination of two atoms
chromic acid and one perchloride of chro-
mium. Wohler prepares it by distilling ten
parts common salt, 16*9 neutral chromate of
potash, and thirty parts of concentrated sul-
phuric acid. — Record General Science, 1835.

ALCOHOL AND ITS COMPOUNDS.!

1. Aldehyde, (from alcohol dehydrogenatus,)
may be prepared bypassing vapour of ether
through a long glass tube filled with pieces
of glass heated to redness. Theproduct, accord-
ing to Liebig, is aldehyde, an inflammable gas,
and water, with a slight deposit of charcoal.
By passing this product into a vessel, half

* Ann. de Chim. Ivii. 105.

+ Ann. de Chiin. et de Phys. lix. 289.

LAMPIC ACID OF DANIELL IDENTICAL WITH ALDEHYDIC ACID. 167

filled with ether, the aldehyde is retained in
solution. If ammonia passed through a tube
filled with fused potash and quicklime, is
allowed to saturate the ether, the sides of the
vessel are speedily covered with brilliant cry-
stals, which are compounds of aldehyde and
ammonia. Aldehyde may be also procured by
distilling four parts of spirit of wine, six parts
peroxide of manganese, six of sulphuric acid,
and four of water. I'he receiver must be kept
very cool, as aldehyde is extremely volatile.
I'he process should be stopped whenever the
product becomes acid, which happens when
six parts have come over. 'I’his product mixed
with its weight of chloride of calcium, is dis-
tilled to three parts. The three parts are
again rectified with their own weight of the
chloride, when the resulting product is free
from water and alcohol. It should then be
mixed with twice its volume of ether, and
saturated with a stream of ammoniacal gas,
taking care to cool the receiver and to place
between the vessel supplying the ammonia,
and the ether vessel, a safety jar, so as to avoid
tlie danger from the rapid absorption : Crys-
tals speedily appear, which, when purified
by ether, consist of ammonia and aldehyde,
and are termed by Liebig, ommovial dehyde.
The same compound may be obtained by pas-
sing chlorine through dilute alcohol, distilling
and rectifying over chloride of calcium, and
saturating with ammonia. A considerable
quantity of aldehyde is also formed by the
action of spongy platinum upon the vapour
of alcohol, as ascertained by Dbbereiner.
Aldehyde is easily prepared, from its amrao-
niacal combination, by dissolving two parts
of the compound in its weight of water, and
heating it, mixed with three parts of sulphuric
acid and four of water, in a retort over a
water-bath. The product is hydrous alde-
hyde, which is rectified over chloride of cal-
cium . It is necessary to cool the vessel when
these two substances are brought in contact ;
because, much heat is disengaged, and the
aldehyde boils, when re-distilled, at a tem-
perature of 86“.

It is a colourless liquid, limpid like water;
very volatile; sp. gr. *790 ; boiling point,
7^1 at 28‘82 ; smell ethereal and peculiar.
When its vapour is respired the power of
breathing the air for some seconds is lost. It
mixes in all propcrtions with water. It
inflames readily. When mixed with spongy
platinum, acetic acid is formed. It dissolves
sulphur, phosphorus, and iodine, but without
altering them, chlorine and Bromine are con-
verted into muriatic and hydro-bromic acids.
With nitric acid, acetic acid is formed ; with
potash a reddish-brown resin is formed, which
Liebig designates by the awkward name of
Aldehy dharz . When aldehyde is heated with
water and oxide of silver, the latter is reduced,
and covers the inside of the tube with a metal-
lic coat. Aldehyde consists of
Carbon 5.5*024 Oxygen 35-993 Hydrogen 8*983

'1 he derisity of its vapour is, by experiment,
1-532, which corresponds with

2 vols. vapour of carbon ..-8333= 1-5
2 ,, hydrogen *1388 . .1388= -25

5 ,, oxygen ..-5555= 1-

Liebig gives its formula C4 Rs O.

Ammonialdehyde crystallizes in acute rhom-
bohedrons. 3'he crystals are colourless, pos-
sess a hardness equal to sugar, and a smell
like that of ammonia and turpentine ; they are
volatile; inflammable; melt between 158®
and 176®. 'I'hey have an alkaline re-action;
they dissolve readily in water, with greater
difficulty alcohol, and wdth difficulty in ether.
With the acids and alkalies they act like alde-
hyde and consist of Carbon 39'700 Oxygen
25-969 Azote 22 987 Hydiogen 11 342

100-000

This is equivalent to

1 atom aldehyde, C2 H2 0= 2-75
1 atom ammonia N Hs =2-125

I atom ammonialdehyde . . . 4-875
Inflammable Gas. — The gas which comes over
with aldehyde burns with a clear flame. It
consists of carbon, 82-3; hydrogen, 17*6.

When heated with perchloride of antimony
(readily formed t'y passing chlorine through
fused butter of antimony) olefiant gas was
condensed in the form of the well-known oily
chloride, and the remaining gas possessed all
the properties of carburetted hydrogen.

The products of the distillation of alcohol, '
sulphuric acid and peroxide of manganese, are
carbonic acid, formic acid, acetic acid, alde-
hyde, and traces of ether.

With spongy platinum alcohol is converted
into acetal, aldehyde, acetic acid, and acetic
ether.

Resin of Aldehyde is formed by the action
of potash upon aldehyde. When the latter
is introduced into a liquid containing alde-
hyde, a brown colour is produced, and speedily
brown flocks fall, when a weak acid or water
is added. They consist of carbon, 73*340 ;
oxygen, 18 “900 ; hydrogen, 7*759.

Aldehydic dcid.— When oxide of silver is
heated with a solution of aldehyde a soluble
salt is formed, which is not an acetate, and is
permanent when evaporated. I'his salt, when
mixed with barytes water, is decomposed,
giving off oxide of silver, and, when heated
with the salt of barytes formed, produces pure
acetate of barytes, and no other products:
the oxide of silver being completely reduced.
A similar result is obtained by the action of
ammonialdehyde upon oxide of silver.

From Liebig's experiments it appears tha^
the formula of aldehydic acid is, C4; H3 02,
and, therefore, a true acetous acid ; the com-
postiton of acetic acid being H3 03. He
considers the lampic acid of Daniell to be
identical with aldehydic acid, d he combina-
tions may be explained in two ways, accord-
ing to Liebig :

1st, Aldehyde may be considered as alcoho|
deprived of an atom of hydrogen, and alcoho*
as a hydrate of ether; or, 2nd, Aldehyde may
be a deutoxide of binolefiant g-as. The for-
mulae will, therefore, be,

1st, Unknown compound of carbon
and hydrogen. . .. C4 H3

Aldehyde..' H3 O + HO

Aldehydic acid . . . . C* H3 02 4-. HO

Hydrous acetic acid Hs 03 HO

1*5276 2-75

168 EXPERIMENTS BY C. TOMLINSON, ESQ.

2nd, C4 H4 + 0 oxideof binolefiant gas.
C4 4" 02 aldehyde.

4- 0^ aldehydic acid.

-J- O^ hydrous acetic acid.

ON THE action OF FLASHES
LIGHT UPON RAPIDLY ROTATING

disks.

Bt Charles Tomlinson, Esq,

Professor Wheatstone, I believe, first
announced the beautiful fact “ that a rapidly
moving wheel, or a revolving disk on which
any object is painted, seems perfectly station-
ary when illuminated by the explosion of the
electric jar.”

This experiment is adduced by Mr. Wheat-
stone, to shew that the duration of electric
light embraces a point of time so extremely
minute that the revolving wheel, or disk, has
not time to pass through any perceptible space,
and that, therefore, it appears, during the illu-
mination. stationary; I find, however, that
the effect is not confined to electricity, but
may be produced by any very sudden flash of
light.

Of the disks that I employed I need only
mention two ; The first, six inches in diameter,
was divided into sixteen parts, painted, alter-
nately, red and black; on the second disk,
of the same size, were painted in large cha-
racters the words, at rest on white ground.
Both disks were connected with a small mul-
tiplying arrangement.

The effects can be produced with phos-
phuretled hydrogen, exhibited in bubbles from
phosphuret of lime, in water. When the bub-
bles come up slowly without interrupting each
other, both disks appear, stationary during
rotation ; but when the bubbles come up too
quickly, the black and red spaces exhibit a
dancing sort of motion, and sometimes two
black spaces seem joined into one, to the
exclusion of the intervening red, and vice versa;
so also with the second disk, the words cross
each other in various directions when the
flashes of light interfere with each other; and. in
both cases, confusions, of course, excited
when an impression is made on the retina
before succeeding impressions have departed.
Similar confused effects are produced with
a stream of electricity instead of the discharge ;
as also by the rapid succession of sparks from
a magnet, but in any case when the flash of
light is distinct and sudden, the effect is
complete.

Soap bubbles, blown with hydrogen or the
mixed gases, and fired by means of a filament
of cotton passed through a small tube, and
wetted with alcohol ; gunpowder, done up in
the form of a boy’s cracker ; fulnsinate of mer-
cury struck on an anvil, may all be success-
fully employed.

These experiments were performed in a
darkened room, not of necessity, but the results
are best observed in this manner. In
Mr. Wheatstone’s experiment, the presence
of light, either natural or artificial, does not
interfere with its success.

The experiment may be made to succeed
by the flame of a lamp or candle. In order
to effect this 1 employed a disk of pasteboard,

twelve or thirteen inches in diameter, with
a narrow slit cut out, extending from the
centre nearly to the circumference, and con-
nected with a multiplying arrangement. The
light of the lamp was condensed by a lens, and
thrown upon the back of the slitted disk, and
the black and red disk placed in the front of
the former, so as to receive a flash of light from
the lamp every time the slitted disk performed
one revolution. Op causing both disks to
revolve, the black and red spaces were dis-
tinctly brought out, assuming, however, a
curved form.

But, perhaps, the most convenient method
of producing this phenomenon, is to stand
behind the slitted disk, while in front of it, at
the distance of two or three feet, the radi-
ated disk is made to rotate. On rotating the
slitted disk the effect is very complete. The
radii are, however, curved either upwards or
downvmrds, according as the eye of the observer
is above or below the axis of the disk, except
the radii which, for the time being, are
vertical to the axis above and below, and these
are not curved. This effect takes place when
the disks are revolving in the same direction.
The order will be inverted, if the disks move in
opposite directions; a change also will take
place in the direction of the curvature of the
radii, according to the angle at which the eye
is placed.

This experiment is somewhat analogous to
one by Dr. Roget, “ when a carriage wheel,
rolling along the ground, is viewed through the
intervals of a series of vertical bars, such as
those of a palisade, or of a Venetian window
blind. Under these circumstances, the spokes
of the wheel, instead of appearing straight,
as they would naturally do if no bars inter-
vened, seem to have a considerable degree of
curvature." (Phil. Trans. 1825.)

It was found that " the velocity of the wheel
must not be so great as to prevent the eye
from following the spokes as they revolve.”
So that Dr. Roget’sexperiment relates simply
to the curvature of thespokes of a wheel seen
through a narrow aperture ; and he accounts
for this fact by assuming the deception to arise
from separate parts only of each spoke being
seen at the same moment; the remaining
parts being concealed from view by the bars.
He also found that " when tlie disk of the
wheel, instead of being marked by a number
of radiant lines, has only one radius marked
upon it, it presents the appearance, when
roiled behind the bars, of a number of radii,
each having the curvature corresponding to
its situation, their number being determined
by that of the bars which intervene between
the wheel and the eye. So that it is evident
that the several portions of one and the same
line, seen through the intervals of the bars
form on the retina, the images of so many dif'
ferent radii,”

My experiment differs from that of Dr-
Roget, inasmuch, that the red and black disk
may be made to revolve with very great rapid-
ity, by which the black is lost to the eye,
and the red alone reflected, slightly diluted
with black. '1 he effect of viewing this disk
during rotation through the rotating slitted
disk, is to decompose the former, and presen

MINERALS CONTAINING BOTH POTASH AND SODA.

169

the black and red spaces as distinctly as when
at rest, except that tlie spaces are curved,
and, under certain circumstances, increased
in number.

If a white disk be employed, with a single
black space passing from the centre to the
circumference, and occupying about 20*^ of
the latter, the effect will not be as in the case
of the disk of the wheel with only one spoke
giving the ai)pearance of a complete wheel,
as in Dr. Roget’s experiment, but the black
space will be brought out in a curved form,
and sometimes divided into two.

If a disk, composed of two semi-circles, one
white and the other black, be viewed, while
in motion, from behind the revolving slitted
disk, the diameter of the disk will vibrate on
both sides, the centre being fixed; the white
gaining upon the black and the black, upon
the white, and so on, alternately.

The cause, then, of the appearances detailed
in the first part of this paper, is the same as in
Dr. Wheatstone’s experiment, the light comes
and goes before the disk has time to move
through any sensible space; but, in the ex-
periments where the light of a lamp flashes
upon , the painted disk through the slitted disk,
or where the eye is placed behind the slitted
disk, the duration of the light is greater
than the electric light, or than that from
phosphuretted hydrogen, &c., and the disk
does pass through a sensible space. Now,
as the circumference of the disk moves
quicker than the centre, that is, the velocity
decreases from the circumference to the
centre, a black space, for example, seen
at one point of the circumference, will
have moved through several degrees as the slit
pases the eye ; while, at or near the centre,
the space gone through is barely appreciable.
This, together with the persistance of impres-
sions on the retina, added to that which is said
above, will, 1 think, account for the revival
of the radii, as also for their curvature ; and
the rapid succession of black and red spaces
will account for the apparent increase in their
number.

If the distance between the two disks be
considerable, fourteen or fifteen feet, for
instance, the curvature of the radii will be
corrected, and their number will not be aug-
mented; because, a full view of the diskis
thus obtained, and the relative velocities of the
centre and circumference compensated by an
impression of the whole of the disk being
formed upon the retina.

Salisbury i l8th November, 1835.

ON THE METHOD OF DETERMIN-
ING THE PROPORTIONS OF PO-
TASH AND SODA, WHEN THE
TWO ALKALIES ARE MIXED
TOGETHER.

By Thomas Thomson, M. D., F. R. S.
L. AND E., &c. Regius.

Professor of Chemistry in the University of
Glasgow.

It is no uncommon thing to meet with
minerals which contain both potash and soda as
constituents. This is the case, for example,
with glassy felspar, couzeranite, &c. The

method of separating the two alkalies from
each other, in such cases, is that first pointed
out by Dr. Wollaston. All the other consti-
tuents of the mineral being seperated, the
potash and soda are united to muriatic acid, or
converted into chlorides of potassium and
sodium. These chlorides being dissolved in
water, are mixed with a solution ofchloridof
platinum. The mixture is evaporated to dry-
ness in a gentle heat, and then digested in a
sufficient quantity of weak alcohol. The
chloride of sodium, and any excess of chlo-
ride of platinum that may have been added are
dissolved, while the potassium-chloride of pla-
tinum remains undissolved. Separate it by
the filter, wash it and dry it; the potash con-
tained in the mineral amounts to ^ihs, or
0‘23ofthe weight of this double salt. The
weight of the potash being knovvn, and like-
wise the weight of the two chlorides of potas-
sium and sodium, it is easy to deduce that of
the soda.

I consider the following method easier than
this, especially when the quantity of potash
and soda to be separated is considerable, and
I have found that young analysts learn very
soon to employ it with accuracy.

1. Convert the mixture of potash and soda
into sulphates, render these sulphates anhy-
drous by ignition in a platinum crucible, and
determine their weight. Let it amount to
29 grains.

2. Dissolve the two sulphates in water, and
throw down the sulphuiic acid by chloride of
barium. Wash the sulphate of barytes obtain-
ed, dry it and weight it after ignition. Let
the weight be 43*5 grains, indicating 15 grains
of sulphuric acid.

3. Separate any excess of barytes that may
have been added to the liquid by the cautious
addition of dilute sulphuric acid. Filter,
evaporate to dryness and ignite. The salt
thus obtained will consist of the mixture of
potash and soda converted into chloride of
potassium and sodium. Weigh this salt.
Let the weight be 24-5 grains.

Now, the atom of potash is 6, and that of
soda 4: and it is obvious from paragraphs 1
and 2 that the mixture of potash and soda
weighs 14.

Let the atoms of potash in the mixture be
X, and those of soda y, it is plain that we have

U-4y

6x -j- 4 y= 14 and x=

By comparing paragraphs 3 and 4, it is
obvious, that the weight of chlorine in the
24’5 grains of the mixed chloride obtained is
13’5 grains. For it must be equivalent to the
15 grains of sulphuric acid. In this mixed
chloride the potash is converted into potas-
sium, and consequently its atom weighs only
5, while the atom of sodium weighs 3. We
have, therefore

ll-3y

5 X 4- 3t/ 4- 13* = 24-5 and x

5

If we equate these two values of x we have
14— 4r/ = 11 —Sy

6 5

ON THE PROPERTIES OF BENZOYLE AND BENZIMIDE .

:i.7o

By solving this equation, we obtain y =2.
From which we deduce a; = 1 ,

Thus, it appears, that in the supposed mix-
ture there were 6 grains of potash and 8 grains
of soda.

The numbers in the preceding example
were made as simple as possible, that the
nature of the process might be understood at
a glance. But it may be worth while, for the
sake of those analysts who are not familiar
with algebraic computations, to give a general
formula, and then explain it by simple
arithmetic.

Let the atoms of potash be . . t
,, ,, soda .... . . • . y

Let the weight of sulphatesbe . a
,, ,, sulphuric acid 6

,, ,, chlorides . . c

,, ,, chlorine . . d

y = ^ a 6d — 5b— 6c

2

X = a~b— 4y

' 6

Add together five times the weight of the
sulphates and six times the weight of the chlo-
rine. From this sum, subtract five times the
weight of the sulphuric acid and six times the
weight of the chlorides. Divide the remain-
der by two ,• the quotient represents the num-
ber of atoms of potash in the mixture. This
number multiplied by six gives the grains of
potash present.

If we subtract the weight of the potash from
the weight of the mixture of potash and soda,
determined by paragraphs I and 2, the remain-
der will be the weight of the soda, present
in the mixture. — Records of General Science.

GASTRIC JUICE.

Theexperiments of Dr. Prout.and of Tiede-
mann and Gmelin inj reference to the gastric
juice, are confirmed by those of Braconnot,
and prove that there is no peculiar substance
to which this appellation should be applied,
but that the remarkable peculiarity of the
stomach is the property which it possesses of
secreting a great quantity of muriatic acid.
The gastric juice examined by Braconnot was
obtained from a dog. He found it to contain.

1. Free muriatic acid in great abundance.
2. Muriate of ammonia. 3. Chloride of so-
dium in very great quantity. 4. Chloride of
calcium. 6. A trace of chloride of potas-
sium. 6. Chloride of Iron. 7. Chloride of
magnesium. 8, Colourless oil with an acid
taste. 9. Animal matter soluble in water
and alcohol, in very considerable quantity.
10. Animal matter solublein weak acids. 11.
Animal matter soluble inwater, and insoluble
in alcohol (salivary matter of Gmelin). 12.
Mucus. l3. Phosphate of lime. He found
no trace of lactic acid. — {Annales de Chimie,
lix, 348.)

BENZOYLE, BENZIMIDE, AND BEN-
ZOINE.

In distilling the essence ofbitter almonds
with well water, Laugier obtained a resinous
substance which Laurent found to consist of

1. An oil containing the essence of bitter
almonds; 2, benzoine ; and 3, a crystalline
body which he terms benzimide. Boiling
alcohol dissolves the oil and benzoine, and
on cooling benzimide falls. After filtration,
by evaporation, the bezoine crystallizes and
the oil remains in solution. The benzimide
and residue are dissolved in boiling alcohol,
and on cooling minute needles of benzimide
separate.

Benzimide is white and destitute of smell,
insoluble, very little solublein boiling alco-
hol and ether. When heated, it burns with
a red flame, leaving a brown residue. Nitric
and muriatic acids dissolve it readily. Sul-
phuric acid dissolves it and acquires an indigo
colour. When treated with pieces of potash
and some drops of alcohol, benzoate of potash
is formed.

It consists of carbon 74*86 ; hydrogen 4*94 ;
oxygen 13*20; azote 7. This composition
Laurent considers equivalent to bibenzoate of
ammonia, with a deficiency of 4 atoms of water,
or we may call it C14 H5^ O N|. The
benzamide of Wohler and Liebig corresponds
with the neutral benzoate of ammonia.

Benzoine was previously obtained from the
essence of bitter almonds from which it may
easily be extracted by means of potash. It
consists of carbon 78*652 ; hydrogen 6*772;
oxygen 15*577. This corresponds with C14H6
O, and is isomeric with hydret of benzoyle.

Benzoyle was formed by passing chlorine
over fused benzoine. The product was dis-
solved in alcohol, and crystallized. Benzoine
is yellowish, insipid, insoluble in water, solu-
ble in alcohol and ether. Crystals six-sided
prisms, terminated by summits with three
pentagonal faces. Tliey burn with a red flame.
Hot sulphuric acid dissolves them, and water
precipitates them from the solution. Potash
when dissolved in water does not alter them,
but when an alcoholic solution is imployed, a
fine colour of ttirnsol is produced. If this
solution is evaporated, a salt is obtained which
forms with sulphuric acid a beautiful pink
solution. Benzoyle consists of carbon 80*43 ,*
hydrogen 4*91; oxygen 15. This Laurent
considers is represented by C14 H5 O.
Hence, we see that the chlorine has removed
an atom of hydrogen, — (Ann. de Chim.
lix. 397).

OBSERVATIONS ON THE FORMA-
TION AND CHANGES OF THE

INFERIOR ORDERS OF PLANTS.

By F. J. Kutzing."^

T he nature of the lowest species of plants
is a subject of interest. M. Kutzing, from
many observations which he has made upon
them, has drawn some important results.

Distilled water remained stationary for six
months, without shewing any appearance of
green matter on its surface. Water which
had been distilled over plants presented a
different aspect.

In some of them a mucus began to shew
itself in the course of eight days ; in rose
water in about two weeks. First the mucus

♦ Ana. des Scien. Nat. II. 129.

ON THE NATURE OF THE LOWEST SPECIES OF PLANTS.

171

ss deposited, and the characteristic odour of
the water disappears. Hence, this mucilage
would appear to be formed at the expense of
the essential oil. No filaments or globules
■can be discovered at this stage ; hut if the
water is less exposed to the direct influence of
the sun, they appear at first colourless in the
mucus mass, and then the different forms of
■Hygrocrocis LeptomiUis shew themselves.
This constitutes the second step ; the light of
the sun determining whether Protococcus or
Hygrocrocis shall be developed, 'I'he lowest
state of these globules is well exhibited in
the genus established by Kutzing, of Cr?/p-
tococcus which is inferior to Protococciis ;
for in the former the organic mucus is only
observed in the form of minute globules,
while in the latter, they are larger and pos-
sess colour with a more solid texture. The
third step is the formation of filaments, by the
union or elongation of the colourless globules,
giving origin to Hygrocrocis or Leptomitus .
The L Piumula is an advanced state of
Cryptococcvs. The latter is formed in moist
windows. Kutzing has observed the forma-
tion of an Oscillatoria which he calls /erjes-
tralis, over a stratum of Cryptococcus, which
previously became a Palmeiia. If we term the
transformation of Cryptococcus mto Hygro-
crocis and Leptomitus a direct progressive step,
we may call that of Cryptococcus into Palmeiia
and Protococcus, litterally progressive.

It is a worthy of remark, that the Protococ-
cus is often found in dry places, for it seems
that it never appears in water except when
the sun is shining on it, and the Hygrocrocis
and Leptomitus appear in the shade. It has
been observed that the algae ( olgues) are
formed after the death of the Infusorii, espe-
cially the Enchelys Pulvisculus. When
the water in which this animal is found, is
evaporated, the latter contracts after death
into globules. These possess at first their
transparency at the extremities, which cor-
respond to the head and tail ; but gradually
they contract into a ring surrounded by other
globules, and assume an appearance resem-
bling Protococcus; only it is mucilagenous
when united in large masses, and is therefore
more like Palmeiia.

At this time an Oscillatoria begins to
appear, which Kutzing terms brevis. It is
always the same plants. The author confirms
the accuracy of the observation of Treviranus
with regard to the motion of the sporules of
algae. He observed the motions of millions
of globules while examining the Draparnal-
dia Plumosa in a glass of water. Under the
microscope he noticed, that as the green bor-
der (which was formed on the second day
after depositing the plant in water), increased,
the filaments of the Hraparnaldia, lost their
green colour and became hyaline, and the
globules resembled then the Cymbella (Frus-
lulia.) These movements somewhat resem-
ble those of pollen in spirit of wine, camphor
in water, &c. but they are of longer duration.
By keeping a Protococcus which w as seated
on sandstone constantly wet, the globules
became connected, filaments were formed,
and a conferva produced, which he calls
tenerrima (C JWuralis Spreng.) This plant

is found in the waters of reservoirs, and is
transformed into an alga of a superior order,
the Inoderma. Kutzing observed the Alys-
phreria flavo-virens to be produced from the
Protococcus viridis, by the conversion of the
globules into dichotomous filaments.

He found likewise, that by examining the
structure of the Parmelia spurietina, it is
observed, that the globules of the Protococcus
viridis, which occurs on trees along with the
lichen, enter into its frond, and that the
latter is the first stale of the lichen. Upon
the upper part of trunks of trees, we observe
the Parmelia parietina. At the base we
notice filaments of Protonema, which are
generally converted into Orthotrichum, Hyp-
num and other mosses.

Kutzing has distinctly observed these
threads of Protonema formed by globules of
Protococcus. 'J'hese globules swell, being
filled in the interior with a green liquid, and
are gradually expanded into filaments. It
appears that the formation of A /^/sp/icena does
not necessarily precede that of the lichens,
but that it is an independent structure. Kut-
zirig observed the Barbula muralis a moss,
produced from Protonema and also from a
Protococcus- The genera Zygnema and
Mongeotia are generally found in shallow
water. When the water containing these
plants is evaporated, the Conferva quadran-
gula appears. From the Mongeotia genvflexa
in this way proceeds the Riccid crystallina.

From his observations Kutzing infers: —

1. The formation of organic matter cannot
take place, except from elements of other
organic principles already dissolved

2. Simple globules (Cryptococcus, Palmeiia-
and Protococcus), may produce difiPerent plants
according to the influence of light, air and tem-
perature.

3. The superior algae are plants of very sim-
ple structure.

4. The same superior structure may be pro-
duced from original structures altogether dif-
ferent. Thus, the Barbula muralis, is iormed
from the Protonema which comes from a Pro-
tococcus, and again proceeds from the remains
of the dried Palmeiia botryoides, without pass-
ing through the stage of Protonema.

PROCEEDINGS OF THE ASHMO
LEAN SOCIETY, OF OXFORD, 1836-

June,26, 1835 — The following query was pro-
posed by a member :

In what way can we satisfactorily explain
the mode in which spiders carry their threads
from one object to another at considerable dis-
tances through the air?

DR. DAUBENY EXHIBITED A SPE-
CIMLN OF THE BROMELIA PIN-
GUIS. — A native of the West Indies, which
flowered this autumn in the open air in the
garden of Mr. Shirley of Eatington Park,
near Shipston-upon-Stour. 'J his plant has
rarely blossomed in Europe even under glass,
although a drawing of it in flower is given in
the Hoi tus Elthamensis ; and the individual
plant alluded to had been tried first in the
pinery, and afterwards in the greenhouse, but
had never put forth flowers, till it was taken

ON FRESH SPRINGS EVOLVING NITROGEN GAS.

7 72

out of doors, when it flowered, though the
petals, never, properly expanded.

A COMMUNICATION WAS ALSO
READ BY HIM RESPECTING AN
ELECTRICAL PHENOMENON STA-
TED TO HAVE OCCURRED IN THE
GARDEN OF THE DUKE OF BUCK-
INGHAM, AT STOWE -The following
w'as the staterrient drawn up by his Grace’s
direction, of the circumstance alluded to.

“ On the evening of hhiday the 4th of
September, 1835, during a storm of thunder
and lightning, accompanied by heavy rain,
the flower called (Bnothera macrocarpa, diheA
of which is in the garden immediately opposite
tlie windows of the manuscript library at
•Stowe, were observed to be brilliantly illumi-
nated hy phosphoric light.

“ During the intervals of the flashes of
lightning, the night was exceedingly dark,
and nothing else could be distinguished in the
gloom except the bright light upon the leaves
of these flowers.

“ Stowe, September, 23rd, 1835.”

A PAPFR WAS READ BY PROF.
RIGAUD ON HALLEY’S ASTRONO-
met: COMETICyE SYNOPSIS.— Halley
had begun his calculations of cometary orbits
in 1695, and appears to have completed them
in l702 ; but it was not till 1705 thathe pub-
lished his Astronomiae Corneticae Synopsis in
the Philosophical Transactions for 1705. In
this he gives the parabolic elements of 24
comets observed between 1337 and 1698, with
the table which he formed for calculating
their molions. This he le-printed separately
at Oxford in the following summer; and an
•English translation was published the same
year, which probably was his own, as he
adopted it in the second volume of the Miscel-
lanea Curiosa. The Synopsis was intended for
the introduction to a larger work, and he prin-
ted it to secure his calculations from being lost,
in case of any accident befalling him. 'The
first edition contains a notice of some similarity
(on which, however, he did not much depend)
between the comets of 1681 and 1532, whose
possible return in 129 years has not been veri-
fied. In 17l5 the work was re-printed at the
end of an English translation of Gregory’s
Astronomy. In this he first speaks of calcula-
ting the elliptical orbits, and brings forward
the possible identity of the comets of ll05 and
1680. In l7l9, with his volume of Astronomi-
cal Tables, he printed a new edition of the
Synopsis, in which he entirely omits the men-
tion of the comets of l66l, but gives elliptical
elements for those of l680 and 1682, and a
comparison of the places calculated from them
with the observations which he could find on
record. He had likewise discovered some
earlier observations of the last, which agreed
well with its revolving in an orbit of about
75^ years ; and having pointed out the circum-
.stances which retarded its return, he confi-
dently concluded that it might be expected
again in the latter end of l758 or l759.

MR. KYNSTON EXHIBITED, AND
PRESENTED TO THE SOCIETY,
A PRESERVED SPECIMEN OF A
GRASSHOPPER.— To which were attached
a number of species of worm, very long, slen-

der, and convoluted which had fixed them.selves
upon it, and destroyed it. It was found in
Switzerland.

THE PRESIDENT SHEWED A POR-
TION OF WASP’S NEST MADE IN A
HOLLOW IN A SUGAR-LOAF -Into
which the wasps had eaten, and composed of
the blue and white paper in which the loaf
was wrapped. The nest was discovered in
the month of August, and appeared to have
been begun not long before. No instance
being as yet known of wasps going out from a
nest already formed to construct another ii>
the same year, it is most probable that the
present nest was begun by a female wasp,
which had survived the last winter, and not
by any of the other wasjjs which were en-
gaged in eating the sugar.

DR. DAUBENY STATED THAT
DURING THE LAST AUTUMN HE
HAD MADE THE DISCOVERY OF
FRESH SPRINGS WHICH EVOLVE
NITROGEN GAS.— The first of these was
the tepid spiing of Mallow in the county of
Cork, a water which contains but very little
solid matter. The gas evolved consisted of
Nitrogen 93'5. Oxygen 6'5.

It appears to issue from carboniferous lime-
stone, the beds of which in its immediate
neighbourhood are vertically disposed, intima-
ting that they have been affected by some
violent action since they were originally
deposited.

'The other spring, disengaging nitrogen,
which he observed, was near Clonmell. It
was a very clear but perfectly cold water,
called St. Patrick’s well, held in much venera-
tion in the neighbourhood, and resorted to by
l)ilgrims in great numbers. Bubbles of gas
rise up through it, which Dr. Daubeny found
to consist of

Nitrogen 94. Oxygen 6.

The spring gushes out of the same limestone
stratum, as that of Mallow.

Nocemhermh. A NOTICE W^ AS COM-
MUNICATED FROM MR.KIRTLAND
RESPECTING THE WORM EXHI-
BITED AT THE LAST MEETING BY
MR. KYNASTON, WHICH HAD AP-
PARENTLY DESTROYED A GRASS-
HOPPER.—It is found to be the gordius
aquaticus. or hairworm, so called frorn various
contortions and knots into which it twists
itself. In a communication made to Loudon’s
Magazine, vol. ii. p. 2ll, it is said to be often
met with on the surface of garden or other
ground in wet weather, as it is in water or
clay, its common habitation.

The gordius aquations is not unfrequently
found to inhabit the intestines of insects. De
Geer (marshall of the court of the queen of
Sweden, and member of the Academy of
Stockholm, and who published a. work intitled
“ Memoires pour servir a 1’ Histore des In-
sectes” in 7 vol. 4to. 1752—1779) mentions
these worms being found in grasshoppers.
Dr. Matthey likewise mentions one of these
worms being found in the body of a grasshop-
per, which was no less than 2^ feet in length.

Mr. Paxton mentioned a similar case in the
instance of an earwig.

A VALUABLE WORK ON MINERALOGY BY THOMSON.

173

MR. JOHNSON iOF QUEEN’S,
READ A SHORT ACCOUNT OF
SOME MATHEMATICAL RESEAR-
CHES HE HAD LATELY PUR-
SUED ON OPTICAL IMAGES.-He was
led to this remarkable result, that, according to
the mathematical theory, the image of astraight
line placed vertically in water, and also
horizontally, are each the loci of equations of
high dimensions and great complexity, and
should be curves of high orders, but to the
eye they are straight lines ; a very accurate
construction of the curves, however, shewed
that certain portions of them (which properly
represent the image) will approach so near
to straight lines as to be such to the eye.
Drawings of these curves were exhibited.

MR. POWELL GAVE A COMMUNE
CATION ON THE DISPERSION OF
LIGH r. — In continuation of former papers,
in which he illustrated the subject by dia-
grams of the several spectra formed by prisms
of water, oil of turpentine, flint glass, oil of
cassia, oil of aniseed, andsulphuret of carbon,
shewing their comparative refiactive and dis-
persive powers.

DR. BUCKLAND READ A FUR-
THER STATEMENT RELATIVE TO
'J HE LUMINOUS APPEARANCE ON
THE FLOWERS OF THECENO 1 HERA
MENTIONED AT THE LASTMEEtI
ING.— It wasj distinctly stated that the
luminous appearance continued uninterrupt-
edly for a considerable length of time ; it did
not appear to resemble any electric effect:
and the opinion which seemed most probable
was, that the plant, like many known instan-
ces, has a power of absorbing light, and
giving it out under peculiar circumstances.

DR. DAUBENY EXHIBITED SOME
SPECIMENS OF SAND AND CLAY
FOUND IN THE BOTTOM OF THE
CAVERNS.— In limestone, at Michell’s
town, near Cork. The sand covered the
feottom of the cave to an unknown depth, and
was itself covered with a crust of stalagmite.
The sand must have been washed in through
a very narrow entrance; and there is no
existing stream capable of so introducing it.
No bones or other remains were found in it.

Dr. Buckland also explained the occur-
rence of such sand, &c. by diluvial action,
and proceeded to remark a curious circum-
stance connected with these caverns. There
has never been an instance in which any
deposits have taken place at the bottoms of
caves, except such as are composed of recent
remains, and the mud, sand, &c. of the sur-
face; debris and fossil remains of older for-
mations never occur in them. The only
instance known of any older remains in
caverns, is that of the caves at Palermo,
belonging to the latertertiary period, and
containing shells, &c. of that formation per-
forated by pholades, though now raised 300
feet above the sea.

Dr. Buckland also observed that the origin
of caves in limestone had during many years
occupied his attention, and has always been
considered by him one of the most difficult

problems in geology. To a certain degree
they have in many cases been the effects of
mechanical violence producing lateral move-
ments, and tearing asunder portions of solid
rocks, during the elevation, or subsidence, of
the strata in which they occur. In cases of
this kind, the fractures are usually rectilinear,
and partake of the nature of a slip or fault,
never filled up. But the lateral enlarge-
ments and tubular communications that pro*
ceed in various directions from the main aper-
tures, and the vaulted anddorae-shaped expan-
sions that occur at irregular intervals along
the minor winding passages, cannot be refer-
red to mechanical violence ; and an adequate
cause of their origin may possibly be found
in the influence of acid vapours, (probably
carbonic acid,) rising through fractures
adjacent to these corroded portions of the
limestone.

Caverns in solid limestone could not have
been produced, like cells and cavities of
various size in beds of porous lava, by air
included in the viscid substance of the strata,
before or daring the progress of consolidation,
because they are most abundant in limestones
of the most compact character, and in which
no other trace of cellular structure is to be
found. Moreover, the interior of caverns
usually presents an irregular carious surface,
similar to that which is produced on a mass
of limestone submitted to the action of an
acid.

If these supposed acids were mixed with
water, the lime thus dissolved would have
been removed in a state of solution, and the
sides of the caves would be found studded
with the less soluble contents of the strata,
such as siliceous concretions, and fragments
of orgainic remains, standing in relief, as we
often see them around the interior of these
carious vaultings.

The organic remains in these strata, parti-
cularly the corals, are often disposed in such
a manner as to shew that considerable time
elapsed during the deposition of the succes-
sive beds of limestone in which they are enve-
loped ; no accumulations of gas in connected
cavernous expansions passing from one
stratum into anotlier could have taken place
in beds of limestone thus deposited at succes-
sive intervals.

Dr. Daubeny expressed a doubt as to
whether all caverns could be accounted for
by aqueous corrosion alone, and conceived
that the large vaulted chambers into which
many of them suddenly expand, may have
been originally produced by an evolution of
gaseous matter, whilst the rock itself was in a
softened condition.

OUTLINES OF MINERALOGY, GE-
OLOGY, AND MINERAL ANA-
LYSIS.

By J'homas Thomson, M. D., F. R. S., &c.

2 vols. Londov, l836.

There is not any more important result
which has emanated from the discovery of
the atomic theory than the demonstration that
the mineral kingdom consists, not of a multi-
tude of heterogeneous bodies, heaped toge-

174

ON THE CONTENTS OF THOMSON’S WORK.

her without any method, but that each
mineral species which is met with on our
globe, is formed of elements definitely com-
bined ; and that a cabinet of minerals ought
to constitute part of every chemical museum,
as essentially, as soluble and other salts which
were formerly considered as distinct from the
mineral kingdom. This was easily proved,
in reference to more simple minerals, whose
elements were found to exist, combined in
atomic proportions, both in artificial and
natural salts. Thus, the atomic weights of
8ul phuric acid and lime being determined when
entering into the composition of what were at
first ascertained to be atomic compounds it
was but reasonable, on the occurrence of these
bodies in a native state, to assign to their ulti-
mate particles the same atomic weights. Ac-
cordingly, sulphate of lime has been found
abundantly in a native state, in two states, —
first, as Cal. SI 2 Aq, and second, as Cal.
SI. In both of these instances the atomic weights
of the sulphuric acid and lime were precisely
the same as in the more familiar salts, sul-
phate of soda, muriate of lime, &c. Having
ascertained that this held good in regard to
one or more minerals, chemists were induced
to extend their researches over the field of
nature. They gradually discovered that some
bodies possess actions which they would have
long looked for in vain, if they had neglected
this delightful and varied field of investigation.
They found that a mineral termed Table
Spar, afforded, by the analysis of eight dif-
ferent specimens from different localities,
always, the same quantities of silica and
alumina. — about 5l parts of the former,
and 45 of the leiterAnother mineral, Picros-
mine, gave by analysis, 56 parts silica and
36 magnesia. What, then, were the legiti-
mate deductions to be drawnfrom these
analyses? Was it not correct to say that
the silica acted the part of acid to the lime
and manganese, as did the sulphuric
acid in the instances previously alluded to?
Hence the formulae for table spar and picros-
mine, it has been inferred, are Cal. S2 and
MgS2. The discovery that silica acted as
an acid, in simple combinations, was sufficient
to entitle chemists to conclude that this im port-
ant body continued to preserve its power of
action in more intricate compounds, where
several bases presented themselves, upon
which it might exercise its agency. If in the
case of the table spar, an atom of iron had
been present, we should have had Cal. S
X FS ; the formula would have been extended
the composition would have been somewh at
more intricate ; and, if we had a tiiird atom
of silica, as in tersilicate of lime, we might
have had a third base united with the third
atom of acid And all this with as much
propriety as there is in representing the com-
position of the rrore familiar salt, alum, by
KSI.4-3 Al.Sl. + 25 Aq.

To those who have occupied themselves
with the important study of the mineral king-
dom, we know that these observations are
quite superfluous ; but they may properly be
urged in answer to such as term the analysis
of stones (as they sneeringly designate the
labours of the analyst) an abuse of the atomic

theory ; and they are peculiarly applicable in-
turning our attention to the new work on
mineralogy and geology, whose title stands at
the head of this article. The first volume
consists of a description of 509 different species |
ot minerals ; the greater proportion of which |
have been subject to analysis, either by the i
author himself, or under his superintendence ;
and those, alone, can judge of the activity and
enthusiasm with which, during the last ten
years, these labours have been engaged in, who
have been employed as fellow-workmen in the
delightful, though ardous task. Before a pro-
perly arranged system can be formed, theele-
ments of that system must be examined. Not
only have the elements been scrutinized in
the present instance, but they have been
reduced into order, and of such a nature, as,
we conceive, infinitely surpasses any which
has been previously proposed. By the
systems hitherto propagated the most dis-
similar bodies have been associated. The
classification of minerals, as of salts, should
be simple, not complicated The arrange-
ment in the British Museum belongs to the
latter class, and must be pionounced bad.
The acids there distinguish the classes, and
hence, the greatest confusion is produced ;
for the salts of each base constitute as many
classes as the base forms combinations with
acids. Thus lead is found in combination
with at least seventeen different acids. These
different minerals will, therefore, according
to this arrangement, be deposited in seven-
teen different places. The base, however,
of a salt, gives character, generally, to all
the bodies into which that base enters as an
element, the acid does not afford any such
general character. If we class together the
different sulphates, for example, we have
bodies associated of all hues and dyes; but
if we place the salts ot copper in juxtapo.si-
tion, the merest tyro would instantly discover
the propriety of such an arrangement. This
is the plan which has been adopted in the
present work.

Such is a general view of the contents of
the first volume. It commences with an
introduction explanatory of the nomenclature
of the external characters of minerals, and
exhibiting a view of the system of crystal-
lography adopted by Mohs, for the purpose
of enabling the English reader to consult
Haidinger’s admirable translation of Mohs’
works. The volume concludes with three
tables, in the first of which are given the
specific gravity, hardness, and form of the
crystals of minerals, in the order of the chemi-
cal arrangement. The second affords a list
of minerals arranged according to the spe-
cific gravity, beginning with Scheererite the
lightest , and the third supplies^ a list of
minerals in the orderof their hardness. Mine-
ralogists will at once appreciate the utility
of these tables.

The first 345 pages of the second volume
are devoted to an outline of geology, and
a valuable and complete table of the fossils,
plants, and animals found in the mineral
kingdom.

The first chapter, on the d'emperature of
the earth, is full of most important matter. In

THE ANNUAL CONSUMPTION OF COAL IN THE GLASGOW MARKETS. 175

order to determine the state of the question ia
reference to the existence of a central fire,
the author has collected all the observations
that have hitherto been published on the tem-
peratures, from the surface of the earth to the
greatest depth that has been attained by man.
From these it appears that, taking the mean of
nineteen ovservatibns, there is an increase of
1° F, for every 50 feet of descent. This is the
evidence which many bring forward for the
existence of a central fire. The author, how-
ever, shews, that according to the observations
of Mr. Moyle, made during a series of years
in Cornwall, the high temperature of these
mines continues only while they are work-
ing. When they are abandoned they are soon
filled with water, which remains stagnant,
and the temperature gradually sinks, till it
approaches that of the mean temperature of the
place. 2. That the temperature of the earth is
regulated entirely by the sun, for, the higher
the sun is elevated above the horizon and the
longer it continues above the horizon, the
higher is the temperature. If the temperature
increased I^ for every 50 feet, a descent of 12
miles or a point by so much nearer the centre
of the earth than the position of the equator,
should afford a temperature, allowing for radi-
ation, of 1200*^. Now, this ought to be the
temperature of the poles, because they are l2
miles nearer the earth’s centre than the
equator. Their temperature is, however,— 13*^,
and hence, this seems a fatal argument to the
notion of a central fire. But, although the
idea of a central fire is not supported by the
facts with which we are acquainted, it is not
unlikely that an internal fire exists, which
gives origin to those vast volcanic regions and
earthquakes which are continually altering
the aspect of the earth’s surface. If we were
to consider this fire as approaching nearer the
surface in some places than in others^, we
might have, perhaps, an explanation of the
relative causes of volcanoes and earthquakes.

The remainder of the geological portion is
divided according to the formations, beginning
at the surface. Many original observations
are detailed, especially in reference to the
geology of Scotland, where the occurrence
of most remarkable alterations in the relative
levels of the sea and land is minutely detailed.
The Glasgow coal beds are accurately describ-
ed, The annual consumption ofcoalinthe
Glasgow markets, it is stated, amounts to
870,000 tons. But one of the most curious
facts detailed, is the discovery, by the author,
of a bed of coal in basalt, near Dairy, in
Ayrshire,

This bed is 4 feet thick, and is situated some
hundred feet below the summit of Beadlan-
hill, which is elevated 903 feet above the sea.
Its specific gravity is l-3l7. Colour brown ;
it is very hard. Burns with a livelv flame,
and leaves 25*77 per cent, of earthy matter.
It contains vegetable impressions differing
from any that have hitherto been described,
as derived from the coal formation. They
appear to he fucoides. The only other loca-
lity, where it is believed, coal has been found
in basalt, is at Fairhead, in Ireland, but no
fossils have been observed in it.

The latter part of the second volume, con-
sisting of above 200 pages is devoted to rules
for the analysis of mineral substances,
including stony minerals, metallic alloys, and
mineral salts. This portion of the work is
worth the attention of geologists as well as
mineralogists, as it must be obvious to every
one, who casts his eye over the vague specu-
lations of too many of our present geologists,
that without the application of chemistry,
mineralogy, and natural history, geology is
but a name . — Records of General Science.

EXAMINATION OF HAIR SALT, OR
NATIVE SULPHATE OF ALUMINA
AND IRON.

By Robert D. Thomson, M. D.

(Continued from page 122.J

The rock on which the salt lies is a
granular schistose quartzose rock of a green-
ish-gray colour, with small silvery scales of
mica, and is impregnated with the salt
matter which covers partly the surface with
flakes, and partly incrusts it. The flocky
portion consists of bitter salt, the crust of
alum, with a small quantity of bitter salt.
The rock on which the river flows is a gra-
nular gray quartz, with some small scales
of mica. The roof of the cave consists of red
conglomerate, in which rolled quartz occurs,
and occasionally pyrites and oxide of iron.
The neighbourhood is formed of hills 800
feet high, which are intersected by deep
vallies, and capped by limestone. This lime-
stone contains small portions of carbonate
of magnesia, with traces of manganese and
iron. Fossil oyster, and muscle shells
were observed on the upper part of the
hill, between Uitenhage and Enon.
Hence, it would appear to be a very
recent tertiary formation. It is worthy
of notice that the alum and bitter salt
are formed separately, and that neither
of them contain iron, although the oxide
of that metal occurs abundantly in the
conglomerate. The feather alum, ac-
cording to Hofrath Stromeyer, is a new
hitherto undescribed species of alum, in
which the sulphate of alumina occurs in
combination with sulphate of manganese and
sulphate of magnesia. Hence, he
terms it mangan -magnesia alum. Sulphate
of manganese has never previously been
detected in any species of alum.

At Tschermig, in Bohemia, an ammonia-
cal alum is found, which, according to Lam-
padius and Gruner, consists of Alumina
11.602 Ammonia 3721 Magnesia 0-115

176 THE RESULT OF THREE

Sulphuric acid 36’065 Water 48’390
Total 9989-3 *

The stalactitical bitter salt of Neusohal,
in Bohemia, contains Magnesia 15-314,
Oxide of cohalt 0*688, Oxide of copper 0*382,
Protoxide of manganese 0*343, Protoxide
of iron 0*092, Sulphuric acid 31*372,
Water 51*700, Total, 99*891 f

5. The substances which have been alrea-
dy described are all derived from foreign
localities. I now proceed to relate the facts
which have been ascertained with respect to
the hair salts of this country.

Mr. Phillips subjected to examination the
salt which proceeds from the decomposition
of iron pyrites in the shale of the deserted ,
coal mines of Campsie and Hurlet, in the
nighbourhood of Glasgow. He obtained
Sulphuric acid. . . . 30*9 - 3*07 atoms.
Protoxide of iron. . 20*7 - 2*3 ,,

Alumina ...5*2 - 1*15 ,,

Water 43*2 - 19*2 „

100*0

The formula deduced from his analysis is
2 / S. -f Al. 2 S. 4- 16| Aq.l:

He repeated the analysis, and obtained
the sulphuric acid in excess.

The conclusions at which I have arrived,
after making several careful analyses, are,
that the substance is by no means a steady
compound, as I have never obtained the same
quantity of alumina, and have found that of the
acid to vary considerably. That the latter is
often in excess is evident, from the salt
tasting sour in many instances, while at other
times it is nearly tasteless. Mr. Phillips
informs us that he found the proportion of
alumina less, in a second trial which he
made, than in his first analysis, although the
difference was not so considerable as to in-
duce him to repeat his experiments.

The specimens which I examined were
from Campsie, and consisted of silky,
albestus-like threads mixed with pieces of
shale and sulphate of iron, which were care-
fully excluded before dissolving the salt.

It is very soluble in water, and often pos-
sesses a styptic taste, from the presence of
minute portions of sulphate of iron ; 5 grs.
introduced into a platinum crucible, and
exposed to the heat of a spirit lamp, lost,
without altering in colour, 2*13 grs. By an
additional heat, which rendered the salt
reddish, 0*03 disappeared. If we suppose
that all the water was expelled in the first
experiment, without decomposing the com-
pound in any degree, we obtain a per centage
of 42*6 ; by the second we have 43*6.

* Poggendorff, Ann. xxxi. 142 t Ibid.

I Annals of Philosophy, Second Series, v. 446.

ANALYSIS OF HAIR SALT.

The following table contains the result of
three analyses of hair salt fi*om Campsie :

Sulphu-

ricAcid.

Protox.
of Iron.

Alumi-

na.

Water.

1.

S2-925

19-800

2-500

44-775

2.

28-6S5

19-935

2-850

48-580

S.

33-580

19.620

8-200

43-600

Mean . . .

31-713

19- 785

2-850

45-651

Atoms . . .

6-34

4-39

1-26

1 40-5

In these experiments the composition is, |
First. Second. Third.

Sulphuric acid . . 6*5 . . 5*727 . . 6*71 atoms, i

Protoxide of iron 4*4 .... 4*4 . . 4*35 ;

Alumina 1*1 .. 1*26.. 1*42 !

Water 39*8 .. 43*18. . 38*75 \

To represent the composition by these [
analyses, we have the formulae respec- j;
tively : — ji

1.4/S. -i- A1.S2 + 36 Aq. il

2. Si /S.4- Al. S. + 34f Aq. i

3. 3/S.4-Al,S1^4.27i Aq. ij

And, as expressing the mean, we may ij
adopt i

S. + Al. Sl§ -f 32 Aq. ||

Another specimen which had been pre- [;
served in a phial for some years was also ji
analyzed, and yielded. l|

Sulphuric acid. . 35*600 - 2.37 atoms. i

Protoxide of iron . 13*500 - 1* ,,

Alumina 7*127 - 1*05

Water 43*773 - 12*9

Total 100*000 1

Which may be considered equivalent j
to/s. 4* Al. S. -4- 13 Aq. with a great
excess of acid. The salt had a strongly
acid taste. If we take the mean of this
formula with those which precede, we obtain !
nearly.

2 /S. 4-x\l. S. 4- 20 Aq.
which is quite different from the result of j
Phillips. I

Of the three analyses contained in the ji
table, the third, perhaps, approaches most
nearly the mean composition of this sub-
stance, as it corresponds with the first so i
far as regards the acid and iron, and the i
water is identical with the result obtained
by direct experiment. |

From these facts, then, it appears that ,
the hair salt of the coal strata varies in its !
composition. But this deduction is what
we should have been inclined to draw, from j
the consideration of various analyses by |
different chemists, of specimens of similar
salts from other localities, which affect the !
same form of crystallization, although con- ]
sisting of totally different constituents.
Thus sulphate of magnesia, sulphate of
manganese, as well as sulphate of alumina
and iron are found, we have [also seen in
capillary crystals.

THE VALUE OF INTERESTING SCIENTIFIC INTELLIGENCE.

177

Upon what circumstances this remarkable
asbestus form of soluble salt depends, it is
not easy to determine, because they are
indifferently met with in various species of
rocks. This form, however, in insoluble
minerals, as has been observed, is con-
nected with serpentine rocks.* — Records of
General Science.

THE INDIA REVIEW.

Calcutta : August 1, 1836.

PROSPECTS FOR THE PEOPLE OF
INDIA.

The success of our new periodical is in
some measure shewn by our having upon
our list about 200 Subscribers, a commence-
ment which encourages us to hope that we
shall soon be enabled to diffuse in this coun-
try valuable and interesting scientific intel-
ligence from all parts of Europe.

Recently six Scientific Journals were pub-
lished in Great Britain : these have been
reduced to two ; one of which is published
monthly in London, the other quarterly in
Edinburgh. Since 1835, an additional work
has been published, viz., “ Records of
Science.” How long this last ably -conducted
Journal will exist, it is impossible to say ;
but it is obvious there must be some cause
for this want of success in works of Science.
We ourselves believe the cause to have
arisen from the articles having generally been
too abstruse and subtle. It is true they were
full of refined and speculative knowledge
and recondite reasoning : replete with phy-
sical and metaphysical subjects. But then
they were more adapted to the deep thinking
philosopher than to the general scientific
reader : hence a want of subscribers. The
failure in Britain of periodicals which have
been devoted solely to the diffusion of gene-
ral science is a warning to us to consider
well the grounds on which we anticipate
success in our new undertaking. In a
country like India where the British Sojour-
ners and their descendants are comparatively

* Thomson's Inorganic Chemistry, i. ]6i.

few, the means of education as regard
Science is but in its infancy ; and therefore
the importance of periodicals purely on the
mere abstract branches of science is not felt.
It is principally on this account that we have
determined to blend with purely scientific
matter, articles on the mechanical arts, and
such other interesting subjects as regard
improvement in manufactures, commerce,
agriculture, &c., in order to suit the
taste and promote the benefit of all
classes. While we shall be able to ad-
mit subjects which embrace abstruse
investigation into the causes of physi-
cal changes and determine the nature of
bodies, reducing them to their elements,
ascertaining their mutual actions and relation,
we shall be able to apply the knowledge
thus ascertained by demonstrative science to
the improvement of arts which supply the
wants as well as the comforts of life.

The grave philosopher and the man of
science may not delight in articles of this
latter description ; but if he has attended to
our explanations, he will no doubt find that
our object is to secure extensive circulation,
which will tend greatly to support that por-
tion of our work which is to be devoted to
those articles which he desires to see. Our
great object is to be the means of leading
to important local and national improvements
of promoting traffic by Rivers, Roads, and
Canals, by Steam Communication and Rail
Road transit ; in which to excite individual
enterprize for large interest on capital, and
to shew that such improvements call’imper-
atively for the immediate attention of go-
vernment for liberal appropriations. That
stupendous machine, the steam engine has
already undergone in its progress more than
two hundred different modifications. It is
our intention to give every new improve-
ment in their motive forces from water,
ether, alcohol essential oils, the liquifiable
gases, atmospheric air,&c. The preparation of
that invaluable and important metal, the chief
material of nearly all machinery — Iron, shall
receive particular attention as well as the
various manipulations and mechanism em-
ployed in the great staple commodities cot-

178 INDIA THE REPOSITORY OF VALUABLE AND PRECIOUS ORES.

ton, silk, woollen, and linen. The con-
struction of engines, mills, railways, carriages,
ships, boats, docks, canals, bridges, fur-
naces, boilers, gas machinery, looms, pres-
ses, pumps, paddles, ploughs, water works,
&c. will be illustrated by lithographic
sketches, and an account given of the vari-
ous important processes of dyeing, distilling,
bleaching, brewing and tanning. While to
the chemist and mechanic, we hope to be
of essential service. We shall also do our ut-
most to meet the wishes of the naturalist.
The extravagant price of standard works in
this department has been to discourage the
naturalist in his interesting study. We
trust we shall be able to glean from the
numerous works which are publishing, and
from papers in the transactions of learned
societies all that is novel and valuable for
this class of our readers.

The question remaining to be consi-
dered next is, what benefit will such
intelligence afford to a country like this,
containing 1,116,000 square miles equal
in size to Great Britain, France, Spain,
Portugal, Italy, Germany, Hungary,
Poland, and Turkey, put together ; the
number of people who inhabit it being compu-
ted at 100,000,000 souls. When the riches of
other countries have been ascertained and
made known through the chemist and geologist,
may we not reasonably expect that they will
excite a spirit of enquiry and a desire for
scientific education in the people here;
and that they will soon learn that this is
the largest empire in the world ; — the reposi-
tory of the most valuable and precious ores ;
— the greatest repository of diamonds hitherto
discovered ; a country rich in spices, drugs,
colours, silk, cotton, saltpetre, saffron,
coffee, sugar, rice, &c. ; that its manufac-
tures in silks, embroidery, and cottons have
long since excited the admiration of Europe ;
that its animal and vegetable produc-
tions, its metals, minerals, and valuable
natural productions are scarcely yet known ;
and that science and the arts have yet to
develope these internal resources which will
ere long raise its character. Is it extravagant
to hope under British rule that it will be..

come the greatest commercial nation in the
world. The realization of these objects,
however, depends materially upon the
policy which the government of India may
adopt in regard to its revenue. Whe-
ther it endangers manufactures and
population, or whether with the constant
extension of boundary, it takes such measures
to improve the soil, realize millions of acres
which are now covered with forest, brush-
wood, and stagnant waters, whether it facili-
tates inland navigation, by deepening
harbours, constructing docks, and encourag-
ing ship building, the whole depends upon
the adoption of a system of national polity
by which the advantages to the government
and the community may be reciprocal.
It is during the times of peace that the
great work of national improvement should
go on, not as a matter of expediency, but of
possitive necessity. If we desire to erect
the fabric of our rule and future prosperity
on a permanent basis, while we are giving
encouragement to trace out the unexplored
gifts of nature and bring into action the hid-
den treasures of the land, we must conci-
liate public regard by promoting the pros-
perity of the people. A specific sum might
justly be appropriated to objects of nation.^
al improvement, which, besides giving
encouragement to ingenuity and merit and
employment to the industrious, would pro-
mote the circulation of the specie through-
out the country ; increase the demand for
various articles of inland manufacture and
finally produce in their operation, an annual
equivalent equal to the whole amount of the
original outlay ; and most probably exceed it.

We commence our department on Me-
chanical arts for this month, with sugges-
tions, on the navigation of the Atlantic
by steam, our esteemed contemporary the
Friend of India, has called the attention of
his readers to the mode of building steam
vessels for the river. Is his plan applicable
to the build of the Huntsman on a smaller
scale? We however, trust, the subject, will
lead to further enquiries and supply the
desideratum pointed out by the able
Editor.

[ 179 ]

PROGRESS OF SCIENCE

AS APPLICABLE TO THE ARTS AND MANUFACTURES ; TO COMMERCE
AND TO AGRICULTURE.

SUGGESTIONS ON THE NAVIGATION OF THE ATLANTIC BY STEAM.

Before I enter upon the details of the
system, which is essentially different from
any in use, I shall state what I consider
desiderata to this end, all of which I hope
are obtained in the proposed plan, though I
do not pretend to insinuate that I consider
my plans so good that they may not be
improved ; on the contrary, I think them ex-
tremely imperfect, and, consequently, quite
open to improvement.

1 . The vessels to be used in this species of
navigation to be made as light as possible,
and to combine safety with sufficient room,
and the least possible resistance to the
water below load-line, and to the air or
wind above that line.

2. That these vessels shall be calculated
principally for carrying passengers, and to
carry but little baggage, and no ballast.

3. That they be constructed of iron, not
only on account of its great levity, but for
the increased safety resulting from its non-
combustibility.

4. That these vessels be so rigged, that
all the masts and rigging can with ease and
facility be taken in, so that the least wind
draft will exist when the wind is adverse ;
and that when the wind is favourable, the
greatest spread of sail can be made with
ease and rapidity, and with perfect safety,
though the vessel is without ballast, properly
so called.

5. That material and weight be econo-
mised as much as possible in the composi-
tion of boilers, engine, ship’s furniture and
stores, boats, &c. ; and that the necessity of
taking any supply of water for the voyage be
entirely dispensed with, by the use of a
species of fuel, hereafter to be described,
which will constantly by its combustion pro-
duce an abundant supply of pure, whole-
some water, thereby avoiding the dead loss
of so much freight, which in ships intended
for a long voyage is very considerable.

6. That one paddle be used instead of
two, which must be placed so that it may be
in or near the centre of the motion of the
whole mass, and thereby always nearer a
grip of the water, though the vessel herself
may roll and pitch considerably. The posi-
tion, and arrangement, and construction of
the paddle to be such, that it cannot be too
deeply immersed in the water, so as to do
little or no good, which is so often the case
in our steamers in rough seas.

7. The paddle to be so constructed that
it can be entirely withdrawn from the water,
so that it will not be in the way, when the
sails without the steam can be used : a prac-
tice which would be economical, and give
the engineers time to clean and repair the
machinery, Sec.

These are the principal requisites neces-
sary to be obtained ; some minor peculiari-
ties shall be glanced at hereafter, which

180

A NEW MACHINE BY WHICH TO NAVIGATE THE ATLANTIC.

being of a trifling character, need not here
be insisted on.

In sketching or describing the machine by
which I propose to navigate the Atlantic by
steam, many seamen would not feel disposed
to call it a ship I shall merely premise that
every part and parcel of it has already been
proved by practice to be effective in attaining
the end proposed, and that I merely put toge-
ther different parts of machinery which
every body knows, or may know, to be
actually in use. I shall not attempt to state
which is the very best shape for the different
parts, or their best possible proportions.
My outline is general ; it is not a working
plan, which will require more heads than
one to bring to perfection.

For the sake of preventing repetition, and
not occupying too much of your valuable
space, I shall state in order the different
means by which I propose to attain the
ends to be desired, which are as above
stated.

1. Material to insure greatest lightness
with greatest safety. Iron for the sheathing
of bottom, and also cover over the deck,
which might be considered as an extension
of the hull’s sheathing, and would resemble
the back of an immense turtle. The deck
proper below this, and on to which the small
cabins would open, to be covered with
wooden planks, or if made of iron to be
covered with cement.

a. Such parts of the iron sheathing as
would be below the occasional wash of salt
water to be well cemented. The iron below
water-line to be coated with copper, which
should be left to the dissolving power of the
sea, and, consequently, kept free from con-
tract with any part of the iron, which should
in all places be well cemented.

b. The ribs and timbers of the vessel to b®
made of iron and wood, according to their
nature and position ; but in framing the ves-
sel the greatest strength and elasticity of
the parts to be attained.

c. The vessel should be double, like the
double steamers at the ferry in New York,
or double proas of the Ladrone Islands. The
last is the model after which I propose that
part of the vessel under water should be
built. They would, consequently, carry
their greatest breadth under watery and
slope from that upwards, gently rounding, so
that at a distance, when the wind was
adverse, an elongated dome, like the back of
a whale or tortoise, would be alone seen
above the surface of the sea.

d. Such a shape as this described would
oppose but little resistance to the wind and
least to the water.

e. And make accommodation for a very
large paddle-wheel in the centre between
the boats.

f. The crew and engine to be completely
confined to one of the twin -boats ; the other
to be reserved for the exclusive use of the
passengers; who might be allowed the recre-
ation of a walk in fine weather on the ridge
of the roof, the sides of which might be
furnished with a temporary railing and
netting. The roof to be furnished with
ports or openings, bull’s-eyes, &c., to admit
light and air, and properly secured windows.
These openings to be all closed on the wea-
ther side, when necessary.

g. The boats to be without keels’ the flat
sides of the opening between them, and in
which the paddle works, being quite suf-
ficient ; or if not, lee-boards to be used
when necessary, like those used by the
Dutch galliots.

h. The bows of the vessels to be full, but
not bluff, and to rise quite perpendicular
above the water as high as the “ bead” of
the sea, or boil, as we landsmen call it, and
that the bend of the roof should there begin.
A sharpness in the bows, both above and
under water, is necessary, but all hollowing
of the parts should be avoided.

i. The two vessels to be firmly framed
together, but no cross-timbers of the frame
to be under the water-level. The transverse
arch of the roof affords ample means for
securing the two vessels perfectly safe in this
respect. The arch of the roof, extending
from stem to stern on the sides of the
middle space, also offers every oppor-
tunity to the carpenter for framing, as
it were, a double back-bone, or frame,
on the flat side of each boat, which
shall not only hold the paddle firmly in
its place, but also the working cylinders
of the engine, and effectually s ecure the
machine from injury in “ pitching,” which
otherwise might endanger the whole of the
fabric.

k. The space between the boats to be as
great as safety will permit, and the depth
the least to which the hulls of each would
sink. The first for the double purpose of
affording the greatest breadth to the paddle,
any also of giving greatest stability to the
vessel when carrying sail, either before the
wind, or on a wind, if the fire should fail,
or any accident happen to the engine .

l. Vessels so constructed require two
rudders, one of which is attached to each
half, and both connected by a very simple
contrivance, which makes them both act
with equal effect.

m. The general proportions and bulk of
a vessel of this construction will depend on

EXAMINATION OF ALL THE EVIDENCE REGARDING SAFETY-LAMPS 181

the business expected to be carried on with
her, and also on the capital people may feel
disposed to risk in the speculation.

n. The roof to have an opening in it,
through which masts could be elevated, and
rigged schooner or lugger fashion. The
butts of the , masts to be each fixed in a
moveable centre, firmly secured in the
middle frame. Such would be the breadth
of the deck, that the sheets would be quite
sufficient to spread the sails ; no “ booms”
would be necessary. Bowsprits could be
easily run out ; and the rest of the rigging,
such as stays, run down through the roof,
through proper openings, and all got to
rights in little time. The lower leech of
the sail, when hauled flat, would rest upon
the roof, which would thus become a part
and parcel of the sail.

Your nautical readers will readily under-
stand these suggestions. In my next I
will continue the subject, with your permis-
sion.

I send you here with the drawing of
the Huntsman steamer, which was by some
neglect omitted in my former packet. 1 1
are the chimneys ; 2, steam eduction-pipe ;
3 3, cabin chimneys ; 4, cooking-stove
chimney ; 5, steering- station ; 6, ladies’
cabin ; 7, gentleman’s cabin ; 8, cook’s
house ; 9, boilers ; 10, fire-wood ; 11,
flag-staff used for steering by ; 12, pipe
from safety-valve.

Your well-wisher,

E. Talebois.

Liverpool, Oct. 7, Mech. Mag. 1835.

VENTILATION OF TUNNELS.

Sir, — I think the following plan for ven-
tilating tunnels would be an improvement

upon that which I have seen generally
recommended. If the tunnel is one-fourth
of a mile long, let a circular orifice be made,
12 inches in diameter, from the centre of
the top to the surface ; snd if half a mile
or more long, connect 2 other similar orifi-
ces in the manner represented in the follow-
ing diagram, about 200 yards on each
side of the centre passage.

These auxiliary orifices rising about fiVe or
six feet before passing to the principal, at
not more than one -third of the width from
the sides. Under each passage there
should be placed a strong gas-light lamp ;
so that all three lamps would be seen at
either end. The main passage should, at
two feet from the surface, pass through a
fire in a close iron stove, with a continua-
tion or funnel of three or four feet, con-
tracted at the top to about four inches diame-
ter. In this way an excellent ventilation would
be produced at all seasons, from the strong
current always rushing up to the rarified
part,

I am. Sir,

Your obedient servant,

G. L. Smart.
Enfield, Dec. 4, l835. — Ibid.

REPORT FROM THE SELECT COM-
MITTEE OF THE HOUSE OF COxM-
MONS ON ACCIDENTS IN MINES:
-SIR H. DAVY'S AND OTHER

SAFETY-LAMPS.

The report from the Select Committee ap-
pointed by the House of Commons on the 2nd
of June last, to investigate the subject of ac-
cidents in mines, which, together with the evi-
dence given before the committee, was order-
ed to be printed on the 4th of the ensuing Sep-
tember, has lately appeared, and persents a
body of facts and inductions from them of the
moi^t interesting and momentous character.
We purpose to extract and transfer to the
pages of the Repertory whatever relates to the
subject of Safety-lamps, and afterwards to
enter into a critical examination of all the,
evidence respecting it, and of the conclusions
of the committee regarding it ; that portion of
the entire subject which received the commit-
tee’s attention being as important in a scienti-
fic as itis in an economical point of view;
and the meanshaving at length been furnished,
we conceive, of arriving at some satisfactory
determination relative not only to the inven-
tion and progressive improvement of the safety-
lamp, but also to the degree of actual safety
to be obtained from its use, and the influence
of its employment in the extension and con-
duct of mining for coal, We begin with the
committee’s report, retaining the marginal re-
ferences to the illustrative points of evidence,
many of which also we shall give in the
sequel.

182

OF THOSE WHO HAVE PERISHED IN MINES.

REPORT.

The Select Committee appointed to inquire
into the nature, cause and extent of those la-
mentable catastrophes which have occurred
in the mines of Great Britain, with the view of
ascertaining and suggesting the means of pre-
venting the recurrence of similar fatal acci-
dents, and who were empowered to report the
minutes of the evidence taken before them to
the house ; — have inquired into the matter
referred to them, and have agreed upon the
following report. —

Your committee have called before them
witnesses connected with all the great mining
districts of the kingdom. They have also
examined plans, diagrams, and a great va-
riety of lamps.

To the evidence which accompanies this
report, your committee solicit the attention of
the house.

Your committee have had ample opportu-
nity of multiplying proofs of the calamities
which have occurred in the mines of this
kingdom'^, by sudden explosions of fire-damp,
foul-air, or sulphur, all which terms are lo-
cally applied to carburetted hydrogen gas,
so copiously evolved in many of those
mines. t Few collieries are entirely free
from fire-damp, but in many the quantity
emitted is so large, that, in spite of skill and
unremitting attention, the risk is constant and
imminent.

Having alluded to the nature and cause of
the accidents which have taken place, your
committee proceed to report upon the extent
of the mischief which has resulted to pro-
perty and human life.

The amount of damage sustained by these
explosions^: is described by several witnesses
to have been great, and, when estimated in
connexion with losses arising from interrupted
trade, enormous ; it is nevertheless rather
with reference to the cause and interests of
humanity than in a pecuniary point of view
that this inquiry has assumed its just import-
ance.

Your committee have failed in obtaining
accurate information as to the number oflives
lost within a limited period. Many docu-
ments, however, have been produced, from
which much correct information on this por-
tion of their inquiry has been derived.

In the course of the last session certain re-
turns were made by the clerks of the peace of
inquests held by the coroners on parties who
had met with untimely deaths in the mines of
England and Wales. These returns were
very defective: from some counties the required
information could not be obtained; in others,
the nature of the accidents reported was not
mentioned. They gave a total of 954 per-
sons who had perished during the last twenty-
five years. The following is a summary ; —
Lives lost.

Chester 7 fire-damp and choke damp.

Cumberland l40 ditto ditto

Lives lost,

Derby 19 fire-damp and choke-damp.

Gloucester.. 3 ditto ditto

Monmouth.. 3 ditto ditto

Nottingham.. 18 ditto ditto

Salop 89 ditto ditto

Somerset 1 ditto ditto

Stafford, one district 104 ditto ditto

Warwick 3 ditto ditto

YorkNorth Riding 29 ditto ditto

York, West Riding 23 choke-damp.

Ditto 93 fire-damp.

Ditto 230 other accidents not

[specified.

Brecon 15 ditto ditto

Ditto 3 explosions.

Flint 39 choke-damp and

fire-damp.

Lancashire (no re- ^
turns for several > 135 ditto ditto
districts). 3

954

Many of the counties and divisions of coun-
ties from w’hich no returns have been received
are those wherein your committee believe
catastrophes have occured, which would have
materially swelled the catalogue. The coun-
ties of Durham and Northumberland, it will
be observed, are omitted. As respect these,
the most important of all, the exertions of an
able and indefatigable collector have supplied
the deficiency. Mr. John Sykes, of Netv
castle, in his published “ Local Records” of
those counties, presented the public with a
list of accidents from an early period.* The
general correctness of that list has been
proved ; it was revised and amended by
Mr. Puddlet, who affixed an asterisk
opposite the names of the collieries which
came under his personal notice at the
times named. Those melancholy details
are confined to what has happened on
the banks of the rivers Tyne and Wear
since the year 1710. It appears that in those
districts alone,

There perished 1,479 by explosions
of fire-damp
14 by inundations
37 by other casual-
ties

1,600— Total since 17l0

The list as drawn out furnishes an account,
from 1810 of 1,125 lives lost ; this, added to
the general returns already alluded to, (de-
fective and vastly short of the total, as your
committee believe them to be,) striking fact
requires to be particularly pointed out. If
the year 1816 is assumed as the period when
Sir Humphry Davy’s lamp came into use, a
term of eighteen years previous to the intro-
duction of the lamp, 447 persons lost their
lives in the counties of Durham and Nor-
thumberland*, whilst in the latter term of
eighteen years the fatal accidents amounted

* 1514.2690.376. t 2030. t 1524. 1666.773.

Page 224.

+ 2377.2954.

MINES WORKED BY THE AID OF THE SAFETY LAMP.

183

to 538. To account for this increase, it may
be sufficient to observe, that the quantity of
coal raised in the said counties has greatly
increased ; seams of coal, so fiery as to have
lain unwrought,* have been approached and
worked by the aid of the safety-lamp.-h Many
dangerous mines were successfully carried
on though in a most inflammable state, and
without injury to the general health of the
people employed in them. I Add to this the
idea entertained, that on the introduction of
that lamp the necessity for former precau-
tions and vigilance in a great measure ceased.

This fact led your committee to a serious
part of their inquiry, how are these calamities
to be prevented for the future 1 They desire
fully to recognize the undoubted rights of pro-
perty, enterprise, and labour. They ac-
knowledge their conviction, that the public
interest has been served by the opening of the
more dangerous mines§, and the competition
their working has created, they do not over-
look the anxious care alleged to have been
maintained to diminish the attendant ris'. || ;
but they deem it their duty to state their de-
cided opinion, that the interests of humanity
demand consideration, and they would gladly
put it to the owners of the mines how far any
object of pecuniary interest or personal gain,
or even t' e assumed advantage of public
competition, can justify the continued expo-
sure of men and boys in situations where
science and mechanical skill have failed in
providing anything like adequate protection.^

Immediately after their appointment, your
commiitee received intelligence that a most
awful and melancholy catastrophe had taken
place at Wallsend colliery, between New-
castle-on-Tyne and Shields.** Having called
for a copy of the evidence taken by the coro-
ner, it has been produced, and accompanies
this report. The particulars it contains,
extracted in the course of an able and patient
investigation, and the further elucidation of
the casett, as contained in the evidence of M i.
Buddie before your committee, are of a deeply
interesting character, the whole furnishing an
example of a most dangerous mine, which,
though conducted on princit)les sanctioned by
some of the most eminent colliery viewers and
best pitmen, cannot be considered secure from
the recurrence of similar calamities. Your
committee refer to the verdict of the jury, and
to a document (pp. 177—78) containing the
opinions of a highly respectable meeting in
Newcastle, as proofs that, in the judgment of
well informed individuals, no reasonable pre-
caution had been omitted. The melancholy
result was, that in an instant 101 men and
boys were killed.

Here your committee would observe, that
without any disposition to question the zealous
and faithful discharge of their important duties

♦ 1639. + 758.,

t 1417. 1491. .363. 1621. 1859.1413 1623.1646.

^ 2396. II 1794.1799. H 2069.2090.2165.
♦♦ 1239. t+ Pages 179.190,

by local coroners and juries*, it may be expe-
dient to consider how far it is necessary to pro-
vide that, at the earliest possible opportunity,
information of every accident attended with
death to a large number of His Majesty’s sub-
jects, should be transmitted to the secretary of
stale for the home department, and that he, or
the chief justice of .England, His Majesty’s
coioner, should, at his or their discretion,
direct the attendance of some fit and proper
person or persons by them to be appointed,
to be present at and assist the said coroner
and the jury in their investigations. From
such a proceeding results the most valuable
to humanity and science might be obtained ;
the aim of justice would be still better secured,
and to the public (particularly the relations
of the deceased), the verdict would be deli-
vered under the best pos.sible recommendation,
and with the highest sanction

The presence of carbonic acid gast, or
choke-damp, though less sudden and violent
in its consequences, has proved a fatal attend-
ant of the miner in innumerable instances,
and this in districts where explosions are
rare and insignificarl. f; Other noxious gases,
varying in kind an.d combination, are also
stated to exist in certain mines, and furnish
additional subjects for chemical investiga-
tion.§ Inundations of water have occasion-
ally been very destructive. [j There still re-
mains a long list of casualties^f , some of
which are wholly beyond human control
inseparable from mining pursuits, and their
fatal results are often justly attributed to
ignorance or a w’anton neglect of ordinary
caution, and a recklessness of danger in
defiance of common discretion-**

Your committee, strongly impressed with the
paramountimjiortanceofthatpartof the ques-
tion referred to them which calls upon them to
investigate the best method of preventing the
recurrence of these calamities, have assidu-
ously and anxiously inquired into the nature
and success of the means already adopted. In
this part of the inquiry your committee have
had the voluntary and valuable aid of philan-
throphic and scientific individuals to whom
the community is greatly indebted. The
means of prevention may be divided under
three heads : 1. Ventilation ; 2. Safety-lamps :
3. Maps or plans.

1. VentilationtT, hy wliich is meant, any
adequate supply of atmo^'pherical air, suffi-
cient as an active agent to displace deleteri-
ous gases, or so to adulterate those gases as to
leave them no longer explosive, or, as in the
case of carbonic acid gas no longer fatal to
vitality.;!;^ On ventilation and the daily,
unceasing, strict discharge of duly§§ by every
person engaged about the mines, from the
scientific, professional viewers, through all
grades, the' under viewer, the wasteman, the
overman, the deputy, the lamp-keeper,, the pit-
man, down to the trapper ("often a boy too

* 2281 2261. + 1528.1849.2375.3345.684. ^ 2506.

^ 876. 11 2366. 5 1824.2450. ** 1779.2040.205i:

2191.2252.2351 2965.1082.1132.

+ + 1605. H 527. ^^ 1567.1613,

184

WHERE DAVY’S LAMP CEASES TO AFFORD PROTECTION.

young and thoughtless who manages the air
doors), depends the safety of hundreds of
men and boys, from minute to minute ; one
act of omission of assigned duty, one solitary,
momentary neglect, may cause the instant
destruction of life and property to an indefi-
nite extent.*

2. Safety-lamps; by the aid of which the
miner is enabled to commence and continue his
operation in situations where no naked light
could be used, and at other times as a pre-
caution against apprehended sudden changes
in the atmosphere which surrounds him.'f'

3. Maps or plans, accurately defining not
only the mode of conducting the air-courses,
but the entire of the workings, pointing out
also the position of adjacent abandoned mines,
which may have become reservoirs of gas or
of water.^

The various modes of ventila.ing mines§
already in use, as well as those systems which
have given place to improved methods, will
be found detailed by various witnesses, and
their merits so fully canvassed, as to require
no comment from your committee. To enter
upon a review of every plan and suggestion,
would compel your committee to exceed the
reasonable limits of a report. They do not he-
sitate to express a conviction, that whilst some
mines equally foul, are naturally freed from
large accumulations of gas]], by the approx-
imation of the seams of coals to the surface
of the earth, others where the seams lie
horizontally, or nearly so, require more shafts,
additional opportunities for the injection
of pure air and the rejection of foul, than
are ordinarily afforded. A less parsimonious
system in this respect^, in the original design
of those mines, and in their subsequent work-
ing, would have rendered easy otherwise
difficult ventilation, and saved many valu-
able lives. The absolute necessity of greater
attention to this point thas been fully esta-
blished.

The practice of placing wooden partitions
or brattices** * * §§ in the ventilating shafts is deser-
vedly reprobated; the slightest explosion may
remove them, thus the whole system of venti-
lation is destroyed, and no timely aid can be
rendered to the temporarily surviving suf-
ferers. Your committee have reason to
believe that this opinion is generally adopted
in the coal mining districts.'!''}' To this point
they attach an importance, inferior only to
the provision of a sufficent number of up-cast
and down-cast shafts. ++ They consider tliat
the evidence justifies the suspicion that the
foul and free air courses are frequently too
near to each other, §§ the communications not
adequately protected, and that the lengths of
of air-coursing are excessive, giving oppor-
tunities for leakage, interruption, and contami-
nation.li|| The temporary nature of the stop-

* 1611.16161.620.1045.2068.2233.2965.686.2995.
1126.1128.1482.

+ 1961. t 1092.1363.1391.

§ 1562.1568.1988.1994.2095.2612.2853.2916.3018.
315S*869*98S* §

II 2324! II 2152. ** 1606. 1651 .2124.2128. 2307.

2341. t+ 2133.

ft 2048.2173.3t47. §§2176.4079. HH 1587.1644.
2540.

pings, often boards imperfectly united, some-
times mere heaps of small coal, and their fre-
quent derangement*, inevitably produce dan-
gerous consequences.

Your committee have endeavoured to inves-
tigate, with strict impartiality, the merits of
the different lamps which have been brought
under their notice. In the course of the evi-
dence many varieties will be found described.
The invention claimed by Sir Humphry
Davy, on principles demonstrated by that
able philosopher, may be considered as having
essentially served the mining interests of this
kingdom, and through them contributed
largely to the sources of national as well as
individual wealth. Many invaluable seams
of coal never could have been worked with-
out the aid of such an instrumentt ; and its
long use throughout an. extensive district, with
the comparatively limited number of acci-
dents,}: proves its claim to be considered, un-
der ordinary circumstances, a safety lamp.
The principles of its construction appear to
have been practically known§ to the wit-
nesses Clanny and Stevenson, previously to the
period when Davy brought his powerful
mind to bear upon the subject, and produced
an instrument which will hand down his
name to the latest ages. ||

The attention of your committee has been
drawn by different witnesses^ to contingen-
cies in mining, under which the lamp of Sir
H. Davy ceases to afford adequate protection.
Of the possible existence and nature of those
contingencies**, your committee have ascer-
tained that the inventor was well awareft,
and they regret that the cautions he gave to
some of his immediate friends were not made
more public. Accidents have occurred where
his lamp was in general and careful use ;
no one survived to tell the tale how these
occurrences took place ; conjecture supplied
the want of positive knowledge}:}; most unsatis-
factorily ; but incidents are recorded which
prove what must follow unreasonable testing
of the security of that lamp ; and your com-
mittee are constrained to believe, that igno-
rance and a false reliance upon its merits in
cases attended with unwarrantable risk, have
led to disastrous consequences. The proofs
collected in support of this opinion maybe
considered so many warnings to the miners
of England. The prejudices which exist
in many districts against the employment of
the Davy lamp§§ are not occasioned by doubts
of its protective character; the complaints
made are of too little light HH, and the difficulty,
in comparison with the use of the common
candle, in bringing that light to bear with
precision on the work, particularly in the
thickest seams which are found in Warwick-
shire, Staffordshire, and other counties^^.
Notwithstanding these prejudices, your com-

* 1695.3389. + 1664. t 2588.1334.

§ 2236.334.340.1545.1556.1561. |1 1551.

f 1886.2558.2586.818.3833.3960. 2226.2787.

2941.2912.3446.

ft 2562. tt 3247.641.

§§ 2547.2556.2702. |||| 1956.2701. r^ISO.

5 5 1633. 1 761 . 1 778.2239.2568. 2747. 470.

SUGGESTIONS AND IMPROVEMENTS IN THE SAFETY LAMP.

185

mittee conceive that no employer of miners
can be justified in allowing caprice, or incon-
venience to certain individuals, to interfere
with a due protection to the lives of his work-
people. In some mines, now lighted by the
ordinary means, the use of the lamp, ought,
in the judgment of your committee, to be
compelled by the owners.

Many improvements, calculated to lessen
the number of dangerous contingencies alrea-
dy alluded to, have been suggested, all these
may be considered asextensions of the princi-
ple ; such are the lamps produced by Messrs.
Upton and Roberts, Mr. Newman, Mr.
Martin. Mr, Douglas, Mr. Wood, and Mr.
Dillon.* The lamps of Dr, Clanny and Mr.
Ayres are provided with additional mechani-
cal contrivances, intended to exclude danger,
which might overcome the safety principle ;
and at once warn the miner of the insecurity
ofhis situation, by the extinction of his light.
All these are described in the evidence, except
Mr. W, Martin’s ; a drawing which ac-
companies will serve that object ; and Mr,
Ayres’s, whtch is a suspended extinguisher,
descending on the flame immediately the gas
inside the gauze is ignited ; this lamp cannot
be opened or interfered with without prc iu-
cing such extinction. Your committee have
not ascertained how far the extinction of the
lighted wick would also be acorn panied by the
extinction of the burning gas surrounding it.

In the experiments made before your com-
mittee at the London University, it may possi-
bly be remarked, that the tests applied were
such in nature or mode of application, as
the known actual condition of the mines'b
would point out as satisfactory. It must not
be forgotten that the object of those experi-
ments was to ascertain which, of all the lamps
produced, was, when exposed to the severest
trial, best entitled to the name of “ Safety-
lamp.” In these experiments the explosion
of the gases within the lamp was effected in
every one, and similar explosions produced
externally, save Messrs. Upton and Roberts's.
Your committee are, therefore, decidedly
convinced that its construction possesses pa-
ramount merit. Your committee cannot ad-
mit that these experiments had any tendency
to detract from the character of 6’ir H. Davy,
or todisparage the fair value placed by himself
upon his invention. The improvements are
probably those which longer life and addi-
tional facts would have induced him to con-
template as desirable, and of which, had he
not been the inventor, he might have become
the patron. With the sole exception of unex-
pected destruction of the instrument, Messrs.
Upton and Roberts’s lamp appear ’s to your
committee to provide against all, or nearly
all, the contingencies attending the Davy-
lamp. Ml . Buddie states, that tin shields];,
and a partial concealment of the lamp under
their dress, constitute the prudential precau-
tions taken by the miners in dangerous situa-
tions to prevent the flame passing the gauze
when the lamp is agitated. The glass chamber
does all this with greater certainty ; its sudden

364 371.815.821.1332.

X 2229.3481.739.

fracture leaves the instrument a perfect lamp
on Sir H. Davy’s construction.* The intro-
duction of the glass is not new ; the novelties
are, the shape of the glass, the collar which
regulates the admission of air or gas to the
cotton wick, and the double tissue of gauze
beneath the wick, which prevents firing back-
wards.! If no practical objections are dis-
covered], and your committee do not contem-
plate any which may not be readily overcome,
iVIessrs. Upton and Roberts’s lamp will sup-
ply a grand desideratum, especially if exten-
sive experience should prove that the lamp and
area of the gauze may be so increased as to
allow of more light with safety.

On the necessity of having correct maps and
plans, your committee have already reported.
The long catalogue of casualties to which the
miner is subject will be found detailed in the
evidence. Mr. Roberts, one of the witnesses,
produced to your committee his safety-hood,
to enable persons to enter drains, wells, and
mines charged with carbonic acid gas. Your
committee report with pleasure their opinion
of its great value, and of the merit of the
inventor. The advantages to be obtained by
having the safety-hood always ready for use
are by no means hypothetical§, interesting
proofs of what may be effected by its use have
been received, and the practicability of saving
life after explosions, when no hope remained,
hasbeendemonstrated.il

On a review of their labours, your committee
cannot but feel apprehensive that they have in
great measure failed in devising adequate
remedies for the painful calamities they have to
investigate ; they entertain, notwithstanding,
a sangrrine expectation that the attention of
the public will be availingly turned to this
interesting subject.^ The aid they have received
from many scientific and philanthropic
characters in the course of this inquiry, and
the didnterested zeal the parties have mani-
fested, warrant these hopes. How far legis-
lative enactments** might come fairly in aid
of the miner, has had the serious considera-
tion of your committee. The great dissimi-
larity of the mineral stratifications of the
kingdom, the constantly varying circumstance
of particular minesfL, render it in their opi-
nion impossible, at present, to lay down any
precise directions, or to form any rules of uni-
versal application]:];- Your committee agree
with many intelligent witnesses, that great
benefit might be fairly and sanguinely antici-
pated from men of known ability being encou-
raged to visit the mines, whether in the
character of distinguished chemists, mecha-
nists, or philanthropists. Your committee are
assured that these visits would be received with
pleasure by the mine owners, and that every
assi3tance§§ in the way of experimenting would
h i promptly afFoided. They retain a grateful
recollection of the results which followed the
visits of Sir Humphry Davy.

On considering what may be due to the
comfort and welfare of a class of men, who.

♦ 1903.3319 897.1048. + 1923.1946.3096. ] 1941 »

3963. ^ 1853.3521.3545. || 2935. 5 766 775.

+ * 1813.4131.4166. ++ 1806.1814. ]]

^ 2415,2509.

+4061.

THE RESEARCHES OF ENTOMOLOGISTS.

at great personal risk, contribute largely to
the necessities, luxuries, wealth, of this great
empire; the immense value of these mines to
the community ; the loss of life which has
occcurred and the benefits which have already
accrued from the labours and investigations
of scientific characters ; your committee have
been disposed maturely to weigh the sugges-
tions which have been made to them upon
the necessity of having this inquiry continued
in the mining districts*, by competent indi-
viduals, acting under authority. They are
not insensible to the advantages which might
result from such a proceeding ; but many
serious objections having been stated to the
proposition, your committee conclude, under
present circumstances, to abstain from
giving an opinion upon the necessity or
expediency of such a course.

Your committee are glad to find that in-
creasing attention is paid to the moral culture
and education of the mining pojiulationf .
From the establishment of associations similar
to the polytechnic school^ recently formed
in Cornwall, as named by one or more wit-
nesses§, and the opportunity thus afforded of
cultivating native talent||, great advantages
may be anticipated.^ Whilst your committee
have in the case just alluded to; had pleasing
proof of the solicitude with which the welfare
and safety of the miners are consulted in
many places, they cannot express the sense
they entertain of the responsibility incurred
by the owners of mines generally** ; in their
hands are the lives of a vast multitude of their
fellow-creatures industriously contributing to
their personal and our national aggrandize-
ment. The dependence placed upon agents
and managers is necessarily greatft, and
doubtless, in many instances, from the
characters of the individuals, justifiable.
The number of subordinate overseers,
under whatever name, ought never to
be reduced on any pretence of eco-
nomy ; a vigilant oversight of these on the
part of the owners, viewers or manageis, as
well as a determination to employ none in
responsible stations who have not recommend-
ed themselves by long experience, skill, so-
briety, and habits of strict attentiontf, may
prevent many accidents. It is the bounden
duty of these owners carefully and constantly
to examine into the state of their mines ; if
this is not personally practicable, they ought
to call for written daily reports from their
subalterns, of every circumstance and event
connected with the proper ventilation of the
mines. There will, however, still remain to
be exercised that quick perception of cause
and effectV§> that accurate adaptation of
means to the end, that nice observation of var-
ous natural phenomena connected with the
state of the atmosphere at the surface and
under ground, upon which, it is obvious,
safety must ultimately depend. Every possi-
ble; exertion should be made 11 11, every effort

*112509.

+ 222. 1 205. § 3174.1193. H 1S70. f 3945.

** 1761.2163.2458.3690.533. tt 615. 737.2230.
4431.1353.

41 1803.2063.2960. §§ 3737.1809 1669.1676,

IIU 1703.2804.3167.3792.783.

employed to bring the workmen acquainted
with their individual responsibilities, and those
theories and principles, both as regards the
lamps and proper ventilation, upon the obser-
vance of which tiieir personal existence and
that of their comrades are at stake.

In conclusion, your committee regret that
the results of this inquiry have not enabled
them to lay before the house any particular
plan, by which the accidents in question may
be avoided with certainty, and in consequence
no decisive recommendations are offered. 'I'hey
anticipate great advantages to the public anrl
to humanity, from the circulation of the mass
of valuable evidence they have collected *
They feel assured that science will avail itself
of the information, if not for the first time ob-
tained, yet now prominently exhibited ; and
that tlie parties for whose more immediate
advantage the British parliament undertook
the inquiry, will not hestitate to place a
generous construction on the motives and
intentions of the legislature.

September 4, 1835.

The report concludes with a list of thirty-six
persons from whom communications have been
received by .the committee, and which, it is
stated, “ have received due attention.”

OBSERVATIONS ON INSECTS PRO-
DUCING SILK, AND ON THE POS-
SIBILITY OF REARING SILK CROPS
IN. ENGLAND BY THE Rev. F. W.
HOPE, F.R.S.,&c.— Previously to entering
on the subject of this paper, I will offer some
statistical details, illustrative of the vast im-
portance to the commerical prosperity of this
great country, of the few insects producing
silk. These details may stimulate the ento-
mologist to pursue particular lines of in-
quiry ; and may we not hope that the
result of such researches will be the addition
to our productive sources of various new species
of these little labourers, to whom man owes so
much f— species which might be available at our
own doors, by the capacity of enduring our
climate, and thriving on its vegetable pro-
ductions, and, in case it were necessary, by
having recourse to artificial means for their
culture I May we not suppose the manufac-
turer would find his hot-houses for silk-
worms as profitable a speculation, with ex-
tended demand, as the fruiterer does his hot-
house for the supply of the comparatively
limited demand for the luxurious desserts of
the rich ?

In the years 1822-3 respectively, the quan-
tity of silk imported for home consumption was
4,392,073 lbs. and 4,758,453 lbs., being an
mcrease of 3| per cent, in the latter year.
The value of the exports for those years was
529,990L, and 740,294f., being increase of 40
per cent in one year. The average for ten
years, from 18l4 to 1823, and the succeeding
ten years, exhibits a more striking and grati-
fying difference ; the first period giving for
annual home consumption 1,680,616 lbs., and
the last ten years, 3,651,810 lbs., being an
increase of 131 per cent.

* 1872.1381.1384.776.

GENERA OF MOTHS PRODUCING SILK.— HINTS TO THE PEOPLE IN INDIA. 187

On the authority of Mr. Winkworth. I
state the number of persons employed in
England in the silk trade in 1823 at 500,000 ;
and at the present moment there are proba-
bly 700,000 engaged in it. Leaving these
details for the present, let us now proceed to
the examination of insects producing silk..

The chief insects which produce silk are
ichneumons, spiders, and moths. My friend.
Mr. Stephens, will this evening exhibit to
your notice a specimen of ichneumon-silk ;
and as it is more likely to prove an object of
curiosity than utility, I pass on to spider-
silks.

Several genera of spiders produce silk of
various strength and qualities, such as the
gossamers, and our domestic species, as well
as many others. In France, Monsieur Bon
had gloves and stockings manufactured of it :
sufficient experiments, however, have not yet
been made to ascertain the quantity and quali-
ties of spider-silk.

If in Rome the whimsically extravagant
emperor, Heliogabalus, collected 10,000 lbs
weight of spiders, as a vain display of power
surely in this metropolis we might collect a
sufficient quantity of cobweb to perfect any
experiments on a silk likely to be as strong as
that obtained from Bombyx Mori, and proba-
bly less impervious to wet ; a silk, however,
not likely ever to be much in vogue, from the
natural antipathy which prevails against
spiders from the difficulty and expense in-
collecting the web, and the impracticability
in breeding spiders in any numbers, arising
from their voracious and predatory habits :
but the cocoons might be gathered and un-
wound. Abandoning our indigenous webs,
such as float over the fields, as well as those
which hang in dusky wreaths in garrets and
in cellars, we may naturally expect to meet
with exotic and tropical species which yield
silk worth attention. It is probable that the
cylindrical sacks of the gigantic Mygale may
be advantageously collected, as the cocoons
equal in size large walnuts, in one nidus of
which 100 young ones have been discovered:
it is reported, also, that some kinds of web are
so strong that birds are entangled in the
meshes, and that their webs oppose a certain de-
gree of resistance even to man himself. In
concluding my remarks on spider-silk, I
would recommend that attention be directed
to the silk obtained from Epeira clavipes, a
spider abundant in Bermuda; fine specimens
of its silken cocoon may be seen at the British
Museum ; and other species of the same genus
also are deserving ofattention.

MOTH SILK.

The principal moths producing silk belong
to the genera Clisiocampa, Bombyx, and Tinea.
The Bombyx Mori (the proper type of the
genus) yields it in great abundance: this
species has become naturalized in the fairest
portions of the globe.

As it appears from the statistical details that
silk is so intimately connected with our com-
mercial and manufacturing interest, it is evi-
dently worth while, for the prosperity of those
interests, to recommend its increased cultiva-
tion j and really, if ever there was a period

when its cultivation could be carried on with
increased success, it is the present moment.
Look at our Indian possessions in the full en-
joyment of peace : the English, ruling these
extensive territories, might induce the natives
to grow (if I may use the term) any quantity
of silk, sufficient to glut all the markets of
Europe. In these regions there are generally
eight successive silk crops; some authorities
assert even more. Extending, moreover, our
views to China, as the trade with that country
is now thrown open to British capital, enter-
prise, and industry, we may naturally expect
that a stimulus may be applied there to its in-
creased production. Abandoning for the pre-
sent, however, foreign produce, it remains to
state the possibility of growing silk in
England, and this part of my subject requires
a thorough investigation. Prussia, Bavaria, and
even Northern Russia, whose climates are
not superior to our own, grow annually large
quantities ofsilk ; and why does not England
do the same, the answer is, the price of labour
is here too high ; secondly, the experiments
tried have already failed. Notwithstanding
these assertions, I think that it is possible to
grow silk in England, and grow it even with
success and profit. To meet these objections
I would suggest, first, that we ought to breed
silk-worms in hot-houses throughout the year ;
and, secondly, that the Pavonia Moths of
Europe and other countries, as well as the
Atlas Moths of Asia, should be reared in like
manner. It has already been remarked, that
several corps are obtained in the East withiu
the year ; and why may we not also expect
in England several, by means of breeding
the worms in hot-houses. In India the long-
est period for a generation of silk-worms ap
pear to be forty days : even allowing fifty days
in England for a generation, we may then ex-
pect seven crops of silk. If we only obtained
four, that is double the number produced in
Italy, where they annually rear but two. I
need now scarcely add that four crops will no
doubt repay the speculator for rearing silk.
To reduce, however, his expenditure as much
as possible, I would recommend him to feed
the silk-worms with lettuce instead of mul-
berry leaves ; first, as there is less expense in
the cultivation ; secondly as, the lettuce can
be grown cheaply in cucumber-frames during
the winter months ; and, lastly, as the quality
of the silk does not depend so much on the
quality of the leaf as it does on the degree of
temperature in which the worm is reared. I
would strenuously recommend tbe lettuce.
Should the food of the mulberry-tree, however,
be preferred to the lettuce, we can still adopt
the discovery of Ludovico Bellarde, of Turin.
His plan consisted in giving the worms the
pul verized leaves of the mulberry-trees, slightly
moistened with water : the leaves were gather-
in the previous summer, dried in the sun, redu-
ced to powder, and then stowed away in jars
for the winter food, or till the tree was in full
foliage. Repeated experiments made by Bel-
larde prove that the worm preferred this kind
of food to any other, as they devour it with
the greatest avidity. To reduce still further
the expenditure, old men, women, and children
might be employed in feeding the worms, as

188

ON TRACKING OR TOWING BOATS.

i<5 the case at present in India ; indeed might
not the poor in the workhouses be rendered
available, thus affording them amusement and
profit?

With regard to rearing other silk-moths, I
am well convinced that the Pavonia minor
might be propagated to any extent in this
country, as the larva are general feeders,
probably the Lacquey Moths might also be
rearerl with success ; the larger PovonicE of
Europe, and other countries should also be
tried. But a great object would be to import
the eggs and breed the Atlas Moths in Eng-
land, which have already yielded a fine silk
well worthy the attention of the manufacturer
of Great Britain,

As there is not time at present to enter into
the merits of the Tasseb, Arrindi, Bugby and
Kilisurra silk-worms of India, I merely men-
tion the chief writers on tliis subject, viz. the
celebrated James Anderson, Dr. Roxburgh,
General Hardwicke, and Colonel Sykes, the
two last, I arn happy to say, are members of
this Society, and 1 am sure will most willing-
ly give all assistance in their power towards
the attainment of so desirable an object as that
of rearing silk in this country *

* Should the first attempts fail, eventually
there is every reason to lielieve that success

In concluding these remarks, I would sug-
gest the formation of a committee to investi-
gate all that relates to silk. Let the silk ma-
nufacturer learn that the committee is disposed
to give him all the assistance in its power,
that it is equally desirous of his advice and
observation ; let the mechanic learn that we
need his practical aid on which he alone can
give us useful assistance. A report, emanating
from this society, embodying in it the opinions
of the manufacturer and entomologist, would
do some good. If the object of producing silk
in England fail altogether, we shall still have
the merit of meaning well ; should it exceed,
however, thousands of our poorer countrymen
will find employment and reap the benefit. —
Transactions of the Entomological Society of
London, vol. i. 1835.

must follow perseverance as it has already
done in other countries Till that wished for
period arrives, I would earnestly recommend
not only^he increased cultivation of silk in
India, but in all our colonies, most particularly
in New Holland. At the Cape of Good Hope,
at the Mauritius, at Malta, at the barren rocks
of St Helena, the silk-worm has been intro-
duced with partial success ; and from those
countries may we not in future calculate on
some increasing produce ?

SPECIFICATION OF THE PATENT GRANTED TO JAMES BOYDELL, JUN., OF
DEE COTTAGE, NEAR HAWARDEN, NORTH WALES, FOR IMPROVEMENTS
IN MACHINERY FOR TRACKING OR TOWING BOATS OR OTHER VESSELS.
' Sealet\.^

To all to whom these presents shall come,
&c. &c. — Now know ye, that in compliance
with the said proviso, I, the said James Boy-
dell, do declare the nature of my said inven-
tion to consist in the construction and ar-
rangement of certain apparatus of machinery
by which boats or other vessels maybe tracked,
towed, or moved, in a manner possesing par-
ticular advantages , under particular circum-
stances, as will be hereafter explained ; and
the manner in which the same is to be per-
formed or carried into effect, will be more
clearly seen by reference to the annexed
drawing, and the following description
thereof.

It will be remarked that certain letters and
figures of reference are used in this deserp-
tion and drawing, but that the same letters,
when repeated, indicate the same parts
throughout.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING.

Fig. 1, represents a sectional view of a
ferry or ford to which my improved apparatus
or machinery is applied, and.

Fig. 2, a plan or bird’s eye view of part of
the same machinery or apparatus.

In these figures, a, represents a ferry boat
floating on the surface of the water, and, a, c,
the chain or cable, which I call the bridle, by
which it is held and prevented from drift-
ing by the current or stream, h, b, indicate
the high water mark, and, c, c, the low water
mark (see fig. 1) ; this ferry being subjected
to the influence of the tide, b, b, represent
tv7o inclined planes or landing places of
masonry, for the convenience of landing car-
riages or passengers at all times of the tide.

DESCRIPTION OF MACHINERY FOR TRACKING BOATS.

189

c, is a whimsey, which may be worked by
horse or other power, around the drum of
which is carried the endless chain, d, d, d,d‘,
this chain is carried across the river or ferry,
and on the opposite side to that on which the
whimsey, c, is placed, where the chain is pass-
ed round an horizontal warve or pulley, d,
from which it returns to the whimsey, c, in a
parallel direction to that in which it was car-
ried across the river, as best seen at fig. 2,
where, as already stated, the same letters
indicate the same parts as in fig. 1. Now by
tracing the revolution of the drum or barrel
of the whimsey, round which the chain, d, d,

d, d, is wound, it will be clear that the mo-
tion imparted to the chain will cause one of
the parallel lines of the ehain at the bottom
of the river or ford to move in one direction
while the opposite line of chain is moving in
the reverse direetion, as indicated by the
small arrows placed near the chain in the
drawing, and also that the direetion of motion
of the chain must depend on the direction of
rotation imparted to. the whimsey. The
bridle, a, a, which holds the ferry boat, a,
from drifting down the stream, is attached or
fastened to one of the parallel sides of the
chain, d, d, d, d, and it is by the motion of the
chain, d, d, d, d, that the ferry boat, a, is
tracked or towed from one side of the ferry to
the other, and returned by the same means
when the rotation of the whimsey, c, is
reversed. To prevent the chain, <?, d. d, d, bed-
ding itself in the sand and to decrease the
friction experienced in moving it across the
bed of the river, I have plaeed friction pulleys
to support it, as represented at /, and also
four guide pulleys intersecting each other, as
seen at f, and separate in a front view on a
large seale at fig. 3, for the purpose of keeping
the chain, d, d, d, <Z, at the bottom of the
river or ford. But the necessity, or not, of
these precautions must greatly depend on the
extent of the ferry and nature of the bed of
the river or ford, and must, in all cases be
left to the judgment of the engineer or parties
entrusted with the construction of the appa-
ratus. From the foregoing deseription of
the annexed drawings it will be seen that
the ferryboat. A, being held by her bridle, a,
a, and aeted on by the stream, would partake
of the property of what is generally called a
flying bridge, and sheare or move by the
aetion of the stream on the rudder when placed
on the proper angle, even supposing the chain,
d, d, d, d, to remain at rest ; and this
shearing motion of the boat, A, whieh is
gained by the action of the stream on the
rudder, as is well known to seamen and
persons conversant with marine affairs,
greatly assists the traverse of the boat across
the ferry, and thereby greatly diminishes
the amount of force required to move the
whimsey, c. It will also be. remarked that,
in such situations as are affected by the tide,
I have found it convenient to attach two
bridles, one to each side of the moving chain,
with a small buoy to the other, to which this
boat. A, is attached, whenever the direction
of the stream is reversed, thereby preventing
any crossing of the chain, d, d, d, d, which

would occur if this precaution was not
adopted. The arrangement and construction
of the parts shewn at figs. 1 and 2, are the
most simple, except the placing of a single
chain or hawser with a whimsey on each
side of the river, and perfectly efficient where
the bottom of the ford or river is hard and
tolerably level, but, in some cases it may be
required to place a guide for the chain at the
bottom of the river, which I propose con-
structing of the form as seen at fig. 4, which
represents a plan, and fig. 5, a transverse
section of a tube provided with a longitudinal
opening or slit. This tube must be confined
on the bed of the river by piles or other means
as circumstances may allow. In this position
it will become a guide for the moving chain,
d, d, d, d, one part of whieh is passed down
the interior of the tube, and the position at
which the boat is attached will be suffiei-
ently obvious by the letters of reference.
Although the above description refers to the
moving or passing a boat across a ferry or
foi’d, which I have already put in exeeution,
it will be obvious that a similar arrangement
of apparatus may be readily applied for the
purpose to tracking or towing boats on canals,
through tunnels, and into the flood-gates of
doeks and similar places ; and in long dis-
tances, such as passing tunnels, where the
weight of the moving chain on the bottom
or bed of the navigation would cause too
great an amount of friction, I adopt the fol-
lowing means of lessening it.

Fig. 6, represents a side view of part of
a moving chain the links of whieh are pro-
vided and filled with wood or any other buoyant
material, the proportion of which to the
weight of the link of chain may be varied by
increasing or diminishing the size of the link ;
I am thus enabled to render a chain either
totally or partially buoyant, and to diminish
the amount of frietion in moving such chain,
inasmuch as its buoyancy is increased. The
advantages arising from this applieation of
my invention to ferries, similar to that set
forth and described at figs. 1 and 2, are, that
the ferry boat is passed across much readier
than by the ordinary method and at any time
of the tide, without impeding the navigation
of the river or canal, at the same time that
the natural position which the boat assumes
with her bows to the stream render the pas-
sage of the boat much safer in rough weather,
as well as much easier moved under any cir-
cumstanees. In traeking or towing vessels
on canals or under long tunnels, where canals
occasionally are carried, the partial buoyancy
given to the chain, as described at fig. 6, will
so decrease the friction of the chain, used for
such purposes, as to render the tracking of
vessels, in such circumstances, more advan-
tageously and rapidly effected.

Having described the nature of the inven-
tion, and the manner in which the same may
be performed and carried into effect. I hereby
declare that I do not claim, as of my invention,
any separate or well known part of the ap-
paratus or machinery hereinbefore described.
But I do claim as of my invention, the con-
struction, arrangement, and adaptation of a

190

IMPORTANT EXPERIMENT ON INDIGO.

moving chain, rope, or hawser, placed beneath
the surface of the water of a navigable river,
lake, or canal for the purpose of tracking or
towingboats or any othervessels as hereinbefore
described at figs. 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5; and I also
claim, as of my invention, that peculiar con-
struction of chain, as set forth and described
at fig. 6, for the purpose of tracking or towing
boats and any other vessels ; and these my
improvements being to the best of my know-
ledge and belief new and never before used,
I deliver this as my true and faithful spe-
cification of the same. — In witness whereof,
ike.

Enrolled October 12, 1835. — Repertory of
Arts.

EXPERIMENTS ON INDIGO.

By Nath Ogle, Eso.

1 have lately been engaged in a set of
experiments on the indigo ; and as that sub-
stance is now so universally known as a per-
manent and beautiful blue dye, it may not be
altogether uninierestiiig to your readers to give
a sketch of its chemical characters, which are
very striking and rather complicated.

Indigo of commerce is by no means a pure
colouring principle. It contains a variety of
foreign matter, part of which it may liave de-
rived from the plant from which itwas extract-
ed, and part may have been added to it
through carelessness in its preparation ; of
100 parts, a good specimen will not afford
more than 50 of real blue.

It is a matter of considerable importance
to devise some simple, and, at the same time
economical plan of analysing this drug, not
only for the purpose of ascertaining the exact
quantity of colouring matter a given speci-
men contains, but also what is the nature of
its impurities, which 1 have found to vary con-
siderably in different sorts. In order to find
the value ofa sample with respect to its pro-
portion of blue, Mr. Dalton proposes to dis-
solve one grain in sulphuric acid, transfer the
solution into a tall cylindrical glass jar con-
taining water, and then to destroy the colour
by chloride of calcium, the value of the indi-
go being in proportion to the quantity of the
chloride necessary to destroy its colour. I
consider this to be, at best, a troublesome me-
thod, and not entirely to be depended upon.
1 made several experiments on two samples,
one an excellent East India, and the other a
very inferior Guatamala ; but the quantities
of chloride of calcium required to destroy the
colours were so nearly the same, that the su-
periority of the East India was not manifested.

Chevreul gives us a very good method of
analysing indigo in the rough manner. He
directs that it be first digested with water,
which will take up 12 or 14 per cent , but the
quantities varies much in different samples.

The water acquires sometimes a yellow, but
usually, especially with Guaiamala’s a dark
brown colour ; this solution by exposure to the
air precipitates flocks, having a green colour,
which appear to be partly composed of indigo,
becoming blue v^'hen left in the air ; the
greater part continues green; is soluble in al«

cohol and solution of potash, but does not ever
turn blue. I have found that this green mat-
ter, which is very slowly thrown down by the
action of the air, is immediately and plentiful-
ly precipitated by dropping muriatic acid into
a concentrated liquor ; and in the specimens
on which my experiments were made, the pre-
cipitate from the Guatamala was much more
abundant than that from the East India ; the
liquor from the former was much darker than
that from the latter, and it was remarked that
the Guatamala was very inferior as a dye to
the East India, yet the quantity of real indigo
in each did not appear to vary much. I con-
clude, therefore, that the difference in quality
was owing to a more than usual quantity of
gluten and brown matter, and that these sub-
stances are more injurious than is generally
supposed, tending to destroy the peculiar bril-
liancy of the indigo.

After water has extracted all that is soluble
in that menstruum, Chevreul directs that the
residue be treated with alcohol in successive
portions, by which a further quantity of green
matter is taken up, but so mixed with another
red substance that it assumes a dark, ruby
colour, Chevreul states, that 30 grains out of
100 are taken up by alcohol, which is rather
more than I found. Lastly, muriatic acid
takes up a further portion of red matter, to-
gether with alumina, lime, and oxide of iron ;
and pure indigo, amounting to 45 or 50 per-
cent., remains, usually mixed with a small
quantity of silex.

When indigo is exposed to a temperature
about equivalent to that of melting lead, it
rises in the form of a beautiful purple smoke.
This was known long before any attempt was
made to obtain it in a crystalline form by sub-
limation. If, however, a proper apparatus is
employed, and precautions adopted, it may
be thus produced, and then assumes a very
beautiful appearance. The best indigo for the
purpose is that precipitated by agitating in
contact witli air the yellow solution of deoxi-
dised indigo, which forms the dyer’s blue vat;
but where that cannot readily be obtained,
common indigo may be used. In the latter
case, 30 or40 grains in coarse powder must be
placed in a shallow metallic saucer, and a
spirit-lamp applied to the bottom till the sur-
face becomes covered with a copper-coloured,
mossy-looking substance, taking care to re-
move the source of heat the moment purple va-
pours appear. When the saucer is cool the
crystal must be brushed off with a feather, and
placed in another similar saucer furnished with
a cover, so applied that the internal surfaces
may not be more than half an inch apart. A
second application of heat will cause the pure
crystals to rise and plant themselves on the
upper vessel, the impure substance remaining
behind ofa coaly appearance.

The crystals thus produced bear a very small
proportion to the quantity of indigo employed.
As an average of four experiments from 10
grains of impure indigo, obtained by sublima-
tion half a’^grain of crystals, and the residue
vyeighed6§ grains, showing 3 grains of vola-
tile matter to have escaped, d’he crystals
volatised leave no residue. When they are

ANALYSIS OF SUBLIMED AND PRECIPITATED INDIGO.

191

viewed through a microscope, they appear as
Song, flat, ocicular crystals, appearing red by
reflected, and blue by transmitted light ;
they are not, however, always so, sometimes,
particularly at the commencement of their for-
mation, assuming the form of very thin plates,
appearing almost opaque ; indeed, when lying
in a mass, they always have a brown colour.

Sublimed indigo may be analysed by heat-
ing it with peroxide of copper in green glass
tubes. Mr. Crum gives its ultimate consti-
tuents thus : —

Carbon 73*22

Azote 11*26

Oxygen 12 60

Hydrogen **•* .... 2.92

100.

These numbers correspond very nearly to,

1 atom of azote I*75orl0*77

2 atoms of oxygen 2*00 or l2 31

4 atoms of hydrogen .... 050 or 3o8

l6 atoms of carbon 12*00 or 73*84

16*25 100..

I am, however, disposed to consider the
quantity of carbon to be greater, and the quan-
tity of oxygen to be smaller. I have repeat-
edly analysed both sublimed and precipitated
indigo over peroxide of copper and protochlo-
ride of mercury (calomel), and have obtain-
ed 84 as the mean proportion of carbon in 100
parts ; and it was only when calomel was
employed that I obtained satisfactory proof of
the presence of hydrogen. But since Mr.
Crum’s analysis is generally considered pretty
correct, 1 do not at piesent placemuch reliance
on my own discordant results. Organic ana-
lysis is a very delicate operation, and requires
much experience and a peculiar apparatus,
neither of which have I the advantage of.

In the year 1327, Berzelius published an
excellent memoir on indigo. He found in it
four peculiar substances, which constitute its
chief ingredients, viz. 1st, a substance close-
ly resembling gluten ; 2d a brown matter ; 3d,
a red matter (the resin of Bergman and Chev-
reul j) and 4th, the proper colouring principle.

From a sample of good East India indigo
I extracted the gluten by first boiling it with
diluted sulphuric acid, then filtering and neu-
tralising the acid by carbonate of lime, after
which it was evaporated to dryness and alcohol
'boiled on the residue ; this extracted a sub-
stance resembling gluten, and particularly
characterised by its smell, which was very
similar to broth. Gluten is itself a substance
possessing properties in common with both
the animal and vegetable kingdoms, hence it
has been called a vegeto-animat substance.

The brown matter I separated from the re-
sidue left by the acid by gently heating it with
a weak solution of potash, and from the re-
sidue again alcohol extracted the red matter.
The alcoholic solution being evaporated to
dryness, left a ruby-coloured powder, which
was dissolved by nitric acid, forming a fine
port-wine coloured liquor, which colour it
did not long retain, but soon, in consequence
of decomposition, turned yellow.

After these operations have been performed
on it the indigo is not left in a state of parity ;
it contains, besides insoluble impurities, a

ortion of the green, red, and brown matter

ut by acting on it by the protosulphate of
iron and lime, and pouring the yellow solution
of deoxidised indigo, thereby obtained into
diluted muriatic acid, a copious blue matter
falls down, which, after washing, may be re-
garded as tolerably pure.

By acting on indigo by means of protosul-
phate of iron and lime, Liebeg produced a
substance which he considered to be pure
deoxidised indigo. The proportions I used in
repeating his experiment were, 1,000 grains of
the during, 1,500 of copperass, and 1,600 of
lime ; these were put into a stone jar, and 3
quarts of water poured on them ,* the whole
was then heated to l30® Fahr., and so kept for
18 hours, guarded as much as possible from
atmospheric air ; the clear yellow solution
was then drawn off by a syphon, previously
filled with hydrogen gas and mixed with dilu-
ted muriatic acid, holding in solution a little
sulphate of ammonia ; a thick precipitate fell
down, which was washed with water that had
been boiled, and dried at the temperature of
212® ; when quite dry it retained its white
colour even when exposed to the air, but when
moist it speedily became blue. To this sub-
stance Liebeg gave the name of indigogen, and
he ascertained that in passing into the blue indi-
go it absorbs 11*5 per cent, of oxygen. The pre-
paration of this substance, owing to its power-
ful affinity for oxygen, is extremly difficult,
and it was only after repeated trials that 1 suc-
ceeded in producing it. It is absolutely ne-
cessary that all the vessels em ployed should be
previously filled with either nitrogen or hydro-
gen, and the water employed be deprived of
air by long boiling.

The action of some of the acids on indigo is
extremely interesting. With the nitric acid, it
forms two distinct substances, according to the
strength of the acid and the manner in which
it is applied. When a part of indigo is mix-
ed with 8 or 9 parts of moderately strong
nitric acid, and boiled as long as nitrous fumes
are evolved, carhnzolic acid is formed. When
the indigo is added to diluted nitric acid kept
boiling, as long as effervescence continues,
hot water being occasionally added to supply
the loss by evaporation, indigotic acid is
formed.

The particulars of the preparation of each
are as follows :

To form carbazotic acid, I boiled some
small fragments of the best East India indigo
in ten times their weight of nitric acid; the
mass frothed and swelled, giving out a large
quantity of nitrous gas, mixed with carbonic
prussic acids. It is recommended by some
chemists to add successive portions of nitric
acid whilst boiling ; but there is nothing, I
believe, gained by this, I have tried repeated-
ly both plans. The solution is bright yel-
low, and contains, besides carbazotic acid,
artificial tannin, resinous matter (which
forms a film on the surface), and indigotic
acid— on cooling, carbazotic acid is freely de-
posited, but not in a pure state, mixed pro-
bably with a considerable quantity of indi-

192

HOW TO FORM INDIGOTIC ACID.

gotic acid ; the residual liquor, by evapora-
tion and adding cold water, yields an addi-
tional quantity.

I'he cry.stdl9 were dissolved again in hot
water, which wasdivided into two equal por-
tions, one of which was neutralised by carho-
bonateof potash, and the other by carbonate
of ammonia ; carbarotates of potash and am-
monia were formed, and repeatedly purified
by crystallisation. The former salt appeared
in the form of long, yellow, semi-transparent,
and very brilliant needles ; the latter formed
yellow, flattened crystals. Carbazotate of
potash possesses the property of detonating
when heated like fulminating silver ; car-
bazotate of ammonia is fused and volatilised
without decomposition. It may be here
observed, that the sparing solubility of car-
bazotate of potash renders its acid an excellent
test for potash. Carbazotic acid is easily
separated from the salts by the addition of sul-
phuric acid; its crystals are in the form
of brilliant, yellow plates; it is extremely
bitter, and said to be poisonous; it may be
fused and volatilised without decomposition,
but when exposed to a strong heat it explodes,
leaving a residue of charcoal.

By Liebeg’s analysis this acid contains no
liydrogen, but, as its name implies, it is a
compound of carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen,
in the proportions of 15 carbon, 3 nitrogen.
Others give different proportions, and Dumas
found in it 1'4 per cent, of hydrogen. It
may be formed by the action of nitric acid on
many animal and vegetable substances, as
silk, aloes, &c.

To form indigotic acid, indigo in coarse
powder was mixed with nitric acid, diluted
with an equal weight of water ; carbonic acid
and nitrous gas were produced, but no car-
bazotic acid ; when effervescence had entire-
ly ceased, it was allowed to cool; a thick,
white precipitate fell down, which was boiled
with oxide of lead, and filtered in order to
separate the resin ; the clear, yellow solution
was decomposed by sulphuric acid, and filter-

ed at a boiling temperature. Indigotic acid
was deposited on cooling in minute, yellowish
white needles; by repeatedly dissolving and
re-crystallising it finally assumed the form of
a tult ot teatheis.

(To be continued, )

INDIAN INK. — An easy and expeditious
method of providing a substitute for Indian
ink, is to boil parchment slips, or cuttings,
glove leather, in water, till they form a size
which, when cold, becomes of the consistency
of jelly ; then having blackened an eartheny
plate, by holding it over the flame of a can-
dle, mix up with a camel-hair pencil the fine
lamp-black thus obtained with some of the
above size, while the plate is still warm.
This black requires no grinding, and produces
an ink of the very same colour, which works
as freely with the pencil, and is as perfectly
transparent as the best Indian ink. It like-
wise possesses the advantage of furnishing
artists with a substitute for the article,
which may be prepared where it maybe diffi-
cult to obtain the ink itself.

DRAWING ON CLOTH.— A new method
of drawing on cotton and linen cloth has
lately been invented by Mr. John Buck, of
12, Parker-street, Westminster, wffiich pos-
sesses, as far as regards the portability and
durahleness of the material, a great surperi-
ority over every other yet devised. The
cloth is first prepared by rubbing into it an
adhesive composition, which unites the threads,
and makes it as easy to draw upon as paper ;
and after the drawing has been made, it is
done over with a “thin pellucid liquid,” of
varnish. It might be supposed that cloth
thus treated would be stiff and liable to
crack ; hut, on the contrary, it admits of
being folded of in any shape or size, with the
greatest ease, and without injury. A whole
estate, or township, as the inventor observes,

may, by this means, be introduced into
a pocket-book.”

SPECIFICATION OF THE PATENT GRANTED TO ELIAS CARTER, OF THE
CITY OF EXETER, GENTLEMAN, FOR AN IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR
REGULATING THE SUPPLY OF GAS TO THE BURNERS, AND FOR STOP-
PING OFF THE SAME, APPLICABLE ALSO AS A COCK IN DRAWING OFF
OR REGULATING THE FLOW OF OTHER FLUIDS.

Sealed June 22, 1835.

WITH AN ENGRAVING.

To all to whomthesepresents shall come, &c.
SiC — Noio know ye, that in compliance with

the said proviso, I, the said Elias Carter, do
hereby declare the nature of my said invention
and the manner in which the same is to bg

AN IMPORTANT DISCOVERY BY MR. CARTER.

193

performed are fully described and ascertained
in and by the following description thereof, .
reference being had to the drawing hereunto'
annexed, and to the figures and letters marked
thereon (that is to say) :

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING.

Fig. 1, represents my improved apparatus
affixed to a gas-burner.

Fig. 2, is a longitudinal section of one of
the said apparatus shewn separately, and is
intended to be screwed or otherwise fastened
to any tube through which gas or other fluid
is to be passed, and the flow of which is re-
quired to be regulated or stopped off.

Fig.3, is apian of fig. 1, and.

Fig. 4. is a side view of the same apparatus.

In each of these figures the same letters
indicate similar part ; a, a, being the tube or
way for the flow of the gas. b, is a partition
formed within the tube, a, thus dividing the
tube into two chambers or parts, c, is an
opening formed in the tube, a, the upper
portion thereof is of a circular form, which is
the shape 1 prefer, but do not confine myself
thereto. This arrangement is clearly shown
In fig. 3, the valve being removed in order to
shew the construction. The valve by which
the opening, c, is closed or contracted consists
of a flexible material, e, fastened by a screw
or other means to the part shewn in section
at m, which covers completely the opening, c,
and which for gas apparatus, and for purposes
where the chemical properties will not injure
the same, 1 use leather, which is screwed to
the part, m, and the leather valve is affixed
gas-tight over the recess formed on the tube,
a, a, as is clearly shown in the various figures
in the drawing. It will thus be evident that
gas or other fluid passing in the direction of
the arrows will when the valve, e, is off its
seat, pass over the partition, b, and then pass
off from the other end of the tube, a ; but such
gas, or other fluid, will be prevented passirg
in any other direction by the valve, e, being
fixed all round, and gas-tight at its edges, g,
is a metal coyer which carries the handle, h ;
this handle has a screw, t, by which it is forced
into or withdrawn from its seat or opening,
c. Attached to the part, m, is a socket, /.
On the other end of the screw, i, is formed a
head which turns easily in the socket, /, con-
sequently is capable of lifting the valve from,
or closing it over, the opening, c. The handle
I prefer to be moveable and therefore have
emitted it in fig. 1 .

Having thus described the arrangement of
the apparatus, and the manner of combining
the same, 1 would remark, that I usually cast
the tube, a, o, in one piece, as is shewn in
the drawing, but I do not confine myself
thereto, for it will be evident, that a similar
arrangement may be added to an ordinary
piece of tube. And I would further remark,
that I do not confine myself to the use of
leather as the flexible material for covering
the opening, c. What I claim as my invention
is, the conbining the flexible valve, e, of any
suitable material, with a tube, a, arranged as
above described, into an improved apparatus

for regulating the supply of gas to the burner,
and for stopping off the same, applicable also
as a cock in drawing off, or regulating, the
flow of other fluids. — In witness whereof, &c.
Enrolled December 22, 1835.

PERSPECTIVE MADE EASY,

(Continued from page 141.J
RuiiE. — From the place of the point in the
ground plan draw a line to the point of sight ;
and from the point where this line cuts the
picture-sheet, let fall a perpendicular upon
the line a 6 in fig. 2. After this, from the
place of the point in the ground plan, whose
perspective is wanted, let fall another per-
pendicular upon the line ab, in fig* 2; on this
perpendicular setup the height that the point
stands at in the elevation above the line a b,
measuring this height from the line a 6 in the
perspective view ; then from the height so set
up, draw a line to the point c in the perspective
view, and the place where this line cuts the
perpendicular let fall from the point in the
picture-sheet, where the line drawn to the eye
in the ground plan cuts it, is the perspective
of the point wanted.

Example l. — Suppose that we want to find
the perspective of the top point s of the
pyramid B. From s, in the ground plan, draw
alinesc to the eye; and from the point
where this line cuts the picture-sheet, let fall
a line perpendicular to ab, in fig. 2. Then
from the point s let fall a line sv perpen-
dicular to ab, in fig. 2 ; on this line set up the
point a, above the line ab, at a distance equal
to the height of the top w of the pyramid, above
the line ab, in the elevation, and from the point
vdraw a line to c, in the perspective view, and
the point u, where the lines tJcand^w intersect,
is the perspective of the top point of the
pyramid. As all the lines that run up the
sides of the pyramid meet at the top, the
perspective view of the pyramid is completed,
by finding the perspective of the other ends
of these lines, and joining as many of these
points as are not hid by surfaces in front of
them with the point u, and then join the
perspectives of the points at the bottoms of
the lines, the one with the other. The method
of drawing the cube in front of the picture,
and also the cube on which the pyramid stands,
is fully sketched' out in the engraving. The
six- sided prism C is drav.m in perspective, in
the very same way as the pyramid — by finding
the perspectives of the points at the ends of
all the lines in it, and joiiring these perspective
points.

Example 2. — To find the perspective of
a circle, or any other curve, in order to
illustrate this example, we shall take the
circle on the top of the pillar D. Mark off
at random any number of points., xyz, in the
ground plan of this circle, and find by the
rule the perspective of each of these points ;
then when that is done, connect the perspective
points by a curve line, and this line will be
the perspective of the circle on the top of the
pyramid. The method of findingthe perspective
of the point x is sketched out in the engraving .

194

FORMATION OF A SOCIETY OF BIBLIOPttILISTS.

Remarks. — l. Fig*, l, 2, and 3, are drawn
on a drawing-board, in such positions that
the lines marked aft, the one in the elevation
and the other in the perspective view, are
parallel to the line a ft, which represents the
picture-sheet in the ground plan ; and these
lines are drawn with the square applied to the
edge of the drawing-board in the ordinary
way ; so in every instance where it is wanted
to draw a line perpendicular to the line aft, in
the perspective view, the thing is done at
once by means of the drawing-square. And
when the height at which any point stands
above the line a ft, in the elevation, is wanted
to be set up on the line drawn perpendicular
to a ft in fig. 2, from the position of the point
in the ground plan, you have only to apply
the drawing-square to the place of the point
in the elevation, and draw a line across the
drawing-board, and this line will cut the per-
pendicular line at the proper height above a 6
in fig. 2, Now, it will be evident how the
ground plan and elevation should be placed,
in order to draw the perspective view easily.

2. Points, lines, and surfaces, in contact
with the transparent plan, must be in the
same position with respect to each other, and
must have the same shape and dimensions in
the perspective view that they have in the
ground plan and the elevation, as the lines
drawn to the eye representing the rays of
light, do not converge till after they cut the
transparent plane. This is the reason why
the position of the point of contact of a line
commencing at the picture-sheet is found in
the perspective view, in the point where a
horizontal line drawn from the place of the
point in the elevation meets a line let fall
from the place of the point in the ground plan.

perpendicular to the line aft in the perspective
view.

3. The line aft, in fig. 2, shows the inter-
section of the transparent plane with the
horizontal surface on which the objects stand.
If the objects do not stand on a horizontal
surface, the line aft, in fig. 3, represents a hori-
zontal surface drawn through the lowest point
in the object ; and a ft, in fig. 2, shows the
intersection of this horizontal surface with
the picture-sheet. The lines marked a ft, in-
the perspective view and in the elevation, need
not be drawn when the position of the elevation
is such, that the height of any point in an
object can be set up on the line drawn per-
pendicular to a ft, in the perspective view, from
the place of point in the ground plan, by
means of the drawing-square. But they (the
lines marked a ft, in figs. 2 and 3,) are of
great use when the elevation cannot be got iu
a proper position, or when the elevation is
drawn on a separate sheet from the perspective
view.

4. As c, in the elevation, marks the position
of the point i, as well as the point of sight,
draw a line parallel to a ft, through c, in fig. 3,
till it cuts a line, let fall from the point i, in
the ground plan, perpendicular to a ft, in fig.
2, the point c, in the perspective view where
these lines meet, is the position of the point
i. The point c, in fig. 2, is also the position
of the point of sight, for a point must be
placed above, or below, or to one side of
the point of sight, before the lines drawn to
the eye which represent the rays of light from
the point, and which mark its position on the
picture-sheet, can converge or diverge betwixt
the point and the transparent plane.

('To he Continued.)

MISCELLANEOUS LITERARY NOTICES.

BELGIUM.

A Society of Bibliophilists has been formed
at Mons, who purpose publishing unedited
literary and historical documents, and to re-
print treatises which have become extremely
rare ; always preferring in both cases what is
especially interesting to Mons or Hainault.
The number of members is limited to twenty-
five. The first number of its publication,
which has just appeared, consists entirely of
a MS. of 1681, hitherto unedited, treating of
the government of Hainault subsequently to
the death of the Archduke Albert, on the
23d of July, 1621.

It is now decided that Belgium is to have
(or rather it already has) four Universities,
two of which only are supported by the
government, namely, those of Ghent and
Liege. The ancient University of Lonvain
is suppressed; but the magistrates of that
city have made an arrangement with the
archbishop of Malimes and the other prelates
of Belgium, for establishing at Louvain the

new Catholic University, lately founded with
the sanction of the Pope. The fourth is the
free University of Brussels founded by private
individuals.

FRANCE.

Some years ago a bookseller at Orleans
bought, at the sale of a private library, a
valuable copy of the edition of Cicero, pub-
lished in 1555, by Ch. Stephens. The
margins are enriched with above 4000 cor-
rections, written by H. Stephens and another
learned man, who is distinguished merely by
the name of John, perhaps J. Scapula. This
book seems to be intended as the basis of a
new edition, probably that which H. Stephens
mentions in his Castigationes inquemplurimos
locos CiceroniSf^^ which never appeared. We
hear that the bookseller, who gave twenty
francs for it, will not sell it under 1800
francs.

The antiquarian and historical publications of
France are proceeding with great spirit. The
fifst volume is just published of M. Michel’s

THE WORKS OF RIDINGER TO BE REPUBLISHED.

195

-collection of chronicles and other original and
unpublished documents, relating to the reigns
of William the Conqueror and his sons, a
book extremely valuable and interesting to
Englishmen. It forms an octavo volume,
and contains large portions of the Norman
Metrical Chronicles of Geolfry Gaimar, of
an anonymous continuator of the Brut, of
Peter de Langtoft, of Benoit de Sainte-More,
and an Extract from a metrical Life of King
Edward the Confessor. The second volume
will contain the Latin lives of Hereward, of
Earl Waltheof and his wife Judith, and of
Harold, with an early Latin poem on the
battle of Hastings, and the Diet de Guillaume
d' Angleterre, by Chretien de Troyes. At
the end of this curious collection will be added
complete Indexes and Glossaries.

The Commission Histoi’ique is also pro-
ceeding vigorously in its labours. Copies
of its publications are shortly expected, and
shall be duly noticed by us. M. Guizot,
who is preparing a report to the king on the
subject, has appointed Thomas Wright, B. A-
of Trinity College, Cambridge, English cor-
respondent of the Commission.

M. Raynouard, one of the first scholars
of Europe, and well known for his work on
the Poems and Language of the Troubadours,
published in the years 1816 — 1821, with the
title of“ Choix des Poesies originales de
Troubadours,” has been ever since engaged
on a work which he calls “Nouveau Choix
des Poesies originales des Troubadours.”
Like the preceding, it will consist of six
volumes, 8vo., of which the 3rd to the 5th
inclusive will be occupied by a Dictionary of
the Romane Language of the Troubadours,
compared with the other languages of Latin
Europe. The second volume, being the com-
mencement of the Dictionary, is just pub-
lished, and furnishes striking evidence of the
extent and depth of the author’s learning.

GERMANY.

The Book Catalogue of the Leipzig Mi-
chaelmas fair announces 3164 works, partly
new, partly new editions, maps, &c. In the
Easter Catalogue there were 3767, making
together 6931. Among them are books and
pamphlets on scientific and miscellaneous
subjects : in the German language, 2800 ; in
ancient languages, 208; in foreign living
languages, 176 ; novels, 164 ; plays, 32 ;
maps and charts, terrestrial and astronomi-
cal, 84; 178 translations from foreign lan-
guages, (of which 58 are novels) ; and 1 99
periodicals.

Neff, of Stuttgart, has announced a Ger-
man translation of the eight Treatises written
for the premiums bequeathed for the purpose
by the late Earl of Bridgewater. Dr. Hauff,
editor of the Morgenblatt, is named as one of
the translators.

The house of Hallberger, of Stuttgart,
has produced two volumes of a work which
is professed, we know not with what truth.

to be written by Prince Piickler Muskau,
under the title of “ Vorletzter Weltgangvon
Semilasso. Traum und Wachen. Aus den
Papieren Verstorbenen.” These two volumes
which were published in September and to be
followed in a few weeks by a third, compre-
hend the Author’s Travels in Europe, and
the succeeding ones will contain his observa-
tions on Africa.

Creuzbauer, of Karlsruhe and Leipzig, has
commenced a picturesque work, entitled
“ Die Klassischen Stellen der Schweiz und-
deren Haupt-Orte in Originalansichten dar-
gestellt.” It will be completed in 24 monthly
parts, royal 8vo., each containing 3 engra-
vings on steel, by H. Winkles, from drawings
by G. A. Miiiler, and a descriptive text by
the veteran Heinrich Zschokke.

In 1824, Heinrich Meyer published the first
portion of the History of Fine Arts among the
Ancients, which related only to Greece. The
continuation of that excellent work, which
was ready for the press at the time of his
death, in October, 1832, is announced for
publication, under the superintendence of M.
Riemer, librarian to the grand Duke of Wei-
mar, by the title of “ Heinrich Meyer’s Ges-
chichte der bildenden Kunst bei den Griechen
und Rbmern.” It is the result of many
years’ reseai’ches and observations, which
suggested themselves whilst he was engaged
in editing Winkelmann’s Works jointly with
Fernow and Schulze. Meyer was not eminent
merely as an artist and a scholar : he was a
genuine philanthropist. In his last will, after
deducting a few legacies, he left the whole
remainder of his property, amounting to
about 33,000 dollars to the poor of Weimar.
The interest of that sum is now applied to
the relief of the poor of Weimar at their own
homes, by supplying them in illness with
medicines, and with medical and every other
kind of attendance which they stand in need
of. The Grand-Duchess takes upon herself
the chief direction of this useful charity.

The works of J. E. Ridinger, whose unri-
valled etchings of animals have always enjoyed
the highest reputation, not only in Germany,
but in foreign countries, have become so
extremely scarce and dear, that we are glad
to see an advertisement of the Bibliographische
Institut, in Hildburghausen, announcing
that it is in possession of the original plates,
which are in excellent condition, and will
publish them in monthly parts, each contain-
ing from four to eight plates, in imperial
folio, at the very moderate price of about 3s.
fid. per number.

M. Hahn, at Hanover, has published the
first part of a highly important geological
work,” Die Versteinerungen des Norddeut-
schen Oolithen Gebirges,” i. e. The Petrifac-
tions of the Oolite Mountains of the North
of Germany, by Fred. Ad. Roemer. The

196

MISCELLANEOUS LITERARY INTELLIGENCE.

first number contains 12 lithographic plates
in 4to. The work will be completed in three
numbers, representing nearly 500 species of
petrifactions, with a geological introduction.

The same house has published Monumenta
Germaniae Historica, from the year 500 to
1500, under the auspices of the Society for
publishing the Sources of the Alfairs of
Germany in the Middle Ages, edited by Dr.
Geo. H. Pertz, tom. iii. being the first
volume of the laws of Germany in the Middle
Ages.

“ A young German army physician has
discovered in a convent here a complete copy
of the nine books of the Phoenician History
of Philo-Byblius, which he translated into
Greek from the Phoenician of Sanchoniatho.
It is properly a cliromicle of the town of
Byblos ; but as that town was in alliance
with Sidon, and in the sequel became depen-
dent on Tyre, the history of these cities is
very circumstantially related. Neither are
neighbouring cities, people, or dynasties
neglected, or the coasts of the islands occu-
pied by Phoenician colonies. The eighth book
is particularly important ; a catalogue of all
the troops, war chariots, and ships of each
town, and of each of the many dependent
colonies. Only the colonies in Spain were
independent, and allowed no persons from
the mother country to visit their ports, except
the merchants from Tyre.” (Another letter
adds that it will be published in Germany.)

The University of Gottingen has received
a valuable present of Chinese books from Dr.
Velthausen in London, which he purchased
at Canton. There is with them a very large
and accurate map of the Chinese Empire.

HOLLAND.

M. Noorda van Eyringa, who is well known
to the learned world by his valuable labours
in the Malay languages, has just presented to
the king his Dictionaries and Grammar of
the Languages of Kromo. Ngoko, Modjo and
Karri (gwery Kawi?)in the island of Java.
These works will be of infinite use to the
Dutch civil and military officers, as well as
to strangers visiting that island.

The Chevaler Rifaud, celebrated for his
Travels in Egypt, Nubia, and the neighbouring
countries, in which he spent twenty-two
years, has brought back with him to Amster-
dam a collection of more than six thousand
drawings made on the spot, and embracing
every thing connected with art that presented
itself to his view. He has already commenced
the publication of his Travels, and says, in
the announcement, that he discovered, among
other things, sixty statues, the smallest of
which is of the natural size : and that he
copied numerous inscriptions and tables of
hieroglyphics.

PRUSSIA.

Two works, which might as properly be

led one work, from their connection with

each other, by Dr. Gottfried Schadow,
Director of the Royal Academy of Arts at
Berlin, have just been published, with the
titles of Polyclet & Polycletes, or Measures
of the Human Body, according to the Sex
and Age, &c. German and French, 4to, with
29 lithographic plates, folio ; and ” National
Physiognomies, or Observations on the Dif-
ferences of the Features, and of the External
Conformation of the Human Head,” a con-
tinuation of Polycletes, 4to, with 28 litho-
graphic plates, fol. They must be highly in-
teresting to anatomists and artists.

“ Der Preusische Staat, in alien seinen
Beziehungen,” compiled by a society of men,
of learning and friends of national topo-
graphy, statistics, &c. under the direction of
Baron L. von Zedlitz Neukirch, is destined
to fill a desideratum that has long been felt.

It appears periodically, and has now' reached
its 7th number.

RUSSIA.

A very important work has just been pub-
lished by M. Schnitzler, author of the much
esteemed “ Statistique G^n^rale de I’Empire
de Russie.” This new work is “ La Russie,
la Pologne, et la Finlande ; Tableau statis-
tique, geographique, et historique, de toutes les
parties de la Monarchic Russe, prises isole-
ment. 1 vol. 8vo, 720 pages, with three
plans.

On the proposal of the Minister of Public
Instruction, the Emperor has been pleased
to extend to the end of the year 1836 the
scientific expedition of M. Feodorof, in |
Siberia, at the public expense, the chief object
of which is to ascertain the exact position of
several places between the 30th and 60th de-
grees of latitude.

Mr. A. J. Sjoegren, who has been travelling
for some years in the northern parts of
Russia, with a view to historical and philo-
logical researches, and who has collected a
vast number of valuable MSS. and most
cui'ious information, is now gone to pursue
his researches in the Caucasian provinces.

The Imperial Academy of Sciences has just
lost its first vice-president, Mr .Henry Fr.
Storch, privy councillor, and grand cross of
several orders, w'ho died in the night of the
13th of November, at the age of 69 years. He
acquired desei'ved reputation by the publication
of several useful w'orks, among wffiich are the
Statistical and Historical View of the Russian
Empire, and his Course of Political Economy,

SANDWICH ISLANDS.

Mr. Tinker, an American missionary, has
commenced a periodical work at Honoruru,
in Woahoo, one of the Sandwich Islands.
This capital now contains 7,000 inhabitants,
and the missionaries keep three presses
going there.

197

TOPOGRAPHY OF INDIA.

COMPILED FROM VARIOUS WORKS AND MANUSCRIPTS,

BY THE EDITOR.

THE TOPOGRAPHY OF ARRAKAN.

It is difficult to please every class of our readers, and being apprehensive
that the historical portion of our Topography may be deemed irrelevant to a
Medical Journal, we shall give this portion of our labours to the Scientific

Journal, and that which relates to
Medical.

ARRACAN'

(Continued from -page \4Q.)

They live partly in houses of their own, and
on their estates ; partly in cloisters, which
are founded by their king, or great men (T),
and generally very sumptuous : but they are
all subject to one spiritual head, as before-
mentioned, By them the children, both of
the nobility and gentry, are educated in the
knowledge of their religion'and laws : and they
are said to be exceeding hospitable to strang-
ers. They have among them many hermits,
like the Joghis, of the western parts of India ;
who are distinguished into three kinds or or-
ders, named Grepi, Alanigrepi, and Taligrepi
(U). These inflict on themselves very rigo-
rous penances ; for which they are held in
great esteem among the people.*

The government of Arrakan is chiefly in
the hands of the twelve princes before-men-
tioned ; who are honoured with the title of
kings, residing in the principal cities, in
twelve royal palaces, with each a great serag-
lio, as well for their women, as those they
educate for the king of all the rest, who keeps
his court in the city of Arrakan.

This monarch affects as lofty titles as any
of his neighbours ; stiling himself Emperor q/
Arrakan, possessor 0/ tke white elephant (Xj,
with the two Kenekas, and, by virtue of them,
rightful heir of Pegu and Brama. Lord of
the twelve Boyoni of Bengal ; and of the
twelve kings (meaning those in Arrakan)
who lay the highest hair of their heads under
the soles of his feet. His usual residence is in
the city of Arrakan, but it is customary with

* Oviiiat. p. 577, & spq.

(!') Schoutin, p. 3.S6, says, their houses are
either near the pa-jofls, on rocks, or on little bills ;
where they live like hermits, sequestered from the
world. Although their air and gait is modest, yet
one may discover pride in it.

(U) These names seem to be taken from Mendez
Pinto- Other authors call them in general Tali
poi, or Talipoins.

(X) This famous white elephant was wrested
from the king of Siam, by him of Pegu, in 1567.
It was taken by the king of Tangu, at the surrend-
er of Pegu city, in 1599, and delivered to the king
of Arrakan soon alter.

climate, situation, diseases, &c. to the

him in summer to spend two months in a kind
of progress by water to Orietan. In which
he is attended by his nobility, in boats so art-
fully contrived and disposed that they appear
rather like a floating palace or city than what
they are. In this progress he does not omit to
administer justice ; but hears causes as regu-
larly as when at land. One pretence for this
maritime journey is to visit the pagod of Quiay
Poragray, their su preme deity ; to whom he
daily sends a sumptuous dinner.

This, among many instances, shews, the
kings of Arrd/can to be very superstitious ; and
this superstition frequently leads them into
acts of the greatest barbarity. 7bsi relates of
one of them, that, being told he could not
long survive bis coronation, which is perform-
ed with the greatest pomp, he putit off, al-
though the high-priest was already setting, the
crown on his head ; nor would admit that
ceremony for the space of twelve years: but,
being pressed to it by his lords, and not able
to deter it any longer, he consulted a 33o-
hammedan, to know whether there was any
way to avert the omen. 1 he Musulmun, witir
an intent, it is said, to destroy those whom he
reckoned enemies of his religion, tcfld the king,
that an electuary made of hearts, wherein
were to be 6000 belonging to his subjects,
4000 of white cows, and *2000 of white doves,
would protect him from the threatened dan-
ger. The king, relying upon this false infor-
mation, built a house, the foundations where-
of, to render it still more auspicious, were
laid upon women great with child : and, on
that occasion, sacrificed no fewer than
18,000 innocent persons, with a view to pre-
serve his own life.*

We meet with no account of the descent of
the kings of A'“rakan ; but we learn from au-
thors, that, to preserve the blood unmixed,
they are obliged to marry their eldest sisters. f
This monarch scarce ever goes out of his
palace, above once in five years when he
does it with great solemnity ; but passes his
life there with his queen, and a great number of

♦ Ovingt. p. 579, & seq.
t Tosi ap. Oviimt. p. 682.

Metholrt ap, Puicli. Pili:r. vol. .5, p.l0O5.

iX) Except we suppose in Ills progress, a* afore-
said.

198

THE NAVAL AND MILITARY POWER OF ARRAKAN.

concubines. Every year the sikkes (Y),
who are his favounte‘<, cause twelve of the
loveliest maidens to be sought for through
the realm, and dressed in fine white linen.
After this, they are exposed for six hours to
the most violent heat of the sun, that they
may sweat as much as possible. This done,
other habits are brought them to put on, and
their sweaty ones examined by persons ap-
pointed, who make their report ; and the
young ladies, w'hose sweat has no disagreeable
smell, are presented to the king, and placed
among his concubines. 1 he rest are disposed
of, with portions, to his courtiers. All the
females are taught music and dancing, with
whatever else may help to render them agree-
able, in hopes of arriving to that dignity. It
is said, that they who have obtained it, form
themselves also to the exercise of arms ; after
which they are distributed into the principal
apartments of the king and serve him for
guards. *

The kings of Arrakan were formerly almost
continually at war with the great Mogol ; but
never came to a set battle . for they do not
care to hazard their troops muchf. These
monarchs, however, for the vastness of their
treasure and military strength, are as consi-
derable as most eastern princes. About 150
years ago they became famous by their wars,
and much enlarged their dominions by the
conquests they made both in Bengal and Pegxi.
However, it is observed, that they were gene-
rally unsuccessful in their wars against the
Portuguese ; who, in l605, defeated the king’s
fleet, consisting of no fewer than 540 sail (or
barks) ; and, not long after, he w’as forced
three times to retire from before Siriam (now
belonging to Pegu), though he attacked it with
a fleet of l200 sail, and an army of 30,000
men, accompanied with 3500 great and small
cannon J. However, the king of Rakan (or
Arrakan) by degrees humbled them, as will be
related hereafter.

The first account we meet with of the affairs
of Arrakan is about the year 1569 ; at which
time the king oi Pegu (of the Barma or Brama
race), growing very powerful, sought, by all
manner of ways, to subdue that kingdom. But
he was not able to compass his design ; for
first, he had no fleet to transport an army by
sea ; whereas the king of Arrakan could arm
200 gallies in his defence: and, in case he
should invade that country by land, the in-
habitants were ready, by means of sluices,
to lay the same all under water, and either
drown their enemies, or impede their march.
However, at that time, the Portuguese of
Chatigan having slain the governor of that
city, which belonged to Bengal; and it being
made an article of the accommodation which

Schont. u»*i supr. p. 233.

+ Sellout iil)i. supr. p. -228.
j Jarric. ap. Uviiigt. p. 578.

(Y) According to Ovingt on, p. 579, tlie twelve
governors, sliled kings, are obliged to pick out
twelve girls every year, within their provinces, and
educate them, at the king's charge, in their serag-
lios, till they are twelve years old ; at which age
they are carried to court, and chosen by the smell
of their sweaty garments. Edoardo Barbosa re-
lates to the same purpose.

soon after took eflPect. that the chief com-
mander of the Portuguese, who had then
eighteen ships in the port, should depart the
place with his vessel ; the king of Arrakan,
to strengthen himself against his neighbours,
invited the captain to come into his domini-
ons*. By this means the Portuguese first
found an introduction into Arrafc«?? ; where,
by degrees, they gained a considerable fool-
ing: which they lost again, at length, by
their insolence and crimes.

These Portuguese, however, proved of
great service to the king of Arrakan ; for,
in 1581, the king of Pegxi, having at length
procured a fleet of 1300 sail resolved to con-
quer that country. With this view he sent
that numerous armament, under the com-
mand of the prince his son, towards the
Arrakan coast. The prince being informed,
in his passage, that two Portuguese galliots
had taken a ship of Pegu, richly laden, he
detached sixteen of his best sailors to attack
them. The galliots received them bravely,
and disabled several of them : till seeing
the whole fleet coming down upon them,
tliey made the best of their way into the bay
of Arrakan t, which prevented the prince
from making a descent.

After this, .drm/cd /I seems to have been
freed from any attempts on the side of
whose arms turned against other neighbour-
ing nations. Nor did the king of Arrakan
take that opportunity to attack his most dan-
gerous enemy, for fear of drawing back his
resentment upon him. But at length the
power of having been greatly exhausted
by long wars, particularly with <Siam, several
of the bordering kings, taking advantage of
Branjinoko's distress, entered into a league a-
gainst him. Among the rest Shilimi Sha (A),
Arrakan, was one. I'his prince, in the year
king of 1598, laid siege to the city of Pegu, and
was joined soon after|by the king'of Tangu. But
being called away for a while about some other
affairs, he left the continuance of the siege to the
king of Tangxi: who made so good use of his
time, that, before the king returned, he had got-
ten Branjinoko , with all the royal family, into
his hands, and carried off almost the whole
treasure of the captive prince amounting to an
immense value ; leaving behind above three
millions in silver and other metals, which he
thought not worth while to take with him.

SHILIMI Shah, coming back to Pegu,
took the kingdom into his possession, with the
silver which the king of Tangu had left for
him : but not brooking to be so tricked by
his good ally, who had agreed to divide the
spoil, he sent to demand a farther share, with
the white elephant, and the captive king’s
daughter ; he likewise required that the king
himself should either be sent to him, or slain ;
threatening otherwise to invade Tangu. To
avoid this visit, his demands were complied
with ; the king’s brother, and two of his sons,
sent also; and the dethroned tyrant was put
to death.

(To be continued.)

* Ceesar Frederic ap, Purch. pilsr. vol. if, p. 1720.

tDe Faria Portug. Asia, vol. ii. p. 369, ft seq.

(A) Called, afterwards, ShilimUca, whicb
seems the more natural name of the two.

I THE INDIA REVIEW

OF WORKS ON SCIENCE

AND

' JOURNAL OF FOREIGN SCIENCE AND THE ARTS.

EMBRACING

MINERALOGY, GEOLOGY, NATURAL HISTORY, PHYSICS, &c.

REVIEW.

Some enquiries in the Province of Kemaon
relative to Geology and other Branches
of Natural Science, by Assistant Sur-
geon John McClelland, Member
of the Royal College of Surgeons, in
London, and of the Medical and Physi-
cal Society, Calcutta, Oct.pp. 384. —
Thacker & Co., Calcutta.

The second chapter of Dr. McClelland’s
work opens with a general description of the
district. He introduces his reader to the pass
of Burmdeo, the capital of Rohilcund, ninety
miles north, or eight marches from Bareilly ;
he represents the spot as being in the form of
an amphitheatre, surrounded by delightful
mountain scenery. At a narrow outlet emer-
ges the great northern branch of the ri-
ver Gogra, watering the plains of Rohilcund
and Oude, until it joins the Ganges near
Ghazeepore.

Three marches further north, our author
brings us to Lohooghat. The first march
is over a rugged group of mountains 5,000
feet above the sea. From the summit the
view of the Himalaya is intercepted by a still
higher range. The traveller descends to
Belket ; the country between Belket and
Burmdeo is represented as uninhabited. Dr.
McClelland states, however, that a few huts
may be found on the elevations, but the valleys
are uninhabited at least during six months
in the year. We wish our author had been
particular in specfiying the months, we sus-
pect they are the four preceding and the two
succeeding the termination of the rains.

Thus it is that the rudest inhabitants of the
earth are made wise by experience and ob-
servation. Malaria, during the periods
which we have alluded to, exists in all its
virulence and drives the lowlanders to the
highest elevations.

Those who are sceptics as to unhealthiness
from ditches and low marshy spots, let them
learn a lesson from the examples of these
mountaineers. Our author next ascends to
Choura Pany, which is situated on a ridge
verging along the base of the Himalaya chain :
from this spot the snowy peaks burst upon the
view. Dr. McClelland speaks of the scene as
indescribably magnificent. Mountain scenery
in all countries exalts the imagination and
rivets man into profound admiration ; but
that of the mighty Himalaya is grand beyond
description. The first time we saw these
lofty ranges was on the occasion of our
accompanying the army which invaded Nipal.
The scene on that occasion can never be
erased from our recollection ; as we sat upon
one of these mighty elevations, we could look
down to an immense depth and see the army
of many thousands marching up almost a per-
pendicular height, so rapid are the mountains
in some places . The lofty pines and green oak
woods hid the moving body, and then they
would be seen again in immense numbers on
perilous ridges, the azure clear Indian sky,
the brilliant rays of the sun reflected from
the British bayonet, the well known shout
of a marching army, and the buz of camp
followers echoing along the deep dells, awak-
ened a thousand thoughts and aroused a thou-
sand feelings, and then onward shone the
brilliant tops of the snowy height, with which
our author is now enraptured.

200

THE MAGNIFICENT SCENERY OF THE HIMALAYA.

The fact is, that in no part of the
world a more sublime sight can be witness-
ed than the lofty Himalaya, played upon
by the brilliant rays of a tropical sun. It
appears that from Choura Pany the view is
circumscribed. Our author ascends the neigh-
bouring heights. The lowest altitude of an
uninterrupted chain of lesser summits, ex-
tending at least four hundred miles, is in
Dr. McClelland’s opinion about six thousand
“ feet above the line of perpetual conge-
lation, which in this latitude is about twelve
thousand feet ; consequently, the lowest peaks
in this portion of the Himalayas must be some-
where about eighteen thousand feet ; while
many of the higher summits approach an
elevation of twenty-five thousand feet above
the ocean. Careful attention to the changes
which the physi ognomy of such mighty eleva-
tions undergo, is an object of the highest
importance ; and w^as, I believe, first suggest-
ed by Humboldt : but in order to atford much
interest in a moderate space of time, con-
stant observations of the most accurate
and systematic nature would be necessary.”'

Our author says that he does not pretend
to any thing of this sort ; but prefers giving a
plate, and has ably sketched a general out-
line of the chain from the highest summit
of Choura Pany. Dr. McClelland states that
he took the relative altitudes of the diiferent
peaks with a common Gunter’s quadrant, fur-
nished with two right vanes and a plummet.
In describing the first peak the height of the
eastern extremity of the range was 2° 45' ;
western acclivity, 24° ; eastern declivity 60^
Our author describes it to have an unsteady
overhanging character falling towards the
east; surrounding and subordinate peaks are
pointed and bristling. The height of the
secondpeak 3® ; western acclivity, 44o ; eastern
declivity, 55'; character, pyramidal and
pointed.

The third the height of the peak 3® ; eastern
acclivity, 29® ; western declivity, 50o ; near the
summit ; chafacter, wedge-shaped. The
fourth height of peak 2® 45', eastern acclivity,
47®; character resembling a dome. The
lowest snow at the apparent base of the
fourth peak 1® 17' . The same at the appa-
rent base of the first peak. Our author ob-
serves that,

“ From these kind of observations also a
formula may be derived for calculating inac-
cessible heights ; the lower limit of perpe »

tual congelation being determined. Her^,
as has been found by Webb and other travel-
lers, that limit is about 12,000 feet ; and its
height at the base of (6), for instance, was
1® ; deduct the height of the place of observa-
tion (6,000) from the height of the lowest
snow (12,000), and the difference is the value
of a degree of height ; accordingly, the peak
(h) must be somewhere about 24,000 feet
high*.”

The plate which illustrates the foregoing
does great credit to Dr. McClelland as an
artist, and also to Mr. Bennett who drew it
on stone ; and it proves that lithography and
printing here will soon be equal to work done
in Europe. The following passage will give the
readers some idea of our author’s style. It iS"
Chaste and eloquent, 'foi* which Dr. Mc-
Clelland’s countrymen of the emerald isle
are so justly celebrated.

” The hours of the day, at which these
awfully interesting altitudes are seen to most
advantage, is either before sun-rise, or after
sun-set ; when their soft crimson forms are
barely relieved from the glowing tints of
the sky, by the golden lights that play along
their varied outlines.

From the position at which these obser-
vations are supposed to be made, the moun-
tains which intervene between the snowy
range and the eye, vary in their respective
altitudes from six to twelve thousand feet.
The different branches of the river Gogra are
sometimes seen, but often only heard, in furi-
ous torrents, rushing down the river valleys,
which divide the mountain groups from each
other. The great valley of the Gogra is seen
a few miles to the east : the river running
from a north-easterly direction, and receiving
a large bi*anch that comes fromthe north-west.
The north-eastern branch continues to mark
the boundary between the kingdom of Nepaul
and the province of Kemaon. The western
branch is soon discovei'ed to be formed of two
rivers : one of which comes from the north,
and the other from the north-west, receiving
its origin in the mountains, east and north-
east of Almorah, in conjunction with the
Pindur, or third branch of the Ganges.

* Notwithstanding the confidence we are
ever ready to repose in mathematical rules in
the elucidation of the laws of nature, yet they
are often as imperfect as the limited obser-
vations on which they are founded. Thus there
is reason to believe, that the inferior limit of
perpetual congelation is much more elevated
on the S. W. acclivity of the Himalaya than
has been assigned to it by Captain Webb.
There is reason to believe, that the inferior
annual limit of snow varies so amazingly,
according to peculiarity of seasons, that a
series of years only would afford accurate
calculations. See the Chapter on Climatology.

McClelland’S tabular arrangement of mountain rocks. 201

The valleys of these rivers sink to the depth
of five or six thousand feet below many of
the adjoining summits ; but the general height
of the mountains above the valleys throughout
the district, is from two to five thousand feet.

The mountains are generally massive; and
differ in their more minute outlines, according
to the nature of the rocks of which they are
composed. Hornblende-slate forms moun-
tains, whose acclivities rise abruptly, at
angles of from 65^ to 35« with the horizon.
Mica-slate and gneiss, as well as clay-slate,
present acclivities that vary from 60® to 30®.
The'*' mountains composed of these rocks are
usually wooded ; and their summits are round-
backed, undulating, or conical.

Limestone mountains are here characterised
on the great scale ; by abrupt rugged accli-
vities, mural precipices, lofty, varied, and
picturesque summits, cascades, and subter-
raneous streams, deep ravines, and narrow
inaccessible valleys, transition clay-slate
forms barren , round-backed mountains ;
which are uniform in their appearance, and
intersected by few ravines.

There is also a genus of rocks related to
the Dolomite family, which deserves to be
mentioned ; as stamping a peculiar character,
upon numerous mountains of the district :
they form lofty caps, and shields ; usually
disposed in saddle-shaped strata, presenting
smooth, and often inaccessible declivities ;
which are too abrupt to afford, even vegetable
existence, except to grass and lichen : while
ravines and low places, situated at the base of
such mountains, are strewed with rounded
masses, which have been, precipitated from
above.

The district which is to form the subject of
the following pages, is embraced by the lati-
tudes 29^ and 29® 45' N. Long. 79® 55' and 80®
20' E. ; and lies on the western side, of the
river district of the Gogra. Having thus defined
the geographical limits, to which only it is
intended, that the following pages shall refer ;
it may be proper to recapitulate such of the
foregoing remarks as apply only to this
limited space, and to add such further obser-
vations, on the general characters of the dis-
trict, as may lead the way to the more minute
details respecting the rocks and minerals of
which it is composed, and of the relative con-
nexion of these to each other.

It has been said, that the mountains of
certain rocks, as gneiss, hornblende-slate,
&c. derive peculiar outlines from the nature
of their composition. These distinctive cha-
racters may even be traced to more minute
particulars. Hornblende -slate, for instance,
appears to have much more effect, in resisting
the destroying power of the atmosphere, than
either gneiss or mica-slate : the latter rocks
may therefore be distinguished from the
former one, by the numerous white patches
of naked surface, whose active state of
decomposition prevents the growth of vege-
table matter. The mountains of gneiss may

again be distinguished from those of mica-
slate, by the overlying masses of granite ;
which have been denuded by the decay of the
softer rock, in which they once existed as
beds, or central nuclei : enormous masses of
this kind are found throughout the gneiss
district, which extends from the ruins of the
ancient city of Chompawut, in a north-wes-
terly direction, probably for a hundred miles ;
I have traced them myself for forty miles.

The valleys, formed bv the different tribu-
tary branches of the Gogra, divide the district
into sections. The first is that deserted tract
that lies between Burmdeo pass and Belket.
The second is a more important section ; and
extends from the river Ludhoo, at Belket, to
the Ramessa, and is chiefly composed of pri-
mitive rocks. A ridge of granite composes the
centre of this section ; and forms occasional
elevations of nearly eight thousand feet.
Gneiss, hornblende-slate, mica-slate, and
clay-slate, are the other principal formations,
which occur in this section.

The third natural division is that which lies
on the north of the Ramessa river, and be-
tween the rivers called Mahi Kali and Surjee ;
embracing some fine, though small valleys,
the principal one of which is the valley of
ShoVe ; and to avoid the confusion of names,
it may be proper to use this term to distin-
guish the adjoining portion of the district.

Of the mountain rocks that occur in the
Shore section, primitive clay-slate is the
oldest, and forms the basis of this part of the
district, and ascends to elevations which are
occasionally above8,000 feet : primitive, tran-
sition, and floetz limestone also occur in
succession, and bestow their peculiar stamp
on the aspect of the neighbourhood. The
mountains are here more majestic than in
either of the other sections ; each individual,
standing almost detached from the group to
which it belongs, and bearing some well-
marked character, which leaves on the mind,
an impression not easily effaced. Thus we
find, in the Shore district, every mountain
distinguished by some traditional name,
derived from a sacred rock, or ancient temple,
which usually caps the summit. At certain
festivals, crowds of the superstitious popu-
lation resort to these romantic caves and
temples ; and on more private occasions, the
solitary devotee often ends his life, in the
attempt to gain an almost inaccessible sum-
mit, in order to invoke the protection of
some grotesque representation of the deity,
to which the mountain is dedicated. How
forcibly the selection of such localities, for
religious purposes, attests the influence of
what is awful in nature, over the mind of man,
even in his rude and nearly savage state.

Our author next proceeds to give a table
exhibiting the mountain rocks of the district
in the order which they occur. We shall
quote this, as a proof of his systematic
arrangement.

[ 202 ]

'Cf

a

<u

a ^

bo

O

a

o

60

1.1

i-rH C3

•v

cn o 'S

V. ^ o «

<u o -JJ S

X> CO ^

• _ ui <u .

I fl i ^3

“ S a ■'T ^

;S p ^ a, § 60 o .2 “ M I
2 60 3 wotnm,-3 22-2
g V, s 3 d M a ® w

■ao 2 § g2^ ‘

"" 't's i

«

a ‘a

'3

a •

■E«s.ra^2’3gi

« a ,a ° C 3 <D „
rs I -a -r^ :3 ^ o '-S
a g

oo

rH (N

. •sg'l’
s S3.S

5 a a a

to O -g

• « g 5

« ^ o o

a oT o «
*=i

(U a ni OJ

60

a

'a g

S o

a -S

O <U
"2
qT^

9 a

O ^ ^ (U

■s 9 a =>

^ a;2 ^

^ g a a
o^.a 3 >>

a- D-rO -3

o -H aj ^

3 g ^a
-V— ^313

CO Tjc *n

a| 9

^ J5 3

a

o

a

l,s

CO CO

^ fl
a ^
o
a

60-^
a «*-4
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a S

60

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a^a

rd "3

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)" g

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60.2 S

^ -3

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^ O CJ

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OH

(N CO

DR. MCCLELLAND’S OBJECTION TO ARBITRARY SYSTEMS.

203

While we perfectly agree with our author
that in describing a district the geologist
I should not be bound down to any particular
system, those of our readers who will only
look through that splendid work, Thomson’s
I Annals of Philosophy, and see the disputes
i and angry feelings engendered on account of
I rigid adherence to this and to that system,
will bear the truthof that position. But,
notwithstanding, system is indispensable
to the ends of this science, which can only be
promotedby careful observation; and hence we
establish a system of our own. The geognosy
of Werner has peculiar claims for admira-
tion on this account ; void of those lofty pre-
tensions which belong to speculations, it has
established several principles which facili-
tate the labours instead of obstructing the
geologist in his researches. We also admit
the sentiments on this subject of that cele-
brated mineralogist, Mackenzie, that that
system which developes the great laws of
nature, and is substantially improved by the
examination of her works, is of all others the
best calculated to promote every science ; and
accordingly we find that mineralogy has
made the most rapid advances wherever this
has been fairly adopted. Formerly mineralogi-
cal enquiries produced nothing more than a
mere catalogue of localities ; but now many
relations of individuals have been distinctly
determined, others are daily ascertained, and
the most doubtful are now becoming accurate-
ly known.

'V

Dr. McClelland thinks that it is best to
follow no artificial method, such being foreign
to the purpose of practical geognosy. He
adverts to Werner for instance, having found
in the mountains of Saxony, that hornblende-
slate occurs in subordinate beds in clay-
slate ; seldom in gneiss or in mica-slate,
placing it in his system in consequence with
primitive trap, assigning to it a position
between primitive limestone and the oldest
porphyry. In the Riesengebirge, Raumer
found the same rock to prevail to a much
greater extent than it had been found by
Werner in the Ergeberg, and its geognostic
position was found to be between granite and
gneiss which led to Raumer’ s proposition of a
new arrangement of mountain rocks. Now
Dr. McClelland states that it is found in

Kemaon, resting on gneiss, into which it
passes on the one hand and into mica-slate
on the other ; and from the extent and posi-
tion our author would rank hornblende-slate
next to gneiss among the mountain rocks
that compose the eastern frontier of the pro-
vince. Hence Dr. McClelland infers the ne-
cessity of being free from the influence of
arbitrary systems.

Now all these differences may occur to which
our author has alluded, and yet the influence
of the best established system have its weight
and importance of leading to results, which
without system never would have been obtain-
ed. There can be no doubt as to the mineralo-
gical connection between the greenstone and
the serpentine, — of the gradation between
the two, and of the perfect character of each
substance at the extreme points of both. As
far as composition is concerned it is known
that hornblende is an ingredient in both
rocks ; but there are essential differences
both in their chemical nature and chemical
composition : but because of the transition
which occurs in different spots, we do not
argue that the systematic arrangement is
affected to a degree to bring the geologist
into bondage from the adoption of a system,
as to lead him into difficulties. Dr. Mc-
Clelland’s intelligence has communicated an
important fact without proving that a system
is arbitrary, but rather that all systems
are open to improvement as wx advance
in knowledge. Now what has been the
effect since the days of George Agri-
cola, the systematic mineralogist who first
investigated the external characters of
minerals, "who was able to determine them
with a degree of accuracy by adopting a sys-
tem. Cardan soon wrote a treatise improv-
ing upon that system. Then came those by
Becher, Bromel, Cramer, Linnaeus, Pott,
Wallerius, Cronsted, the illustrious Werner,
Rome, d’Lisle, Abbe, Haiiy, Kirwan, &c. each
correcting errors and improving upon the
system of his predecessor, so that with
the science is system rapidly advancing
towards perfection and is to be thus encou-
raged. But we must hasten to conclude, lest
Dr. McClelland’s interesting work should
occupy more of our space than we can spare
for a single number. We shall conclude our
review in the next.

•204 THE GREAT IMPORTANCE OF THE CULTIVATION OF COTTON.

At'^. //. — Cultivation of Cotton, By W.
Bruce, Esq. RemarJcs on the culture of
Cotton in the United States of America,
Capt. Basil Hall’s Travels. RemarJcs
on the best method of cultivating New
Orleans Cotton, Ibid. Regarding the
cultivation of Cotton, Ibid. On the
cultivation of Cotton in Central India^
By Baboo Radhakant Deb. Obser-
vations on the culture of Cotton in the
Doab and Bundlecund, ByW. Vincent,
Esq. On the artificial production of new
varieties of Cotton, By H. Piddington,
Esq. On the method ttsed in Cayenne to
preserve the Cotton Plant. On a specimen
of Cotton gathered in the Boglepore dis-
trict from a shrub in its wild state, by
F. Hunter.

Use of the Sdwgin, by F. MacNaugh-
TEN, Esq. Cotton' of Ava. Cotton of
CacJiar, by Capt. S. Fisher. O^i
Cotton grown in Cuttacic and its sta-
ple for spinning, by M. T. Weekes.
On the native Cotton produced in the Ga-
now Hills, by Capt. A. Bogle. Report on
specimens of Cotton reared by Col. Combs,
at Palaver am. On the cultivation of Up-
land Georgia Cotton at Allahabad, by
Mr. W. Huggins. On the cultivation of
Pernambuco Cotton at Tavoy, by W.
Mainby, Esq. On the cultivation of Sea
Island Cotton in the district of CuttacJc.
On Upland Georgia and Sea Island Cotton.
Transactions of the Agricultural ^ Horti-
cultural Society of India — Vol. II. 1836.

The importance of the articles under re-
view is best shewn by the great national
benefit which has resulted to America from
the capital and skill which have been em-
ployed in the cultivation of cotton. The
quantity of American cotton exported
annually is, 294,310,115 lbs., the value of
which is 29,359,545 Spanish dollars,
£ 6,330,651 ; whereas the total export from
all India was only 68,411,015 lbs., the
value of which, at 25 shillings per maund
of 80 lbs., would be i^l,068, 922 ; so that
the importation of the American cotton in
Britain has increased from about 19,000

lbs. to 294,000,000 lbs., and the increase
of the Indian cotton is but 68,000,000,
lbs. Our information is derived from Mr.
Crawford, who is of opinion, however, that,
supposing the same capital and skill had
been employed in the cultivation of cotton
in India as was employed in the United
States, a similar increase in the ex-
portation of Indian cotton might have
taken place. The cultivation of cotton
hitherto has not been considered of prima-
ry importance ; the ordinary kind cul-
tivated has been for the most part the
coarsest, because they are the most easy to
rear ; the finer varieties are very rare. The
great objection to the Indian cotton has been
owing to its want of strength in the staple,
always dirty, short in fibre, coarse, and the
seed adheres vei*y closely to the wool. The
consequence is that there has been no cul-
tivation of cotton by Europeans in Bengal.

It has been supposed that the province of
Bengal is not fit for the cultivation of cot- i
ton, because it has afforded none for expor- j
tation ; but this is entirely owing to a
want of skill and attention ; for instance,
there is a superior growth of cotton extend-
ing about forty miles along the banks of
the Megiia and about three miles inland :
it is from this the fine muslins of Dacca are
produced. This happens to be cultivated by
the natives alone. Dr. Roxburgh has
given an account of the Dacca cotton ; he
designates it a variety of the common herba-
ceous annual cotton of India, and states
that it is longer in the staple, and affords
the material from which the Dacca muslins
have been always made. But that good cotton
can be made in Bengal, has been fully
shewn by Mr. Piddington, who has exhibited
samples of cotton ; the field growth of his
estate, forty miles north-east of Calcutta.
This cotton thrives so luxuriantly as fre-
quently to oblige him to root it up. Mr.
Piddington was of opinion that there was
no fear of its degeneration, as he had culti-
vated it for some years. Some Liverpool
merchants examined this cotton* and de-
clared their decided opinion that it was
a very useful description, clean, and fair in

CULTURE AND PREPARATION OP COTTON FOR THE MARKET.

colour and staple, and, moreover, that it
would meet with a ready sale in the Liver-
pool market at 6§d per pound ; whilst the
average quantity of other East Indian cotton,
commonly sold under the denomination of
Surat and Bengal, was not worth more than
5d. per pound, and that of nine-tenths of
the cotton grown in the United States of
America, is of the value of 6|d per pound.
We proceed however to allude to facts ; to
shew that Bengal as well as India generally
possesses climate and soil to afford cotton
in the greatest quantity and in the greatest
perfection, capable of producing sufficient
for the consumption of the European mar-
ket. All that is desiderated is the proper
application of European skill and capital.
Fifteen thousand bales a week of cotton
have been consumed annually in Liverpool,
and the consumption of cotton in Bukar is
increasing with extraordinary rapidity.
We are in possession of some interesting
documents regarding the introduction of
the Sea island cotton. The introduction of
cotton into Georgia and Carolina has always
been deemed a subject of paramount impor-
tance. For domestic purposes it appears that
cotton was introduced from Virginia into
Georgia anterior to the revolutionary war.
At this period Sir R. Arkwright had in-
vented a spinning wheel, and cotton be-
came a matter of deep interest in England.
It rose in price in consequence ; its various
qualities began to attract notice, and the
world was searched for finer kinds. The
island of Bourbon was also found to produce
them, which resembled a green seed cotton
with which twenty acres had been cultivated
by Col. Dellegal upon a small island near
Havannah before the revolution. The seed
however from Bourbon, strange to say,.could
not be naturalized at Georgia. The Sea island
cotton was introduced directly from the
Bahama islands into Georgia. The quali-
ty of the Bahamas cotton was then consi-
dered among the best grown ; it was first
cultivated in the spring of 1787 upon the
banks of a small rice-field in St. Lonan’s
island. The land was rich and warm, the
cotton grew large and blossomed, but did

205

not ripen to fruit ; it however ratooned
and grew from the roots the following year.
The difficulty was now over; the cotton
adapted itself to the climate, and every
successive year from 1787 saw the long
stapled cotton extending itself along the
shores of Georgia, and into South Carolina,
where an enlightened population, then en-
gaged in the cultivation of indigo, readi-
ly adopted it ; all the varieties of the long
staple or at least the germ of those varieties
came from the seed ; differences of soil de-
veloped them, and differences of local si-
tuations are developing them every day.
The same cotton seed sown in one field
will give quite a black and naked seed ;
while the same seed, sown into another
field, different in soil and situation, will
run into large cotton with Jong boles and
pods, and with seeds tufted at the ends
with fuzzy. A particular kind of cotton,
equal to any in the South Sea islands was
cultivated in the neighbourhood of Sylhet
hills. The cotton at Madras is generally
valued at 100 rupees per candy, but Tinevel-
ly and Ramnad cotton is valued at 120. As
a proof what may be done on this side of
India, a gentleman, connected with Gisborne
and Co. who resided at Benares, got a few
seeds of Brazil cotton, which he cultivated
in his garden there, for two or three suc-
cessive years and produced three bales of
cotton at last which he sent down to
Calcutta for shipment to England. Gis-
borne shipped them to London, where they
sold for a shilling a pound, at the time that
Indian cotton was generally between four
pence and five pence. Richie and Co. of
Bombay imported seeds from the Brazils
and America ; but they did not succeed there
in improving its culture and preparation
for the market. The cotton greatly deteriorat-
ed, and some of the seeds did not come up ;
we believe, hov/ever, in the foregoing in-
stances, there were no superintendents or
agents acquainted with the culture of Ame-
rican cotton; for very fine cotton has been
produced at Salsette by Dr. Scott equal to
Bourbon cotton. There is also a village near
Manyrole in Kattywur, called Labarcoire,
which produces some of a very fine quality
indeed, which is cultivated by natives

206

THE PROGRESS OF CULTIVATING COTTON IN INDIA

entirely. We have thus given the foregoing
preliminary remarks more with the view of
shewing the importance of the papers under
review than of supposing we are enlighten-
ing the cotton cultivators of the coun-
try ; but be it understood that a reviewer
always should, and, in fact, must so feel
that he is writing for the information
of those who are ignorant of the subject.
We shall therefore first look into ad-
ditional facts, gleaned from the report of
the Select Committee of both Houses of
Parliament, as to the cultivation of cot-
ton ; evidence sufficient to shew that ijy im-
proved cultivation and by selection of seed,
the Bombay Cotton could be produced to
equal or nearly to equal the Sea island cot-
ton, and therefore that as good and useful
cotton can be grown in the East Indies
as in America, and the cotton from this or
Kidney seed will produce four times the
quantity which the present growth of
cotton does, and be much more easily
cleaned. As to the question of cli-
mate, the cotton shrub is indigenous
throughout the peninsula of India, from
Ceylon in the south, to the foot of the
Himalayah mountains in the north ; and
various kinds have long been known to the
native cultivators, viz. annual, biennial, and
cotton of several years’ duration; some
kinds scarcely reach the height of one foot,
others attain ten or twelve feet, and some a
still greater height. The species which is in
cultivation in India is an annual shrub, a
variety of the green seed kind, yielding a
white pod. Of this there are subvarieties, of
some of which the wool is more easily
separated from the seeds than of others.
Some of the cotton plants have brown,
yellow, ash-coloured, and iron-grey pods ;
the seeds of some species are black, green,
and red.

The introduction into India of new and
better species, and of improved modes of
preparing cotton for European markets,
has at various times been attempted. The
Sea island cotton, Barbadoes cotton, Brazil
cotton, and Bourbon cotton, both of the
green seed and black seed varieties, became
objects of experimental cultivation in vari-
ous parts of India. Success has not gene-

rally attended these endeavours ; but we !
think this is owing to the little attention
native cultivators have given to the subject,
and on account of experiments principally
on a scale of commercial speculation which
have been conducted by Europeans having
been confined to the Bourbon species. The
objection to the Indian cotton has been
shortness of staple and of its not being
sufficiently cleansed from the seeds, leaves,
and other matters, to remedy which the
Court of Directors obtained from America
patterns of the most approved machines in
use in Georgia and Carolina, for separating
the wool of the cotton from its seeds ; and
they also, in the year 1813, engaged the
services of Mr. Metcalfe, who had for
some years carried on the business of a
cleaner of cotton in Georgia, who, after a
residence of some time in India, finding his
endeavours to induce the natives to use
American machines were fruitless, gave up
his employment. The Marchioness of Has -
tings procured from England, in the year
1823, a supply of seeds of the Brazil and
Barbadoes cotton, which she cultivated at
Barrackpore, and distributed the seed among
the husbandmen in the neighbourhood. The
cotton thus raised was delivered to the
commercial residents at the factories of
Santipore and Huripaul, and wrought into
muslin. Bourbon cotton was cultivated in
the province of Tinnevelly ; but it appears
the climate was opposed to the extension of
the culture. Cotton has been grown to some
extent in the southern Mahratta country,
but of an inferior quality to the Guzerat
cotton. It is supposed that long-stapled
fine cotton is never grown in any country
except in the immediate neighbourhood
of the sea. The cotton of Dacca is grown
within seventy miles of the sea. The Sea
island cotton is grown in the immediate
neighbourhood of the sea. The Bourbon
cotton is grown there ; and the fine cottons
of China are grown also in the immediate
neighbourhood of the sea. The common
annual cotton will come to maturity in
four or five months ; but in cultivating the
finer kinds in India and elsewhere, they
may, by care, be made to ratoon, that is, to
grow from the roots, and then the varieties

THE SEA ISLAND COTTON IS PERENNIAL.

207

which are annual will become perennial,
and be cultivated for three, or four,
or even five years; but that is. not the
general practice. In India the seed is
sown, the plant, grows up, the cotton is
taken from it, and it perishes within the
year. The greater part of the American
cotton is annual ; that of the Sea island is
perennial. The Upland or termed Georgia
short stapled cotton has been improved by
continually changing the seed, using fresh
seed every year. The plant degenerates
after one year’s growth. The growth of the
United States is confined to two qualities :
Sea island and Santa, or long stapled
growths. All the rest are short stapled,
and denominated Upland. The Santa, as
well as the Sea island, are superior to all
other gro-v^ths. The cotton of Brazil is
superior to short stapled American cotton
generally, but not superior to Santa or Sea
island. India cotton, being short Sta-
pled, is governed in price by the Ameri-
can growths of short stapled cotton ; and
the prices of India generally bear a pro-
portion of two-thirds of the value of Ame-
rican. When the latter sells at six pence
per pound, Indian cotton has been at three
pence to four pence half-penny per pound ;
when American cotton sells for ten pence
to one shilling per pound ; when American
has been eighteen pence to twenty-one
pence per pound, India has sold for twelve
pence to fifteen pence per pound. The
great inferiority of price of the Indian
cotton is owing to its being shorter in
staple and having more dirt and waste in
being manufactured. Indian cotton is consi-
derably shorter in staple than the short
stapled American cotton: it is inferior
generally both in regard to staple and re-
quires more labour to clean it. Indian cot-
ton in Europe at3 pence per pound, with any
sort of cleaning, affords a profit supe-
rior to the cotton at 6 pence per pound
which is already cleaned. Spinners say
that they would rather have cotton from
India and clean it in Europe, than have it
tampered with in the cleaning ; either from
their ignorance, or some circumstance, the
fibre of the cotton has become injured in
the cleaning. Nothing equals the screwing
of Indian cotton. The violent application

of the screw does not injure the fibre of the
cotton, it expels the external air ; and cotton
will keep with all its qualities for very
many years. It is necessary to clean it
in all cases previous to its manufacture.
The best species of Egyptian cotton is su-
perior to every description of cotton
that is grown except the Sea island and
long staple American cotton ; and cotton
dealers in Europe are now receiving from
Egypt an improved culture from Sea island
seed, which is greatly appreciated by manu-
facturers and promises to rival the growth
of the Santa cotton. The finest Indian
muslins are made from the common cotton
of the country, the short staple cotton grov/n
in Bengal. The whole of the manufacture
being by hand spinning, there is a greater
tension from the moisture which the hand
gives them, than can be had from anything
in the shape of machinery ; a fine yarn can
be produced by hand spinning from a short
staple which from spinning will not touch-
at all. The thread of muslin is spun by the
hand in India. In America cotton undergoes
great improvement in respect of cleaning.
The Brazilians have fallen off in the cotton.
Imperfection in the mode of cleaning very
materially affects the value of cotton ; the
least particle of dirt or dust in cotton is sure
to break down the thread. It is possible to
clean cotton as perfectly after it has been
imported in Europe and packed a number
of months, as it is at the time it is first
taken from the ground. The cotton is not
injured from the presence of dirt, nor by
confinement on board ship ; cotton has been
kept for twenty years and then worked re-
markably well. The inferiority of the In-
dian seed is known by stripping it of the
husk ; pressing the thumb upon it breaks it
like dirt. The Kidney, the Brazilian seed
stripped and pressed, oil appears, which
shews its superior strength. The Pernam-
buco is the strongest, and produces the
fullest quantity and quality of all seeds.
Cayenne and Surinam are also very good, and
contain oil. The Brazilian seed, consider-
ing quantity and quality, and treating it with
attention in the East Indies, would prove
superior to some and equal to any but the
Sea island, which is grown from Persian
seed taken from the Bahama islands. It

208

CHARACTER OF THE HILLS IN ARRACAN.

is a very pure cotton, having a very fine
silvery gloss upon it, and is fit for any pur-
pose, the staple being remarkably strong,
fine, and long. We have exceeded our space :
we shall proceed with the subject in our
next.

Art. III. — Journal of a Tour through
the island of Rambree, with a Geologi-
cal Sketch of the Country, and Brief
Account of the Customs, <^c., of its
Inhabitants. By Lieut. Wm. Foley.
With a map> Journal of the Asiatic So-
ciety, 1835.

(Continued from page 164.^

Our author having left Oogah passes a
few sandstone rocks, and also an island
resembling the “ knot in appearance and
structure, and arrives at the foot of Jeeka.”
The elevation of Jeeka is represented at
3,000 feet ; it rises in an abrupt manner above
the range with which it is connected, and has
the appearance at a distance of an isolated
hill. A dense forest with a little variety of
shade covers the mountain from top to bot-
tom. This is a singular feature in the
character of the hills in Arracan. At
Sandoway we have ascended immense
heights where we have found splendid forest
trees ; it shews how fertile the soil is, and
that these mountains may be cultivated to
their summits. The height, of which
Lieut. Foley is speaking, is level and clear,
but uncultivated; the inhabitants will not fix
their habitation there on account of wild
beasts with which it abounds. The deluded
people are likewise possessed with the belief
that fairies and evil spirits would be equally
troublesome and frequent intruders. Our
author observed the prints of elephants’
and tigers’ feet in several places. Herds of
elephants may be frequently seen during
the evening feeding upon the long grass
and underwood at the foot of the mountain.
The inhabitants do not attempt to catch or
destroy them, although they are particularly
troublesome in the months of October and
November, (when the rice crops are ripe) when
they descend into the plains committing much
mischief. With respect to the geological
feature of Jeeka, a brown ferruginous sand-
stone regularly stratified, with an inclination

to the south-west, was the only rock visible
on the surface. Lieut Foley did not ascer-
tain whether this sandstone appeared on the
summit of the mountain or was succeeded by
some other rock. Stratification is distinct at
the foot of a small range bounded by the sea
at a little distance beyond the mountain.
The several layers rising from under each other
for a considerable extent resemble a sandstone
which covers the lignite coal of Phooringoo^,
an island to the east of Combermere bay.
Our author proceeds eastward ; the road was
over hills intersected with ravines and cover-
ed with jungle, the road leads to Ramhreeng-
keh, Kyouk-nemo, and Singhunnethe. Our
author saw the flying squirrel on this
occasion.

“ It is a very handsome creature, and larger
than the squirrel of Europe. The head,
back, and tail are covered with a rich coat
of dark-brown fur the under part of the chin,
neck, belly, and legs being of a bright yellow
colour. The skin about the sides and forelegs
is loose, and capable of being so much extend-
ed, that in making its prodigious spring from
tree to tree it appears rather to fly than leap.
It is said to be very destructive to gardens ;
if taken young it may be rendered perfectly
tame."

The village Ramhreengheh is large and re-
markably neat, surrounded by hills and gar-
dens of plantain trees, The soil is of a rich
yellow clay, on which are seen indigo, tobacco
and pepper plants. To the right and beyond
this spot is the village Kyouk-nemo, accessi-
ble to the sea and once infested withdacoits.
Lieut. Foley reaches a creek which he
crosses. The shore on the opposite side
consists of deep clay. Our author proceeds
to the village of Singhunnethe.

“ Singhunnethe, as was the case with all
the villages that 1 had seen on the sou-
thern side of the island, is surrounded with
plantain trees, which not only afford a
wholesome and favourite article of food,
but are in constant request for the pro-
duction of a solution of potash^ used in
the preparation of dyes, more especially in
those derived from indigo. The mode in
which the potash is obtained from the plantain
trees is similar to that followed in other parts
of the world in its extraction from the

* During the time that Government held the
monopoly of salt in Arracan, the plantain trees
frequently afforded to the poor a substitute for
the common sea salt. So strictly were the
Government rights protected, that a poor
woman was actually prosecuted in one of the
courts for collecting a little sea salt oft' a rock
on which it had been deposited on the evapo-
ration of the water left by the tide !

UPPER FRESH WATER LIMESTONE DISCOVERED.

269

different vegetable substances that pro-
duce it, with this exception, that it is
held in solution by the water, which is not
suffered to evaporate. The stem and
branches of the plantain tree are divested of
the outer rind, and then broken up into small
pieces, which are laid upon the fire and slowly
consumed; the ashes are lixiviated with
water which is strained off, and reserved for
mixture with the dyes. In front of the Soo-
gree’s house, and in the centre of the village,
a nice tank had been dug ; the only one 1 had
hitherto met with, tanks being seldom seen
except in the neighbourhood of large towns.
The houses were neat and built with more
attention to comfort and order than is
general in the villages of Rambree. 1
remarked a hideous representation of the
human countenance drawn with lime upon
several of the door-posts. I was told, it is
put up to deter the demon of sickness from
entering the dwelling. Much sickness had
been experienced of late, and this was one
of the many absurd customs resorted to, with
the view of ridding the neighbourhood of its
presence, I further learned that when any
one of a family has been a long time sick,
and recovery appears doubtful, the inmates
of the house assemble and make a tremen-
dous noise with drums and gongs, at the same
time beating the roof and walls with sticks
to expel the evil spirit who is supposed to
have taken possession of the dwelling. One
door alone is left open for his escape, all the
others being closed. While this is going on a
Phoongree stands upon the road, opposite to
the house, reading a portion of the Khubbo-
ivah, a book that is held in particular venera-
tion. A further ceremony is sometimes ob-
served by the invalid as an additional security
for a complete restoration to health ; but it
is only performed by those who feel them-
selves, as it is termed, possessed, and called to
the exercise of the duty required of them, as
a propitiatory sacrifice to the malignant spirit
from whose ill will their sickness is supposed
to originate. This ceremony, which is called
Ndth-Kadey, very much reminds me of the
antics played by the dancing Dervisesof old.
A brass dish, or any piece of metal highly
burnished, is put up in a frame, and in front
of this are laid offerings of fruit, flowers, and
sweetmeats. When every thing has been
properly arranged, the invalid commences
dancing, throwing the body into the most
ludicrous attitudes ; and pretending to see the
object of worship reflected upon the plate of
metal, makes still greater exertions, until the
limbs are overpowered, and the dancer sinks
exhausted upon the ground. Should the
sick person be so weak as to render such
assistance necessary, he (or she,) is support-
ed by a friend placed on each side during the
whole of the ceremony. It is by no means
improbable that this violent exertion has on
many occasions proved highly beneficial,
realizing the most sanguine expectations of
the people. In cases of ague or rheumatism,
where a profuse perspiration, and a more
general circulation of the blood throughout
the human frame is required, there is perhaps
no other mode of treatment more likely to

produce the desired effect ; and could some
proper substitute be found for a piece of
metal, the Ndth-Kadey, might be introduced
with advantage into our own hospitals.”

The following observations may give sub-
ject for discussion which now divides the
fluvialists and diluvialists in England and
France. Talking of the Hughs, Lieut. Foley
adds —

“ It is their belief that there are many
worlds, and that the earth has been subject
to the several and repeated actions of fire and
water. (A fact that will not perhaps be dis-
puted by some of the most celebrated geolo-
gists of the present day.) The soul, they
affirm, may pass through many stages of
existence, either in this or another world ;
the nature of each change depending upon
its moral condition.”

Our author proceeded over a red hill co-
vered with a red iron clay.

” From the summit of this hill I enjoy-
ed a fine prospect of the channel that
divides the eastern side of the island from
the district of Sandoway. The hills of Lamoo
and Kalynedong rose on the opposite shore,
and the distant mountains of Yoomadong were
faintly visible amidst the clouds that sur-
rounded them. Descending this range I
approached the village of Saain-kyong, cele-
brated for its lime. The limestone is found at
the foot of a high hill to the left of the road.
This was the first limestone that 1 had seen on
Rambree Island ; and it is so concealed by
the jungle, that had I not been previously
made aware of its existence and enquired for
its site, I should have proceeded on my jour-
ney unconscious that such a rock was in my
neighbourhood. From its appearance, and
more particularly from the rocks with which
it is associated, I am inclined to class it with
the “ npper fresh-water limestone’* found in
tertiary formations ; it is of a greyish white-
colour ; of a fine compact texture, but very
brittle. It occurs in several detached mas-
ses of a globular or columnar form, and al-
though 1 made every possible search along the
ravines in its neighbourhood, I could discover
nothing that would indicate the slightest ap-
proach to a stratification ; nor has this species
of limestone been discovered in any other
part of the island. There were no appear-
ance of the fossil remains sometimes found in
this rock, such as freeh-water shells, &c.
The limestone is split into several large frag-
ments by means of fire ; these are again brok-
en into smaller pieces, and the whole convey-
ed in baskets to the lime-kilns constructed on
the banks of the Saayre-kyong creek, which
at full tide has sufficient depth of water to
admit of the approach of large boats. The
whole of the lime used in Rambree Island,
either for architectural purposes, or for the
preparation of the edible chunam, is obtained
from this rock. I w'as told that the lime, if
taken in large quantities, was sold on the
spot for 3^ maunds per rupee, and that there
were generally from 100 to 200 maunds col-
lected. Crossing the creek at low water, I

PROGRESS OF SCIENCE AND LITERATURE IN INDIA.

observed a few boulders of lias clay and calc
spar imbedded in its banks. Proceeding from
thence by a neat/T/oum and grove of mangoe
trees, I arrived at Seppo-towng, a village si-
tuated at the foot of a high hill covered with
forest trees, and diversified with a few spots
of ground cleared for the cultivation of the
plantain tree. The tall Girjuns, with their
white trunks divested of branches, were emi-
nently conspicuous amidst their more graceful
but probably less serviceable neighbours.
The Girjtin yields the oil that bears its name,
and is used for combustion as well as for ad-
mixture with paints, varnishes, &c. (See
Jour. As. Soc. II. 93.)

Ihese trees are very abundant upon the
island, and are farmed by Government. The
mode of extracting the oil would appear to be
as follows : a deep notch is cut in the trunk
of the tree by means of a dhao or other in-
strument, and to this fire is applied until the
wood becomes heated, and oil is seen to exude
upon the surface. In the course of three or
four days perhaps as much as a seer or a seer
and a half of oil is collected within the cavity,
and the tree will continue to afford a certain
quantity of oil for five months or more, the
collections being generally made every fifth
day. When the oil has ceased to flow the
tree is again cut in the same place, so that
the whole of the wood which had been con-
sumed or scorched is removed ; fire is once
more applied, and the oil collected as before.
The notch has after repeated cuttings become
so deep as would render any further attack
upon the trunk, in this particular spot, de-
structive to the tree ; in which case the dhao
is laid upon another part of the trunk, and
the same process observed as before men-
tioned. The tree is said to yield oil at all
seasons of the year, precautions being taken
during the rains to exclude the water. A
large Girjun tree has been known to produce
oil for 12 successive years, and as others are
constantly supplying the place of those de-
stroyed, there is no falling off in the amount
of the several years’ collections. The oil is
sold in Ramhree at the rate of two or three
maunds per rupee, and the greater part of it
bought for exportation.”

In our next we shall conclude this in-
teresting account of Ramhree.

Art. IV. — Madras Journal of Literature
and Science, published under the auspices
of the Madras Literary Society and
Auxiliary Royal Society, edited by the
Secretary to the Asiatic Department,
No. 12, July, 1836. Oct. pp. 240.
Madras. Printed and Published by J. B.
Pharoah.

The light of science and literature is now
bursting forth in all parts of India ! When we
commenced the labours of our new work we

did not expect to have upon our desk so
many splendid productions, containing, in so
great a measure, erudition and talent ; but
they crowd upon us, and no sooner is one
passed through analysis than another is
submitted- The work we are now about to
examine has just reached us but in time to
enable us to announce it to our readers.

A brief examination of its contents has been
quite sufficient to prove that the journal con-
tains matter which will excite intense inter-
est among the scientific circles of the east,
as well as add considerably to our present
state of the physical and geological charac-
ter of India. The geological papers are from
the well known pen of Dr. Benza and Mr.
Robt. Cole. The formergives a geological des-
cription of the country between Madras and
Neilgherry hills ; the latter on the geological
position and association of the laterite in ^
iron-clay formation of India, with a descrip-
tion of that rock as it is found at the red .
hills near Madras. An exceedingly inter-
esting communication of Col. Monteith’s on
a visit to Cumbaucumdroog — a remarkable
tableland near Madras, contains some refer-
ence to the geological character in that direct
tion. On botanical subjects are observations
on the Flora of Courtallum, by Dr. R.
Wright, and Remarks on the Vegetation of
the Neilgherries, by Captain AUardyce.
There are notes also by Col. Monteith on
Persia, Tartary, and Afghanistan. A paper of
great value by Mr. Taylor, astronomer to the
H. C. C. gives a cursory view of the present
state of astronomical science, with a sum-
mary desiderate, together with a notice of
astronomical results at the Madras observa-
tory. We also observe a communication on
the mass of the planet Jupiter, by Goday
Venkata Juggarow. In addition to the
foregoing we find a curious and able paper
on the metamorphosis of the musquito, by
Mr. Gilchrist. Among literary and historical
subjects is a paper giving a brief notice of
some of the Persian poets, by Lieut. New-
bold ; a communication on the genealogy of
the Kings of the Mahomedan dynasty in
Achin, by Lieut. Reynolds ; also observa-
tions on original and derived languages, by
the Rev. B. Schmid. We promise however
to give our readers an analysis of these
articles in our next and succeeding numbers.

A LEARNED ESSAY ON SANSCRIT ALLITERATION.

211

Art, V. — Tirst part of the twentieth volume
of Asiatic Researches or Transactions of
the Society instituted in Bengal for en-
quiring into the History f the Antiquities,
the Arts and Sciences, and Literature of
Asia. Quarto : pp. 243, 1836. Calcutta,
Printed at the Bengal Military Orphan
Press, G. H. Huttman.

The above work has just been published :
it opens with a translation of various in-
criptions found among the ruins of Vijaya-
nagar, communicated by E. C. Ravenshaw,
Esq. Bengal Civil Service, with preliminary
observations, by H. H. Wilson, Esq. late
Secretary Asiatic Society. The second
article is an analysis of the Dulva, a por-
tion of the Tibetan work, entitled the Kah-
Gyan, by A. Csoma de Koros. Mr. Hodgson,
the British resident of Nipal, has furnished
an article on the administration of justice in
Nipal, with some account of the several
courts, extent of their jurisdiction, and mode
of procedure.

A very curious but learned essay on
Sanscrit Alliteration is given by that emi-
nent Sanscrit scholar, the Rev. W. Yates.
Lieut. Colonel Burney has communicated
additional proof of his zeal in oriental
literature by his article on the Translation
of an inscription in the Burmese language

GENERAL

PROCEEDINGS OF THE BRITISH
ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCE-
MENT OF SCIENCE.

This fine Natural Institution continues to
prosper far beyond anticipation. The Fifth
Annual Meeting, which commenced at Dublin
onthe 10th and terminated on the 15th of
August, as much surpassed the Edinburgh
meeting, both in the interest of the pro-
ceedings and in the numbers of individuals
who flocked to take a share in the daily
business, as the latter meeting exceeded that
which preceded it. It is pleasing to be able
to prove this assertion, by a statement of
facts : The receipts in Edinburgh were £l,
626, while those in Dublin were £l,'750-
The number of subscribers in Edinburgh was
little above a thousand : in Dublin, it amount-
ed to 1,228; and, it is quite certain that it
would have been much greater, if it had not
been that the arrangements of the Local

discovered at Buddha Gaya, in 1833. One
of the most valuable papers in this num-
ber of the Transactions is on the Results of
an enquiry respecting the law of mor-
tality for British India, deduced from the
reports and appendices of the committee
appointed by the Bengal Government in 1834,
to consider the expediency of a Government
Life Assurance Institution, by Captain H, B.
Henderson, Assistant Military Auditor Ge-
neral and Secretary to the Committee. We
shall consider this article fully in our next,
and also give our readers an insight into the
other communications to which we have
alluded, as we find space.

Art. — VI. Cursory notes on the Isle of
France, hy E. Stirling, Esq. member,
Asiatic Society, Calcutta. Vol. pp. 50.
Messrs. Thacker & Co.

Many of our Indian invalids proceed to
this isle. Intelligence concerning a geogra-
phical and statistical description, its manu-
factures, public works, public buildings,
civil and military laws, tribunals, police,
j.eligion, churches, its commerce, &c. all
of which subjects this work treats, can-
not fail to be interesting to our readers.
We shall notice particulars fully hereafter.

SCIENCE.

Committee were either not generally known,
or not attended to in time by many residents,
whose applications could not be received
after the commencement of business, in con-
sequence of the great influx of strangers.*

is easy to complain and findfault,but while
we approve highly of the general arrange-
ments of the Dublin local committee, we
cannot refrain from submitting for the consider-
ation of the Bristol committee, the importance
of adopting a method of giving out Tickets and
receiving subscriptions, which shall dispense
with the crowding, and lighting we might
almost term it, which is unavoidable by the
mode at present pursued, and which seems to
paralyze those engaged in the troublesome
task. It would be proper also that persons
should be employed in these preliminary ar-
rangements, who are acquainted with the
names of those engaged in prosecuting science.
It is ridiculous to hear such a question as,
“ Have you written any papers ?” addressed to
men holding the highest place in science.

212

PROCEEDINGS OF THE BRITISH ASSOCIATION.

That the capital of Ireland was chosen as the
place of convention for the meeting of this
year, we know was hailed by our hospitable
neighbours with those feelings whieh we
should have expected from the countrymen
of such scientific lights as Robert Boyle,
Kirwan, and Brinkley. But that the recep-
tion given to the Members of the British
Association could have been equal to what
each individual member found it to be, we
are confident none could have most distantly
anticipated. If respect to the delicate feel-
ings of our open-hearted friends did not
forbid every one who shared in the kindness
which w'as so liberally exhibited, to remove
that thin veil which ought always to prevent
private hospitalities from being held up to
public gaze ; how could not each of the
twelve hundred and twenty-eight members
of the British Association depict innumera-
ble instances of traits of character, of friend-
ly actions, and of soundness of principle
which could not be exceeded, go where he
might : and must ever be viewed by the
philanthrophist, as most honourable to
human nature. The present meeting has
demonstrated that Science is not asleep in
Ireland, but that it is quietly and modestly
cultivated, and is ready to burst forth when-
ever due encouragement is administered to
fan its kindling embers. That the causes of
dissension which have so long prevailed in
the green island may speedily be dissipated,
and that the United kingdom and the Sister
island may in future aspire only to increase
each other’s prosperity and greatness, was
the public expression of some of the most
distinguished leaders, and was ardently res-
ponded to by every member of the Associa-
tion. Let us hope that Science, which is not
sectarian in its nature, which is of no country,
or climate, but which is universal as the
principle of gravity, may tend to heal all
chafing wounds, and serve to unite in the
bonds of friendship, all those who are enga-
ged in investigating her hidden stores, the
wonders of creation.

On Monday the 10th of August tickets of
admission were procured by strangers ; those
of residents having previously been obtained
as required by a public announcement.

In addition to most of the British men of
science, several foreigners joined the lists
of the Association. Among these were M.
Agassiz, of Neuchatel, and Dr. Moll, of
Utrecht, who were also present at Edin-
burgh.

At 10 A.M. the different Committees of the
Sections began to meet.

The Sections were as formerly, six in
number.

A great error committed in Dublin was, in
having the gardens attached to the Rotunda,
open during the evening meetings. One of
the most curious and interesting Lectures
delivered during the week, viz. that of Mr.
Wheatstone, on Saturday, was not heard by
the greater proportion assembled in the room,
in consequence of interruption from persons
going to the gardens and returning to the
room.

A. Mathematics and Physics.

Subsection A. Mechanical Arts. This

subdivision was formed in consequence of the
press of matter in the department of General
Physics.

B. Chemistry and Mineralogy.

C. Geology and Geography.

D. Zoology and Botany.

E. Anatomy and Medicine.

F. Statistics.

GEOLOGY AND GEOGRAPHY.

Monday^ 1 0th August.*

President, Mr. Griffith. Vice-Presi-
dents, Mr. Murchison; Professor
Sedgwick. Secretaries, Captain Port-
lock ; Mr. Torrie.

1 . The Chairman exhibited a Geological Map
of Ireland, the construction of which had
occupied his attention for many years ; and,
although there might be some errors in mat-
ters of detail, he believed that it was gene-
rally correct, and afforded a faithful outline
of the physical structure of Ireland.

One remarkable peculiarity in the phy-
sical structure of Ireland is, that while the
waters are almost every where fringed with
ranges of primary mountains, the interior of
the country is level, or slightly undulated,
and hence the course of most of the Irish
rivers ; in fact, the Shannon affording the
only exception to this remark.

Another remarkable circumstance in the
physical history of Ireland, is the frequent
occurrence of long ranges of granite hills,
often attaining the height of twenty or thirty
miles, and running parallel to each other.
In ancient times roads were constructed on
the tops of these natural mounds. The
usual course of these ridges is E. & W., but
occasionally they are N. & S.

These heaps of granite give an undulatory
aspect to the country ; and, it is to this cir-
cumstance that the profusion of ridges in
Ireland is owing ; the depressions between
the ridges becoming receptacles for water,
and being afterwards obliterated by the
formation of peat, the result of the decay of
aquatic plants.

It is, of course, beneath this accumulation
of peat, and in the subjacent marl that the
remains of the Irish elk are found. This
marl is, in part at least, produced by the
granite previously described, and sometimes
attains a thickness of forty feet.

The speaker then proceeded to consider the
stratified rocks ; first describing the primary
tracts which occur towards the coast, and
then the vast and level district of calcareous
rocks which occupies almost the whole of the

* To Professor Powell of Oxford, and Dr.
Scouler of Dublin, the Editor is almost solely
indebted for the reports of the proceedings
of the Geological and Physical Sections. He
is himself responsible for the details relating
to that of Chemistry ; and for the other re-
ports he is obliged to Mr. King of Dublin and
to other sources.

NATURAL HISTORY OF THE GENUS ASTACUS.

213

interior of the island. The elevation of the
strata throughout Ireland is remarkably uni-
form, being N. E. and S. W. in almost every
part of the island ; to this remark, however,
there are some exceptions, as, in the county
of Tyrone, where the elevation of the strata
is from N. to S.-

From what has been stated, it is obvious
that the primary rocks generally occur neac
the coast, constituting the mountainous re-
gions of Down, Donegal, Mayo, Galway, and
Wicklow, &c. These regions containing all
the usual primary masses ; as gneiss, mica-
slate, clay-slate, and quartz rock, present in
each locality many interesting appearances,
which we have not sufficient leisure to detail.

Quartz rOck, however, occurs at Dunmore
Head, under some interesting modifications.
It contains abundance of globular concentric
concretions-, dilfering, in no respect, in their
structure from the fibrous masses found in
trap, and, like them, decomposing in crusts.

In Donegal, beds of primary limestone
occur, often alternated with mica slate, and
have, in many cases, been changed into
dolomite.

Mr. G. then remarked that his informa-
tion concerning the transition formations was
less complete. These rocks consist of the
greywacke and old red sandstone formations.
In Cove of Cork both these are schists con-
taining fossils.

These transition and schistose rocks are
succeeded by the mountain limestone, which
occupies about two-thirds of the whole sur-
face of Ireland. The organic remains found
in these calcareous rocks are, in general, the
same as those found in England.

This limestome is succeeded by the coal
formation. The newer secondary strata only
occur in the north of Ireland, where we have
the new red sandstone, with gypsum and
beds of magnesian limestone, and these rocks
are succeeded by lias, oolite, and chalk.

2. Dr. west AFTERWARDS READ
AN ABLE PAPER ON THE GEOGRA-
PHY OF SOUTH GREENLAND.

Tuesday j llth August.

3. THE REV. ARCHDEACON VER-
SCHOYLE READ AN INTERESTING
PAPER ON A SERIES OF TRAP
DYKES WHICH OCCUR IN THE
COUNTIES OF MAYO AND SLIGO.

These dykes are remarkable for the length
and distinctness of their course. Their
elevation is E. & W. They are, conse-
quently, parallel to each other, and one of
them has been traced for a distance of forty-
five miles. These dykes, during this long
course, intersect a great variety of rocks, as
slate, sand-stone, limestone, mica, and slate,
&c., and here produced many curious changes,
converting the sandstone into quartz, and even
giving it a columnar form. It was the opi-
nion of the Reverend gentleman, that these
veins, or a series of them, extended across
the island. Mr. Griffith here remarked,

that between Dundrum and Dundalk, on the
opposite side of the island, a great number
of trap veins had been observed.

4. PROFESSOR JOHN PHILLIPS
NEXT READ A PAPER ON THE FOS-
SIL ASTACIDJE.

The speaker commenced by making some
remarks on the natural history of the genus
Astacus. Of the species which compose the
genus Astacus, as at present existing, some
are found in salt and others in fresh water.
There are two empiric characters by which
the marine may be distinguished from the
fluveatile Astaci : In the marine species
the lateral divisions of the tail are trans-
versely divided, while in the fresh water spe-
cies the division is longitudinal. The marine
species have also large didactylous claws to
the first pair of feet.

All the fossil species possess those charac-
ters which belong to the marine division.
Proceeding to investigate the question as to
the possibility of identifying strata by means
of their organic remains, it was remarked
that the study of the fossil species of the
present genus did not afford results very
favourable to such a hypothesis. Confining
our attention to the oolite and lias, it was
observed that one species of Astacus was
found in every bed, from the lowest of the
lias to the uppermost of the oolite.

One species was confined to the coral rag ;
four species were peculiar to the green sand ;
some of the species were more local, and
others appear to have had a wider geogra-
phical distribution, as is the case with the
Astaci of the present day.

MR. GRIFFITH THEN RESUMED THE
EXPLANATION OF HIS GEOLOGI-
CAL MAP, AND DESCRIBED THE
ERUPTED ROCKS WHICH HAVE
BEEN OBSERVED IN IRELAND.

He divided the unstratified masses into
three portions : 1. Those occurring in transi-
tion and primary rocks : 2. In the older
secondary : 3. In the newer secondary.

It was remarked that the limestone which
comes in contact with the erupted rocks of
the primary division, is often changed into
dolomite.

Green stones occur among the older secon-
dary rocks in the county of Limerick. These
green stone beds are apparently interstrati-
fied with the lime-stone, but fragments of
this latter rock are included in the trap.

The trap veins occurring in the ncAver
secondary formations, as in the chalk of
Antrim, are already sufficiently well known.
Mr. G. is of opinion that the porphyry of
Sandy rock is merely a modification of the
ochre beds which are observed at the Giant’s
Causeway, as there is a striking resemblance
between the two rocks, in point of mineral
character, and both contain nodules of meso-
type.

214

PROGRESS OF THE STUDY OF ORGANIC REMAINS.

Wednesday, \2th August.

MR. GRIFFITH GAVE AN ACCOUNT
OF A MASS OF SHELLY GRAVEL
IN THE COUNTY OF WEXFORD ;
THIS DEPOSITION IS VERY EXTEN-
SIVE, STRETCHING ALONG THE
COAST FORA DISTANCE OF SEVEN-
TY MILES, AND ATTAINING A
BREADTH OF EIGHTEEN. THE
FOLLOWING IS A SECTION OF THIS
DEPOSIT :

5 feet of clay
7 feet marl clay
7 feet marl
7 feet of sand

1 1 feet of gravel, containing abundance of
marine shells.

5. MR. PHILLIPS THEN READ A
PAPER ON THE GENUS BELEM-
NITE.

He observed that such was the progress
which the study of organic remains had made,
that no less than one hundred species were now
known to naturalists ; and of these, about
thirty -four species hadbeen found in England.

Shells of this genus are confined to the
chalk, oolite, and lias, and the results whieh
their study affords, contrast remarkably with
the negative indications deduced from an
examination of the fossil Astaci, One divi-
sion characterized by a little swelling at
the apex, and possessing a lateral fissure,
was confined to the chalk. The species
which were obtusely mucronate are found in
the green sand. The species with a groove
in the back are found in the middle oolite :
Those with a lateral groove, in the lias, and
lower oolite ; and those species which are
destitute of a groove are confined to the lias.
From these remarks, it appears that not only
are the species of Belemnite confined to
certain strata, but that even certain natural
divisions of the genus are found together in
the same beds, and in no others. Another
curious remark is, that species which are
common in the chalk of the Continent, are
rare in the chalk of England, and vice versa.

These remarks were followed up in an
admirable manner by M. Agassiz, who, from
a study of the remains of this difficult genus,
clearly demonstrated that the shell was an
interior one, analogous to the bone of the
cuttle fish, and not an exterior shell, as is
generally imagined.

Thursday, \3th August.

7. M. AGASSIZ LAID BEFORE THE
ASSOCIATION AN ADDITIONAL
NUMBER OF HIS WORK ON FOSSIL
FISHES;

And, in an eloquent address, he gave a
summary of the geographical conclusions to
which the study of fossil fishes had conduct-
ed him ; and expressed his conviction that
strata might, in all cases, be identified by
means of the remains of fishes ; or, in other
words, that each geological epoch was cha-
racterized by its peculiar and exclusively
appropriate race of fishes.

During this part of the proceedings Mr.
Sedgwick took the opportunity of putting M.

Agassiz’s knowledge to a severe test. He
exhibited a specimen containing impressions
of fossil fishes, and M. Agassiz, after
explaining the zoological characters which
distinguish the fishes of different geological
epochs, at once declared the specimens before
him had been derived from the new red sand-
stone. —

8. Dr. TRAIL THEN READ A PAPER
ON THE GEOLOGY OF SPAIN. HE
CONFINED HIS REMARKS CHIEF-
LY TO THE PROVINCE OF ANDA-
LUSIA.

In this interesting country we have every
variety of rock, from the oldest primary, up
to the tertiary strata. The mica slate of Anda-
lusia contains many interesting minerals,
as iron, glance, and lead ore. This last mi-
neral is so abundant that no less than 35,600
tons were extracted in one year. The pri-
mary rocks are succeeded by secondary sand-
stones, in whose fissures interesting osseous
remains occur. These lime -stones extend to
the opposite coasts of Africa. This lime-
stone is followed by new red sand-stone, and
gypsum marl, abounding in salt and saline
springs. Oolite rocks occur near the anci-
ent town of Cartua; and chalk, with flints,
is observed at Labriga. Tertiary and fresh
water lime-stones also occur, as has been
noticed by Colonel Silvertop.

The beds at Valencias vary from 6 to 8
feet in thickness, and repose on marl and

gypsum.

Friday, \^th August.

9. MR. PHILLIPS GAVE AN ACCOUNT
OF A SMALL PORTION OF A TER-
TIARY FORMATION WHICH HAD
BEEN OBSERVED IN YORKSHIRE.

10. MESSRS. MURCHISON AND
SEDGWICK THEN GAVE AN AC-
COUNT OF THE ROCKS ANTE-
RIOR TO THE COAL, AND POSTE-
RIOR TO THE PRIMARY STRATA.
These rocks, which were formerly distin-
guished by the absurd term of transition
strata, have been, unaccountably much neg-
lected by geologists ; and, unfortunately, the
use of this term has given rise to much con-
fusion in geological writings. Mr. Murchi-
son has, for several years, devoted his time
to the study of the older secondary rocks, as
they occur in Wales, while Mr. Sedgwick
has investigated those of Cumberland.

According to Mr. Murchison, the older
secondary rocks of Wales, which he, for the
sake of convenience, denominates the Silurian
group, may be classed under three divisions,
each of them containing its peculiar organic
remains, and consisting of a great variety of
rocks.

In the descending series, and departing
from the old red sand-stone, we have the
Ludlow rocks, attaining to a thickness of
2,000 feet, consisting of crystalline argilla-
ceous lime-stones, with flags and shales.

These rocks are followed by the Wenlock
group, consisting also of limestones and
shales. These are succeeded by what Mr.
Murchison has denominated the Caradoc

THE DAVY LAMP FOUND PERFECT IN PRINCIPLE.

215

group, a series of rocks similar to the pre-
ceding, and attaining to a very great thick-
ness.

These formations, however, appear to be
newer than the Cumbrian rocks which have
been investigated by Mr. Sedgwick, and
which he also divides into three subordinate
groups, all of which are included under the
name of Cumbrian rocks. The first, or
upper, is the Plinlimmon group : the second,
or Snowden group ; and, thirdly, a lower
group. The details on this last series of
rocks were rather meagre, but we have no
doubt that ample information will shortly
be laid before the public.

CHEMISTRY AND MINERALOGY.

Monday y IQth August.

Dr. Thomas Thomson, President. Dr.
Dalton, and Dr. Barker, Vice-Presidents.
Dr. Apjohn, and Mr. Johnston, Secreta-
ries. Committee, — Mr. Davy, Mr. Vernon
Harcourt, Dr. Daubeny, Mr. Graham,
Mr. Connell, Dr. R. D. Thomson, Mr,
Kane, Mr. Ferguson, Mr. Scanlan,
Dr. Geo>ghegan, &c.

The .Secretary presented to the Section
printed copies of tables, exhibiting at a
single view, the most important properties of
simple and compound bodies, for defraying
the expenses of the printing of which, £10 had
been allocated at the last Meeting of the
Association.

1. A PAPER WAS THEN READ BY Mr.

DAVY, UPON THE SUBJECT OF THE

CORROSION OF IRON BY SEA WA-
TER.

The observations had particular reference
to the injury sustained by the iron of buoys,
subject to the infiuence of sea water in har-
bours, as at Kingstown ; where it has been
recently found, that the rings upon which the
safety and utility of the buoys mainly depend,
rapidly corrode and are destroyed. Mr. Davy
turned his attention to the important object
of providing a remedy, and preventing the
corrosion of the iron ; and although his expe-
riments had only recently been commenced,
still he considered it proper, to bring the few
results he had procured before the Section,
for the purpose of exciting further inquiry.
He found that zinc applied to iron prevented
corrosion. Rings of this metal were cast into
forelocks for the purpose of experiment,
and were found to obviate the waste to which
the iron had previously been subject.

According to Sir Humphry Davy, the
cause of the corrosion of copper, and metals
in contact with sea water, is attributable to
the access of atmospheric air. He consi-
dered that if the air was preserved from
coming in contact with the metal, no decom-
position would ensue. Mr. Davy accord-
ingly found, that copper exposed to the action
of sea water free from the influence of air,
was not liable, to corrosion, and that the
effect was influenced by the depth of water.
Specimens of metals were exhibited, which

had been subjected to the influence of salt
water free from air, and no corrosion had
taken place ; other pieces of metal which were
in contact with sea water subject to the
influence of air, were observed to be much
injured. Mr. Davy attributed the cause of
the phenomenon to an electrical decomposi-
tion.

He stated further, that he had found zinc
to preserve tin plate, both in fresh and salt
water.

Some observations were made by members
of the Section, with regard to the action of
sea water upon bar and cast iron. Some
attributed the greatest corrosion to the for-
mer, others to the latter.

2. Mr. ETTRICK DESCRIBED AN IM-
PROVEMENT WHICH HE HAD MADE
UPON DAVY’S SAFETY LAMP, FOR
THE PURPOSE OF OBVIATING AC-
CIDENTS WHICH ARE ENTIRELY
OWING TO THE CARELESSNESS OF
WORKMEN.

The Davy lamp, he stated, to be perfect in
principle. The workmen are in the habit of
enlarging the apertures in the wire gauze,
and applying their tobacco pipes in order to
obtain a light. The modifications recom-
mended at present, were the introduction of
very strong glass, to cover the gauze ex-
ternally. The glass is again guarded by
strong ribs of iron, so that the lamp may be
exposed to considerable shocks without dan-
ger of injury. A contrivance was also
described by which the air was allowed to
enter from below, by means of a gauze tube,
but so managed, that the gauze could not be
reached by the workmen.

Various improvements upon the Davy lamp
were noticed by different members.

Mr. Graham stated, that he had been pay-
ing considerable attention to the subject, and
had found that when the gauze was steeped
in an alkaline solution, the flame was pre-
vented from passing so readily, and corrosion
was obviated.* He considered the only
adequate provision against accident to be
the employment of a double gauze cover.

3. Mr. KANE READ A COMMUNICA-
TION IN REFERENCE TO PYROX-
YLIC SPIRIT.

The experiments which he had made upon
this substance, corroborate the opinion of
its composition entertained by Dumas and
Pelligot, who term it methylene, viz. that it is
a compound of an atom of carbydrogen, and 1
atom water, having for its atomic weight 2.
He had examined th^e action of sulphuric acid
upon the liquid, and had obtained by dis-
tillation, an acid capable of forming salts
with bases. The composition of several of
these, he had ascertained by determining
the proportions of the acid, (or sulpho-

* This is agreeable to the results obtained
by Dr, Thomas Thomson many years ago.

216

THE CENTIGRADE THERMOMETER RECOMMENDED.

methylic acid) and base, and considering the
loss to be methylene. The compound with
lime, consisted of i atom lime 2 atoms
sulphuric acid l methylene.

Some discussion took place in reference to
the double atoms, of which the organic bases
are stated to consist, according to the views
of Continental chemists. Considerable
misunderstanding was exhibited in many of
the observations oliered upon this point.
But it is unnecessary to repeat the statement
of the various theories, as this has been
already done in the previous number of this
journal.

4. Mr. fox described AN EXPERI-
MENT WHICH HE HAD MADE,
WITH REGARD TO THE EFFECT OF
MELTED IRON UPON THE MAG-
NET.

He found that no action was exerted upon
it. Hence, this is an argument’ against the
idea of a central fire.

5. A LETTER WAS READ FROM Dr.
TURNER, REPORTING THE OPINI-
ON OF THE COMMITTEE APPOINT-
ED AT LAST MEETING, TO TAKE
INTO CONSIDERATION THE ADOP-
TION OF A UNIFORM SET OF CHE-
MICAL SYMBOLS FOR THIS COUN-
TRY.

The opinion of the majority was, that those
used on the continent should be had recourse
to. It was strongly recommended that the
abbreviations should not be carried further
than the dots for oxygen ; indeed, it was
suggested by some, that these should be
rejected, as they merely express theory, and
consequently vary, according to the view that
is taken of the composition in this country
and on the continent ; but it is obvious, that if
brevity is not carried any further than this,
no bad consequences can follow from a sys -
tern of notation.

Dr. Thomas Thomson strongly recom-
mended that the centigrade thermometer
should be adopted in this country for scien-
tific purposes, as being infinitely better
adapted for such purposes than that of Fah-,
renheit. His suggestion appeared to coin-
cide exactly with the opinion of the committee.

Tuesday, l\th August.

6. Mr. DAVY DETAILED SOME EX-
PERIMENTS WHICH HE HAD MADE
UPON THE PRESERVATION OF TIN
PLATE BY THE AGENCY OF ZINC.
When exposed for some days to the action

of water, the plate by itself soon becomes
slightly corroded, but is completely preserved
by the zinc, the latter, at the same time,
oxidizing. Hence, the plate might be em-
ployed in place of copper for many purposes,
where salt water comes in contact with
vessels. • Several metals he had ascertained
are not protected.

7. MR. GRAHAM DESCRIBED THE CON-
STITUTION OF CER'FAIN SALTS

IN CONTINUATION OF THE PAPERS

WHICH HE HAS PUBLISHED UPON

THIS SUBJECT.

He views sulphuric acid as a sulphate of
water, and as represented by H S. Sulphu-
ric acid of spec. grav. 1*78 is hydrous sul-
phate of water, or a hydrate expressed by H
S H, 1 atom being basic and essential to the
composition of the acid, the other being
driven off by heat. Hydrated oxalic acid is
an oxalate of water H *(C C) H2.

Nitric acid = H N H3 of spec. grav. 1’42.

Oxalate of magnesia = Mg (C C) H2.

Nitrate of copper = Cu N. H3

There are three oxalates of potash,

1. K (C -1- C) H.

2. K (C + C) H (C’4* C)H2, orbinoxalate ;
decomposes at 300® and loses 2 atoms.

3. K (C + C) H C H (C + C) H3

J H (C -k C) H2 or quad-
roxatate, the 2 atoms of water in the binox-
alate being replaced by hydrated oxalic acid.

There are two remarkable salts, which
correspond with each other in composition,
viz., oxalate of potash and iron which is green,
although the iron is in the state of peroxide,
being precipitated i-ed by potash, and the
oxalate of potash and chromium which is
dark coloured. The first is represented by
Fe (C -f- C)3 3 K (C -f C)+H6.

If we substitute chromium for iron, we
have the composition of the chromium salt.

The same law in reference to water, it is
probable, is generally applicable to the com-
position of the carbonates. Carbonate of
magnesia is i-epresented by Mg. CH2. At
212’ the water is expelled.

Bicarbonate of potash = K C H Cis a car-
bonate of potash and a carbonate of water,
because the latter can be readily driven off.
Two additional atoms of water may exist in
it. The bicarbonate of potash and magnesia
of Berzelius, has the same composition as
quadroxalate of potash, the symbol being K

^ ^ ^ ^ Mg! C H 2 ( + making 9 atoms
of water in the salt, and the magnesia occupy-
ing the place of the water in the quadroxalate
of potash.

Rose described a class of salts formed by
the absorption of dry ammonia. He consi-
dered the ammonia not to act as a base, but to
take the place of water.

Mr. Graham coincides with him in opini-
on. The composition of ammonia may be re-
represented by N H 3 N H 3 H O, being
analogous to sulphuric ether, which consists
of 2 atoms olefiant gas. The nature of its
function may be observed in the composition
of the common sulphate of copper and am-
moniacal copper, the first is Cu S H -{- H 4^
the second Cu S .H (N- H3) 4 the ammonia
taking the place of the water. There are 2
ammoniurets, 1 containing 4 and the other 5
atoms of water.

TIN AFFORDS A GOOD TEST FOR PLATINUM.

8. Mr. JOHNSTON MADE SOME OB-
SERVATIONS ON THE OPTICAL
PROPERTIES OF CHABASITE, IN
REFERENCE TO THOSE MADE BY
SIR DAVID BREWSTER AT LAST
MEETING.

Sir David found that this mineral possess-
es different refracting powers at different
depths of the crystal, and he concluded, that
it consisted of distinct layers, and that if
subjected to experiment it would afford the
result of a compound substance. His results
refer to particular species only ; but the
composition of the species vary, and are as
represented here

NjU -F 3 A S2 + 6 Aq.

where Mr. J. conceives that it is easy to see
the cause of the difference, for the refractive
power of chabasite is positive, and that of
quartz negative ; thus accounting for the
double refracting power observed by Brews-
ter.

Dr. Thomson remarked that the observa-
tions of Brewster probably referred to one
species of chabasite. But there are two
species, the one containing soda and the
other lime as a base. He, therefore, con-
sidei'ed that until both species were ex-
amined, no inference whatever could be
drawn.

9. Dr. DAUBENY STATED, THAT AC-
CORDING TO THE OPINION OF
VON BUCH, CARBONATE OF MAG-
NESIA MUST HAVE BEEN SUB-
LIMED IN MANY INSTANCES BY
VOLCANIC ACTION, ALTHOUGH AS
FAR AS Dr. DAUBENY WAS AWARE,
IT WAS NOT AGREEABLE TO THE
RESULTS OF CHEMISTS.

A curious fact illustrative of the truth of
Von Buch’s opinion, occurred to Dr, Daube-
ny in Italy. He visited. a locality where
there was an upper stratum of lava, con-
taining cavities. In one of these Colonel
Robinson discovered a large quantity of car-
bonate of magnesia. Dr. Daubeny found a
quantity coating the upper surface of the
lava.

Dr. Dalton observed that there could be
no doubt as to the sublimation of carbonate
of magnesia, as Dr. Henry had informed
him that a quantity of this salt was always
driven off whenever the heat was carried
beyond a certain height.

19. Dr. DALTON STATED THE RE-
SULTS OF HIS EXAMINATION OF
THE SPIRIT DISTILLED FROM
CAOUTCHOUC.

He found it to depress the barometer like
sulphuric ether. It passes through water
without diminishing its volume, thus differ-
ing from ether. It is absorbed by water

like olefiant gas. It consists of 2 olefiant
gas. 10 vols. when burned give 40 carbonic
acid, and require 60 of oxygen. It appears
to be the same as a substance described by
Faraday. It differs from coal gas in this,
that the latter consists of double olefiant gas.

The observations of Mr. Davy upon this
subjecL corresponded with those of Dr. Dal-
ton.

Wednesday, August I2th.

11. Mr. J. MALLET DESCRIBED
THE PHENOMENA PRESENTED IN
LAMPS,

When the holes for the passage of
the gas are made as small as possible,
and also the appearance observed when
the direction of the tube is inclined in differ-
ent ways, two currents being formed when
the tube is inclined, and the surface of the
flame presenting spiral lines, and considera-
ble retraction of the flame taking place, none,
however, occurring when the tube is not
fully inserted. The apertures in the lamp
were less than the , Jg of an inch in diameter.

In the discussion wLich arose from this
communication. Dr. Dalton observed, that
12 small holes in a lamp consumed less gas
and gave more heat than when the holes ^ere
larger but fewer in number. But the great
object in procuring a proper quantity of heat
depends upon the atmospheric air being
neither too great nor small in quantity. He
stated, that if we. take a cubic inch of pure
gas, and another diluted with half its volume
of .air, each gives out the same quantity of
heat, but the latter scarcely yields any light.
This is an important fact, and deserves to be
known.

12. Mr. CONNELL READ A PAPER IN
WHICH IT WAS HIS OBJECT TO
POINT OUT SOME CHEMICAL FACTS,

By which we may be enabled to detect,
whether a fossil scale be that of a fish, or
sauroid animal, and illustrated his position
by some analyses which he had made on re-
eent crocodile and fish scales, and upon the
scales found at Burdie House. His inference
was, that chemical analysis completely veri-
fied the idea of Agassiz, that the scales found
at Burdie House were those of fish. He
considers the animal matter to be replaced
by a little carbonate of lime and silica.

13. Mr. KANE DESCRIBED TWO
COMPOUNDS OF TIN AND PLATI-
NUM FORMED BY THE ACTION OF
PROTOCHLORIDE OF TIN UPON A
SOLUTION OF PLATINUM.

One of these compounds consists of an
atom of each chloride. It deliquesces in the
air ; is a dark solid substance when anhy-
drous, and when allowed to remain in the
air is converted into an olive liquor, which
is resolved into the oxides by the action of
water. The author suggested that tin affords
a good test for platinum.

218 EFFECT OFilOT AIR BLAST APPLIED TO THE MANUFACTURE OF IRON '

14. Mr. snow HARRIS EXHIBITED AN
APPARATUS OR MODIFIED ELEC-
TROMETER, FOR PERFORMING
THE EXPERIMENTS OF POUILLET,
BY WHICH THE INSULATION OF
THE GOLD LEAVES IS RENDERED
INDEPENDENT OF THE GLASS, BY
MEANS OF TWO RODS, TERMINAT-
ING IN GILDED BALLS.

To determine whether electricity is deve-
loped during the evaporation of water or
any liquid, a platinum crucible, containing the
substance to be examined, is placed upon the
cap of the electrometer, having one of
' Deluc’s small piles communicating with the
rods. His results were contrary to those of
Pouillet.

15. Dr. NEWBIGGING MADE SOME
OBSERVATIONS UPON AN EXPERI-
MENT WHICH HE HAD MADE WITH
REGARD TO THE COLOUR OF AR-
TERIAL BLOOD.

He placed some blood in a cup containing
green spots on its surface. The portions op-
posite to these spots assumed a vermilion
colour, but in no other part was this change

visible.

Thursday, \^th August.

16. Mr. HARTOP MADE SOME OBSLR-
VATIONS ON THE EFFECT OF
THE HOT AIR BLAST, WHEN AP-
PLIKD TO THE MANUFACTURE
OF IRON.

He opposed some of the statements made
by Dr. Clark at the last meeting of the
Association, relative to the product and the
quality of the iron ; the former having been
overrated, and the latter being decidedly
inferior, as far as Yorkshire was concerned.

17. Dr. APJOHN EXPLAINED A FOR-
MULA FOR ASCERTAINING THE
SPECIFIC HEAT OF GASES ; THE
EXPRESSION BEING

48 a ci p

/'=/ %-

e 30

He has found it to correspond almost exactly
with experiment. He modifies it to
(/'-/> 30

a = % —

48 (Z p

If the air be quite dry, the/" (which ex-
presses the elastic force of vapour at the dew
point) will be unnecessary, and the formula
becomes

f X e 30*

a = % —

48 <Z p

The experiments were made by means of
a. syphon with short horizontal arms. Sul-
phuric acid was introduced into the legs.
Two bladders, the one filled with common air,
and the other with the gas to be experi-
mented on, were attached to one of the arms,
and two thermometers, the one with a moist
bulb, and the other dry, were introduced
into the other leg. The bladder was then

* These formula are elucidated in a paper
in the last Volume of the Trans, of the Irish
Academy.

pressed, and the air forced through the acid.

It passed over the thermometers, and gave
the temperature of the gas at the dew point.
This enabled the value of a to be determined,
or the specific heat. A correction was
made for the impurity of the gas, which was i|
transmitted over mercury and analysed. :]
Most of the experiments corresponded with ij
those of the French chemists, except in one |
or two instances. The general result obtained [
was, that under equal weights, the gases j

have the same specific heat; and, under \

equal volumes, the specific heat is proper- |
tional to the specific gravity, except with i!
hydrogen, which, under equal volumes, has !
double the specific heat. [

The results are presented in the following:
table I,

SP. HEAT, VOLUMES. SP. GR. SP.

HEAT. '

Air

. 1-000

1-000

1-000

Azote •

9613

0-0694

•9877 1

Hydrogen . . . .

•1315

•9722

1-8948

Carbonic oxide

-1-0508

•9722

1*0808 1

Carbonic acid *

-1-667

1-5277

1-0916

Nitrous oxide .

-1-5277

1-5277

1-1652

ef 30

o= % —

48 d p

18. Dr. DALTON INTRODUCED THE
SUBJECT OF A SYSTEM OF CHE-
MICAL SYMBOLS, BY EXPLAINING
HIS IDEAS RESPECTING THE COM-
POSITION OF THE SIMPLE COM-
POUNDS, AND EXHIBITED THE EX-
PRESSIONS WHICH HE PROPOSED
MANY YEARS AGO, TO GIVE A
PICTORIAL VIEW OF THE MODE
IN WHICH THE ATOMS ARE COL-
LOCATED.

He considers the composition of nitrous
oxide to be 2 atoms azote, adopted by Berze-
lius, who has not stated from whom he ob-
tained it. Olefiant gas, he considers, is
composed of single atoms of carbon and hy-
drogen, while the gas which exists in coal,
though commonly termed olefiant gas, is, in
reality, double olefiant gas, and is termed by
Dr. Dalton, bin-olefiant gas. This is proved
by its affording twice the quantity of carbo-
nic acid, and requiring twice the quantity of
oxygen, to burn it, which olefiant gas re-
quires.

Mr. Whewell observed that the atoms
might as well be supposed to be arranged in
lines, as in the mode represented by Dalton,
which was objected to by the latter, as being
a tottering equilibrium.

Mr. Babbage recommended the publica-
tion of tables, representing the composition of
substances by symbols,* with the addition of

* Berzelius is erroneously considered to
have first introduced the use of letters to ex-
press briefly the composition of bodies. Dr.
Thomson adopted this method in one of the
earliest editions of his System of Chemistry,
where he classified minerals according to their
chemical composition. In his paper on Oxalic
Acid, published in the Philosophical Transac-
tions for 1807, he employs formulae of this kind.
Berzelius indeed, has owned, that he borrow-
ed the idea from Dr. Thomson.

SULPHURIC ACID MET WITH IN PRUSSIC ACID.

219

the different weights which have been brought
forward, but without giving the sanction of
the Association to them. He considered it
proper that the algebraical formulae should
be adhered to as far as possible.

19. Mr. mallet SHEWED A BEAU-
TIFUL WHITE MATERIAL PRE-
PARED FROM TURF, WHICH WAS
DECLARED BY A PAPER-MAKER
TO BE PERFECTLY FITTED FOR
THE MANUFACTURE OF PAPER.

The upper stratum of turf, which covers

immense tracts in Ireland, consists of layers.
It is acted on by water to separate the
leaves ; then by caustic potash or soda ;
then by an acid. It is then bleached by chlo-
ride of lime. During the process a substance
is obtained possessing the odour of camphor,
mixed with that of turpentine, which is fluid
at 290*^ F. The upper stratum of turf may
also be employed for mill boards, after being
soaked in glue and pressed by a hydraulic
press.

Friday, \Ath August,

20. Mr. DAVY DESCRIBED SOME EX-
PERIMENTS WHICH HE HAD MADE
IN REFERENCE TO THE RELATIVE
VALUES OF VIRGINIAN AND IRISH
TOBACCO.

He procured nicotine by simply digesting
the leaves in potash, and then distilling. A
liquid possessing uniform qualities passed
over. The liquid is acted on by acids, alford-
ing salts possessing a sharp biting state.
The effect of the liquid was tried upon differ-
ent animals, and found to be highly narcotic.
He found that 1 lb. of Virginian tobacco was
equivalent to 2^ of Irish tobacco ; the root
containing 4 or 5 per cent, of nicotine. The
usual estimate of the relative values, by
dealers, is as 1 to 2.

21. Mr. SCANLAN DETAILED THE
EXPERIMENTS WHICH HE HAD
MADE UPON WHAT HE CONSIDER-
ED A NEW FLUID, PREPARED
FROM PYROLIGNEOUS ACID BY
SATURATION WITH LIME, DIS-
TILLATION AND PURIFICATION BY
CHARCOAL.

He found its boiling point to remain steady
at 130° . The following table exhibits its pe-
culiarities when compared with pyro-acetic
and pyroxylic spirits.

Sp. Gr. Boiling Point.

Pyro-acetic. .

. , *828

150®

Pyroxylic . . .

. . *750

140®

New Fluid . .

. . *906

130®

Another fluid was obtained likewise which
appeared to be new, exhibiting a strong
action with caustic potash. It was sug-
gested, that the first fluid was acetate of
methylene, the specific gravity of which is
*919 and the boiling point 136®. The argu-
ments of Mr. Scanlan were admitted by the
Section to be conclusive, in favour of the
substance being distinct from pyro-acetic, or
pyroxylic spirits.

22. Mr. moor MENTIONED A CURI-
OUS CIRCUMSTANCE IN REFER-
ENCE TO THE .CORROSION OF
LEAD PIPES.

The worm of a still used for preparing
medicated waters, was exhibited, which was
corroded completely through its substance,
at those points where it had been supported
with wood and tied with twine. At these points
a black substance was formed, consisting of
oxide and chloride of lead. It was obvious
that the effect was to be attributed to galvanic
action.

23. Dr. barker DESCRIBED A NEW
MODE OF SEPARATING THE PE-
ROXIDE OF IRON BY MEANS OF
ACETATE OF POTASH.

The latter salt, when added to a solution
of per- salt of iron, precipitates the peroxide
when the liquid is boiled. This would appear
to afford an elegant method of separating iron
from manganese.

^ He made an observation relative to the pre-
cipitation of magnesia by phosphate and car-
bonate of ammonia: viz. that the same
precipitation takes place with bi -carbonate
of potash, and other salts.

24. Dr. GEOGHEHAN SUGGESTED
THEADVAN PAGE OF EMPLOYING
THE DOUBLE SALT OF IODIDE
OF POTASSIUM AND BICYANIDE
OF MERCURY, FOR THE PUR-
POSE OF DETECTING MURIATIC
ACID IN PRUSSIC [ACID.

Sulphuric acid is frequently met with in
prussic acid, but the distinction between
these two acids is readily made, by means
of nitrate of barytes. The peroxide of mer-
cury usually employed for testing the purity
of prussic acid is ambiguous in its action,
as it is usually impure. The use of this salt
is not applicable to the alcoholic prussic acid.

25. Mr. JOHNSTON MADE SOME
OBSERVATIONS ON THE IODIDES
OF GOLD, WHICH HE HAD ANA-
LYZED.

Their composition is similar to the chlo-
rides. Previous errors, he found, were to be
ascribed to the precipitation of an excess of
gold, when ammonia was employed in the
analysis.

There are three compounds, viz. (i.) Au
I ; (2.) Au3 I ; (3.) Au 3 I -f- K I, the atom
of gold being 25.

26. Dr. william BARKER MADE
SOME OBSERVATIONS ON THE
PASSAGE OF ELECTRICITY A-
LONG A PLATINUM WIRE.

Black spots were observed at regular dis-
tances, the rest of the wire being luminous.

220 ADVANTAGES PRESENTED BY ELECTRO-MAGNETIC MACHINES.

27. Mn. SCANLAN EXHIBITED A
BEAUTIFUL SPECIMEN OF HEMA-
TINE CRYSI'ALLIZED IN THE
CENTRE OF A MASS OF LOG-
WOOD. — Records of General Science, 1835.

PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS OF

THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF LONDON,
FOR 1835. PART I.

PHYSICS.

NOTE ON THE ELECTRICAL RELA-
TIONS OF CERTAIN METALS AND
METALLIFEROUS MINERALS. BY R.
W. FOX.

The author states that the crystalliz-
ed gray oxide of manganese holds the
highest place in the electro -negative scale
of any substance examined, when it is im-
mersed in various acid and alkaline solutions ;
and the other metals and minerals rank af-
ter it in the following order: manganese,
rhodium, loadstone, platinum, arsenical
pyrites, plumbago, iron pyrites, arsenical
cobalt, copper pyrites, purple copper, galena,
standard gold, vitreous copper, silver, copper,
pan brass, sheet iron. When employed in
voltaic combination he found that on being
so arranged as to act in opposition to one
another, the direction of the resultant of
their action, as indicated by the deflection
of the magnetic needle, did not coincide with
the mean of the direction of the needle when
under the separate influence of each. He
concludes, therefore, that the needle does not
indicate the whole of the electricity trans-
mitted, and that electro-magnetic action does
not depend upon a continuous electric cur-
rent, but is better explained on the hypothesis
of pulsations, formerly advanced by him.

EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCHES ON
ELECTRICITY, NINTH SERIES. BY
MICHAEL FARADAY, D.C.L. &c.

The inquiry which produced the develop-
ment of the facts contained in this paper arose
from the observation of Mr. Jenkin, that,
if an ordinary short wire be employed to form
a communication between the two plates of
an electrometer consisting of a single pair of
metals, it is impossible to procure an electric
shock, but if the wire which surrounds an elec-
tro-magnet be used, a shock is experienced
whenever the contact with the electrometer
ceases, if the extremities of the wires are
held in the hand, while a brilliant spark ap-
pears at the point of disjunction. In the
prosecution of his researches the author em-
ployed the conducting wire in four different
modified forms: 1st, as the helix of an elec-
tro-magnet, consisting of a cylindrical bar
of soft iron, 25 inches long and inch in
diameter, bent into a ring, which was solder-
ed to a copper rod which served as a conduc-
ting continuation of the wire: 2nd, as an
ordinary helix formed of a copper wire coiled
round a pasteboard tube, the convolutions
being separated by a string, and the super-
posed helices prevented from touching by
intervening calico : 3rd, as a long extended
wire, and 4th, as a short wire. Of all these
forms, the brightest spark and most powerful

shock are procured by inserting a cylinder
of soft iron within the helix, so as to form
an electro-magnet. He found, also, that if
a current be established in a wire, and
another wire forming a complete current
be placed parallel to the first, at the mo-
ment the current in the first is stopped, it
induces a current in the same direction in
the second, the first exhibiting then but a
feeble spark; but, if the second wire be re-
moved, a current is induced in the first wire
in the same direction, and a spai’k elicited
when the contact is broken. The strong
sparkinthe singlelong wire or helix, is there-
fore, the equivalent of the current which is
induced in a second wire placed parallel and
in connexion with the first wire. From the
facility of transferences to neighbouring wires,
and from effects generally, he considers the
inductive foi’ces to be lateral, i. e. excited in
a direction perpendicular to the direction of
the originating and produced current, and
they also appear to be accurately represented
by the magnetic curves, and closely related
to, if not identical with magnetic forces. All
experiments tend to shew that the elements
of the currents do not act upon themselves,
but excite currents in conducting matter
which is lateral to them. On using a vol-
taic battery with fifty pairs of plates the effects
were exactly similar to those wdth a single
pair. The author concludes with remarking
upon the advantages presented by electro-
magnetic machines, in which the current is
permitted to move in a complete metallic cir-
cuit of great length during the first instant
of its formation, by which means great inten-
sity is given by induction to the electricity
which at that moment passes.

ON THE DETERMINATION OF THE
TERMS IN THE DISTURBING FUNC-
TION, OF THE FOURTH ORDER,
AS REGARDS THE ECCENTRICI-
TIES AND INCLINATIONS WHICH
GIVE RISE TO SECULAR INEQUA-
LITIES. BY J. W. LUBBOCK.

In the theory of the secular inequalities,
the terms in the disturbing function of the
fourth order, as regards the inclinations,
have hitherto been neglected. As the mag-
nitude of these terms depends, in a great mea-
sure, upon certain numerical co-efficients, it
is impossible to form any precise notion, a
priori, with respect to their amount, and as to
the error which may arise from neglecting
them. The author has, therefore, consider-
ed it desirable to ascertain their analytical
expressions. The details of this calculation
form the subject of this paper.

ON CERTAIN PECULIARITIES IN
THE DOUBLE REFRACTION, AND
ABSORPTION OF LIGHT, EXHI-
BITED IN THE OXALATE OF
CHROMIUM AND POTASH. BY SIR
DAVID BREWSTER.

This salt occurs in flat irregular six-sided
prisms, the two broadest faces being inclined

A PAPER OF GREAT INTEREST ON ATMOSPHERIC TIDES.

221

to each other like the faces of a wedge, whose
sharp edge is the summit of the crystal. The
broad faces are inclined upon the adjacent
faces at an angle of 64°. The cx-ystal is ter-
minated by four minute planes, equally in-
clined to the broad faces and the axis of the
prism, but two of the faces often disappear.
The crystals are generally opaque, and at
thickness not much above the ^5 tli of an inch ;
they are quite impervious to the sun’s rays.
Their colour by reflected light is then nearly
black ; but their powder, in daylight, is green,
and French gray by candle light. In the smaller
crystals the colour is both by reflected
and transmitted light. The refractive index is
about 1.605 and 1.506. Atacertain smallthick-
ness the least refracted image is bright blue, and
the most refracted image bright green in day-
light, or in candlelight. The blue,

when analyzed, consists of a mixture of
green, and the green an admixture of red.

At greater thicknesses the blue becomes
purer and fainter, and the green passes into
red ; and at a certain thickness of the least
refracted blue image disappears altogether,
and the most refracted image is olive-green.
At still greater thicknesses this image disap-
pears also, and absolute opacity ensues.
With polarized light, when the axis of the
crystals is in the plane of polarization, the
transmitted light is green, but when perpen-
dicular it is blue. In solution the double
refraction disappears, but the other appear-
ances are observed as in the solid state.
The crystal excites a specific action on the
red ray between A & B of Fraunhofer ; a
sharp and narrow black band being formed,
which constitutes a fixed line in ail artificial
lights. The relations of this salt to common
and polarized light may be examined by
placing upon a plate of glass a few drops of
a saturated solution of it in water. If the
crystals are slowly formed they will be found
of various thicknesses, each thickness exhi-
biting a different colour, varying from per-
fect transparency through all shades of pale-
yellow, green, and blue, indaylight, and through
all shades of pale-yellow, pale-orange, red, and
bluein candle-light.

SECOND ESSAY ON A GENERAL
METHOD IN DYNAMICS. BY W. R.
HAMILTON.

In his first Essay, the author observed,
that many eliminations required by this me-
thod, in its first conception, might be avoided
by a general transformation, introducing the
time explicitly into a part S of the whole cha-
racteristic function V. In the present Essay
he fixes his attention chiefly on this part S,
and to call it the principal function. Its
properties ate more fully developed, espe-
cially in application to questions of pertur-
bation, in which it enables us to express
accurately the disturbed configuration of
a system by the rules of undisturbed motion,
if only the mutual components of velocities
be changed in a suitable manner.

CONTINUATION OF A PAPER ON
THE TWENTY-FIVE FEET ZENITH
TELESCOPE, LATELY ERECTED
AT THE 5ROYAL OBSERVATORY.
BY JOHN POND.

The observations made by means of this
instrument have confirmed the accuracy, of
the results obtained in determining the place of
any star passing the meridian near the zenith.

We have now three methods of observing
this: 1st, By the mural circles : 2nd, By the
zenith telescope, used alternately east and
west, and 3rd, by means of a small subsidiary
star.

GEOMETRICAL INVESTIGATION
CONCERNING THE PHENOMENA
OF lERRESTRlAL MAGNETISM.
BY T. S. DAVIES.

The present series of papers is chiefly inten-
ded to deduce the mathematical consequences
of the theory of two poles situated arbitrarily
within the earth, and especially to investigate
the singular points and lines which result
from the intersection of the earth’s surface
with other surfaces related to the magnetic
poles, especially the points at which the nee-
dle is vertical, the lines of equal dip, the
Halleyan lines, the isodynamic lines, and the
Hansteen poles. He investigates at length
the hypothesis of the duality of the terrestrial
magnetic poles, and shews that the ques-
tion cannot be determined definitely until
the dipping needle is brought to a greater
state of perfection hnd the influence of
geological and meteorological sources of
disturbance can be accurately appreciated.

RESEARCHES 10 WARDS ESTA-
BLISHING A THEORY OF THE
DISPERSION OF LIGHT. BY THE
REV BADEN POWELL.

An abstract of this paper has already
appeared.

METEOROLOGY.

ON THE ATMOSPHERIC TIDES AND
METEOROLOGY OF DUKHUN,
(DECCAN). EAST INDIES. BY
LIEUT-COLONEL W. H. SYKES.
This is a paper of great interest, as it
contains a mass of facts accumulated with
great labour and care, in a portion of the
world where science, with the exception of
botany, has hitherto been almost unknown.
The author, in the first instance, proceeds
to describe his instruments and his mode of
proceeding to observation. These are impor-
tant points, and deserve an attentive con-
sideration. The proper mode of mounting
meteorological instruments for observations
in tropical climates is particularly adverted
to. Ivory scales and reservoirs are proved
to be useless ; the substitution of metals
being absolutely necessary. The conclu-
sions to which the observations lead are
principally as follow : In the Dukhun four
atmospheric tides exist in the 24 hours ;
two diurnal and two nocturnal, each consist-
ing of a maximum and minimum tide. These,

222

AN INI’ERESTING PAPER ON ELECTRICAL THEORY.

as compared with
Royal Society, are
Nocturnal falling
minimum tide from
10—11 p.M. to 4—5
A.M.

Poonah — ’OlSl

Royal Society — ‘0162

Diurnal rising tide
from 4 — 5 A.M. to 9 —
10 A.M.

Poonah + *0445

observations at the

Diurnal maximum
falling tide from 9 — 10
A.M. to 4 — 5 p.M.

Poonah .... — •1166
Royal Society — ‘0289

Nocturnal maximum
rising tide from 4 — 5
p.M. to 10 — 11 p.M.
Poonah 4- ’0884

Royal Society 4“ •0185'Royal Soeiety-f- *0272

These tides occur within the same limited
hours as in America and Europe, the greatest
mean diurnal oscillations taking place in
the coldest months, and the smallest tides
in the damp months of the monsoon ; while
at Madras the smallest oscillations are in the
hottest months, and in Europe it is supposed
the smallest oscillations are in the coldest
months. The diurnal and nocturnal tides
are regular whatever the thermometric or
hygrometric indications may be, or what-
ever the state of the weather; storms and
hurricanes only modifying them. The mean
diurnal oscillations at Poonah, 1,823 feet
high, are greater than at Madras. At a
higher level than Poonah, the diurnal tides
were less, while the nocturnal tides were
greater. The maximum mean pressure of
the atmosphere is greatest in December or
January, then gradually diminishing until
July or August, and subsequently increasing
to the coldest months. The annual range
of the thermometer is less in Dukhun than
in Europe, but the diurnal range is much
greater. The annual mean dew point is
higher at 9^^ 30’ than at sunrise or 4 p.m.
The highest dewpoints occur in the monsoon,
the lowest in the cold months. The rain in
Dukhun is only 28 per cent, of the rain in
Bombay (Records, vol. i. p. 291.) ninety or
a hundred miles to the east. Fogs are rare,
and are always dissipated by 9 — 10 a.m.
Circular and white rainbows occur ; solar
radiation is very great; the atmosphere is
very opaque in hot weather, and the mirage
is distinct. — Records of Science.

ELECTRICAL THEORY OF THE
UNIVERSE. BY Mr. THOMAS S,
MACKINTOSH.

We beg to call the attention of our rea-
ders to the following paper by Mr. Mack-
intosh. It is our intention to continue the
subject in every number.

The whole economy of nature, so far as
we know, is guided by one general prin-
ciple— production, destruction, and repro-
duction. 'Throughout animated natui’e this
rule holds without exception — “ one- genera-

tion passeth away and another cometh,^’ —
nothing is stationary— all is in a state of
progression. 'I'he rule holds with the same
force in vegetable life ; and in the mineral
kingdom, although the progression is slower
and less obvious to the general observer,
yet, so far as we are acquainted with it,
the progression is exactly the same. If
this rule holds throughout all the works of
nature with which we are acquainted, the
inference is just and well founded, that the
same rule and order may hold also in these
higher and more remote operations with
which we are to a certain extent unac-
quainted.

'The author of the following theory has
been led into this train of reflection from
observing the very vague and futile uses
whieh some philosophers have assigned to
comets in the general economy of nature.
Some have informed us with all due gravity,
that they may possibly be abodes prepared
for the reception of the wicked, where they
will be exposed altei’nately to the pain and
misery of extreme heat and cold. This
theory is beyond the sphere of natural
philosophy. Others have supposed that they
are destined at some future time to be used
as agents in the destruction of this planet.
Now I hold it to be a physical impossibility
that a comet can ever approaeh this earth
sufficiently near even to disturb the settled
order of the seasons in any material degree,
much less to cause its utter destruction.
Comets, in my opinion, are not agents for
the destruction or derangement of any of
the planets in the solar system ; but, on the
contrary, very important and essential in-
struments for their regeneration.

I am aware that various hypotheses have
been, from time to time, submitted to the
world upon this subject ; but, unfortunately,
their authors have endeavoured to draw their
corroborations from sources entirely foreign
to natural philosophy. They have perplexed
themselves in forming hypotheses that should
accord in all their parts with the Mosaic
accounts of the creation and universal
deluge. They imagined that their theories
demanded credence, and derived support in
proportion as they could be strained to coin-
cide with the Holy Scriptures ; and that the
truth of the Scriptures was attested by cor-
roborations drawn from natural philosophy :
now, in my opinion, the Scriptures stand in
no need of sueh aid, and natural philosophy
has no right to seek support from writings of
divine inspiration. Every kind of work
must be judged by the congruity of its parts,
and the facts and arguments adduced in
support of the proposition sought to be esta-
blished ; but if we apply the same rule to the
different theories of the universe that have
been submitted to our judgment, we shall
find little difficulty in discovering discrepancy
sufficient to invalidate the whole hypotheses.
However, it is not our present business to
show that the theories of our predecessors
are erroneous ; we will leave them to the
judgment of the world, by which this also
must be tried.

MACINTOSH ON THE THEORY OF MATTER.

223

This sketch is published rather with a
view to elicit the opinions of scientific men
upon the subject than to establish a theory.
With regard to the mere theory, perhaps no
one cares less than the author himself, and
if the voice of the scientific world should pro-
nounce it visionary and absurd, no one will
smile with more complacency. If the ap-
pearances of truth or probability shall be
found in the estimation of the world in favour
of his system, it will gain ground in every
discussion that may ensue upon its promul-
gation ; on the other hand, if the appearances
of probability shall be found against it, it
will soon be consigned to oblivion.

Theory of Matter.

All matter contained in the solar system,
of whatever description, has, at one time or
other, emanated from the sun, into, whose
body it will again return, again to emanate,
again to return, and so on ad infinitum.

1 . A comet is an immense volume of aeri-
form or gaseous matter, in a highly electrified
state, expelled from the sun by an extraor-
dinary eifort ; and is the result of certain spe-
cific modifications of electricity in due ac-
cordance with the laws of nature.

2. A comet is projected from the sun in an
elliptical curve ; and the eccentricity of its
orbit is determined conjointly by the sun’s
rotatory motion, and the tangent at which it
is at first projected.

3. In the course of a series of revolutions
the component parts of a comet become more
dense and compacted, its orbit less elliptical,
its projected distance from, and its approxi-
mation to, the sun become less in nearly an
equal ratio.

4. When the orbit of a comet has become
nearly a circle, and its component parts are
sufficiently settled and condensed, it takes its
station on the verge of the solar system and
becomes a planet.

5. When several comets are matured and
settle into the planetary state about the same
time, the largest and densest of the group
becomes the primary, attracts the smaller
comets to its sphere, and these become its
secondaries.

6. Through every successive revolution the
secondaries approximate nearer and nearer to,
and ultimately fall into, the body of their
primaries.

7. The planets through every successive re-
volution approximate nearer and nearer to,
and ultimately fall into, the body of the sun.

Theory of Motion.

All motion throughout the solar system is
effected by the agency of electricity, both the
larger operations exhibited in the motion of
the planets and the minuter processes of vege-
tation, oxidation, and vitrification ; and each
specific and distinct mode of motion or action
is caused and directed by specifically distinct
modifications of electricity, the relative cir-
cumstances controlling its operations being
appreciated.

1 . The earth and all the planets of the
solar system are maintained at their respec-
tive distances from the sun and from each
other by the relative proportions of positive
and negative electricity with which each is
charged.

2. In carrying on the vegetative and other
processes of nature, the electric flrud of the
earth and other planets is gradually dissipa-
ted, and the repulsive power between the sun
and planets is weakened in a corresponding
ratio.

3. As the electric fluid of Mercury, Venus,
the Earth, and other planets, becomes each
necessarily exhausted, the repulsive power
will become extinct, and each will, in the
order of their succession, merge in the body
of the sun.

4. In like manner, as the electric fluid of
the moon and other secondaries becomes ex-
hausted, the repulsive force between the pri-
maries and their secondaries will become ex-
tinct, the moon will merge in the earth, and
each secondary will m^rge in the body of its
primary.

5. The earth’s rotatory motion is an effect
of the electrical agency of the sun acting
upon electrical matter contained and circula-
ting within the cavernous body of the earth,
and diffused throughout the external crust
composing the earth’s surface.

6. As the earth and other planets are con-
tinually approximating towards the sun in
spiral orbits, they are in effect propelled down
an inclined plane by the power of electricity.

There are two theories of electricity ; one
is called the Franklinian theory, from being
proposed by Dr. Benjamin Franklin, wherein
it is assumed : —

1. That there exists in all bodies a subtle
fluid called the electric fluid.

2. That some bodies called conductors are
capable of holding or retaining a larger quan-
tity of electricity than other bodies called
non-conductors.

3. That non-conductors have so little affi-
nity for electricity, that the quantity they
contain can be extracted from them by fric-
tion, and transferred to conducting bodies,
which have more affinity for electricity.

4. That the body that is filled or positively
charged with electricity will attract the body
that is emptied or negatively charged ; and
that the attraction will be powerful or weak
in proportion as the positive body contains
more, or the negative body less, than its
natural quantity of electricity.

5. That two bodies, both filled or positively
charged with electricity, will repel each other.

6. That two bodies, both emptied or nega-
tively charged with electricity, will repel each
other.

It is objected to the 6th article of this
theory, that as two bodies both emptied of
electricity repel each other, the electric fluid
cannot be the cause of this repulsion, seeing
they are both emptied. Some attempt to ex-
plain this difficulty by saying, that if the
electric fluid be withdrawn, matter has an
affinity for, and will attract, other matter ;

2^24

THE STATE OF THE SCIENCE OF ELECTRICITY.

and that it is only prevented from doing so
by the repulsive power of the electric fluid
with which all bodies are charged or fllled in
their natural state.

Others, not content with this explanation,
have recourse to another theory, proposed by
Du Fay, which assumes that there are two
electric fluids, one called the vitreous and the
other the resinous. The explanation of this
theory is a mere repetition of the flrst with a
change of terms, vitreous being substituted
for positive, and resinous for negative elec-
tricity. However, as a clear comprehension
of the known laws of electricity is essential
to a right understanding of this theory of the
solar system, we will state Du Fay’s theory
of the two electricities : — ;

1. If a cylinder of smoo'th glass is excited
by friction, vitreous electricity is obtained.

2. If a cylinder of sealing-wax is excited,
resinous electricity is obtained.

3. Two bodies charged with vitreous elec-
tricity will repel each otner.

4. Twm bodies charged with resinous elec-
tricity will repel each other.

5. Two bodies, the one charged with vi-
treous and the other with resinous electri-
city, will attract each other.

The state of our knowledge in the science
of electricity is not sufficiently advanced to
enable scientific men to pronounce with cer-
tainty which of these two theories is the true
one, although Du Fay’s is generally consi-
dered to be nearest the truth ; but Frank-
lin’s is often preferred in treating on the
subject, on account of its greater simplicity,
and on that account we shall adopt Frank-
lin’s terms of positive and negative in the
present case, without offering any opinion
as to the truth of either theory. We should
prefer that of Du Fay, and are of opinion
that it would square much better with our
own than Franklin’s ; but minds unaccus-
tomed to the science are apt to get confused
amongst the various substances having
greater affinities for the one or the other
species of electricity. To the scientific read-
er either theory is alike acceptable, as he can
readily change the terms, and the application
becomes nearly the same.

Setting aside all theory for the present,
we will proceed to examine such general
facts relating to the science of electricity as
have been developed and confirmed by the
experiments of scientific men. These gene-
ral facts are usually reduced to the six fol-
lowing heads: — 1. Excitation; 2. Attrac-
tion ; 3. Repulsion ; 4. Distribution ; 5.
Transference ; 6. I nductioil.

1. Excitation — “ If a piece of amber or
sealing-wax or a smooth surface of glass,
perfectly clean and dry, be briskly rubbed
with a dry woollen cloth, and immediately
after held over small light bodies, such as
pieces of paper, thread, cork, straw, feathers,
or fragments of gold leaf, strewed upon a
table, these bodies will be seen to fly to-
wards the surface that has been rubbed, and
adhere to it for a certain time. The sur-
faces which have acquired by friction this

attractive power, are said to be excited^ and
the substances, thus susceptible of excita-
tion, are termed eZecfncs, in contra-distinction
to such as are not excitable by a similar
process, and which are therefore termed
non-electrics.'^ In the tables of conducting
and non-conducting bodies, gold is usually
placed at the head of the list of non-electrics,
and is considered the best known conductor
of electricity ; at the head of the list of
electrics is placed gum-lac, which is consi-
dered the best insulating body or non-con-
ductor. But in the electrical machines, a
glass cylinder is commonly used as an electric,
and a hollow brass cone, each end terminat-
ing in a hemisphere, as a conductor. The
glass cylinder is mounted on an axis and
supported by two glass pillars, for the pur-
pose of insulating it or cutting off the com-
munication between the cylinder and the
earth, as electricity will not pass through
the glass pillars, that substance being a non-
conductor. The handle by which the cylin-
der is turned must also be of glass, otherwise
the electricity will pass into the earth through
the arm and body of the operator. These
arrangements being made, if the handle be
turned round briskly, and a piece of silk or
woollen cloth be held against the cylinder
with a pressure sufficient to cause a mode-
rate degree of friction upon the surface of
the glass, electricity will be accumulated in
the cylinder. This is the process of excita-
tion. We know nothing whatever of the
nature of this process ; all that we know
is, that with the same arrangements and
means electricity is invariably accumulated
in the glass cylinder, and that is sufficient
for our present purpose.

2 and 3. ATTRACTION AND REPULSION.
— ^The glass cylinder being now charged with
positive electricity, or filled with electric
fluid, will attract the metallic conductor, which
is in its natural state ; but if the conductor be
negatively charged or emptied of the electric
fluid, the attraction between the two bodies
will be proportionately more powerful and
intense ; if the negative conductor be now
presented to the positive electric, a portion
of the redundant fluid will be transferred to
the conductor, and the two bodies being
both positively electrified, will repel each
other ; the same effect will be produced if
the bodies are placed at a certain distance,
and a metal ball suspended between by means
of a silk thread, or any other insulating sub-
stance, the ball will be attracted and repelled
by each, alternately, until the electric fluid is
reduced to an equilibrium in the two bodies,
the ball extracting the fluid from the full
body and carrying it to the empty one until
this is accomplished. The manner in which
this is effected must be particularly noted, as
we shall have occasion to refer to it when we
come to treat of comets.

4. DISTRIBUTION. — It has been ascertain-
ed by experiment, that in bodies charged
with electricity, it is not distributed equally
throughout the mass, the quantity a body is
capable of receiving, depending more upon
the extent of surface than the soild contents ;

PROPOSAL FOR THE FORMATION OF A STEAM COMPANY.

225:

that a metallic conductor in the form of a
globe contains just as much electricity when
hollow as is it does when solid. It therefore
appears that the electric fluid resides chiefly
in the surface of the body ; and hence we
may conclude, that the active electricity with
which the earth is charged, is almost wholly
diffused throughout the external crust com-
posing the earth’s surface. We shall have
occasion to notice this peculiarity when we
come to treat of the earth’s motion on her
axis.

5. Transference. — ^We have seen, that
if a body be filled or charged with electricity,
and an empty body brought in contact with
it, the redundant fluid will be transferred
from the one body to the other ; and that
there is a continual tendency in the two
bodies to effect this transference is evinced
by their attraction for each other ; and if the
two bodies are allowed* to come in contact
with the earth, the whole charge will be
drawn off into the earth, which is the great
conductor and reservoir of electricity.

6. Induction. — ^The reader will find an ex-
planation of this law in a future number.

It is absolutely necessary before entering
upon the following theory, that clear and
correct ideas of the sciences of electricity and
of the galvanic circle, should be formed in
the mind of the reader; and if he is somewhat
acquainted with chemistry, he will be able to
draw deductions for himself from this know-
ledge, which are not adverted to in this short
treatise ; in short the whole circle of the
physical sciences lend their aidand support to
the hypothesis that follows, and had our own
knowledge extended farther, we should un-
doubtedly have been enabled to furnish argu-
ments still more convincing than those that
have been adduced ; but we are satisfied that
the fundamental principle of our theory is
correct, that the arguments advanced (and
they are but a small number compared with
the vast body that might be collected by a
more intimate and extended knowledge of
the electro-chemical operations of nature in
her own vast laboratoi’y) , must carry con-
viction home to every philosophic mind. In
the leading r principles of theory, we find that
they conform very closely to those of Sir
Isaac Newton, and we point to this feature
with no small satisfaction. Newton explain-
ed the effects with precision, but he failed in
not tracing the cause of motion to the all-
pervading power of electricity : this defect
must be considered as arising from the
circumstance of electricity being almost
wholly unknown as a science in the days
of Newton, otherwise it could not have
escaped the search of his powerful and dis-
criminating mind. The materials from
which he drew his deduction were few and
scanty, compared with the stores that have
since been opened to our view by the labori-
ous researches of scientific men, but he
made the most of his meagre stock, and
found his way to the Temple of Science by
intricate and narrow paths, with a certain-
ty and precision most wonderful ; he opened

the way, and enabled us to proceed with
some degree of confidence ; and we humbly
presume, that in the following theory we
have advanced one step in the path of
science.

It is further necessary that a slight ac-
quaintance with astronomy should be ob-
tained in order to understand this theory
correctly. It will be sufficient for this pur-
pose to know that the sun is fixed in the
centre of the solar system ; that he revolves
on his axis in twenty five days ; that he is
more than a million times larger than the
earth, and that there is evidenee of his being
composed of the most active elements ; that
he is surrounded by planets which appear to
be of a nature similar to this earth ; that
these planets revolve round the sun in a
circular orbit, forming their yeai^s and sea-
sons, and also turn on their axis forming
days and nights, and that some of these
planets have also smaller “bodies, called
moons or satellites, revolving round these
somewhat in the same manner. — Mechanics'
Magazine, 1835.

(To he continued.)

THE INDIA REVIEW.

Calcutta: September 1, 1836.

PROPOSAL FOR THE ESTABLISH-
MENT OF A CALCUTTA COMPANY
FOR STEAM NAVIGATION.

Various attempts have been made to esta-
blish communication by steam navigation
between Calcutta and England, but, we
regret to say, without effect ; while at
so small a settlement as the Isle of France
there is every prospect of vessels steaming
between that place and the Cape as well
as Bombay. Now, what is the cause of
the failure of these attempts, at the capital
of India, to attain such a desirable object ?

The failure appears to us to have arisen
from the circumstances of calling upon the
people here to subscribe for such an object,
without holding out the promise of ulterior
gain for the amount of their subscriptions.
The mere prospect of seeing one steamer
and a passage expected within a given time is
not sufficient to induce persons to come for-
ward with the required pecuniary contribu-
tions. The great object of the commercial com-
munity here, if it desires to compete with.

226

THE NUMBER OF JOINT STOCK COMPANIES IN BRITAIN.

other nations, would be to institute a society
.solely for steam communication from port
to port in the Eastern seas as well as to Eu-
rope ; affording to share-holders a prospect
of large returns for capital sunk in such an
undertaking. The Government of India has
already shewn what is the beneficial result
of establishing steam boats on the river,
which have, we understand, realized large
profits on the first outlay ; and if similar
beneficial results, as has been stated to have
arisen from the gain derived by the last voy-
age of the Hugh Lindsay, were pointed out,
surely there would be no want of share -holders
the moment the intention of establishing a
society for steam navigation was announced
throughout the vast territories of India.

We are aware of the objection to the
formation of companies, that they arc looked
upon in the light of monopolies, and that
as their privileges have been lessened, ad-
vantages have increased towards free and
general trade. But we are not advocating
joint stock companies to be incorporated
with exclusive privileges, but such associa-
tions which are acknowledged to be the
parents of all foreign commerce, where pri-
vate traders would be discouraged from
hazarding their fortunes until the method
of steam navigation has been first settled by
establishing a company on liberal principles,
that is to say, under regulations by which
it maybe easy for all classes of persons to be
admitted, and effectually guarding against the
evils of restrictions of trade. If some of the
leading men of this city were to meet and pro-
pose a company to be ormed, the object
would certainly be attained. Whatever may be
the amount of the capital, that of shares
should be small. We are aware there are many
who will entertain doubts whether such a
speculation would prove profitable, so great
will be the capital required. The best an-
swer to be given to clear away such doubts
is, the incalculable numbers of steam vessels
which have been built and are building in
America, France, and Britain. If the spe-
culation had not succeeded beyond all ex-
pectation in those countries, we will ven-
ture to say, the building of steamers
would have ceased.

To shew the enormous sum of energy,
talent, skill, and money of joint stock com-

panies in our native land during 1825, we
extract from the February number of the
Magazine of Popular Science the following
list of the projects recommended by their
several patrons, as eligible means of invest-
ing capital. In this list there appears an
India and London Steam Navigation Com-
pany, of which, strange to say, we know
little here. We know there was a project
of the kind entertained : it ought unquestion-
ably to be established here.

Banks.

Agricultural and Commercial Bank of Ire-
land, £ 1,000,000, Bank of South Africa,

150.000, Total, £ 1,150,000.

Steam.

British and American Intercourse Com-
pany (sea part), £ 756,000, British and Ame-
rican Steam Navigation Company, 500,000,
British and Foreign Steam Navigation Com-
pany, 200,000, Canterbury, Dover, and Lon-
don Steam Packet Company, 15,000, Equita-
ble Steam Packet Company, 120,000, India
and London Steam Navigation Company,

120.000, Leghorn Steam Navigation Com-
pany,28,000, Mediterranean and Levant Steam
Packet Company, 100,000, Patent Paddle-
Wheels Steam Towing Company, 30,000,
Steam Carriages on Turnpike Roads, 20,000,
Total, £ 1,889,000.

Gas.

European Gas Company, £ 200,000, Green-
wich and London Railway Gas Company,

20.000, Marylebone Gaslight and Coke Com-
pany, 75,000, Total, £ 295,000.

Mines.

Baldhu and Wheal Tregothnau (Tin and
CopperL £ 15,000, Bissoe-bridge (Tin and
Copper), 20,000, Candonga, 200,000, Comb-
martin (Lead, Silver, and Copper), 30,000,
Chilton Coal Company, 50,000, Copiapo (Cop-
per and Silver), 200,000, Cam Grey (Tin),
2,500, East Cornwall (Silver), 50,000, En-
terprise Mining Company, 20,000, Equitable
Mexican Association (Gold), 50,000, Hayle
Consols (Copper), 30,000, Kelleweris (Cop-
per), 60,000, Kerrow (Tin), 10,000, New
South Hooe, 20,000, New Crinis (Tin and
Copper), 20,000, New Granada (Silver),

20.000, North Cornwall (Silver, Lead, and
Tin), 40,000, Polbreen (Tin and Copper),

30.000, Perran Consols, 30,000, Pike Silver
Mining Company, 112,500, Redruth (Tin and
Copper), 100,000, Roche Rock (Tin), 30,000
Royal";; Copper Mines of Cobre, 480,000,
Relistian Mining Company, 30,000, St. Hila-
ry (Copper), 20,000, St. Geny’s (Copper),
19,200, South Polgooth (Tin and Copper),

20.000, Sierra Mining Company (Gold and
Silver), 120,000, Treleigh Consolidated (Cop-
per), 25,000, Iowan Consolidated (Tin and
Copper), 30,000, Terra Putina (Gold), 500,000,
Tavistock (Copper), 25,000, Trevorgus (Sil-
ver, Copper, and Lead), 30,000, Towedteague
(Tin), 25,000, West Tresaveau (Tin and Cop-
per), 60,000, Wendron Royal (Tin), 16,000,
West Cork Mining Company, 220,000, Wheal

THE RISE AND PROGRESS OF A NEW MANUFACTURE.

227

Brothers (Copper, Tin, Lead, and SilverL

110.000, Wheal Gilbert (Tin and Copper),

15.000, Wrexham Iron and Coal Company,

60.000, Wheals Harmony and Montague (Cop-
per and Tin), 50,000, Total, £ 3,006,200.

Railways.

Altona, Hamburgh, and Lubeck, £ 300,000,
Birmingham and Gloucester, 750,00, Bristol
and Exeter, 1,500,000, Birmingham, Bristol,
and Thames Junction, 150,000, Brighton and
London (Palmer’s), 2,100,000, Brighton and
London (Gibb’s) 900,000, Brighton and Lon-
don (Stevenson’s) 1,000,000, Brighton and
London (Cundy’s), 700,000, British and Ame-
rican Intercourse (land part), 1,244,000,
Blackwall and London, 400,000, Blackwall
Commercial, 600,000, Calcutta and Saugor,

500. 000, Croydon and London, 140,000, Dover
and London, 1,000,000, Eastern Counties,

1.500.000, Gravesend and London, 600,000,
Great Western, 3,000,000, Grand Atlantic,

3.000. 000, Grand Surrey Canal and Junction,

600.000, Great Northern, 3,000,000, Grand
Northern, 4,000,000, Hull and Selby, 270,000
La Loire, 140,000, Llanelly, 200,000, London
Grand Junction, 600,000, National Pneuma-
tic, 200,000, North Midland, 1,250,000,
North of England, 1,000,000, Preston and
Wyre, 130,000, South Eastern, 1,400,000,
Southampton, 1,000,000, South Durham,

150.000, South-West Durham Junction,

50.000, Southend and Hole Haven, 300,000,
Tower of London, 1,000,000, Thames Haven,

450.000, Windsor and London, 300,000, Total,
£ 35,424,000.

Miscellaneous.

Anti Dry Rot Company, £ 250,000, Bognor
Improvement Company, 200,000, British
Agricultural Loan Company, 2,100,000, Corn-
wall Royal Tin Smelting Company, 100,000,
Deptford Pier and Improvement Company,

50.000, Danube and Mayne Canal Company,

833.000, Equitable Discount Society, 100,000,
Equitable Society, 210,000, Equitable Rever-
sionary Interest Society, 300,000, Eastern
Metropolitan, Surrey, Kent, and Sussex So-
ciety, 150,000, Gravesend River Thames
Floating Bath Company, 20,000, Hastings
Improvement Company, 200,000, Imperial
Anglo-Brazilian Canal, Road, Bridge, and
Land Improvement Company, 500,000, Lon-
don Reversionary Interest Society, 400,000,
Licensed Victuallers’ Fire and Life Insurance,

150.000, Mexican and South American Com-
pany, 100,000, Metropolis Pure Soft Spring
Water Company, 300,000, National Provident
Institution. Norwood Park Estate, 20,000,
Pennsylvania Coal, Land and Timber Compa-
ny, 135,000, Prospective Endowment Associa-
tion, 1,000,000, Patent White Lead Company,

100.000, Rio De Anori Gold Stream-works
Company, 25,000, Shetland Fishery Associa-
tion, 100,000, South London Market Com-
pany, 250,000, South of England Rever-
sionary Interest Association, 50,000, South
Australian Company, 500,000, United Invest-
ment Company 50,000, Total, £8,193,000.

Summary.

Banks, £1,150,000, Steam, 1,889,000,
Gas, 295,000, Mines, 3,006,200, Railways,

35.424.000, Miscellaneous, 8,193,000, Total,
£49,957,200.

PROGRESS OF SCIENCE,

AS APPLICABLE TO THE ARTS AND MANUFACTURES ; TO COMMERCE
AND TO AGRICULTURE.

HISTORICAL RETROSPECT OF THE
CAOUTCHOUC MANUFACTURE.

In every view the rise and progress of
a new manufacture is an interesting ob-
ject of contemplation, and especially so
when employed on a new material. Whe-
ther we consider it as indicating the pro-
gress of man in subduing the powers and
properties of nature to his uses, or as esta-
blishing by new instances the adaptedness of
the material creation to the supply of our
wants and the improvement of our faculties ;
or as furnishing new ties of brotherhood be-
tween men and nations by the mutual de-
pendency for the gratification of new de-
sires ; or as evidencing the illimitable in-
crease of human wishes and efforts ; or as
showing the beneficence of the providential
movements by which the skill, the perse-
verance (perchance the infatuated perse-

verance) of one man in a far-off corner of
the world provides a market for the labour
of thousands, wandering before in wild and
naked want, and gives in return, knowledge
and civilization, and their countless and
inestimable consequences : In any of these
aspects the adaptation of a new material to
the wants or even the whims of civilised
society is an event full of interest to the
philosopher, the patriot, and the Christian.

The struggling inventor himself is usual-
ly beset with cai'es and difficulties. To
extort from nature her secrets, and to riddle
out of the heaps which art has gathered, the
precious grains of knowledge that he needs,
to bear the jeers of the ignorant, the super-
ciliousness of the purse-proud, and the
pitiful advice of the prudent : these are his
toils and his trials — troubles sweetened only
by enthusiastic hope, the confident convic-

228

THE SUBSTANCE CAOUTCHOUC DESCRIBED.

tion of yet unseen success “ which maketh
not ashamed.”

When his plans are fully before the world,
and incredulity can no longer deny his suc-
cess, nor ignorance itself mistake it, un-
moving prejudice stands across his path,
and forbids him his reward. His trials,
however, have taught him to triumph by
perseverance ; public opinion pronounces
his title to recompense ; when some foul,
lurking, perhaps wealthy, plagiarist, shrink-
ing from no villany if it be but gainful,
seizes on some quirk of law, robs him of
his right, and employs his scoundrel purse
to defend the rank iniquity.

Such is too often the history of inventions
and inventors. We have been reminded of
some of its features by the inquiries recent
and unexpected events have induced us to
make into the progress of the manufacture
of caoutchouc.

This substance seems to have been first
brought into Europe, or at least to have at-
tracted the attention of men of science,
about the middle of last century. It was
then imported, and, indeed, known only
in the solid state ; and it was not till many
years after it was first received, that it was
certainly known not to be an artificial pro-
duction. Several French philosophers ex-
amined it, and gave memoirs upon it ; but
its use was confined to the well-known one
of rubbing out the marks of blacklead pen-
cils, from which it derived its name of In-
dian rubber. A letter of Dr. Priestley’s
mentions it as a rarity, and says that it was
sold by Nairne, of the Royal Exchange ;
the price of a cube of about half an inch on
a side being three shillings and sixpence —
somewhat more thandOZ. avoirdupois pound.

If, however, little had been done in ren-
dering this singular substance generally use-
ful, it is amusing to observe how much was
hoped for. The following paper, given by
Dr. Anderson in the Bee, of March 23,
1791, shows, both by the minuteness of
description thought necessary, and the ex-
travagance of the hopes avowed, how little
was then really known on the subject : —

“ The substance which forms the object
of our present disquisition is called Caout-
chouc, by the natives of the country where
it is spontaneously produced. It is denomi-
nated elastic gum, or elastic resin, by phi-
losophers in Europe ; but it is now known
in the shops by the name of Indian-rubber ;
a substance that few of our readers are not
acquainted with. It is a firm, tough, plia-
ble substance, greatly resembling some kinds
of leather ; but it possesses a degree of
elasticity that cannot be equalled by any
known substance in nature. It admits of
being stretched out in every direction to an

astonishing degree ; and when the distend-
ing power is removed, it recovers its former
shape and appearance. It neither can be
dissolved in water, in ardent spirits, in
acids, nor alkaline liquors, in the ordinary
state of our atmosphere. Oils, in some
measure, act upon it ; but the vitriolic ether
is the only complete solvent of it that is as
yet known. It is inflammable, and burns
with a clear steady flame, emitting then a
slight smell, not at all disagreeable. When
exposed to a cold air, it is more hard and
rigid than under a milder temperature ; but
it neither becomes fluid, nor loses its elasti-
city, till it be exposed to a piuch more in-
tense degree of heat than is ever experienc-
ed in any climate on the globe. It may,
however, be melted by a very intense degree
of heat ; and then it assumes a thick viscid
appearance, like some kinds of semi-fluid
oils. And having once been reduced to
that state, it cannot be again made to ac-
quire its former consistence or elasticity.

“ This substance is now well known to
be the inspissated juice of a tree. The
natives in those regions where this tree
abounds, extract the juice by making longi-
tudinal incisions in the bark. It bleeds
freely, and the juice, in a thick state of
semi-fluidity, is collected into vessels placed
to receive it at the bottom of the tree.
It is then, by means of a brush, spread upon
moulds prepared for the purpose, and-
suffered to dry in the sun, or before a fire,
which, by evaporating the moisture, soon
brings it to the state in which it is sent
over to us. By adding successive layers
above each other, it may be brought to any
degree of thickness wanted ; and by vary-
ing the form of the mould, it may be made
to assume to any shape or appearance you
incline ; which shape, as has been said, it
will ever afterwards retain, if no distending
force be applied to alter it-

From this simple detail of facts, it is easy
to see, that the uses to which this substance
might be applied in arts and manufactures
are innumerable, and such as can be effected
by no other known substance in nature.
Yet so blind have mankind hitherto been
to these advantages, that no attempts have
been made in any accessible region where
extensive manufactures could be establish-
ed, either to cultivate the tree that produ-
ces it, or to induce the natives to send the
juice in its fluid state to Europe, where it
could be properly manufactured. All that
has been done is, to suffer the natives to
mould it into the form of a small kind of
bottles, which is found to answer some pur-
pose among themselves ; and these, when
brought to Europe, are applied to scarcely
any other use than being cut to pieces for

THE USES TO WHICH CAOUTCHOUC MAY BE APPLIED.

229

paper by a black lead pencil, or that of idly
amusing children by stretching it out, and

I observing how perfectly it again recovers its
pristine form, after having been distended
to a great length in any direction. We
amuse ourselves with the phenomena with-
I out profiting by it, as children used to be
!| amused vsfith the attraction of amber, before
!i the phenomena of electricity were ex-
I plained.

“ It is now time that we should begin to
make some use of this very valuable sub-
stance, which, probably, a hundred years
hence, will administer in a variety of ways
to the accommodation of our descendants.
With that view, I shall here venture to
point out a few of the useful purposes it
may be made to answer ; not doubting but
the invention of men, whenever they can
get the materials in their hands in abun-
dance, will discover a variety of other im-
portant purposes it will serve, that have not
as yet been dreamt of.

“ 1st. This substance so much resembles
leather, that it naturally occurs, that it
might be employed for the purpose of mak-
ing boots. These would not only admit of
being made of the neatest shape that could
be imagined, but also, by being impervious
to water, or the other corrosive liquors
abovenamed, would be sufficient to protect
men from wet, though standing in water.
For seamen, fishermen, and others, who
are by their business obliged to wade in
water, such boots would be of the greatest
utility. The feet and legs might thus be
protected from the action of even acids or
alkaline subtances themselves, wherever
that should become necessary.

“ 2nd. Gloves of this subtance would be
so soft and pliable, as to allow the fingers
perfect freedom of action; and in those kinds
of businesses, that require artificers to put
their hands among acids or corrosive liquors,
they may become highly convenient.

“ 3rd. Caps. — The uses that might be
made of this substance for defending the
head from wet are infinitely various, and
might prove highly beneficial. A thin
covering of this substance might be made
for travelling hats, which, without adding
any sensible weight, would be perfectly
impermeable by wet of any kind. Every
other kind of covering for the head might
be thus rendered water-tight, merely by
giving them a slight coat of caoutchouc,
which would in no sensible degree alter
their other qualities. Bathing-caps, in par-
ticular, could thus be made extremely com-
modious, and at a small expense. This
could be done, by covering with a coat of
caoutchouc an elastic stocking-cap, which.

merely by being pulled tight over the head,
would embrace every part of it all round, so
as to prevent the entrance of water. The
stocking and the covering being equally
elastic, they would contract and expand
together without any sort of difficulty.

“ 4th. Umbrellas. — Neck-pieces of silk,
or other materials, cloaks or travelling coats
of any sort, that should be judged proper,
could thus be rendered perfectly water-tight,
without destroying their pliability in the
smallest degree. It would only be necessary
to cover them with a coat of this soft var-
nish after they were made, so as to close up
the seams. Buckets, too, all of canvas, or
any other cheap substance, might be made
water-tight and incorruptible, by merely
covering them with this matter. Vessels
also for holding water and other liquors ,
that would not be liable to breakage, might
thus be made of any size or shape at a
small expense. In short, it would take
too much room to attempt to enumerate half
the uses that might be made of it in the
household way.

“ 5th. In the army and navy, its uses
would be still more numerous and important.
Tents are an article of very great expense :
the canvas for them must be of the very best
quality and closest texture ; and, after all,
they are seldom proof against continued rain.
At any rate, the vicissitudes of weather soon
rot the canvas, and make a new supply in
a short time be necessary. Were these tents
covered with a coat of this substance, the
entrance of rain through it would not only
be altogether precluded, but also, the very
wetting of the canvas itself would be pre-
vented, and, of course, its durability be
augmented to a tenfold degree. On the
same principle, the sails of a ship would not
only be made to hold the wind in the most
complete manner, but by being covered by
a thin coat of it on both sides, the sail-cloth
itself could never be wetted, and, of course,
its durability be augmented, while its flexi-
bility would not be diminished. Other
uses to which it could be applied in the
army and navy, are so numerous as not to
admit of being here specified. It is only
necessary barely to mention, that on a mili-
tary expedition, to have a vessel capable
of containing fluids, which, when empty,
admits of being wrapped up like a handker-
chief and put into the pocket, might, on
some occasions, be of inestimable value ;
and the same at sea.

“ 6th. Aerostation is now nearly at stand ;
but it is wonderful that no one ever perceived
the use that might have been made of this
substance for that purpose. No kind of
silk, or other light substance, could ever
be found, that possessed the smallest degree

230

CAOUTCHOUC APPLIED TO CHIRURGICAL PURPOSES.

of elasticity ; by consequence, when they
ascended into the higher regions, the
expansion of the gas was in danger of
biirsting the globe ; it was therefore neces-
sary to leave it open below to guard against
that accident. A globe of caoutchouc
would have possessed the quality here want-
ed ; it would have expanded as the circum-
stances of the case required ; and while it
was perfectly tight, to prevent the involun-
tary escape of the smallest quantity, it would
have adapted itself in size to every variation
of circumstances. It is true, 'the retentive
power of this substance, when very thin, has
never yet been ascertained by experience ;
but there is reason to believe it is very
great.

“ 7th. As this substance is inflammable,
and burns with a bright flame without re-
quiring any wick, it might be employed per-
haps with great economy as torches or flam-
beaux. Solid balls have also been made of
it, that are light, and of an amazing degree
of elasticity ; but what useful purpose could
be made of these, does not at present ap-
pear. It might also be moulded into the
form of riding -whips, and would probably
answer that purpose admirably well ; and
after they were wore out, they might be
employed as torches.

“ 8th. As a material for chirurgical pur-
poses, it might be employed on many occa-
sions. Catheters have already been made
of it, after having been dissolved in ether,
that have been found to answer the purpose
wanted, and to occasion much less irritation
in the parts than those of any other sort that
have yet been tried ; but the great price,
when thus manufactured, prevents them
from coming into general use. The little
bottles, when applied to the breasts of wo-
men distressed with sore nipples, can be so
managed, as to occasion a more gentle suc-
tion than can be effected any other way, and
have therefore afforded very great relief.
In short, the variety of uses to which they
might be applied, as bags for injecting or
for sucking, are too numerous, to admit of
being here so much as pointed at.

“ 9th. Elastic Springs. — In all cases
where a spring is wanted to act by its
contractile power, no substance can be con-
ceived more proper than that of which we
now speak, especially in cold climates ; and
there are innumerable cases in which it
might be employed in this manner with the
happiest effect, in various kinds of machine-

“ 10th. It is many years since Dr. Ber-
gius at Stockholm, made some experiments
on this substance in Papin’s digester. By
subjecting it in that way to an intense de-
gree of heat, it is said to have been convert-

ed into a hard, elastic, horn-like substance,
I have not heard that these experiments
have been repeated; but if upon further
trial this shall be found to be invariably the
result, it would extend the utility of this
substance far beyond the limits we have
hitherto thought of ; but in the state of
uncertainty that at present prevails on that
head, it would be improper to say more.

“ I might go on at this rate for many
pages together, pointing out various other
uses to which it might be applied , but I
shall content myself with specifying one
other only.

“ Geographical globes are at present an
article of great expense, especially when of
such a size as to admit of exhibiting a tole-
rable view of the earth’s surface. These
could be made of caoutchouc of any size
required, at a very moderate expense. The
savages of America, whom our philosophers
represent as destitute of every mental en-
dowment, will teach us the way of proceed-
ing.

“ The little bottles we import from thence,
are formed upon moulds of clay dried in the
sun. When the caoutchouc has hardened
on the surface by the process already des-
cribed, a little water is introduced at the
mouth of the bottle, which gradually sof-
tens the clay, and in time allows it to be
washed entirely out of it. A globe of clay
might be easily moulded of any dimensions
required, leaving at one of the poles a small
protuberance for a little neck. This ball,
when dry, might be covered with caoutchouc
till it acquired the thickness required ; and
for the purpose here wanted, this might be
very thin. The clay might then be washed
out, so as to leave it empty. The remainder
of the process might be here described, were
I not afraid of encroaching too much on the
patience of the reader.

“ It now only remains, I should give the
reader some notices concerning the tree that
produces this singular substance.

“ In no one instance that I know has the
inattention of mankind to useful improve-
ments been more conspicuous, than with res-
pect to the object of our present discussion.
It is not much less than sixty years since
Mr. de la Condamine first made known to
Europeans this singular substance, which
possesses qualities that obviously render it
one of the most useful bodies that hath ever
come to the knowledge of man for many im-
portant purposes in life ; yet the culture of
the plant which afibrds it, has been, till
this moment, entirely neglected by every
European nation ; nor do I believe, that
ever a single seed of it was planted by one
person in the universe.”

AN ATMOSPHERIC ENGINE.

331

ITien follows a botanical account of the
tree Hevea, from which the juice is obtain-
ed.

While the processes suggested in this paper
are in some instances not very dissimilar to
those since employed, in others they are to-
tally unlike, and have been found utterly
useless. The principal scheme was to cover
woven fabrics with a film of caoutchouc.
To this there were insuperable objections.
No substance was then known, which,
while capable of dissolving solid caout-
chouc, was cheap enough for popular use.
Besides, when managed by any process then
known, it was left on the surface of the
cloth in too viscid and adhesive a state
to be at all serviceable. The only hope,
therefore, was, that the juice might be ob-
tained and applied in its native fluid state,
the solid caoutchouc settling upon, and ad-
hering to, the substance to be coated. With
how little success this attempt was attended
will be seen hereafter.

It was, however, in the same year (1791)
thatthe first successful trial was made ; but it
was conducted on a different principle, and
its results, though useful, were very limited.
The following extract shows the mode of ope-
ration adopted by Mr. Grossart, as explained
by him to the Academy of Dijon

“ It has been remarked, that if shreds of
these bottles fresh cut down be pressed very
close upon each other, they may be made
to adhere so closely as to appear one piece.
This operation is facilitated if the caoutchouc
be softened in warm water. Upon this
principle he thus proceeds ; — After having
provided a mould of a proper size for the
open of the tube intended, he slices down
the caoutchouc into thin shreds, puts these
into boiling water ; after they have remained
there for some time to soften, he takes out
these shreds, and rolls them tightly on the
mould, taking care to make the edges over-
lap each other; one shred is applied after
another, till the mould is aU covered to the
thickness wanted, then a ribbon is bound as
tightly as possible over the whole, and above
that it is still more closely bound by a tire
of packthread, laid close to each other over
the whole surface. In this state it is allow-
ed to remain for some days, when the pack-
thread is unbound, and the ribbon taken off.
The mould may then be easily drawn out af-
ter dipping it a few minutes in hot water,
and the tube is formed.” — Mechanics'' Ma-
gazine.

(To be continued.)

lift '8

ATMOSPHERIC-ENGINE AND SELF-
REGISTERING BAROMETER.

The following is the description of a ma-
chine which may be called an atmospheric-
engine, the motion and effect being produced
through the variations in the pressure of the
atmosphere. The power of the engine, as
will be seen, is rather circumscribed, but still
it is capable of being made to act with any
assigned force through a small space. It
might, perhaps, be useful in any operation
requiring other machinery to be set in motion
at a point of time when the barometer indi-
cated a particular state of the atmosphere.

It is easily convertible into a self-register-
ing barometer.

That part of the accompanying figure in-
cluded between (o) and the number 30,5,
represents the sec-
tion of a tube, closed
at top and open be-
low. It is attached
to the end of a chain,
by which it is suspen-
ded, and which pass-
es over a pulley, the
other end being fas-
tened to a fuzee and
counterpoise, or a
fuzee and spring-
barrel. Either will
be practicable ; but
we must conceive it
to be so suspended,
that it will descend
through equal spa-
ces, when it becomes
charged with equal
weights. The lower
(open) end is to be
placed in a fixed ves-
sel, represented in
the figure. This ves-
selcontains mercury,
the surface of which
rises to (o), which
is above the end of
the tube, when the
latter is at its highest

point of suspension ; it is so represented in
the figure. The numbers indicate the
length of the tube, in inches, between the
points opposite to which they are placed ;
and, therefore, the whole space included be-
tween (0) and 30'5 will be 59’8.

The figure is drawn to represent the
tube at the height at which it would be sus-
pended when the column of mercury it is
supposed to contain stands at 29‘3, being
just so many inches above (0) the surface of
the mercury in which the end is immersed ;
the space in the tube above 29*3 being then a
Torricellian vacuum. The surface of the
mercury in the lower vessel is prevented from
rising or falling from its place at (O) by means
of a floating-cistern containing mercury, and
placed in an adjoining vessel, not represented
in the figure, the communication being main-
tained by means of a fixed syphon. The

232

A SELF-REGISTERING BAROMETER.

heights of the columns 29‘3 and 30*5 are as-
sumed, as limiting the space in which the
greatest number of variations occur in the
barometer throughout the year.

To regulate the countervailing force, and
calculate the power of the engine ; first, the
countervailing force is to be adjusted to
balance the tube in the place represented in
the figure, the weight given being the small
column of mercury standing 29‘3 inches above
the surface at (O) added to that of the tube ;
then supposing that the pressure of the at-
mosphere has increased so as to require the
column to rise from 29*3 to 30*50 inches ; by
tliis rise the equilibrium just effected will be
destroyed, and the tube will descend. Sup-
pose it continues to do so until the point
marked 29*3 comes on a level with the sur-
face at (0) ; at this time the enlarged part
of the tube will be filled to 30-5 with a cy-
linder of mercury, whilst the smaller part
will have descended into the portion of the
lower vessel made to receive it. Here, then,
is given the weight, being that of the cylin-
der of mercury in the enlarged part of the
tube, 30*5 inches long, added to the weight of
the tube, and the space through which it
has descended (29*3 inches), to calculate the
countervailing force at this terminating
point.

A twelfth of 29*3 inches will be, according
to the supposition, the space through which
the tube wall descend after the accession of
each tenth of an inch to the head of the column ;
and a twelfth of cylinder standing 30'5 inches
in the enlarged part of the tube, will be the
increase of weight to be counterbalanced after
each such accession — the difierence of the
columns (30*5 — 29*3= 1*2) containing twelve
such accessions.

Allowing the head of the column (l* 2 inch)
to weigh, according to the diameter of the
enlarged part of the tube, 29 ounces or pounds,
when the tube has descended l inch, it will
press on any obstacle, or the chain will turn the
pulley, with a force of 28 ounces or pounds ;
when it has descended 2 inches, it will act
with a force equal to 27 ounces or pounds ;
and so on decreasing one in effect for each
inch it descends. It is easy, therefore, to
assign the space through which the engine
will exert any force within the premised limit.

If, while the pressure of the atmosphere
require that the column should rise from 29*3
to 30*5 inches above the surface of the mer-
cury at the foot of the tube, the syphon be
removed, and the open end of the tube stop-
ped for an instant, until the surface surroun-
ding the foot can be depressed by any means,
to a distance of 1*2 inch below (o), and then
the stopping taken away, the condition (that
the column shall stand 30*5 inches) being thus
satisfied, no further rise will take place in
the column. The accession of w^eight gained,
in this case by the column, will be but that of
a cylinder 1*2 inch long in the small end of
the tube, and, consequently, the descent will
be very trifling.

Supposing the head of the column to rise
exactly at the same rate that the surface below

descends (as is the case in the tube of the j
common wheel-barometer), the conditions^
imposed by atmospheric pressure, will be
satisfied, when half as mueh mercury flows
into the tube as would have risen into it had
the surface at the foot remained stationary,
and the power of the engine will be proportion-
ally curtailed ; but the cylinder in the enlarged
part of the tube, though thus shortened, will i
be subject to change with the variations of the i
column, in the same manner as that which
has been described as filling the whole tube
from 29*3 to 30i’5.

Heretofore, to faeilitate description, the j
cylinder of mercury in the enlarged part of
the tube has been supposed to receive equal
additions, at the times, the head of the co-
lumn received equal additions to its height, i
It is not, however, necessary that the addi-
tions to the cylinder should be equal among I
themselves, but only that the sum of the series "
of them, added to the sum of the contemporary '
accessions to the head of the column, should
together equal 30*5 inches ; or equal to the
length of the longest cylinder in the enlarged
part of the tube, due to the pressure of the i
atmosphere and subject to the countervailing
force. The engine is also capable of acting
without the aid of a floating-cistern ; but cer-
tain limits must be regarded, which it was the
object of the foregoing remarks to notice.

If the counterbalanee be effected by means
of a weight andfuzee, the fuzee may be eut to
the form of almost any spiral curve, and yet
be within the requisite conditions ; still, how-
ever, some of these will answer the purpose
better than others.

A self-registering barometer is easily con-
structed on these principles ; for if the tube
(which for this purpose should be, at least
the upper part, of glass) be suspended imme-
diately from a spring, or system of springs,
the descent of which may be found by experi- i
ment, and the points marked on a scale, the i
tube being loaded for the purpose, a moveable j
index may be made to show the greatest and
least range of the tube within any given time, i

The scale along which the tube will range '
will be equal in length to the greatest descent of •
the tube, that is, in the foregoing example |
29.3 inches. A couple of small weights sus- i
pended on the face of the scale by fine silken
threads passing over two delicate pulleys, and '
counterpoised, will mark the highest and low- '
est position of an index fixed to the tube ;
and which may be made to raise one weight i
up, or push the other down, as it passes ^
over the scale. If a floating-cistern be used, !
the scale of a common barometer may be also
fixed at the head of the column ; this is a
great advantage, and serves as a test of the i
accuracy of the instrument. I

The floating-cistern alluded to is provided !
to receive the mercury, or furnish it back i
again, without raising or depressing the sur- |
face of the mercury at the foot of the tube, i
when the latter rises or descends, and, of
course, empties or fills. It is only a vessel
set on a stem, or float, which swims in an-

THE GREAT ADVANTAGE OF RAILWAY TRANSIT.

233

i otiier vessel containing mercury. The stem
is calculated, to sink exactly as much as the
' surface of the fluid flowing into the cistern
rises above its bottom. It (the stem) is cy-
I lindrical or prismatic, according to the form
of the cistern, and must contain as many cu-
bic inches as the measure of the quantity of
I fluid which the cistern is to hold. In length
: it must be equal to the sum of the height of
I the fluid above the bottom of the cistern,

I added to the space through which the sui’face
i of the mercury rises in which it (the stem)
swims during the filling of the cistern. The
stem is itself set upon a float, which will
support it and the empty cistern just at the
surface of the mercury it floats in. I'he
principle is, in fact, the same as that describ-
ed in the account of the self-registering
barometer given in No. 403 of the Mechanics'
Magazine for April, 1831. It is, however,
scarcely possible to procure, by ordinary
means, a glass tube 20 inches or 2 feet long
of a regular form ; therefore, when one is
used as a cistern, a further adjustment of the
stem becomes necessary, as described in that
account. For the present purpose, the cis-
tern need be only a few inches deep ; and as
it may be made of wood or iron, it can be had
of a regular form.

It is hardly necessary to say, that in making
calculations for the barometer the columns
would be assumed at 28 and 31 instead of
29*3 and30’5 inches.

One sort of counterpoise may be worth
noticing. It consists of a cylindrical ves-
sel closed at one end, and of such dimensions
(adapting it to the foregoing example), that
29'3 inches in length of the inside shall con-
tain in measure an equal number of cubic
inches as 30*5 inches of the enlarged part of
the tube. This vessel is to be attached to
the other end of the chain by which the
the tube is suspended (by the closed end),
the chain being merely passed over a bar-
rel or pulley ; it is then filled with mercury, and
immersed, open part downward, in a vessel
of the same fluid, and sunk by means of
weights until the closed end comes on a level
with the surface ; the column in the tube stan-
ding at 29’3, as it is represented in the figure.
If now the column in the tube rise to 30’5,
the equilibrium being destroyed, it will des-
cend through a space of 29 '3 inches, at the
same time raising the vessel at the other end
of the chain, with a column of mercury in the
inside of it, supported by the pressure of the
atmosphere, to a height equal to the space
through which it descended, when the equili-
brium will be restored.

If the engine were made of dimensions suited
to water, instead of mercury, a column of 24
feet might be depended on in all states of the
atmosphere. The head, whatever its dimen-
sions, would woi'k with half its weight
through a space of 12 feet; and if the foot of
the tube were placed in an intermittent w^ell,
or in a tide, which would rise and fall a cou-
ple of feet, the engine would give a double
stroke each time such rise and fall occurred ;

the counterpoise working as well as the weight
in the tube.

W. M. G.

London, Feb, 10, 1836,

[^Mechanics' Magazine.

RAILWAY TRANSIT.— It would require
12 stage coaches, carrying fifteen passengers
each, and 1200 horses to take 180 passengers
240 miles in twenty-four hours, at the
rate of ten miles an hour. One locomotive
steam-engine will take that number, and
go tw'o trips in the same time, consequently,
will do the work of 2400 horses ! Again,
it would require thirty mail coaches (six
passengers each), and 3000 horses, to
take 180 passengers and mail, 240 miles in
twenty -four hours, at the rate often miles an
hour. One locomotive steam-engine will
take that number, aad go two trips in the
same time, consequently, will do the work of
6000 horses ! — T. M. Hackney. — Ibid.

EXTENSIBILITY OF GOLD, SILVER,
AND PLATINA. — The hundred-thousandth
part of a grain of gold may be seen by the
naked eye ; and a cube of gold whose side is
but the hundredth part of an inch, has
2,433,000,000 of visible parts. A cylinder of
silver covered with gold leaf may be drawn
out 350 miles long, and yet the gold will cover
it. Gold leaf can be reduced to the three
hundred thousandth part of an inch ; and gild-
ing to the millionth. Silver leaf can be reduc-
ed to the hundred and seventy thousandth.
The specific gravities are 193 to 105. Lace-
gilding is the millionth of an inch thick ; gold
leaf the two hundred thousandth. Platina
wire may be the fifty thousandth of an inch ;
500 inches of gold-wire has been drawn from
a grain. Tinfoil is the one thousandth of an
inch, that is, 200 gold leaves are only equal
in thickness to one of tin-foil. One grain of
gold will cover Tf inches each way, or 52
square inches, or be 1,500 times thinner than
writing-paper, that is, a sheet of writing-pa-
per would be 1 ,500 leaves. — Ibid.

A 200-SCAVENGER power.— M. Ber-
nel, an Engineer at Lyons, has invented a
machine, which, worked by one horse, collects
and throws into a cart, in a given time, as
much mud as could be collected by 200
scavengers. — Ibid.

IMPORTANT TO BAKERS.— A mecha-
nical kneading trough has lately been in-
vented by a baker of the name of M. Fontaine,
at Paris, for which he has obtained a patent
from the French Government. The chief
advantages derived from this new invention
are, that from 30 to 800lbs. of dough can be
kneaded in the small space of 15 minutes,
with the labour of only one man, and that with-
out the least fatigue. It also causes the
dough to be much better kneaded, conse-
quently the bread is much better made than
by the process usually adopted. The inven-
tion is the fruit of long experience. — Ibid.

234 A LAMP FOR WORKING IN A NARROW EXCAVATION.

SAFETY METHOD OF LIGHTING COAL-MINES. BY DAVID BOOTH, ESQ.

The above engraving represents a vertical
section of a coal-mine, with its down-cast
and upcast shafts.

Within the downcast-shaft is fixed the
feeding-main, which is a pipe leading from
the surface to the bottom of the pit, and
thence proceeding under and along the pave-
ment to any distance, and in any direction
that may be requisite : its progress is here
marked by the letters AAA, &c. This
pipe (having another inserted) is for the
purpose of carrying atmospheric air and gas
to the several burners « « «, &c.

B B B B B is the evacuating-main for con-
veying the products of the combustion, which
pass along until they reach the upcast-shaft,
when they ascend to the mouth of the pit
(and higher if necessary), where they are
dispersed in the atmosphere. This main is
carried along the roof of the pit, as high as
it will allow.

The supply of air and gas to the burners
may easily be regulated by stop-cocks, and
the lighting of the lamps may be accomplish-
ed, without exposure, by means of one or
other of the various modes of producing in-
stantaneous light called Lucifers, Eupyrions,
&c., acted upon by a wire passing through
an air-tight aperture. Each lamp may be
separately extinguished and unscrewed from
the mains, so as to be cleansed when neces-
sary, while the others are left burning.

For working in narrow excavations, a
moveable lamp may be supplied with air from
the nearest part of the feeding-main, by
means of a flexible tube (similar to that of a
beer-engine) furnished with screws and stop-
cocks, so as to be lengthened by additional
pieces, or shifted to other stations at plea-

sure. From the required length and flexi-
bility of this air-tube, it might be difficult
to insert a gas-pipe and probably oil only
could be burnt. This distance, too, to
which the lamp would, in some cases, need
to be carried, might render it impracticable
to convey the produce of the combustion
to the evacuating main ; but, nevertheless,
it is presumed that the lamp might be made
perfectly safe inthe first place, by having
the chimney of sufficient length to prevent
the possible egress of the flame; and, se-
condly, providing that the heated vapour,
before mingling with the atmosphere of
the mine, should have to pass through
small holes, similar to those in the rose
of a watering-pot, and which holes might
be lengthened into tubes, or even passed
through water if found necessary. The in-
flammable gas of mines, if it enter the Davy-
lamp, must be carried along with the cur-
rent that supplies the flame, and would not
readily pass into this insulated lamp, the
current of which would always press out-
wards.

The proposer is aware that the preceding
is merely a sketch of a general principle,
which will require to be modified according
to particular circumstances. He acknow-
ledges, too, that, in many cases, its adoption
would lead to much expense ; but, as a
counterpart to this, may be placed the annual
saving, from premature destruction, of a
great number of valuable human lives.

David Booth.
Charlotte -street, Bloomsbury, Feb. 8, 1836.

{Mechanics' Magazine.

magazine of popular science and journal of arts.

235

We have just been favored with the loan
of a new periodical, the Magazine of Popu-
lar Science and Journal of the Useful Arts.
The intention of this work is the exclusion
of all elaborate original memoirs of scienti-
fic researches, and in their place to condense
into brief essays, or abstracts, such accounts
of the progress of discovery on the several
branches of physical inquiry as to place in a
connected point of view the labours of differ-
ent individuals engaged in these enquiries*

The two first numbers for February and
March, 1836, contain some interesting
articles, from which we glean the following.

GALLERY OF PRACTICAL SCIENCE.

The Gallery of Practical Science was pro-
jected in the Autumn of 1831, by a few indi-
viduals desirous to promote the intercourse
between the cultivators of abstract Science,
and persons engaged in its practical applica-
tion; to illustrate scientific subjects in a
manner at once interesting and instructive ;
and to afford to discoverers in philosophy, in-
ventors, improvers of inventions, manufac-
turers, and individuals possessing interesting
objects of virtue, the opportunity to bring be-
fore the public their discoveries or works of
art, in an attractive and inexpensive manner.

The finishing and fitting-up of the premises
occupied the period till the 4th of June, 1832,
when the rooms were opened in the evening
to a numerous company invited for the occa-
sion ; on the following morning the gallery
was opened to the public. The number of
visitors contributing to the support of the
institution, was found gradually to augment,
and the original proprietors were thereby
encouraged to extend the basis of the esta-
blishment ; and the most secure means of
effecting that desideratum appeared to be a
Royal Charter of Incorporation.

The late Thomas Telford, Esq., the most
eminent engineer of his age — whose name
will endure longer than even the numei’ous
works of his construction, which have im-
proved whilst they adorn our country, — and
Francis Giles, Esq., civil-engineer, were the
first individuals to join the orginal projec-
tors ; and in answer to their united petition,
his Majesty was graciously pleased to grant
the charter, which incorporates the sharehol-
ders under the title of “ The Society for the
Illustration and Encouragement of Practical
Science.”

Authority is given by the charter to divide
the capital of 20,OOOZ. — consisting of 4,000Z.
in money, and 16,000Z. invested in the pre-
mises and philosophical apparatus placed
therein — into 400 shares of 50^. each. It
also confers the privilege of raising a further
capital to the extent of 20,000Z., in similar
shares, should the proprietors, at a general
meeting, specially convened for that purpose,
so determine.

All contracts are to be made under the
corporate seal of the society, which, with the
properties and affairs of the institution, is
entrusted to the management of a council,
consisting of not fewer than four, nor more
^han fifteen of the proprietors. The accounts
are required to be made up and laid before
the proprietors, at least once in every year,
when dividends of the profits may be decla-
red.

It must be obvious, that where the ardu-
ous task is undertaken of accommodating a
public exhibition like the present to the vari-
ous tastes of a mixed assemblage, there will,
of necessity, exist some points which shall
be highly attractive to one class of visitors,
whilst they will be regarded as comparatively
unimportant by others. Thus the Persian
rope-dancer, which, with its fairy-like music
and elegant movements, is a never-failing
source of admiration to the young, may, by
others, be held in light estimation ; unless,
indeed, a love of science shall lead them to
examine andinquire into its ingenious and
elaborate mechanism. So also with the
automaton juggler ; there are, however, some
other marked features, some central points,
as it were, of attraction, deserving especial
notice ; and to these we shall briefly advert.

We will commence with the series of Mag-
nets, which are prepared for the daily illus-
tration of some of the appearances and effects
of electro-magnetical and magneto -electrical
phenomena. The Electro-Magnet, possessing
neither Electricity nor Magnetism, until ex-
cited by a very small voltaic battery ; it then
instantly acquires an enormous power of
suspension : on destroying its connexion with
the battery, it becomes again unable to sup-
port a grain. Another of the same kind,
and called the Ferro-Electric Sphere, arrang-
ed to show the true cause of the Earth’s
Magnetism. A third, is a Self-acting Electro-
Magnetic Machine; in this also Electricity
excites Magnetism, producing motion in a
spindle, and by an ingenious contrivance,
which effects an alternation in the poles,
continues this motion, and gives out an un-
interrupted succession of sparks and shocks
for an indefinite period. The Magneto-Elec-
tric Machine, — in this combination Magnetism
produces Electricity. This instrument was
made in consequence of Professor Faraday’s
important discovery, that electricity could be
obtained by means of magnetism ; and was
the actual one from which the first spark was
first produced and seen in England. It now
exhibits the spark most brilliantly and in-
cessantly,— gives an intolerable shock, — de-
composes water, — ignites and fuses platU
num-wire, &c.

There is also an instrument which belongs
to a department yet scarcely explored by
scientific research, and one which we fear is
too often passed unheeded ; we allude to an
apparatus for showing the Compressibility
of Fluids by means of hydrostatic pressure
which can be produced in this machine to the
unprecedented amount of 30,000 lbs. to the
square inch.

^236

ACCOUNTS OF BORED WELLS EXECUTED IN FRANCE.

The celebrated Steam-Gun is too well
known, — and th^'unceasing interestit excites,
far too generally admitted to require any
particular notice. We shall, therefore, mere-
ly observe, enpassanf, that a new barrel has
lately been added, which increases the power
and the precision of the instrument.

The unique engine for showing the Com-
bustion of Steel, is also well worthy the at-
tention both of the curious or the general
observer ; although the almost inconceivable
velocity with which the wheel rotates, may,
naturally, at the first moment, excite some
alarm.

Amongst the philosophical apparatus pos-
sessed by the Society, may be mentioned a
Lens or Burning-Glass of nearly four feet
diameter. A Cal-oxi-hydrogen Microscope
of great power and unrivalled splendour, con-
structed by Cary, with various consecutive
improvements made under the superintend-
ence of the Society ; and a Laboratory — in-
tended to facilitate the advance of science and
practical knowledge.

The Societyreceive for exhibition — Models
of Inventions — Works of Art and Specimens
of Novel Manufacture, subject to immediate
delivery in the event of sale, or returnon de-
mand;/ree /row aa^c/iarpe whatever to their
depositors. It also affords every facility for
the practical demonstration of discoveries in
Natural Philosophy, or of any new applica-
tion of known principles to Mechanical Con-
trivances ; reserving only to the Council,
the right of determining whether the pro-
ductions offered are suitable to the Insti-
tution. —

SIMPLE AND EFFECTUAL MODE OF
DEFECTING ERRORS IN LEVELLING
OBSERVATIONS.

In the best modern levelling-staves, as for
instance, those for which a d elford medal was
awarded to Mr. Gravatt, C. E., last year,
by the Institution of Civil Engineers, the
observation is at once read off by the survey-
or, instead of being reported to him by the
assistant ; a saving of time, and a diminu-
tion of the sources of ei’ror, are the conse-
quence. But still, if a surveyor, on the con-
clusion of his field-work, suspects an error,
he has no other means of discovering the
place of the error, or removing the suspicion,
but re-commencing the survey and repeating
part, probably the whole, of his observations.
A very valuable suggestion has been made
by Mr. Heni’y E. Scott, which, if adopted
by a surveyor, would, almost to a certainty,
enable him, by merely referring to his field-
book, and without the repetition of a single
observation, to detect the place of the error,
and correct it ; or, in case of there being
none, to restore his confidence in his obser-
vations and final result. Mr. Scott’s prac-
tice is to have the front side of his levelling-
staff graduated from the bottom as usual,
and painted in black and white ; but in addi-
tion, he graduates the rear-side of his
staff, and paints it in red and white.
This red graduation is in the sub-divisions
the same as the front one, but the position
and numbering of the principal divisions are

different ; the first principal red division be-
ing made at 0*75 ft. from the lower end of
the staff, and numbered III. the next above,
IV., and so on. Both sides of the staff are
to be read off at each observation ; and it is
evident, that two very different heights of
each observed point will be recorded ; that
from the red side being constantly 2’ 25 ft.
higher than that from the black or the true
one. A difference so wide, that the memory
can never act disadvantageously in reading off
the quantities on the two sides. An error in
the levels can, by this mode of registering,
be detected by a single glance ; for the sur-
veyor has simply to ascertain the place
where any two observations of the same
point have not the regulated difference. If
no case of this kind occurs, there arises a
feeling of confidence in the accuracy of the
whole level-survey, which can scarcely be
shaken.

ON BORED WELLS.

This convenient, we may say elegant, me-
thod of obtaining good water from great
depths, without the labour of lifting it, is
spreading extensively in France, principally
owing to the enlightened and patriotic exer-
tions of MM. Arago and Hericart de Thury. I
The first, by his writings on the subject, and j
his successive notices of the works as they are j
executed, excites and keeps alive the atten- j
tion of the whole French nation.

For the same purpose, with regard to our
own country, we shall, at all times, be gratified
by receiving and publishing, correct and
detailed accounts of Bored Wells, executed
in England, &c. Cases of supposed failure
in these attempts, where all the circumstances
are known, would be as acceptable as those
of success. Hints might be suggested for
proceeding agairi with a prospect of arriving
at the desired object ; or, if this is hopeless,
the facts might be recorded and useless ex-
penditure prevented in future similar cases.

In preparing the accounts, attention should
always be paid to the kind of strata passed
through, their thickness, &c. The locality
of the well should be accurately described, its
contiguity to river, mountain, sea, lake, &c.
or the contrary. The waters of infiltration,
(land-springs, &c.,) should be noted; and
the supply, qualities, temperature, and per-
manent elevation of the water finally obtain-
ed, should be very carefully observed and
described.

Among the more recent instances of suc-
cess in well-boring in France is one not far
from the bank of a river, in a meadow be-
longing to the Chateau de Cange, about three
miles from Tours. The water was found
at 425 feet deep, and the supply is about 560
imperial gallons per minute. At Elbeuf, two
wells, contiguous to each other and to the
river Seine, have been bored to nearly 500
feet. They are remarkable for the volume,
purity, and high temperature (61? Fahr.) of
their wateis. In twenty-four hours after a
storm, or violent rain, one of these wells
becomes troubled, and its water issues turbid
wdth clay or sand, precisely like that of the

M. MELLONI ON LIGHT AND RADIANT HEAT. 237

Seine after heavy rains. As the bore of this
Avell proceeded, several lots of very minute
eels floated out from it : many of them were
caught alive and sent to Paris. A M. Dieu
has lately announced to the French academy,
that he is occupied in endeavouring to use
steam-power as an agent in this art.

In a well lately bored in one of the abattoirs
(public slaughter-houses) of Paris, the depths
and thicknesses of the strata were carefully
noted ; and M. Arago himself examined the
temperature of the water obtained : at 815 feet
deep, he found it to be 68|^ Fahr. The en-
gineer was prepared to have gone down to
1300* feet, but having pierced through the bed
of chalk under which was found the water at
Elbeuf, he desisted at the depth of 815 feet.
From this depth the water rose to within 16f
feet of the surface.

If now we look on the other side of the pic-
ture, and regard the failures in France, we
shall find a case the most remarkable for the
extent of area over which unsuccessful at-
tempts have been made, in the valley of the
Garonne. From Toulouse to Bordeaux little
hope is now entertained of profiting by wells
of this kind. At Toulouse, the bore was car-
ried down about 780 feet, being 282 feet below
the level of the Mediterranean, and abandon-
ed after a cost of above 1100/. At Agen, at
the depth of 400 feet, a series of calcareous
earths, &c., similar to what had already been
passed, again commenced, and the undertaker
gave it up in despair- In Bordeaux, they
bored through strata, &c., very like w'hat had
been met with at Toulouse, and not having met
with water at 670 feet, it was deemed useless
to proceed. Four other bores in the neighbour-
ing department of La Gironde, were also un-
successful ; in one only did water appear.
These repeated failures have naturally in-
disposed the inhabitants of this quarter of
FTance to further attempts. A considerable
addition to the geological knowledge of this
part of the kingdom has, however, been
obtained ; and among the facts collected by
M. Boisgeraud, there is one result relating
to the temperature of the earth, from 30 feet
below the surface down to 340 feet, which
deserves to be recorded. The mean of seven
observations, each of twenty-four hours’ du-
ration, was found to be2f° Fahr. for each lOO
feet of depth ; an increase which accords with
that which is generally admitted.

The first bored well executed in the empire
of Russia, was recently and successfully com-
pleted at Riga.

CURVILINEAR DIRECTION OF WINDS.

Careful and continued observations, con-
tained in the annual reports furnished by the
several academies in the state of New York,
to the Regents of the University, appear to
demonstrate the fallacy of the notion common-
ly entertained, that winds are generally rec-
tilinear in their progress, and blow for the
most part in right lines over extensive por-
tions of the earth’s surface ; an error which
appears to remain undisturbed in the minds
of most meteorologists.

TEMPERATURE OF CANTON AND
MACAO.

Mr. Meyen, for some time a resident at
Canton and Macao, states as the result of his
own observations, and those of other residents
during very considerable periods, that the
mean temperature of Canton is 71§8 Fahr.
and that of Macao 721^^ Fahr. It will faci-
litate accurate comparison to remark that the
mean temperature of London, as stated by
Professor Daniell, is 49§“ Fahr.

FILTRATION AND COOLING OF LIGHT.

M. Melloni, in examining the correctness
of his opinion, that light and radiant heat
were produced by different causes, and that
there was therefore a possibility of separating
them from each other when combined, has
succeeded in accomplishing this remarkable
experiment. By a process extremely simple,
he separates light from radiant heat, whether
proceeding from ordinary fires or from the sun.
His mode is this : — The radiation from a lumi-
nous body is passed through a system of dia-
phanous bodies, — these absorb all the radiant
heat, and extinguish but a very few of the
luminous rays. The pure light emerging from
such a system is found not to affect the most
delicate thermoscope, even when concentrated
by lenses to a brilliancy equal to that of solar
light. The substances hitherto employed m
tins heat-absorbing system, are water, and a
peculiar kind of green glass, coloured by oxide
of copper. The cooled and filtered light,
as it may be termed, is decidedly yellow,
with a tint of bluish-green,

VARIATION OF TEMPERATURE IN
ROCKY STRATA.

Mr. W. Henwood conceives that he has
satisfactorily ascertained that a difference of
2^ — 3^ Fahr. exists in the temperature of the
schistose and granitic strata of Cornwall, when
they are severally examined at the same depth.
It is not stated to which the higher tempera-
ture belongs.

REFLECTED HEAT MEASURED.

The fact that heat is reflected more or less
abundantly in proportion to the nature and
polish of the surface upon which it impinges.
Wots confirmed by the researches of Rumford
and Leslie; but these philosophers did not pro-
ceed to ascertain the proportion, in each par-
ticular case, of the incident, to the reflected
heift. It is easy to imagine a variety of cases,
in ivhich, the property of the reflection of heat
being known, and also that its quantity was
variable, it would be desirable, and often ex-
ceedingly useful, to be able to ascertain the
amount which could be obtained from any
particular body and surface. M. Melloni
has recently shown, that by means of an ap-
paratus, designed by him, the problem can be
solved with great accuracy. Another instance
in which the genius of M, Melloni, aided by
the exquisite delicacy and sensibility of his
apparatus, has detected and exhibited proper-
ties and proportions of this invisible and uni-
versal agent, which appeared a short time ago
to lie far beyond the utmost reach of the
powers of man;

238

PROCESS OF PREPARING SUGAR FROM THE BEET,

FLOWERING OF A WEST INDIAN
PLANT IN THE OPEN AIR.

At a Meeting of the Ashmolean Society of
Oxford, on the 6th of November last. Dr,
Daubeny exhibited a specimen of the Brome-
liapinguis, a native of the West Indies, which
flowered last autumn in the open air in the
garden of Mr. Shirley, of Eatington Park, near
Shipston-upon-Stour. This plant has rarely
blossomed in Europe even under glass, al-
though a drawing of it in flower is given in
the Hortus Elthamemis ; and the individual
plant alluded to had been tried first in the
pinery, and afterwards in the greenhouse, but
had never put forth flowers,, till it was taken
out of doors, when it flowered, though the pe-
tals never properly expanded.

PHOSPHORIC LIGHT EMITTED BY
FLOWERS.

At the same meeting, a communication was
also read by him respecting an electrical
phenomenon, which occurred in the garden of
the Duke of Buckingham, at Stowe. On the
evening of Friday, thedthof September, 1835,
during a storm of thunder and lightning, ac-
companied by heavy rain, the leaves of the
flower called (Enothera macrocarpa, a bed of
which is in the garden, immediately opposite
the windows of the manuscript library at
Stowe, were observed to be brilliantly illu-
minated by phosphoric light. During the
intervals of the flashes of lightning, the night
was exceedingly dark, and nothing else could
be distinguished in the gloom except the
bright light upon the leaves of these flowers.
The luminous appearance continued uninter-
ruptedly for a considerable length of time : it
did not appear to resemble any electric effect ;
and the opinion which seemed most probable
was, that the plant, like many known instan-
ces, has a power of absorbing light, and giving
it out under peculiar circumstances.

BEET-ROOT SUGAR.
Theexertionsmaking in France and through-
out Germany to simplify the process of pre-
paring sugar from the Beet are immense and
unceasing. At the recent meeting of the
German naturalists, at Bonn, the section of
Agriculture and Rural Economy was alrnost
entirely occupied with papers and discussions
on the subject. At Valenciennes, a manu-
facturer has succeeded in discovering a me-
thod of crystallizing the whole of the saccha-
rine matter of the Beet without producing
molasses in the process. Three sugar-houses
there have adopted the new plan.

SOUTH COOLER THAN THE NORTH.

The attention of meteorologists is requested
to the fact, that in the two last months of
1835, the depression of the thermometer was
greater, and commenced sooner in the south,
than in the north, of France. And also,
that in the Puyde-Dome, a department a lit-
tle south of the centre of that country, it was
not the north winds, but violent ones from
the west and south, which produced the great-
set cold.

ELEPHANTS,HAIL,&c., INABYSSINIA.

In Abyssinia, according to Herr Ruppell,
elephants and monkeys do not fear -to cross
plains, some of which have an elevation of
8300 feet, and on which the temperature must
be exceedingly low. In the same country it
hails frequently, but never during storms.
This fact renders the explanation of the for-
mation of hail still more difficult, it having
been supposed, up to the present time, that
electricity played an important part in the
process.

APPLICATION OF OPTICS TO
CHEMISTRY.

M. Biot is occasionally developing to the
Academy of Sciences his mathematical
and experimental method of detecting mix-
tures and combinations, both definite and
indefinite, which act upon polarized light,
followed by its application to compounds of
tartaric acid with water, alcohol, and pyrolig-
neous acid.

VOLUNTARY INSTRUCTION OF THE
PEOPLE.

One of the most pleasing features of the
present state of things, is the interest which
the higher and well-educated classes in many
places are taking in the social improvement of
those less favoured by fortune or circumstan-
ces. In Edinburgh, lectures are delivered
nightly by gentlemen to thousands of people,
on subjects of Physical and Moral Science.
In one place, which contains an audience of
two thousand persons, lectures, the admission
to which is only a single penny, are delivered
to the working classes, on Moral and Econo-
mical Science, or, in other words, on topics
calculated to improve their mental faculties
and condition in life. An analysis of these
lectures is given in the Edinburgh Chronicle
newspaper, weekly.

PRACTICAL IMPROVMENT IN LIGHT-
HOUSE ILLUMINATION.

On the evening of the 1st of October last,
a new light on the dioptric* principle of Fres-
nel, was exhibited on the Island of Inchkeith,
in the Firth of Forth, in the place of the
reflecting light which had been used there,
and which was discontinued on the 30th of
September. The new light is distinguished,
like the old one, from others in the neighbour-
hood, by flashes, occurring once in a minute,
but it is very far superior in bi'illiancy and
magnitude. Its power, compared to its pre-
decessor, is as 2§ to 1. The cost of its main-
tenance is however greater, being as 17 to 7.

The light-house on the Isle of May, in the
same neighbourhood, is in the course of an
improvement of the same kind.

♦ In this principle, the light is transmitted
through media as lenses, and not reflected from
surfaces, as the British lights usually are.

ON CALICO AND

SPECIFICATION OF THE PATENT
GRANTED TO JOHN LOSH, OF 8,
CRESCENT, IN THE CITY OF CAR-

■ LISLE, GENTLEMAN, FOR AN IM-
PROVEMENT IN THE SURFACE OR
PATTERN-ROLL OF THE MACHINES
USED IN PRINTING CALICO AND
OTHER GOODS, COMMONLY CALLED

■ SURFACE PRINTING MACHINES,
AND IN THE MODE OF WORKING
THE SAID ROLLS.—

Sealed May 30, 1835.

.1,

toothed and pinion-wheel heretofore fixed on
the axis of the pattern roll, and substituting
therefore a driving band or belt passing over
pulleys or elevated parts turned or formed
on the end of the said roll, and of the exact
diameter of the roll with the pattern upon it,
thus constituting an improved roll, and a
new mode of working the surface printing-
machine separately, or attached to a cylin-
der printing machine, for the purpose of
printing calico, linen, woollen, silk, paper, or
other the like description of goods, and which
improvement will remove the difficulty and
loss that has hitherto attended the working
of the surface printing-machine, a difficulty
arising from the surface or pattern roll being
propelled by a tooth and pinion-wheel fixed
upon the axis of the pattern roll, and conse-
quently the slightest variation in diameter
between the patteim-roll and propelling-
wheel, or mandril, varies the speed of the
circumference of the printing-roll called the
surface, and it therefore does not leave its
own impression neat and plain as it ought to
be, but is dragged along the face of the cloth
and leaves instead a trailed mark upon the
piece of goods intended to be printed.

And whereas, in further compliance with
the said proviso, I, the said John Losh, do

SURFACE PRINTING; ^S9

hereby describe the manner in which my said
invention is to be performed by the following
statfement thereof, reference being had to the
drawing annexed, and to the figures and let-
ters marked thereon (that is to say) :

The improved surface roll is made of wood
bored through the centre from end to end to
admit a cylinder of cast-iron or any other
metal on which the roll should fit quite tight ;
if the wood when bored is not found to fit
tight upon the cylinder fill up the space with
glue or cement made of rosin, pitch, and Ro-
man cement when hot, in the following pro-
portions, namely : one pound of rosin, one
pound of pitch, and a quarter of a pound of
Roman cement, and run in between the wood
and the cylinder, the glue or cement will then
fill up the empty space and also bind the wood
to the cylinder. I'he cylinder is cast with a
flange inside each, and leaving only a suffi-
cient hole in the centre through which to pass
an iron spindle, which spindle forms the axis
ef the roll and is made fast to the flange at
each end of the cylinder, which should be
larger or smaller according to the diameter of
the roll, so that when the I’oil is turned in the
lathe to the size required there may only re-
main a small portion of wood upon the cylin-
der, but, at the same time, sufficient for the
purpose required in forming the pattern upon
it. At one or both ends the roll is left thick-
er, as shown at a, a, fig. 1 , or wdien the
pattern is a very distant one, instead of leav-
ing the roll at each end thicker, drive in till
on a level with the pattern ; bars of copper
or other metal, and only so many bars as the
pattern forms row^s from end to end of the
roll so that the bars and the patterns may be
in a line with each other, as shown at A, A,
fig. 2. The circumference of these thick ends
or elevated parts of the roll, whether left
thicker in turning the wood of the roll, as
shewn at fig. l, or raised with bars of metal,
as shewn at fig. 2, must in every case be
precisely the same as the extreme circumfer-
ence of the pattern upon the roll, as it is up-
on these elevated or thicker ends of the roll
that the belt or belts traverse to give the ne-
cessary motion to the pattern. The pattern
being formed upon the roil in the usual man-
ner, with copper-pins, wood, &c., as required,
which is smoothed upon the surface by being
turned in a lathe, that part of the pattern roll
over which the belt or belts pass, should also
be carefully smoothed or turned down at the
same time to exactly the same diameter. The
surface roll is liable to become a little untrue,
wear down, and also to dry in, by using it in
a hot workshop, which cannot be prevented,
and it is thus on the old plan rendered en-
tirely useless, as it can, according to the old
method of w’^orking the machine, be used only
when exactly the same diameter as the man-
dril or principal carrying wheel, and when
this once varies, from the causes hereinbefore
mentioned, it cannot be rectified. All these
difficulties and also some others are entirely
obviated by my plan of propelling the surface
or pattern roll by a belt or belts working,
upon the circumference of the said roll at
either or both ends. The belt may be of

240

THE ACTION OF SULPHURIC ACID ON INDIGO.

leather or other material of the ordinary
kind and may be carried by the sieve roller,
mandril, blanket, or principal carrying wheel.
The advantage to be derived by my plan, is,
that I can make the work completely perfect
with a surface pattern roll of any circum-
ference without regard to the size of the man-
dril or principal carrying wheel, and if a sur-
face pattern has become untrue it may be put
into the lathe and turned true, turning at
the same time either or both ends of the pat-
tern roll which the belt or belts pass over ;
the spoiled rolls, which were formerly a com-
plete loss, may thus be put again into working
order, and the large expense for new rolls is
entirely saved ; also by this mode of printing
the immense expense of copper rolls used in
cylinder printing may be saved, the improved
surface-machine being rendered capable of
executing the work equally well, and some
styles and patterns much better, and at one
fourth of the cost for rolls and patterns ;
this invention also enables me to work any
number of rolls upon the surface-machine,
each roll printing a separate colour at the
same time, by which method a full chintz may
be produced at one printing.

(To be continued.)

EXPERIMENTS ON INDIGO.

(Continued from page 192.^

The best radiators do not appear to belong
to any particular class of bodies.; litmus blue
and Prussian blue are side by side, while sul-
phuret of lead, and the bi-sulphuret of tin, are
fifteen numbers apart.

If the results be admitted as decisive of the
radiating powers of the bodies used, they show
that each substance has a specific power not
depending upon chemical composition, nor
upon colour. I do not claim to found such a
conclusion upon the experiments ; their ob-
ject has been before 'Stated, and if they shall
prevent the introduction of an inference from
an imperfect induction, as a law of science,
the labour bestowed upon them will be am-
ply recompensed.*

The action of sulphuric acid on indigo was
very incorrectly described by the older che-
mists. In the year 1776, Bergman observed
that when indigo in powder was sprinkled
upon concentrated oil of vitriol, sulphurous
vapours were evolved, clouds of a green co-
lour formed in the liquor, and at the same
time great heat produced. Berthollet, in his
excellent work on Dyeing ( Hamilton’s trans-
lation, vol. ii. p. 66), considers the change
which takes place to be caused by a species
of combustion, the acid furnishing the indigo
with oxygen. Dr. Bancroft conceived the
solution to be oxygenated indigo in combina-
tion with sulphuric acid, the acid becoming
first yellow and then green, owing to the union

* The scientific reader need not be reminded
that these remarks do not bear upon the ra-
diation or absorption of heat accompanying
light.

of part of the oxygen of the indigo with
part of its hydrogen determining the formation
of water ; he supposed that when it is there-
by rendered soluble, it enters into a triple
combination with the oxygen and sulphur
composing the acid, regaining its blue colour
witli additional brightness either from its union
with an increased proportion of oxygen, or
from some effect resulting from the sulphur
which had not been combined with it origi-
nally. Dr. Bancroft also observed, that after
being dissolved by sulphuric acid, the indigo
can never be restored to its origina 1 state ; he,
therefore, calls the whole sulphate of indigo.
This was all that was known on the subject,
when Mr. Crum commenced his researches,
which may be found in the Philosophical
Transactions for January, 1823. Having
carefully repeated his experiments, together
with the more recent ones of Berzelius, and
having made a few observations myself on the
various attendant phenomena, I propose to
lay them before your readers.

It is only when impure indigo is employed
that sulphurous acid is generated during the
solution of that substance in sulphuric acid
with either precipitated or sublimed indigo ;
although there is probably a decomposition of
the acid, there is no indication of it ; heat is
invariably produced, and I think it is pretty
evident that water is formed, and that the
oxygen and hydrogen gases are furnished by
the indigo, because the blue colour is always
restored by the addition of water. The in-
digo during solution undergoes a change
which is more or less complete, according to
the time the substances ,are left together and
the degree of temperature to which they are
exposed. In about 24 hours, at the ordinary
heat of summer, the indigo is converted into
a new substance, for which Mr. Crum has
proposed the name of cerulin.

To produce cerulin, I digested precipitated
indigo for six hours in very highly concentra-
ted sulphuric acid, and then poured the thick
blue liquor into distilled water, sulphate of
potash* precipitated a dark blue substance,
which was thrown on a filter, and washed
with a solution of acetate of potash, t and sub-
sequently with alcohol ; while wet, the new
substance had a dark blue colour, but when
dry it was copper colour. Mr. Crum calls it
coeruleo-sulphate of potash. W hen a portion
was burnt, no purple fumes were formed, but
a considerable quantity of ashes remained ;
it was highly deliquescent, 3 grains acquired
in 5 hours, by exposure to the air, nearly |^th
of a grain in weight. I made a great many
experiments to ascertain by what salts it was
precipitated when dissolved in water, the so-

♦ Potash itself and some other neutral salts
have the same eflFect.

t Mr. Crum ascertained that cerulin is not
soluble in any salt of potash, although it is al-
most to any extent in hot water; he recom-
mends the acetate as possessing the advantage
over the muriate or sulphate of not beiu« pre-
cipitated by alcohol from a weak solution in
water as they are. It may consequently be
afterwards removed by washings with alcohol.
—See note DD to the 2d volume of Uie’s Trans-
lation of Berthollet on Dyeing.

IMPORTANT EXPERIMENTS ON INDIGO.

341

lution being of such a strength that a candle tube of a purple colour; the results were as
appeared when viewed through it in a test- follows

I

I

r’blue.

Prussiate of potash^

Acetate — do.

Carbonate— do.

Nitrate — do.

Sulphate — . do.

Tartrate — do.

Muriate — do.

Iodide of potassium J
Nitrate of barytes — blue

Nitrate of silver — liquor turned mouse colour, but no precipitate.
Nitrate of mercury 1
Acetate of lead ^blue.

Nitrate of strontia J
Solution of gold— colour destroyed

Muriate of soda ) .1

Carbonate of soda S

Borate of soda > ,

Phosphate of soda \ change.
Muriate of ammonia — no change.
Nitrate of ammonia — blue.

Muriate of iron
Sulphate of iron

no change.

Nitrate of copper
Sulphate of copper

no precipitate, but one drop of a
solution of ether caused the flame
of the candle to appear blue.

Sulphate of magnesia )

Sulphate of zinc i no change.

All these blue precipitates appeared to be the
same; being dissolved in sulphuric and boiling
muriatic acids, forming line blue solutions —
and forming colourless solutions with nitric
acid. Mr. Crum supposes cerulin to be a com-
pound of 1 indigo +4 water.

At the commencement of the solution of indi-
go in sulphuric acid there is produced a pur-
ple liquid, and if the action of the acid is stop-
ped before cerulin is formed, this purple may
be insulated, and obtained in a separate state.
If that acid prepared from the dry proto-sul-
phate of iron, and called after tbe place at
which it is made, JNordhausen acid, is used,
the dilution with water must be made imme-
diately after solution, but with the common
acid* it requires two or three hours for its
formation ; if, however, heat is employed,
ten minutes is sufficient. After the dilution

Muriate of lime — blue.

the whole must be thrown on a filter, a blue
liquid passes through, and indigo-purple re-
mains ; this is washed with distilled water
till the blue colour is extracted, and from this
the indigo that has been changed may be pre-
cipitated by muriate of potash, and subse-
quently washed with distilled water till the
washings cease to form a white cloud with
nitrate of silver. The substance remaining
on the filter Mr. Crum calls phenicin, from
the Greek word purple; like cerulin, the
solution iri water is blue, but it is sparingly
soluble; it was precipitated by every salt I
tried. It is turned green by caustic alkalies,
in which it seems to resemble syrup of violets ;
by standing, however, the green colour soon
vanished, and a purple powder slowly collected*
Mr. Crum considers it to be a compound of
1 indigo -1-2 water.

PERSPECTIVE MADE EASY.

(Continued from page 19iJ
5. The vanishing point of any line be-
ginning at the picture-sheet is the point in fig.
2, which terminates the perspective of the
line when it is extended to an indefinite dis-
tance from the point where it commences in
the picture-sheet ; thus, the point e, in fig. 2,
is, as was shown before the vanishing point
of the line d e, in the ground plan ; and this
same point c is the vanishing point of eve-
ry line running parallel to d e. The vanish-
ing point of any line h 1, fig. 1 , running le-
vel with the eye, but inclined to the picture-
sheet sideways, is found by drawing the

line c in the ground plan, parallel to k /,
till it meets the picture-sheet in m ; and
this point m is the vanishing point in the
ground plan of the line k I, and of every
line in the objects to be represented running
parallel to it. From the points k and w, in
the ground plan, draw lines k k and m
perpendicular to a b, in the perspective view,
cutting the horizontal line passing through
the point c, in fig. 2, in the points k and
m, the point m is the vanishing point of
the line k I ; and if the points k and m are
joined, theHne k m will be the perspective
of the line k I when it is indefinitely-
extended. The point m in the perspec-
tive view is also the vanishing point of

* Since it is of importance in all experiments of research to employ pure matevials, it is
advisable to purify the sulphuric acid used in these experiments, by diluting it with an equal
weight of distilled water, and allowing it to stand till perfectly clear, afterwards evapora-
ting in a glass retort containing pieces of platina (to prevent it from breaking), till of the
strength required; by this means the sulphate of lead, which exists in considerable quantities
in commercial sulphuric acid, may be completely separated.

242

PERSPECTIVE MADE EASY.

every line in tlie objects to be represented,
that runs parallel to the line k 1. The
vanishing point of any line commencing at
the picture -sheet, or at this Sheet produced,
and inclined to it in the up or down directions
as well as sideways, is found in the point,
where a line drawn through the eye parallel
to the line whose vanishing point is wanted,
meets the picture -sheet. The reasons given
in paragraphs 3, 4, and 5, to prove that i,
in the ground plan, and c, in the perspective
view, mark the vanishing point of lines run-
ning at right angles to the transparent plane,
apply to lines running in the directions men-
tioned in this remark. You will now be
able to find the perspective of any line run-
ning in any of the directions now mentioned,
without the aid of the rule given in this paper,
and you will also be able to make a variety
of rules for finding the perspective of a point
different from the rule that I have given.

6. From what has been said in para-
graphs 4 and 5, it may not be plain to
every one, how that the points marked g
in the ground plan, and shown by the
points / d, and the corner of the cube
under d in the elevation, should have their
positions in the same line, h h p, perpen-
dicular to the line a b in the perspective
view ; or, in other words, it may not be
evident, how in the case of every line in
the objects to be represented, which has a
perpendicular position, its perspective should
stand perpendicular to the line a bin fig. 2.
In order to understand this fully, let ab c,
in the following figure, represent the end
of a hollow cylinder, standing in a per-
pendicular direction with a number of plane
surfaces di,ei,f i, g i, and^c i, radiating from
its centre i.

Now, if this cylinder be cut parallel to its
axis by any plane m n, the radiating
planes will always be cut, so that their
intersections with the cutting plane will be
perpendicular ; this is so obvious, as to need no
demonstration. But the lines whose posi-
tions in the end-view of the cylinderare d e a
f g, and which mark the places where the ra-
diating planes meet the circumference of the
cylinder, are perpendicular lines ; each of
which may be considered a line in some ob-

ject to be represented, and m n will represent
the transparent plane. Let the eye have a '
position any where in the axis of the cy-
linder — the rays of light reflected from the 1;
whole line f, or from any part of it, to j
the eye, will form a triangle in the plane j'

fij and the intersection of m w with this |j

triangle will be the perspective of the line,
or part of the line, whose position is f ; but
the intersection of the plane m n with the i

plane fi^ is a perpendicular line ; so the part j

of this intersection which forms the per- j

sective of the line, or part of the line, whose |

position is f, must be perpendicular. The ^

same reasoning applies if the lines in the |

objects to be represented stand at any of j

the other points, dea, or g, or even if the |

line does not stand in a point in the circle j

representing the circumference of the cylin- |

der ; for in this case a new circle may be !!

drawn, and every thing else can be shown as ij

above. I may just mention it, for the jj

thing can be demonstrated on the prin- j

ciples now developed, that level lines in i

the objects, running parallel to the picture- j

sheet, are also level in the perspective view ;

, and lines in the objects to be shown, that |!

are inclined to the horizon at any angle, and j

which keep parallel to the transparent plane, j

run at the same angle to the line ab in the
perspective view of these lines. The top and
bottom lines of the front side of each cube,
and the top and bottom lines of the front
side of the six-sided prism C, also the out-
side and inside lines that form the top angle j
of the pyramid, and some other lines in the
figures, illustrate this remark. The lines 1
now noticed, though indefinitely produced,
have no vanishing point.

7. The eye should not be nearer to the
picture -sheet than the greatest height or
breadth of the picture ; and it should be
placed in the ground plan, so that a line let
fall from it perpendicular to the picture-sheet
should bisect the angle xcb^ formed by lines
drawn to it from the points which mark
out the greatest width of the picture. The
line din the ground plan does not bisect the
angle a; cb ; but this was done to save room,
and to show some parts of the objects that
could not have been so well represented, if
the position of the eye had been more nearly
opposite to the centre of the picture. If
the eye is very distant from the picture-sheet
a perpendicular let fall from it to the pic-
ture-sheet need not fall exactly on the
centre of the picture.

8. When the line drawn perpendicular to
the line a b, in fig. 2, from the point in the
ground plan whose perspective is wanted^

DR. THOMSON ON CALICO-PRINTING

24S

nearly coincides with the line drawn per-
pendicular to the same line a 5, from the
point in the picture-sheet where the line
drawn to the eye from the point in the
ground plan cuts it, the height of the per-
spective of the point cannot be so exactly
found by the Rule, as the line drawn to the
eye in the perspective view is in this case
nearly a perpendicular line ; and the place
where this line cuts the line let fall per-
pendicular to a 5, in fig. 2, from the point
in the picture-sheet, where the line drawn
to the eye from the place of the point in
the ground plan cuts it, is not so exactly
marked as when these lines which mark by
their cutting the • perspective of the point,
eross each other in a direction nearer the
perpendicular. When great exactness is
. wanted in a case of this kind, it will be the
better way to find the perspective of a
horizontal line, parallel to the picture-sheet,
passing through the point whose perspective,
is wanted ; and the place where this per-
spective line cuts the line drawn perpendicu-
lar to the line a b, in fig 2, from the point
in the picture -sheet where the line drawn
from the place of the point in the ground
plan cuts it, is the perspective of the point.

9. When a number of circles are con-
centric, or nearly so in the ground plan, it
will save drawing a great many lines, if,
after the perspective of one of them is
drawn, a number of the points taken in the
ground plan of the other circles to draw
their perspectives by, are in the lines drawn
to the eye, which pass through any of the
other circles, or in these lines produced from
the points in the ground plan that were used
in drawing the perspective of the first circle :
as in this way, the lines already drawn per-
pendicular to the lines a b, in fig. 2, from
the point is in the picture -sheet where the
lines drawn to the eye cut it, will answer for
all the circles. By taking the points in the
ground plan of the other circles, to draw
their perspectives by, where the lines let fall
perpendicular to « d, in fig. 21 from the
points in fig. 1 , that wxre used in drawing
the perspective of the first circle, cut them,
a deal of drawing is saved ; as one set of per-
pendicular lines to put the heights on, will
pass through a great many points in all the
circles. Produce the lines perpendicular
to « 5, if they are let fall from points on
the side of the first circle, that is, towards
a b. The perspective of any circle which
stands in a plane parallel to the picture -
sheet, is a circle. If a circle is placed in
a plane which would run through the point
of sight if produced, its perspective view is
a straight line. The perspectives of circles
having any other positions than the two now
mentioned, are ellipses.

Fig. a, shows an ellipse ; and fig. b, which
is formed of two segments of a circle, is the
way in which persons who do not under-
stand the subject draw a circle in per-
spective.

ON CALICO-PRINTING.

By Thomas Thomson, M. D., F. R. S.

L. and E, &c. &c.

Regius Professor of Chemistry in the
University of Glasgow.

( Continued from page 142.^

13. WHITE DISCHARGE ON MAD-
DER-RED.— When the aluminous mordant
already described is printed on the cloth its
basis (alumina) becomes fixed, and ready to
combine with whatever colouring matter may
be subjected to its action. Another mode of
applying the same mordant, and producing
patterns with it, is to impregnate the whole
cloth with it, and afterwards to print the figure
with a substance which has the power of ren-
dering alumina soluble in water. The cleans-
ing processes to which all cloths impregnated
with mordants are subjected before dyeing,
remove that portion of the alumina which has
been rendered soluble, and leave portions of
the cloth in the shape of flowers, crosses, &c.
without any material capable of fixing the
dye-stuff. When the cloth is dyed in the way
already described these portions remain white,
or at least become white after the requisite
washing.

The substance which has been found to
answer best for the removal of alumina and
peroxide of iron is citric acid. Some of the
advantages of such an acid are obvious. It
does not corrode the cloth, though subjected
to a considerable degree of heat. It is a
fixed acid, with little tendency to swell or
travel to other portions of the mordant than
those with which it is intended to be com-
bined; and it has the advantage over other
vegetable acids of dissolving away very com-
pletely all the alumina or oxide of iron, so
that no portion ofthesemordants is retained by
the cloth. When we consider the ease with
which this acid is abstracted by water, from
the insoluble citrates, we would, apriore, infer
that it is very little adapted for this purpose
of the calico-printer, which, in fact, it is
found to answer better than any other. But
the probability is that water has no such ten-
dency to abstract it from the soluble citrates,
as citrate of alumina, and citrated peroxide
of iron.

244

DR. ROBERT THOMSON ON MALT.

The citric acid is often printed before as
well as after the application of the mordant.
In the latter case it is generally assisted by
hisulphate of potash, or even sulphuric acid,
by which the more expensive acid is econo-
mized.

14. MADDER AND LOGWOOD,—
The cloth is impregnated with the aluminous
mordant which is discharged on the white
portions by the method just described. It is
then dyed with madder in the usual way^
only a quantity of logwood is mixed with the
madder. I'his logwood changes the madder-
red to brown.

15. COCHINEAL PINK. --The cloth in
this case also is impregnated with the same
aluminous mordant, and the white portions
are discharged by means of citric acid, in the
way described in a former paragraph. It is
then dyed in cochineal, which communicates
a very beautiful pink.

For this beautiful dye we are indebted to
America. Cochineal is the name given to a
small insect which inhabits the cactus coccini-
lifera, and three or four other species of
cactus, on which it remains immoveable, de-
riving its nourishment from the juices of the
plant. It is a native of Mexico, and had
been employed by the natives as a red dye.
When the Spaniards entered the country in
I5l8, it drew their attention, and in 1523
Cortes received orders from the Court of
Spain to procure as great a quantity of it as
possible. The earlier Spanish writers des-
cribe cochineal as an insect ; but it came af-
terwards to be considered as the seed of a
plant ; and this erroneous notion was not
fully cleared away till about the middle of
the eighteenth century.

ON MALT.

By Robert D. Thomson, M. D.

( Continued from page 144. )

1. The first step of the process consists in
placing the malt in the steep, a square cham-
ber, which is lined with stone and lime, and
is usually sunk below the level of the barn
floor, having been previously filled to the pro-
per height with water.* The malt is allowed
to remain here for not less than 40 hours, by
legal regulations. The light seeds which
swim on the surface are skimmed off, and the
mass of grain is levelled, for the purpose of
being gauged. The time during which the malt
is allowed to remain in the steep varies, accor-
ding to the wheel of the maltster. But the usual
test of its fitness for being removed is thecapabi-
lity of its extremities being squeezed together

* Professor Lavini finds the composition of
wheat as follows: 1. Ripe corn coiiiains 75 per
cent, of starch ; uripe corn only 60 per cent. 2.
Unripe corn contains | of its weight of mucous
extractive matter. 3. In nnripe corn there is about
iOth of gluten; in ripe corn 25 per cent. 4. The
albumen is the same in both, 5. In unripe corn
there is a gieeu resin, amounting to about ^Oih,
which is probably converted into gluten and gum
as vegetation advances. 6. Both contain oxides of
copper, iron and manganese. —Mmoric della
Reale Accadem dele Sciendi. Torino, xxxvii.

between the fingers. New barley requires a
longer period before it acquires this property
than old does ; and ftigg- attains this consis- -
tence in a shorter period than barley. By
this preliminary step the grain undergoes a ,
partial germination. It absorbs water and
swells ; English barley increasing ^ in bulk,
Scotch barley and bigg

In less than 24 hours after the grain has
been introduced into the steep, the water .
begins to acquire a brown colour, and a pe-
culiar odour. If this water is evaporated to
dryness a blackish-brown residue possessing a
disagreeable taste remains, which consists of
extractive and nitrate of soda, amounting in
weight, tog^jorj^of that of the grain
employed. About gggth of its weight of
carbonic acid is likewise emitted, which re-
mains dissolved in the water, and continues to
be disengaged after the grain has been taken
out of the steep. And hence it is, that in ten
days the grain not only loses all its addition-
al weight, but gradually becomes lighter than
at first. Thus, loo grains of barley become,
by steeping, 135. Exposed to the air for ten
days they become 93‘8. After a month they
weigh 96 4, and after two months 100* *8.
Edwards, Colin, and Becquerel, have found
that by causing grain to vegetate in water,
acetic acid, sugar, and fermenting matter were
secreted. The circumstance of the forms of |
carbonic acid, in this first stage, shews us that ,
evolution is the preliminary step to germina-
tion.

The grain, after remaining in the steep, as
has been said, for a period of not less than 40
hours, is drained. It is then cast, or remov-
ed, from the steep to the floor, where it is
spread out in a rectangular form, to the depth
of 16 inches, for the purpose of being gauged ;
in this state it remains for 26 hours. The i
barley in the couch always occupies a greater '
space than in the cistern, from the absence of
the pressure of superincumbent grain. This
increase, which is very great in small _ quanti- ,
ties, diminishes proportionally to the increase
of the quantity of grain. Thus if 3 cubic inches
of barley are placed in a cylindrical glass jar,
graduated to tenths of an inch, and are cover-
ed with water, in 96 hours the swell will be
0*3 inch , or \gof the whole ; but, upon in-
verting the vessel so as to shake the grain to
the other end, it will occupy a bulk of 4*2
inches, indicating a swell of more than
On the other hand, when the quantity of
grain is very considerable, it is found that
sometimes its bulk in the steep exceeds that
in the couch, but this may be, in some mea-
sure, owing to errors in guaging. Consider-
ing the bulk of grain in the steep to be expres-
sed by loo, then the greatest bulk in the
couch is 138, the least 110.6, the average
121‘6. The officer of excise takes what is
called the best guage, both in the couch and
steep, or he takes the measurement of the
grain when it has acquired its greatest bulk.
One-fifth IS subtracted from the bulk thus
obtained, and the number obtained is con-
sidered as equal to the quantity of clean malt
produced. The duty is charged accordingly^
whether correctly or not seems doubtful.

A COMPARATIVE VIEW OF THE PRINCIPAL MOUNTAINS IN THE WORLD- Ub

ASIA

AMERICA.

Name-

Height.

1 Chimborazo - -

21,461

1 Dhtialagin

-

26,460

2 Disco Cassada

-

19,518

S Himaleh, Peak of'. . -

-

26,750

3 Antisana . . .

-

19,135

S Jamatura

-

25,505

4 Catopaocia - - -

-

18,875

4f Dhaiban

-

24,705

5 EliCy Mont St. -

-

18,181

6 to 8 Peaks of the Himaleh Mountains

6 Orizava - - .

-

17,375

9 St Patrick Peak ' -

-

22,800

7 Sangai . - .

-

17,126

10 Parkyal ..

-

22,706

8 Topian Range

-

16,305

11 Rudra - - -

-

22,396

9 Tunguragua

-

16,205

12 Peak .. '

-

21,775

lO Rueu de Pichincha *■

-

15,941

IS Rishi Gang Tong

.

21,390

11 Sierra Nevada

.

15,705

14 The Cone - - -

21,180

12 Gargaviraco

.

15,681

16 Black Peak

.

21,120

13 Nevada de Toluca

.

15,205

16 Petcha or Hamar

.

21,006

14 Fraide Peak

.

15,131

17 Bimder Puch

21,910

15 Pambamarca

13,505

18 Peak

.

20,606

16 Cqffre Peak - - -

-

13,416

19 Low Peak

.

20,115

17 Elias St. - - -

12,675

20 West Peak - - -

.

19,616

18 Rocky Mountains

12,505

21 Tawara Peak " . .

.

19,350

19 Cahouapala - -

-

11,642

22 Jhala Peak

.

18,790

20 Borma - ...

-

10,335

23 Moonakor

.

18,005

21 Imbabura - - -

.

8,975

24 Peak

.

17,020

22 Duida - . -

.

8,465

26 Soomaonang - "

15,406

23 Blue Mountains

.

8,202

26 Ophir

.

13,845

24 White Mountains

.

7,803

27 Volcano

>

12,405

25 Cuanarama

-

6,502

28 Chumarulee

11,986

26 Stoney Movmtains

-

6,252

29 Tigeretskoi

-

10,705

27 Souffiriere - -

-

6,005

SO Katunayoiskoi

.

10,655

28 Jorullo - - -

-

4,265

SI Awatska

_

9,605

29 Pellee Mount

-

4,260

32 Lebanon

.

9,525

SO Killington Peak - . -

-

3,505

33 Ararat

.

9,505

31 Alleghany Mountains

3,005

34 Me Lin Mountain

8,205

32 Black Hills

.

2,302

86 Jesso Peak

7,681

33 Ozark Mountains

2,005

36 Sea View Hill

.

6,505

34 Edgcumbe Mount

.

1,405

37 Olympus

6,482

35 Sugar Loaf Hill

-

1,305

38 Motmt Ida -

.

5,805

36 Torn Mount

-

1,205

39 Corea Mountains

.

4,381

40 Forest Hill -

3,780

AFRICA.

41 GhautsMountains

3,005

42 King's Table Land

2,830

l.^Geesh . - -

-

15,051

43 Carmel

2,201

3 Ami'd Mountains

>

13,205

44 Tabor - - -

.

2,006

4 Atlas - -

>

12,605

46 Herman

.

2,006

5 Teneriffe, Peak of

12,360

46 Cwtmingham Mountains

-

505

6 Lamalmon - - «

“

11,220

246 A COMPARATIVE VIEW OF THE PRINCIPAL MOUNTAINS IN THE WORLD

7 Niewveldt

10,006

51 Valday

-

-

1,206-

8 Compass

10,005

52 Mont Martre

-

-

405

9 Gondar Mountains

8,450

BRITISH

ISLES.

10 Komierg - -

8,008

11 Taranta . - -

7,805

1 Ben Nevis

. -

4,370

12 Volcano - - -

7,682

2 Cairn Gorm

4,063

13 Camherg . . . .

5,646

3 Ben Lawers

-

_

3,950

14 Ruivo Peak . . .

5,162

4 Ben More

3,872

16 Khamies - -

4,305

5 Snowdon

.

3,573

16 Table Mountain

3,580

6 Carnedd Llewellyn

3,500

17 Diana Peak - -

2,694

7 Ben Lomond

.

3,425

18 Devices Head

2,320

8 Sea Fell Peak

3,170

19 Hermanass Mountain

2,082

9 Sea Fell

3,094

20 High Knnll

2,004

10 Helvellyn

.

3,050

21 Conical Rock

605

11 Skiddaw

3,020

^ Pyramids - -

490

12 Arran Fowddy

-

2,960

13 Goat Fell

2,950

EUROPE.

14 Cader Idris

_

2,920

—

15 Brecknock Beacon

2,860

1 Mont Blanc

_

15,730

16 Saddleback

-

_

2,790

2 Mont Rosa

.

16,605

17 Grassmere Hill

-

2,760

3 Ortler Spitze

.

15,365

18 Gi'isedale Peak

2,C80

4 Mont Servin

.

14,760

19 Croagh Patrick

2,670

5 Finster Aarhora

.

14,103

20 Cheviot

2, <-60

6 Jungfrau - - - -

.

13,720

21 Coniston Fell

2,580

7 Pelvoux

_

13,440

22 Old Man

2,580

8 Shrek horn - - -

-

13,383

23 Pus ofJapra

_

2,472

9 Briethorn _ - .

.

12,804

24 Plynlimnon Mount

2,460

10 Mount Visa

-

12,583

95 Langdale

2,405

11 Wetterhorn - . -

.

12,205

26 Ben Clach

_

2,39^

12 St. Michel

-

11,780

27 Ingleboro' Hill

2,362

13 Venlatta Peak - - -

.

11,392

28 Carrock Fell

2,295

14 Mont Perdu

.

11,208

29 Cam Fell

2,250

15 Mount St. Bernard

.

11,005

SO Whin Fell

.

2,242

16 Simplon - - -

-

11,005

31 Caibsey

-

2,046

17 Mount Etna - -

.

10,974

32 Snea Fell

2,005

18 Col Cervin - - -

.

10,606

S3 Black Comb

-

1,920

19 Terglou ...

.

10,394

34 Llandinan Mountain

1,900

20 Col de Traiersetta

-

9,964

S6 Rivel Mountain

1)870

21 Roth horn - - -

.

9,642

36 Holmee Moss

1,860

22 Conigu - . _ _

.

9,224

37 Pendle Hill

1,834

23 St. Gothard

_

9,080

3S Lord’’ s Seat

1)750

2 1 Lomnitz Peak ...

.

8,872

39 Pentland Hills

1)752

25 Velino - . - .

.

8,390

40 Lunkery Beacon

.

1,670

26 Arbizon Peak qf -

_

8,345

41 Carleton Hilt

1,560

27 Anzeindaz Mount

7,824

42 Rippin Tor

1)548

28 Dofrafiel

.

7,625

43 Penmaen Mawr

1,550

29 Sterzingen . - .

.

7,515

44 Campsie Hills

-

1,505

SO Priel - - . -

.

7,005

45 Malvern Hill

.

1,440

SI Olympus

.

6,606

46 Cat Bell

1,402

32 Pentoux . . _

.

6,505

47 Brown Willy

*

1,370

S3 Mont d' Or . . _

.

6,205

48 Wrekin

1,330

34 Cantal ...

6,094

49 Carraton Hill

1,209

35 Sierra del Malhao

6,005

50 Butterton Hill

1,205

36 Reculet - - -

.

6,595

51 Hensbarrow Beacon

•

1,036

37 Dole (la) - - -

-

5,415

52 Rossbery Topping

1,025

38 Chasseral

_

5,265

53 Pontop Pike

1,020

S9 Tagoni . .

.

4,905

54 Leith Hill

990

40 Puy de Dome - - -

.

4,854

55 Orjnt Heights

985

41 Snce Fiall Jokul - - _

_

4,560

56 May Hill

970

42 Haidelbwrg - -

.

4,465

57 Butser Hill

920

43 Vesuvius

.

3,980

58 White Horse Hill

9ao

44 Hecla - . - _

.

3,695

59 Arthur^s Seat

820

45 Stromboli ...

3,'i22

60 Dunnoss

790

46 Kyria Mountains

3,016

61 Holyhead

710

47 Hornalen - - -

3,005

62 Beachy head

560

48 Vaucluse

2,154

63 Dover Castle

.

470

49 Flcey Feldt

.

1,500

64 Shooter'^s Hill

450

50 Gibraltar - - - .

-

1.443

65 Greenwich Observatory

. .

-

21 A

TO CORRESPONDENTS.

For Review.

Bell’s Comparative View of the Internal Commerce of Bengal during the years 1834-35
and 1835-36 accompanied with tables illustrative of the extent of trade carried on with each
country and state.

THE INDIA REVIEW

OF WORKS ON SCIENCE,

AND

JOURNAL OF FOREIGN SCIENCE AND THE ARTS,

EMBRACING

MINERALOGY, GF^OLOGY, NATURAL HISTORY, PHYSICS, See.

REVIEW.

Some enquiries in the Province of Kemaon>
relative to Geology and other Branches
of Natural Science, by Assistant Sur-
geon John McClelland, Member
of the Royal College of Surgeons, in
London, and of the Medical and Physi-
cal Society, Calcutta, Oct.pp. 384.—
Thacker & Co., Calcutta.

Continued from page 203.

We now commence upon Dr. McClel-
land’s history of granite and the various
superincumbent formations in the same
consecutive order in which they occur ;
and we have reason to believe that this
portion of our review will be read with in-
terest by geologists in Britain, France, and
America. Our author states that granite rock
is found at Choura Pany, and that it pene-
trates through gneiss, and forms a succession
of elongated elevations which constitute the
basis of the highest district in Kemaon.
The ridge extends in a north-westerly direc-
tion, for forty or fifty miles, and is termi-
nated a few miles east of Choura Pany,
by the great valley of the river Gogra.
Our author says —

“ This range appears to be an elongation
of the Leti, Tirsal, and Dhanapur mountains,
which form the eastern boundary of the
valleys in which the Alacananda river rises ;
and may with great propriety be named, in
the language of geographers, the principal
mountain chain: while the great chain to
which the snowy peaks immediately belong,

may, in like manner, be called the high moun-
tain chain. A better idea of the relative
connexion of these chains may be formed, by
the reader conceiving himself placed on Chou-
ra Pany. On the south, he sees the plains
of Hindustan below him like a mist, and dis-
tant about twenty miles ; on the north, the
high mountain chain, or snowy peaks already
described ; and on the north-west, a succes-
sion of elevated mountains are observed, ex-
tending from Choura Pany, obliquely, to-
wards the high mountain chain to which they
are attached : these constitute the principal
mountain chain, and this chain gives off sub-
ordinate groups, which, on the one side,
pass in close succession to the plains, where
they terminate in a line of steep declivities ;
and on the other, these lateral groups inter-
mix with similar groups, given off by the high
mountain chain, and forming between them
the valleys of the Gogra.

Tliis somewhat complex description would
not have been required, were the chain of
mountains to which it refers, as distinctly
marked by their altitudes, as by their strata ;
but as this is not the case, and as the whole
province appears, if superficially tiewed, a
mere chaos of mountains, we are not to lose
sight of any indications presented by their
internal structure, and particularly by the
strata of granite.

The granite, as has been stated, makes its
appearance only in the centre of this moun-
tain chain, in the loftiest places, such as
Choura Pany. It is stratified, and extends
in the direction of N. W. ; the strata are
nearly vertical, and appear to be composed of
nodula, around which concentric layers are
wrapped, in the form of newer and newer
deposite. This appearance may however be
referred to the effects of weathering, as it is
only observed on surfaces that have been long
exposed. A similar appearance has been
long since observed by Dolomieu, in blocks of
granite, in ancient Rome ; and also by De
Luc, in the granite mountains of Silesia.

The colour of our granite is grey, some-
times of a reddish hue, derived fi-om the
felspar ; but the usual colour is bluish grey.
The mass is fine-grained, and resembles spe-

248

THE RUINS OF CHOMPAWUT.

cimens I have seen of Aberdeen granite : the
quartz is crystalline, but the felspar is dull
and earthy. The latter appearance may be
the elfect of exposure to the weather, as I
cannot depend on the perfection of the spe-
cimens examined ; and from the great hard-
ness of the rock, I was unable to detach
fresher pieces. Its specific gravity is 2.71375.”

Gneiss is next noticed, reposing on granite
in strata which conform to each other, the
transition between the two rocks being
effected by imperceptible degrees. Alluding
to the newer granite, Dr. McClelland says
that the quantity becomes less crystalline
and smaller in quantity in proportion to the
other ingredients ; and, disappearing, leaves
chiefly felspar and mica, with a very small
portion of amorphous quartz. The rock then
becomes less compact, in which state it is
found at the base ; it thence extends in a
north-westerly direction and forms the
principal portion of the most elevated
district in Kemaon, where denuded masses
of granite, or more compact and du-
rable gneiss, and green-stone are seen in
remarkable order. At Dole, on the road be-
tween Lohooghat and Almorah, unconnected
masses are heaped together in the form of
a cone. Mountain masses of globular shape
are accumulated on the verge of frightful
precipices, so nicely balanced that the least
force would serve to precipitate them into
a dreadful abyss. Our author alludes
to the ruins of Chompawut, the ancient
capital of Kemaon, which was erected on
gneiss at the northern side of Choura Pany,
and says, it was totally destroyed by the
decomposition of the eminence on which
it stood. Our author is of opinion, that
these stupendous rocks originally formed
the nuclei in gneiss ; and, from a peculiar
tendency to decay, mouldered into friable
earth, and was removed by the torrents, leav-
ing masses exposed upon the surface. Dr.
McClelland would thus account for the ruin
of Chompawut, and the sinking and decay
of mountains. We leave it to our readers
to judge as to the correctness of these con-
clusions, and whether gneiss and other
parts of the rock would have undergone
such great changes as to destroy these cities

by the imperceptible decay of the rocks on
which they were erected.

‘ ‘The strata of gneiss run in the direction of
N. W. and dip 80^ to N. E. ; they vary in
thickness fi’om five to eight feet, and con-
tain foreign beds of granite, green-stone,
iron mica, and micaceous iron ore ; also co-
temporaneous veins of quartz and felspar.

Specific gravity of fresh specimens, 2-635.
The mountains which are formed of this
rock are usually rugged, and covered with
dense forests of oak.

. (A) FERRUGINOUS SLATE.

The rock to which this name is given oc-
curs in subordinate beds in each of the fore-
going rocks.

At Choura Pany, it is found in granite,
in beds of a hundred feet thick. At Dole,
about forty miles north-west of Choura Pany,
a similar rock occurs, resting on gneiss. Its
colour is blackish grey, with lighter and
darker stripes on the surface of the cross
fracture.

It occurs massive. External lustre glim-
mering ; lustre of the principal fracture,
shining, and of the cross Aacture, earthy, or
glimmering. Fracture, slaty, with a single
cleavage. Fragments, tabular. It is semi-
hard, inclining to soft. It soils. Specific
gravity, 2*384.

PHYSICAL CHARACTER.

It has no effect on the magnet, either be-
fore or after exposure to the blow-pipe.

CHEMICAL CHARACTERS.

On exposure to the blue flame of the blow-
pipe, it slowly assumes a reddish yellow
surface. It gives to borax a greyish green
colour, inclining to greyish-white on the
edges.

This rock might be named a mica-slate,
containing a small portion of micaceous iron
ore, finely disseminated with very fine gra-
nular quartz, common mica, and fine earthy
felspar.

3.— HORNBLENDE-SLATE.

It has been shewn, that the two rocks,
(gneiss and granite,) already described, form
the principal mountain ridge, in nearly, but
not quite, vertical strata : for a dip of 80® is
invariably observed, bending to the north-
east. This fact, together with others which
are yet to be observed, renders it nearly cer-
tain, that a great basin or trough, of con-
siderable depth, is formed by the substratum,
orfundamentalrock;descending from the centre
of the high mountainchain,and ascending again
to form the basis of the principal mountain
chain. This basin, it would appear, is filled
up partly by a number of successive layers,
of newer and newer rocks, and these layers
or strata are not uniformly spread over every
portion of the cavity of the basin ; but they
are accumulated in particular places, and
thus form subordinate troughs, or valleys ;
wdiich have again been transformed by suc-
ceeding deposites of newer rocks.

Hornblende-slate appears to have been
deposited chiefly in the bottom of this basin ;

HORNBLENDE. SLATE NOT A DISTINCT FORMATION.

249

and to ascend only in small quantity, or to
disappear entirely on its higher margins.''^
In these latter situations, it either assumes
a coarse granular structure, and passes into
gneiss, as on the southern acclivity of Choura
Pany, and into mica-slate, as below Durgura ;
or it changes into a very fine granular de-
scription of clay-slate, as in the bed of the
Lohoo river, on the northern foot of Choura
Pany.

It may be more consistent with the nature
and connexions of this rock, to imitate
Werner and Professor Jameson, in consider-
ing hornblende-slate, not as a distinct for-
mation, as described by Raumei't, but as
occurring only in beds ; but there can be no
doubt that those beds are of much greater
extent than either of those eminent geologists
contemplated ; and as the term hed affords
too contracted an idea of a rock, which com-
poses an extensive portion of a district, the
inconvenience might perhaps be avoided by
substituting the tei’ms partial formationX.

The direction of the strata of hornblende-
slate is ruled, rather by the direction of
mountain groups, than by that of px’incipal
mountain chains ; or, in other words, its
direction is subject to variation arising from
local irregularities of the surface of the basin,
in which it is deposited. The dip is seldom
less than 60", and often as much as 80".

The acclivities of mountains composed of
this rock are usually rugged and inaccessible ;
and tabular masses of nearly perpendicular
strata stand several feet erect above the sur-
face. From this peculiai-ity, soil sufficient for
the growth of the most luxuriant vegetation is
retained on the steepest acclivities.

Oak being in this latitude the inhabitant
of loftier altitudes than are formed by this
rock, the forests that prevail on it are
chiefly composed of pines of the largest
growth.

* On the S, W. acclivity of the principal
mountain chain; or, in other words, the as-
cent from Belket to Choura Pany, hornblende-
slate is found, at the altitude of 6,000 feet, to
change into the character of gneiss; and in
the course of this mountain acclivity, conical
peaks rise one above another. The centre
of each peak is composed of granular horn-
blende-slate, closely resembling gneiss, from
which it only differs by coutaiixing hornblende
sufficient to give it a greenish hue ; while the
strata surrounding these centres retain the
character of hornblende-slate, until we ascend
to the altitude already mentioned, which ap-
pears to be that at which hornblende-slate
disappears.

+ Annal. Phil. vol. vi. p. 478.

+ To Raumer, green-slate occurred resting
on gneiss and granite in the Riesengeberge ;
to Werner it occurred in clay-slate. In Ke-
maon, it is found resting on gneiss. To these we
might perhaps apply the terms of first, second,
and third trap (or partial trap) formations ;
but it is highly probable, that, in a more
advanced state of Geological Science, these
seeming irregularities may be reconciled to
some general law, which has hitherto elu-
ded our observations. This is the more pro-
bable, as our geognpstic acquaintance with the
structure of the earth is as yet confined to a
comparatively small proportion of the whole
surface.

The tract of district composed of horn-
blende-slate, although of considerable extent,
is almost totally deserted ; and the few vil-
lages that are found on it, are miserably
poor, and, in general, uninhabitable for
several months during the year; as well
fi’om the miasmata and heat that prevail in
its dense forests, and deep valleys, as from
the rapacity of the wild beasts by which
these are infested : as the tiger, leopard, and
the bear.

Hornblende-slate having been found in so
many different positions, with respect to
other rocks, a minute description of it, as it
occurs in Kemaon, resting on gneiss, may be
useful in assisting to form its separation
into species, depending on the rocks with
which it is associated in nature. ,

Its colours are seladon, pistachio, and
olive-green.

It occurs massive, and contains cotera-
poraneous laminae of quartz, in thin alternate
layers, and fiattish grains, from small to very'
small ; and even finely disseminated. External
lustre, dull, inclining to resinous. Fracture
foliated, and slaty, with a single cleavage.
Lustre of the principal fracture glistening,
or shining, and of the cross fracture, glim-
mering. Shape of the fragments, tabular.
Distinct concretions, lamellar. It affords a
greenish grey streak. It is opaque. It is
semi-hard. It is somewhat sectile. It af-
fords an earthy smell when breathed on,
and feels rather meagre. Specific gravity,
2*920.

Chemical characters. It is not fusible
before the blow-pipe ; probably from its
intermixture with common clay, a large pro-
portion of mica, and other impurities, as
its lightness indicates.

Variat. a. — Coarse Granular.

Its colours are greenish grey, seladon, and
pistachio green ; wdth a pearly and glimmer-
ing lustre. Fracture, coarse granular ; but
somewhat inclining to slaty. Lustre of the
fracture, resinous and slightly shining. Dis-
tinct concretions are lenticular, inclining on
the one hand to lamellar, and on the other
to granular. Specific gravity, 2*708.

It appears to contain felspar, as well as
quartz, and may be considered as the transi-
tion between hornblende-slate and gneiss.

Variat. b.

Colour, dark greenish grey. Fracture,
slaty in the large, but compact, even, and
inclining to eaxdhy in the small. Lustre,
glimmering. It is opaque. It is similar in
the streak. It is semi-harcl, inclining to
soft, and affords a strong bituminous smell
when bi*eathed on. Specific gravity, 2*728.

This I'ock is a transition between horn-
blende-slate and clay-slate ; and appears to
be composed of minute gx’ains of quartz,
imbedded in a basis of clay and hox’xiblende.

The fox*eign beds, which are contained in
hornblende -slate, are gypsum, micaceous iron
glance, eommon iron glance, chlorit- slate, and
px’imitive green-stone.

The first is common to this I'ock, and
mica-slate, and v^ill be noticed in the next.

250

MICA-SLATE, CLAY-SLATE, AND PRIMITIVE LIMESTONE.

chapter ; and the description of the iron ores
may be consulted in the account of the
mines.

The chlorit-slate and porphyritic green-
stone appear to be peculiar to this for-
mation.

(B) CHLORIT-SLATE.

Its colours are emerald and grass green.
It occurs massive. Internal lustre, pearly.

Fracture, scaly foliated. Distinct con-
cretions, thin lamellar. Lustre of the dis-
tinct concretions, shining. It is opaque,
and it alfords a light-coloured streak.

It is soft, and perfectly sectile. It is
meagre to the feel. Specific gravity, 3.

It occurs in large quantity in the lower
strata of hornblende-slate, and is found at
Chimtouly, in the vicinity of the iron mines.
It also occurs at the southern foot of Choura
Pany, near Belket, where its scaly laminee
alternate with thin laminae of quartz. It is
the substance that gives the slaty structure
to hornblende-slate.

(C) PORPHYRITIC GREEN-STONE.

This rock is found at the southern foot of
the principal mountain chain, where it forms
at Belket, a portion of the bed of the river
Ludhoo. I have not been able fully to ascer-
tain its extent and geognostic relations ; and
as this is a point of first-rate importance,
it would be improper to hazard an opinion
upon it.

It will be seen on inspection of the map,
as well as from what is said in the descrip-
tion of Belket, that if the porphyritic green-
stone passes under the elevated mass of
strata composing the southern declivity of
Choura Pany, that then those philosophers,
who contend that the strata of mountains
have been elevated to their present position,
by the expansive operation of heat, confined
in the centre of the earth, would find in the
peculiar position of this green-stone, a strong
argument in favour of their doctrine ; but if,
on the other hand, it should appear on further
inquiry, that this formation, like the others
we have described, presents the character of
a deposite from above ; then, of course, the
first argument would come to nothing.
This rock is composed apparently of equal
parts of hornblende and felspar, in minute
crystals, mechanically mixed, so as at first
sight to look somewhat like a fine granite.
It is not stratified, but divided in all direc-
tions by adventitious rifts, which give it a
brecciated structure in large masses. The
fragmented pieces are usually trapezoidal.
It is hard, and not particularly heavy.”

We now come to the primitive forma-
tions— mica-slate, clay-slate, and primitive
limestone. Mica-slate is found at Durgura,
alternating with gypsum, and a micaceous
kind of clay-slate, which, from its geognostic
situation, may be considered to be interme-
diate between mica-slate and clay-slate. This
also occurs associated with similar rocks at

Choura Pany ; it rests^on hornblende -slate,
and is composed of small grains of quartz,
some felspar, and a considerable proportion
of grey or silvery mica. Mean direction of
the strata W. N. W. ; mean dip, 500.

Gypsum is found in beds from 50 to 300
feet thick strata, subdivided by numerous
slaty rifts running parallel to the strata
which seem to divide the rocks into tables
from two to six inches. The colour of these
strata is reddish white, and greenish white ;
lustre glimmering, and sometimes glistening
jn the principal fractures ; while that of the
cross fractures is pearly ; large fractures
slaty and tabular ; small pieces wedge-shap-
ed : it is faintly translucent on the edges ;
semi-hard and frangible*

“ Specific gravity of the reddish coloured
variety, from Durgura, 2*612, and of the
greenish white kind, from the same place,
2*574 and 2‘669 ; while a variety of the same
from beds in hornblende-slate at Chimtouly,
is, 2*3.

Chemical characters. It is infusible be-
fore the greatest heat of the blow-pipe, either
when placed on charcoal or held in the forceps.
Even with the addition of borax, and the
flame directed to the edges of the laminae, it
evinced little signs of fusibility ; nor is it
soluble in any proportion of water.

These experiments were not made on the
specimen from Chimtouly, which appears
to be a purer gypsum than the others, from
its more compact and sparry character, as
well as from its containing less mica.”

The extracts we have given shews fully
our author’s mode of description. He then
proceeds to describe the great formation of
clay-slate, which composes at least the sixth
part of the whole province, and is stretched
in conformable strata over the mica- slate
and trap rocks. It commences on the N. E.
acclivity of the principal mountain chain
under the out-going of the substratum, at
the elevation of 7000 feet. Primitive lime-
stone composes the northern acclivity of j
Takill ; and from thence it extends in a
north-westerly direction for many miles. j

“In a small river valley, which partly
separates Takill from the Oudepore group,
this rock forms the most frightful precipices
on both sides that can well be imagined. |
These precipices compose broken, and i
seemingly tottering mountain acclivities,
that ascend in places for three or four thou- ,
sand feet, at various angles betw^'cn 45^ and !

TRANSITION ROCKS INDICATED IN THE MOUNTAINS OF KEMAON. 26)

750 ; and as tlie only road between Lohoo-
ghat and Petoragur lies along the verge of
these precipices for several miles, it is impos-
sible that the most indifferent traveller
could pass, insensible either to the danger
of his situation, or the beauties of the scene.
This limestone is. distinguished in the large
scale, by its thick slaty appearance, owing
apparently to occasional laminae of argil-
laceous matter, which pass an uncertain
length through each stratum, parallel to the
strata seam's. The strata are mantle -shaped,
rather than conformable ; or they may be
said to partake of the nature of both. This
variety of the rock is of a bluish grey colour,
with a dull lustre.”

Talking of mountain rocks, Dr. McClel-
land distinguishes them from primitive rocks
by their position, greater irregularities in re-
gard to stratification, and by containing
obscure traces of organised beings, as well
as by certain characters presented by the
structure of the rocks themselves. In Shore
valley there is a black, fine-grained lime-
stone, resting in unconformable strata, on
clay-state. In other parts of the dis-
trict an impure, fine-grained limestone is
found mechanically mixed with newest clay-
slate, in thin slaty lamillse.

Transition rocks are clearly indicated in
the mountains of Kemaon ; grey wacke,
and grey wacke- slate are both absent, and
their place is supplied by a rock com-
posed of a mixture of magnesian lime-stone
and argillaceous clay ; and lastly, however
adverse to our former notions, we shall
be obliged to admit magnesian limestone
into the class of transition rocks.”

The oldest transition limestone is found
on the western acclivity of a lofty mountain
near Lohooghat extending to the north ; it
is scarcely stratified, but disposed in an un-
connected succession of tabular masses,
of the colour of Berlin blue.

Lustre glistening. Fracture compact,
large conchoidal. Distinct concretions, fine
or very fine granular ; the fine granular con-
cretions are somewhat angular, and have
a dull dai'k-blue colour : while they are sur-
rounded on the fractured surface by minute
splinters, which appear to the naked eye
like very fine white specks.

It is opaque. It is semi-hard.

It is entirely dissolved with brisk effer-
vescence in acids.”

Aluminous slate and limestone are formed
of alternate layers of limestone and slate ;
the limestone ingredient being generally
magnesian .

“ Limestone portion is combined in a mecha-
nical alternation of layers, with ordinary-
transition slate.

Specific gravity of the greenish coloured
variety, 2*75, and of the bluish kind from
Takill, 2-647.”

Speaking of transition limestone. Dr.
McClelland says that it forms two varieties :
the most important is somewhat stratified
and conformable, and in conjunction with
clay- slate forms whole mountains and even
mountain groups. Beds of graphite sometimes
intervene between the slate and limestone.

(A) OVERLYING VARIETY.

” This variety of transition limestone occurs
in distinct masses, of various shapes and
sizes ; the former frequently irregular, but
often rhomboidal, cubical, columnar, seldom
round. They occur singly, or in large num-
bers, piled loosely together in the form of
bold rugged knolls, ' mountain shields, and
caps : more rarely, two or three enormous
isolated blocks are so nicely balanced upon
each other, as to convey the idea of their
having been so placed, by some artificial
power beyond our conception. Their exter-
nal surface is granulated and uneven, often
also streaked by projecting lines.

Its colour is velvet black, with numerous
spots and veins of white calcspar.

Fracture, large conchoidal. inclining to
granular foliated. Fragments, indetermi-
nately angular, and rather blunt-edged. Lus-
tre of the fracture, glimmering, sometimes
glistening.

It is opaque. It affords a white streak.
It is semi-hard. Specific gravity, 2.8435 and
2-8668.

Chemical characters. The same as the
foregoing.

It sometimes rests on the foregoing variety,
with which it usually occurs ; it also rests on
clay-slate, and is extensively distributed on
mountain ridges and acclivities in the vicinity
of Shore, between the altitudes of five and
seven thousand feet. The spotted variety in
particular is a beautiful marble, and would
be highly esteemed, if within the reach of
a people -whose knowledge of the arts enabled
them to appreciate its value.

Along with these limestones, beds of
green-stone, slaty talc, and graphite are
very common. The transition green-stone
and the graphite are peculiar to this forma-
tion, but the talc also occurs in floetz lime-
stone. The stratified variety is also the
repository of copper pyrites.”

Dr. McClelland next notices compact
Dolomite, mountains of which are seen rear-
ing themselves out of the narrow valley of
Belket.

“ The beautiful green and blue colours of
their naked precipices ; the picturesque form
of their lofty summits, as well as the

252 COPPER-SLATE COMPOSES A LARGE PORTION OF THE SHORE DISTRICT.

uniform arrangement of their massive, and
nearly perpendicular strata, convey, upon the
whole, a most sublime effect.”

Oolite or grit-stone composes a lofty
range of mountains on the north of Gun-
gowly.

“Colour of the rock is yellowish white;
surface rough ; external lustre, none. Inter-
nal lustre, inclining to viti*eous.

Fracture compact, uneven, inelining to
coarse splintery on the one hand, and to
large conchoidal on the other.

Fragments, irregular, blunt-edged.

Distinct concretions, fine granular. Surface
of the distinct concretions, smooth. Lustre of
the distinct conci’etions, vitreous.

It is translucent on the edges. It is simi-
lar in the streak, and semi-hard. It is not
particularly brittle ; is easily frangible, ad-
heres slightly to the tongue, and often affords
a grating sound when handled. Specific gra-
vity, from 2’6 to 2’5975.

Chemical characters. It dissolves very
partially and with feeble effervescence in
nitric acid.

It becomes enamelled on the surface after
exposure to the blue flame of the blow-pipe,
with the addition of borax.”

Dr. McClelland proceeds to notice the
peculiarity of the older strata, and describes
miscellaneous rocks, granatine, fibrous
limestone, common talc, minerals associated
with talc, variegated clay-state, brecciated
serpentine, noble setpentine, &c.

“ The immense accumulation of primitive
rocks, which composes the alpine land, ex-
tending to the high mountain chain, must
occasion a pressure on the side of the Hima-
layas calculated to force the vertical strata
of granite towards the plains, the side on
which it is least supported*. What strength-
ens this view is, that clay-slate, a rock
that constitutes two-thirds of the acclivity
on the side of the Himalayas, is quite absent
on the opposite side next the plains.

Were it not for this explanation, the gra-
nite would be taken for a newer formation
than the gneiss and hornblende-slate on which
it seems to rest, a transposition of rocks
which is conti'ary to all established principles
of geognosy, and which we could not receive
unless confirmed by the most extensive and
careful observations, such as would embrace
the Himalaya range from Tartary to Hindu-
stan.”

“ As the waters which formerly assisted
in supporting^ the mass of mountain began to
lower their level, those masses then lost their
former support, yielded to the action of their
weight, and began to separate and be detached
from the rest of the mountain, falling to the
free side as that where least resistance was
opi>osed.” Werner, Vid. New Theory of
Veins.

Granatine, found in extensive beds of
clay-state, is often associated with copper
and iron pyrites. Fibrous limestone occurs
along with common talc, at the north-east-
ern extremity of the Oudepore mountain. Its
colours are lead grey, greenish and bluish grey,
clouded and striped with smalt blue. Com-
mon talc is found with this and granatine ; its
colours are bluish, and greenish grey ; lustre
between pearly and metallic. Variegated slate
is found in the district of Shore resting on
clay-state in mantle-shaped strata. Brec-
ciated serpentine is found at Jula ghat,
where it forms the bed of the Mahi-Kali
river. It is stratified and conformable ; direc-
tion W. N. W. dip 40 E. N. E. Its colour
is greyish black. Dr. McClelland proceeds
next to notice floetz rocks, which are divided
jnto three beds, viz. copper-slate, alpine
limestone, and tabular limestone ; of which
he gives the following description.

(A) COPPER-SLATE.

“ This I'ock composes a large proportion of
the Shore district. It extends along the
bases and acclivities of the primitive and tran-
sition mountains, forming in these situations,
a succession of small subordinate basins
occasioned by the circuitous contortions de-
scribed in the direction of the strata. The
strata are usually made up of layers which
are separated by rifts, and transversely bro-
ken, so as to give the whole a comminuted,
thiek slaty appearance.

Between the fractured parts in the lower
strata, nests of bituminous fossils, talc,
copper and iron pyrites occur.

(B) ALPINE LIMESTONE.

Mountain, or alpine limestone, occurs in
lofty irregular accumulations, which rise
abruptly in the form of rugged, often isolat-
ed pyramidal mountains, whose acclivities
are formed by the almost perpendicular rear-
ing of tabular masses, while their declivities
are composed of unconformable, brecciated,
homogeneous mountain-masses, presenting
few external traces of the tabular, or strati-
fied structure, but merely cemented together,
and perforated by caveims, fissures, and sub-
terraneous waters. The bases of the moun-
tains of alpine limestone are overspread with
masses precipitated from above by some na-
tural convulsions, and again agglutinated by
the same or succeeding catastrophies, and
transformed into subordinate knolls, mecha-
nically, as well as chemically, grouped toge-
ther in the most sublime and picturesque
forms.”

(C) TABULAR AND MANTLE-SHAPED
VARIETY.

This rock occurs in patches, pretty exten-
sively distributed on low shields and valleys,

DR. McCLELLA.ND’S TALENTS AND RESEARCH.

253

throughout the Shore district. The strata
are subdivided by slaty rifts like the copper-
slate, but unlike the latter, they are almost
always flat and seldom or never form
basins, or contain bituminous talcose, or
metallic fossils ; but are distinguished by
containing concretions resembling small
fishes.

These several varieties of limestone are
scarcely to be distinguished from each other,
by their external or chemical characters ;
which may be set dowU as follows :

Colours, bluish-grey and ash-grey. Ex-
ternally tarnished with dirty greyish white.
Sometimes the internal and external colours
alternate on the surface, giving the rock a
variegated flinty appearance.

External surface smooth, and without lus-
tre. Lustre of the fracture dull. Fracture
compact, large conchoidal, inclining to fine
splintery. Fragments irregular, somewhat
shai’p-edged. It is feebly translucent on the
edges. It affords a light-coloured streak,
and is capable of being scratched by the
knife, but not without difficulty. Specific
gravity, 2*732.

Chemical characters. It dissolves com-
pletely, v/ith brisk effervescence, in nitric
acid, and burns to a fine white quicklime
without falling to powder.”

Magnesian limestone occurs as a partial
deposite along the course of the small river
that drains the valley of Shore. The
strata are nearly horizontal, or seldom
dip more than 15^. Vesicular limestone
is a coarse breccia, composed of frag-
ments of transition and floetz limestones.
Porphyritic septarium occurs in overlying
masses near the highest ridges and summits
of Takill composed of common felspar, as a
matrix to fragments of transition limestone.
Hornstone, an oil green, and greenish grey,
faintly clouded with siskin green, occurs
in massive forms. Arragonite is found
near the village of Gooseragong in Shore
valley. We now come to the alluvial rocks.

“ In Kemaon, as in all other mountainous
countries, we can have no such unifoi*mity
in alluvial deposites as in low countries ; but
the phenomena connected with their produc-
tion can be here studied with more advan-
tage, as mountains are the great natural
laboratories in which alluvial rocks are pre-
pared, and from which they are transmitted
to fertilize the earth.

Alluvial deposites are derived from the
disintegration of the older rocks, by the de-
stroying agencies of heat, light, moisture, and
we may perhaps be allowed to add, of earth-
quakes, and the attrition of winds. It may
indeed be improper to designate as destroying
those effects that keep up the never-ceasing-
supply of alluvial soil, so essential to the

existence of the inhabitants of this globe,
vegetable as well as animal. In Kemaon,
the varieties of these deposites are few, and
differ frem each other according to the source
from which they Avere derived. In arranging
them, we cannot follow any rule founded on
priority of formation, the changes that pro-
duce the different varieties being simulta-
neous.”

Siliceous alluvial deposites derived from
the most elevated ridges of granite and
gneiss contain quartz of pure siliceous
earth. Aluminous clay is next noticed as
presenting varieties. Dr. McClelland had
no opportunity of seing volcanic rocks in
Kemaon exeept the septarium.

This, properly speaking, brings us to the
end of Dr. McClellan d^s work on the geo-
logy of Kemaon. There are other chap-
ters on the mines of the north eastern
frontier of Kemaon ; on climatology and
on earthquakes; a general view of the
zoology of Kemaon, and an enquiry into
the causes of goitre, which we shall notice
hereafter. We however cannot close this
review without strongly recommending the
work to public support : we have not ven-
tured on any commendation without, in the
first place, exhibiting a copious outline of
its contents, that our readers might thus be
better able to judge of the great value of
a work which exhibits the geology of one
of the most interesting portions of British
India. The information contained in the
work is conveyed in a language as chaste
as it is lucid ; and in the course of the
undertaking the author has evinced no
common degree of talent and research.

Art. 11. — Results of an Enquiry respect-
ing the Law of Mortality for British
India, deduced from the Reports and
Appendices of the Committee appointed
hy the Bengal Government in 1834, to
consider the expediency of a Government
Life Assurance Institution. By Cap-
tain H. B. Henderson, Assistant
Military Auditor General, Secretary to
the Committee. Transactions of the
Asiatic Society, 1836.

Subjects of the nature contained in the
paper we are about to examine are of infinite

254

ON THE LAW OF MORTALITY FOR BRITISH INDIA.

importance, not only on account of the infor-
mation they convey, which governs the value
of annuities dependent on the exigencies of
human life, hut also as affording data in re-
gard to the degrees of healthiness of situa-
tions and the probable duration of human
life. In the article now before us there is a
greater number of statements brought for-
ward, tending to elucidate the rate of morta-
lity, than in any other treatise we have seen
on the subject. To the civil and military
branches of the Hon’ble Company’s service,
who are doomed to pass the principal period
of their existence in this country, it becomes
a subject of great irioment to know the degree
of mortality to which the British sojourner in
India is exposed. In a statistical point of
view the present investigation is of the
utmost importance, as has been observed
in another work ; for it is impossible to re-
gulate with any degree of accuracy the scales
of pensions without a strict reference to the
rate of mortality among different classes of
individuals, both prior and subsequent to their
being admitted on the pension list. The as-
certainment of this point is therefore of infi-
nite importance to the officers of the army.
No rule either for the promotion of officers or
for retrenchments against them, can be
laid down without a previous knowledge of
the mortality to which they are subject in
different climates and under different cir-
cumstances, as regards cantonments and garri-
sons in India. But there is another question
yet unsettled, which leads to accurate con-
clusions ; viz. whether or not India is inimi-
cal to the health of the children of Europeans,
and whether it is indispensably necessary to
send them to Europe in order to preserve and
establish their health. On analysing the
paper before us we, however, find that matter
of so vague a nature has been introduced,
as to create doubts whether sufficient care
has been taken to arrive at accurate
conclusions. Alluding to the natives, for
instance. Captain Henderson observes that
there are few tabular statements available,
or data so extensive as to exhibit the general
ratio of mortality in India, as compared wnth
that of the population of other parts of the
world. So true is this observation, that we
are rather astonished that our author should
have referred to the statement of the popula-
tion, births, marriages, and deaths, in the
city of Delhi. Writers in Europe might
notice such statements as being accurate ;
but we will venture to say they are the very
reverse. When Captain Henderson alludes to

the native soldiers, he has however better
data to go upon. Of these there are regular
stated returns forwarded to the public depart-
ments, but much dependance cannot be placed
on those returns, and on the mode of calculation
adopted, as to admit of our coming to the
decision that the conclusions arrived at are
correct. Captain Henderson says that the
native soldiers on the Bengal establishment
are particularly healthy under ordinary cir-
cumstances. He takes a period of five years,
and states that only one man is reported to
have died per annum out of every one hundred
and thirty-one of the actual strength of the
army. These tables are taken, we perceive,
from the returns to the Medical Board. In
order to prove the accuracy of these data, we
should like to have seen these returns com-
pared with those sent to the Adjutant Gene-
ral’s office.

We very much doubt the correctness of the
statement in the third column of table No. 1
which gives the total strength of regiments
in monthly averages. Medical men do not
obtain this item of information so numerically
correct as conveyed in returns to the adjutant
general of the army by adjutants of regiments.
If then the statement is incorrect in this
column, the result developed in the table must
be altogether erroneous. We ourselves be-
lieve the mortality to be much greater than here
given, which is our reason for objecting to the
single source from whieh this information
appears to have been derived. On this account
the table, which would otherwise have been
rendered of great importance, becomes in our
estimation valueless. Capt. Henderson ad-
verts to the climate, we presume, of Benga^
Proper, as being injurious to the sepoy, and
assures us that, although only one-fourth of
the troops exhibited are stationedin Bengal, the
deaths of that fourth are more than a moiety
of the whole mortality. There are grounds for
this excess in the number of deaths in Bengal.
Besides the influence of climate, the bosom of
a Hindoo soldier is extensively occupied with
the love of his kindred, his religion, and his
money ; and the moment he enters Bengal
Proper, these passions are remarkably develo-
ped. To provide for his family he deprives him-
self of the common requisites of life, and, as
rice is to be purchased at an extremely low
rate, he lives upon the cheapest; regard-
less of its quality, he looks only to the
quantity. Thus he leaves off the use of meal and
ghee, which he was in the habit of making into
cakes — the diet to which, in his native land, he
had been accustomed from his childhood. It

CAUSE OF DEATHS AMONG THE

is, we conceive, exclusively owing to this
poverty of diet and his other privations, to
which we have alluded, that such numerous
deaths among this class of our soldiery are to be
ascribed. Again .Captain Henderson states
that'the sepoys are “ healthily employed, well
clothed, and attended.” In the upper-pro-
vinces we admit this to be the case generally,
but not the native corps in Bengal, which are
scarcely more than skeletons of regiments.
Theduty oftroops, especially from Barrackpore,
is so incessant, as to render it the reverse of
healthy employment. We understand that
when European guards are relieved, the na-
tives, owing to a paucity of them, haye been
obliged to stand still. We ascribe the fewness
of the deaths and healthiness of our native
army to a highly efficient medical department ;
and it corroborates the opinion w'e have so re-
peatedly endeavoured to enfoi’ce upon the
mind of the Government that the best policy
and system of economy will be to secure well
educated men to fill the medical list, not by
reducing the allowances of incumbents, and
thus impoverishing them, but by improving
their condition. The following quotation from
our author shews a large pension list, and
but a few transfers to it, except as the last
alternative.

“ It would seem by other documents that
out of about eighteen thousand invalid fight-
ing men, of the Bengal Army pensioned by
the State, six hundred and eighty deceased
during the year 1831-32, or one out of 26| ;
while the average duration of the pension
enjoyed by this class of men, fora period
embracing from May 1828 to October 1830,
was 7 years 8§ months, and from May I8.il
to the same month in 1832, the duration of
pension was only about 5 years 4^ months.’

We perfectly agree with our author, that
the possession of an accurate census of the
large populous cities, with regularly published
annual statements of the births, marriages,
and deaths, is still a desideratum : but at pre-
sent we see no means of supplying it with that
accuracy which such statistical tables require
to render them at all available for calculations
of the nature found in our author’s paper.
The pilgrimages, the wandering character of
the people, and their peculiar customs, so dia-
metrically opposite to those of other nations,

NATIVE SOLDIERY IN BENGAL. 255

are the difficulties which present themselves
to the compilers of such records.

We now proceed to examine the rate of
mortality among Europeans sojourning in
India, as presented in the tables before us.
Captain Henderson considers the population
of this class to be fluctuating. There was
some uncertainty with reference to the other
presidencies as to the real ratio of decrimeat in
their immediate communities ; yet, on ac-
count of the regular constitution of the
covenanted services under each Government,
in Capt. Henderson’s opinion, there are
gx-eater facilities for obtaining scrupulous
accuracy as regards dates of arrivals, deaths,
and age in India. Captain Henderson’s
report commences with an enquiry into the
mortality among the common soldiery. The
infoi’mation is furnished by the late Dr.
Barke, Inspector General. In addition to
information on other points, this report
embi'aces the casualties of the last four years
for the whole of his Majesty’sArmy in Bengal*

“ But he exhibits a curious distinction in the
rate of danger at the different stations; viz.

Deaths to strength. Fort William, 7.59
per cent. Berhampore, 6.77; Chinsurah, 6.10
do. Cawnpore, 4.55 ; Boglepore, 3.95 do. Dina-
pore, 3.84 do. Ghazipoi-e, 3.80 do. Kurnaul,
3.00 do. Meerut, 1.99 do. Agra, 1.91 do.

With respect to the ages of the deceased,
the Inspector General has now given more
ample information. During the four years
1826, 27, 28, 29, the ratio of death was —

From the age of 18 to 20, 16.12; 20 to 25,
9.35; 25 to 30, 10.13; 30 to 35, 6.92 ; 35 to 45,
9.54.

In the above term were included the ex-
traordinary casualties of the war in Ava and
the siege of Bhurtpore. But in the four suc-
ceeding years of peace and non-exposure of
the troops; viz. 1830, 31 , 32, 33, the ratio
growls more i*egular, and assumes the generally
steady progressive increase of danger with
increasing yeai’S, the same as in all the other
Tables in possession of the Committee of
officers and others ; viz.

From 18 to 20 years, . . .

, . . . 0.58

20 to 22 ,, ...

. . . 2.24

22 to 24 ,, ...

25 to 30 ,,

... 5.86

30 to 35 ,,

... 5.22

35 to 45 ,,

6.78

It should be remarked that from 18 to 20,
dui’ing these four years, the class above
represented, consists of recruits enlisted in
India, the sons of soldiers of the regiments.”

We shall conclude our notice of this arti-
cle here, and resume it in our next.

256

geological features of the plain near madras.

Art. III. — Notes on the Geology of thg
country between Madras and the Neil-
gherry Hills, via Bangalore and via
Salem, by P. M. Bknza, Esq., M.
T). of the ISiadras Establishment.

On the Geological position and associa-
tion of the Laterite, or Iron Clay,
formation of India ; with a description
of that rock as it is found at the Red
Hills near Madras, by R. Cole, Esq ,
of the Madras Medical Establishment,
Secretary to the Asiatic Department of
the Madras Literary Society and
Auxiliary Royal Asiatic Society. —
Madras Journal, July, 1836. J. B.
Pharoah, Madras.

Dr. Benza opens his article by giving a
concise statement of the geological features
of the plain near Madras, with the view of
communicating the names and nature of the
rocks in that direction. Granite is the
lowest rock in almost all the localities of the
plain ; it is composed of quartz, felspar,
and mica. The fact, that granite was
always the lowest rock, was ascertained on
boring for water and excavating for tanks
and wells. This rock is found in many parts
of the plain on the ’ surface of the soil in
clustered masses ; near the mount and the
race-course these eminences of granite are
intermixed with pegmatite. In addition
to other minerals at the foot of Palaveram
the granite contains garnets; in some places
it loses the mica and becomes pegmatite. At
the western extremity of the mount the
granite rocks are decomposed, forming
white clay. Dr. Benza infers from the super-
ficial position of the granite over the whole
plain of Madras, that boring for water would
prove unsuccessful. Porphyry, formed of well
defined and separate crystals of felspar im-
bedded in a compact paste of a similar mine-
ral, occurs in the plain between Guindy and
Trimatoor. No hornblende, andbut few plates
of mica are discovered in the porphyry.
Hornblende slate, occasionally passing into
hornblende rock, overlays the fundamen-
tal rock in the little eminences of the plain.
Thrt stratification of this rock is well deve-

loped— the contorted strata being composed ||
of coarse materials ; some are in a more com- jl
minuted state, forming a fine grained stratum, i
The rock is composed of an endless variety of
proportions of minerals ; in some blocks strata ii;
of hornblende is exclusively distinguished, [.
in others felspar and quartz ; in some simple 1'
quartz, which occasionally intersects the j,:
strata at all angles and in different directions {i;
in very thick veins. Hornblende rock, in j|
huge masses on the summits and sides of the jfi
hills, is foliated, shining, and nearly black ;
contains little felspar ; is stratified in ap-
pearance ; and is the primitive greenstone ,
found ail over India. Fracture splintery, !j;
texture tough and compact.

Conglomerate laterite extends over the j;
whole eastern part of the plain , overlaying the f!
granite in many places ; it is found in two j;
states — viz. undisintegrated and detritus: itis '
found in its entire state, on the banks of the I;:
Adyar, overlaying the pegmatite. The detri- I;;
tus has two geological positions : one as loose ji
rounded pebbles, scattered over the sur- It
face of the plain ; the other as substratum to 'jl
the soil. Between the lateritic detritus and [i
the granite is found, in some places of the j|
plain, a stratum of nodular kankar ; in some ||
spots it resembles friable, calcareous tufa. |i
Trap is met with in considerable dimensions j
in loose blocks, or in dykes between Pala-
veram and Trimatoor, where they are nearly f
level with the soil or forming small swellings |:
on the ground. The boulders and the dykes |r
are composed of basaltic hornblende : these j;
dykes are frequent in India. As we ap- j;
proach the sea the surface of a portion of the i
plain is sandy, intermixed with minute grains Ij
of disintegrated garnets. In the clayey |i
stratum inland, marine organic exuviae have ij
been found. Ij

Such is an outline of Dr. Benza’s '{
sketch of the geology of the environs of , '
Madras, by which he has rendered great |i
service to science, and supplied an im- ||
portant desideratum in Indian geology. !
The work is highly creditable to this au- i
thor’s perseverance and zeal. Before we ac-
company him on his journeys to the ji
Neilgherries, we must examine Mr. Cole’s I

THE NATURE OF LATERITE.

257

account of the geological position and asso-
ciation of the laterite or iron -clay formation
of India, with his description of the rock
near Hurdwar, just alluded to by Dr. Benza :
we should add by the way that, in allusion
to the marine organic exuvise said to have
been discovered. Dr. Benza comments
upon the importance of inquiring into the
existence of their fossils. Dr. Voysey was
one of the first to mention the existence of
marine and fresh water shells in a fossil state
in the south of India. In 1822, Col. Cullen
deposited in the museum of the College of
Madras shell limestone, found in the North-
ern Circars, forty miles from the sea-shore ;
and Mr. Malcolmson has given an account
of the geological position of fossil shells
found under trap between Hydrabad and
Nagpore. Dr. Benza says that these
geological appearances confirm the accounts
given in the Puranas, viz. that “ it has been
handed down by tradition that the greatest
part of the Coromandel Coast was sud-
denly elevated out of the sea.” Mr. Cole
justly considers it an opprobrium on science
that so little is known concerning laterite —
a mineral so extensively distributed and of so
marked a feature in Indian geology ; and pro-
ceeds to give a succint account of what has
been written on this rock. Buchanan, in
alluding to the hills of the country, mentions
that iron ore is found forming beds, veins, or
detached masses, in the stratum of indurated
clay ; to this he was the first to give the name
laterite. This is not the indurated clay of
Kirwan, but appai*ently the argilla lapidea of
Wallerius. It is diffused in immense masses,
without any appearance of stratification, and
is placed over the granite that foi'ms the
basis of Malayala. It is full of cavities and
pores, and contains a large quantity of iron in
the form of red and yellow ochres. Excluded
from the air it is soft ; when cut it becomes
as hard as brick and resists air and water.
It is cut into the form of bricks, being one
of the most valuable materials for building ;
in several of the native dialects it is called
the brick-stone. Where, by the washing
away of the soil and exposure to the air, it is

hardened into a rock, its colour turas black,
and its pores and inequalities somewhat
resemble the skin of a person affected
with cutaneous disorders ; hence, in the
Tamul language it is called itch-stone.
Dr. Buchanan, speaking of the minerals
of Rajmahal hills, says that “ south from
Mansahandi, at Jajpar on the borders of
Birbhum and Murshedabad, there is a hill,
which consists chiefly of this clay. It is a kind
of breccia, and contains ferruginous nodules
in an argillaceous cement, Babington, in
his paper on the geology of the country be-
tween Tellicherry and Madras, alludes to
hills of a rounded form composed of the
ferruginous stone, which he distinguishes by
the name of Buchanan laterite. In the po-
rous rock, the red ochiy part is the matrix,
the kidney-shaped interstices are filled with
white earth, alluvial formed from the wash-
ings of the ghaut mountains. In these the
hornblende decays into a red oxyd, and the
felspar into porcelain earth. When this allu-
vial rock is exposed, the white parts, says
Babington, are washed away, and a porous
ferruginous stone is left behind. The pri-
mitive rocks underneath appear in many
places above the coast midway between Cali-
cut, Tellicherry, and Moy. Four miles in-
land from Calicut are two low hills com-
posed of cubic iron ore. The laterite forms
the hills. Near Manantoddy, there is a quany
of laterite. The rocks in Mysore decay, leav-
ing a whitish soil beneath the surface, owing
to the quantity of felspar they contain. The
dark particles of hornblende become ferru-
ginous, and this in general forms the top of the
mountain, which is reddish. Little fragments
become rounded, and in some cases at Banga-
lore the whole is settled into the ferruginous
stone. In the detritus of these rocks, it does
not seem that particles of felspar are washed
away until they are decomposed : water per-
colates through the mass and carries oft’ the
other constituents of the sienite, leaving the
felspar in a decayed state in mass.' Voysey
alludes to wacken passing into iron- clay and
forming elevated table land at Beder, which is
2,359 feet above the level of the sea. Voysey
represents that it closely resembles that of

258

LATERITE FOUND IN VARIOUS PARTS OF INDIA.

the red hills at Madras, Nellore, Singhiri-
tunda ; in the two latter on granite : he ob-
served in it plumb blue lithomarge, and pisi-
form iron ore- The origin of this rock may
therefore, in Cole’s opinion, be attributed to
the basalt and to the wacken,not only in the
Hydrabad country but in three other locali-
ties, where the mineral is said to prevail
closely resembling that near Hydrabad, which
is his authority for considering laterite as as-
sociated with the trap formation. Captain
Coulthard talks of the iron-clay in the
Saugor district. The Rev. R. Everest, in
the Gleanings of Science, alludes to having
seen the laterite. Mr. Malcolmson states that
the Indoor and Nirmal magnetic iron rapidly
becomes red on exposure, and the rock, on
being broken and the ore separated by wash-
ing, leaves a reddish clay. Veins of quartz
pass through the granite and sometimes con-
tain magnetic iron. The laterite of Bederis
found on granite, and hot springs, and hills
capped with trap, are found not far off. Mr.
Malcolmson did not believe that any orga-
nic remains had been found in the laterite.
Mr. Cole says that there is no reason to
doubt that the laterite is a mechanical
deposit, composed of the debris of older
rocks.

We proceed to notice his account of the
mineral in the vicinity of Madras. The Red
Hills and Gundy are the only localities in
its immediate vicinity, where he was able to
discover the laterite. Nearer than the spots
alluded to no hillock arises to break the level
uniformity of the plain, on which Madras
and its widely scattered gardens are spread
out. The Red Hills are situated eight miles
north-west of Madras ; they are mere un-
dulating ground, scarcely of appreciable
elevation above the surrounding country, the
highest eminence not attaining a greater
elevation than fifty or sixty feet above the
level of the plain. The whole laterite for-
mation occupies a triangular area of about
fifty square miles, extending nearly ten miles
to the westward of the gravel pits on each
side. Mr. Cole has explored an area of this
extensive part from three to four square
miles. Line of bearing of undulations irre-
gular ; direction south-west to north-east.

“ From these rising grounds the land des-
cends to what is termed the Lake, which is
bounded on three sides by the eminences de-
scribed above, the waters (when there are any) |j
being confined, on the greater portion of the lii
eastern side, by an artificial embankment, or j;
Brnid, but for which there would be no lake |
at all, as the country descends on that side |:
towards the sea, it is believed about two and
a half feet per mile. To the north east a
natural drain for the waters from the higher I
grounds existed, but it has been filled up, at ll
the place of junction with the lake, by a dam |
and wmter sluice, after the manner of an ordi- i
nary tank, for the irrigation of the country- (
The old channel, however, remains, and the i!
banks, in some places fifteen feet high, show !!
the mineral structure of the spot. They are I
composed of a dark ferruginous stone, ar- ;[
ranged in a stratiform manner, presenting
seams or partings, two or more feet asunder, j|
parallel to each other, and nearly horizontal. !
Vertical fissures intersect the seams at right i
angles, and thus produce prismatic masses of j
the rock, which give these natural walls some -
thing of the semblance of huge artificial i
masonry. On breaking into the interior of ,
these masses, the rock is palpably a conglo-
merate. Nodules of various sizes are ob-
served, imbedded in a elayey paste, which is
very hard and tenacious. These nodules may i
be picked out, without much difficulty, when I
it evidently appears that they are water-worn i
pebbles, presenting considerable angularity [
of STirface, yet still sufficiently rounded to !
indicate their having undergone attrition, ,
most likely by the turbulence of an inunda- j
tion, which bore them away from their ori- i
ginal position as parts of a solid rock, and |
deposited them, in their present conglomerate I
form, with the mud which now agglutinates !
them.

The nodules are observed of all dimensions, j
from the size of a filbert, to masses a foot or :
more in diameter. Their fracture exhibits !
the structure of a coarse-grained sandstone, j
or grit, of a deep chocolate, or claret hue
(No. l).* This nodular sandstone is made i
up of fragments of quartz (some rounded, but J
for the most part angular), from a minute i
sand up to the size of a pea. Added to the ,
quartz, there are occasionally found small |
masses of a white earth, like lithomarge,
appearing to be felspar in a state of decom- !
position (No. 2). This is found in small i
nests, here and there ; but I have no doubt i
that a good deal, minutely subdivided, went
to form the paste whieh united the parts of
this conglomerate together. Thirdly, mica
is found a constituent of these sandstone
nodules, in very minute scattered leaves.

This sandstone precisely resembles the
specimen from Puddayarara, near Samul-
cottah, in the Northern Circars, deposited in ^
the Mineralogical Cabinet of the Madras '
Literary Society, by Dr. Benza, who has I
thusdescribed its structure and relations in the ;

* The Numbers refer to specimens pre-
sented to the Society, in illustration of the
Paper.

LATERITE AND ITS VARIETIES.

259

above locality. “The ferruginous sandstone
is the lowermost, and has a great degree of
compactness, so as to fit it for architectural
purposes, in which it seems to be largely
employed. It is evidently stratified, the strata
being nearly horizontal ; the quartz particles
are agglutinated by a ferruginous cement.

“ The sandstone, nearly in the whole extent
of the hillock, supports a lithomarge of a
whitish or flesh colour, sometimes having a
bluish tint. The stratum of this earth is not
very thick, and in many places, it is overlaid
by a purple red, compact, slaty, haematiticiron
ore, which passes insensibly in the upper part
into a cellular rock, full of tubular sinuosities,
very much similar to the laterite. In some
places this ore lies immediately over the sand-
stone, without the intermediate litho-
marge.”*

These three minerals, then, are plainly
discoverable in these imbedded masses of
conglomerate sandstone, but there is an
argillo-ferruginous cement uniting the whole
together. This cement gives the colour to
the entire mass, which is of a purple-red hue,
as mentioned above, and sometimes has a
bluish tinge (No. 3). Frequently it presents
varieties, being either finer or coarser grained
(Nos. 4and5). The quartz is. very abund-
ant ; the lithomargic earth scanty, and the
mica is met with in small disseminated
scales, “ few and far between.’’ The ori-
ginal sandstone rock, then, of which these
nodules are fragments, must have resulted
from the fracture and disintegration of some
still more ancient crystallized rocks. The
sandstone, thus formed, being, in its turn,
disrupted, the fragments were tossed and
rolled about by some aqueous catastrophe,
until they became imbedded in this laterite
(so called), or conglomerate rock which we
now see. This view of the case, indicates
violent disturbing forces, occurring at two
distinct periods of time. Besides the sand-
stone, fragments of ochrey iron ore, to be
hereafter mentioned, were found imbedded in
the clay.

I was unable to trace the appearance of
stratification elsewhere than in this nullah.
The ground rises abruptly from its banks to
the N. W., forming one of the eminences
bounding the lake on that side, and the rock
changes character from what I have describ-
ed above, as occurring in the bed of the
nullah. Instead of seeing merely the sand-
stone nodules imbedded in clay, we have a
rock possessing the more characteristic qua-
lities of laterite (No. 6). It is rendered ca-
vernous by tortuous cavities, which penetrate
it in all dii*ections, sometimes filled with red
or yellow ochraceous earth ; sometimes with
a white clay, like decomposed felspar ; but fre-
quently they are quite empty, which is caused,
it appears to me, by water percolating from
above, carrying with it the soft substance
of these earths, the spaces they once filled
being thus rendered void (No. 7).

* Jovrnal ‘S the Asiatic So icfy qf Bengal,
August .S3b, p . 437.

This laterite still shows evident traces of
the sandstone, described as found, in such
large fragments, imbedded in the walls of
the nullah ; but the pieces are much rounded
and comminuted, and are united together by
a very compact, heterogeneous, kind of paste,
composed apparently of the debris of the
sandstone itself, of iron ores, and of the
lithomargic earth. d'here is no mistaking
the sandstone, which may be picked out,
in pieces of the size of a walnut, from the
centre of a mass of the laterite, and clearly
shews the same structure as that of the
nullah (No. 28).

Pebbles, of various kinds of crystallized
rocks, are met imbedded in the hardest and
most compact laterite. On the rising grounds
to the north of the lake, I picked out frag-
ments of white quartz rock, some pieces an-
gular, others much rounded (No. 9) ; of very
compact siliceous sandstone, of a red .colour,
so hard as to be broken difficultly with a heavy
hammer (No. lO), and of a white, granular,
friable, disintegrating sandstone (No. 11.).
Added to these, a great profusion of fragments
of ochrey iron ore, red and brown (Nos. 12 and
13), a good deal of it slaty (No. 14), are found
imbedded in the less compact kind of laterite,
and in the gravel. This ore, I think, contri-
butes to form the more compact laterite, also,
but it appears to have been more broken and
subdivided, and is therefore not so easily trace-
able.

The latei'ite varies very much in appearance.
Sometimes it is very hard, compact, and heavy,
highly ferruginous, of a deep red colour, pene-
ti-ated in all directions by the sinuosities con-
taining the red and yellow and white earths.
In this kind the red sandstone nodules are
very distinguishable (No. 15). Some masses
are nearly half composed of the white litho-
margic earth, which renders it very crumbling
(No. 16).

Other varieties exhibit a pisiform structure,
numerous rounded pebbles being united toge-
ther by a yellow clayey cement ; this seems of
recent origin (No. 17).

Again, in many superficial situations, it is a
mere gravel, possessing very little coherence,
and, apparently, formed from the debris of
the laterite itself. The pebbles, composing
this gravel, still exhibit the structure of the
red conglomerate ' sandstone, and of the
ochrey iron ore (Nos. 18 and 19).

Innumerable pebbles strew the face of the
ground, in all directions, a great number of
which, on fracture, display the structure of the
nodular imbedded sandstone (No. 20). I
should observe, that I no where saw this sand-
stone in any other form than that of frag-
ments imbedded in the laterite, or detached
thence, and undergoing another rolling pro-
cess on the present sui-face of the ground.

Equally numerous are the scattered frag-
ments of ochrey iron ore, described above. I
no where found this substance as a vein, or
in mass. It would seem probable that it
existed in the original crystallized rocks ; and
that, under the watery disrupting influences,
to which the whole ingredients of the formation

260

LATERITE OF VOLCANIC ORIGIN— ITS USES.

have evidently been subjected, this ore was
very much comminuted, and the more minute
particles contributed the greater portion of the
ferruginous paste, so characteristic of all the
rocks around.

To the eastward of the lake, in the low
grounds, masses of the laterite jut forth
from the soil ; and no other description of
rock is to be seen in any direction.

On Colonel Cullen’s property, on the east
side of the lake, a trench has recently been
cut, ten or twelve feet deep, and thirty or
forty feet long. The first five or six feet
from the surface consist of a red clay, con-
taining a few fragments of the red conglo-
merate sandstone, some nearly a foot in
diameter, and, here and there, a piece of
the ochrey iron ore. The sub-stratum is a
yellowish, tenacious clay, v.dth no imbedded
pebbles. An even line of demarcation dis-
tinctly divides these two deposits, which do not
at all blend into each other.

At the south eastern corner, the nearest
point of the laterite formation to Madras,
there are numerous pits, where the rock is
quarried to furnish material for the repair
of the roads. After penetrating several feet
of gravel, they come upon the solid laterite,
which is broken up with a crow-bar, for which
the employment of very great force is ne-
cessary, the mass being previously softened
by the effusion of water. It no where is of
the soft consistence of the laterite of Malabar,
as described by Buchanan and Babington.

The laterite in this locality (No. 21)
varies in no respect from that to the north-
ward of the lake. It is all of the true com-
pact kind, and I no where saw the large
masses of conglomerate sandstone imbedded
in the clay, witnessed in the nullah ; nor
was there any appearance of stratification.

The same kinds of imbedded rock frag-
ments were found also at this spot, with
the following additions :

1st. Granite, composed of quartz, felspar,
and mica: a single, small, angular fragment
(No. 22). 2d. Sienite, or sienitic granite,

composed of quartz, felspar, and hornblende;
a large angular piece, in a disintegrating
.state (No. 23). 3d. A line grained green-

stone ; a large fragment (No. 24). These
were found among the fragments, which the
workmen had produced by their operations
in the pits, and I cannot say whether they
were derived from the gravel or the com-
pact laterite.

I have met with no calcareous matter in
the localities 1 have visited, though 1 made
particular enquiries on this point, as Dr.
Heyne mentions the existence of that mineral
at the Red Hills.* I picked up a single
fragment of botryoidal kankar, to the south
of the lake, but no where found it in situ.

At the top of one of the lower eminences,
imbedded in the gravel, about a foot and a
half from the surface, I found fragments of a

* Tracts on India, p. 114.

rude pottery, the composition of which is of
the coarsest kind, being a dark green paste,
containing numerous grains of quartz
(No. 25). These fragments, thirty or forty
in number, were irregularly disposed, some
pieces being vertically placed, others hori-
zontally, shewing a confused arrangement
in the gravelly matrix. This circumstance
proves the gravel to be of recent origin.

Dr. Benza informs me that fragments of
pottery, of precisely similar composition, are
found in the cairns on the Neilgherry Hills.
It appears to me to resemble none of modern
manufacture.”

Mr. Cole confirms the opinion given by
Mr. Malcolrason of the non-fossiliferous
character of laterite, which he considers as
sufficient proof of its volcanic origin, and he
thinks that the existence of imbedded frag-
ments of crystallized rocks by no means mili-
tates against the eruptive theory, as portions of
the rocks traversed by the volcanic rent may
be thrown out. As building material and for
road making on the McAdam system of
formation, Mr. Cole states that the laterite
is of great value. We cannot conclude this
review without expressing our opinion of Mr.
Cole’s ability and research, or acknowledg-
ing the great pleasure we have experienced
in the perusal of his and Dr. Benza’s valu-
able papers, to which we shall recur in our
next.

Art. IV. — Cultivation of Cotton, By W.
Bruce, Esq. Remarks on the culture of
Cotton in the United States of America,
Capt. Basil Hall’s Travels. Remarks
on the best method of cultivating Neiv
Orleans Cotton. Ibid. Regarding the
cultivation of Cotton, Ibid. On the
cultivation of Cotton in Central India,
By Baboo Radkakant Deb. Obser-
vations on the culture of Cotton in the
Doab and Bundlecund, By W. Vin-
cent, Esq. On the artificial produc-
tion of new varieties of Cotton, By H.
PiDDiNGTON, Esq. On the method used
in Cayenne to preserve the Cotton plant.
On a specimen of Cotton gathered in
the Boglepore district from a shrub in
its wild state, by F. Hunter.

ON THE CULTURE OF COTTON IN

Use of the Sawgin, by F. MacNaugh-
TEN, Esq. Cotton of Ava. Cotton of
Cachar, by Capt. S. Fisher. On
Cotton grown in Cuttack and its sta-
ple for spinning, by M. T. Weekes.

On the native Cotton producedin the Gar-
row Hills, by Capt. A. Bogle. Report
on specimens of Cotton reared by Col.
Coombs, at Palaveram. On the cultiva-
tion of Upland Georgia Cotton at Alla-
habad,by Mr.Y^ .Hvggii^s. Onthecul-
tivation of Pernambuco Cotton at Tavoy,
by W. Mainby, Esq. On the cultiva-
tion of Sea Island Cotton in the district
of Cuttack. On Upland Georgia and
Sea Island Cotton. — Transactions of the
Agricultural 8f Horticultural Society of
India— Vol. 11.1836.

(Continued from page 208J
We now proceed to examine the articles
noted in the heading. The first is from Mr.
Bruce, for many years a resident in
Persia, who, having noticed the mode of
culture of the cotton plant, submits his ob-
servations to the attention of the Agricul-
tural Society. From Mr. Bruce we learn that
cotton is much cultivated throughout Per-
sia from the shores of the Persian gulph to
the Caspian sea. Cotton of the finest quality
is produced in the low country along the
gulph and nearest to the sea-shore. It
appears that the plant lasts from twenty
to thirty years ; during this time the ground
is often ploughed up and sown with wheat
and barley. The quantity which the plant
yields is considerable. The cultivation in the
interior is annual, where, owing to irrigation,
the produce is greater. Mr. Bruce is of
opinion that the sea coast cotton is im-
proved not only by its being grazed upon and
thus manured, but also from its superfluous
stalks being broken off, which preserves all
the moisture to the roots which would
otherwise be required to nourish the stalks ;
and thus leaves the root in a vigorous state
to throw out fresh shoots at the proper
season. It appears that sheep and goats
are turned in to graze on the leaves and
shoots after the cotton is picked, which

PERSIA AND CENTRAL INDIA. 261

improves the staple : after the cattle have
left nothing but bare stalks, the poor women
and children resort to them for fire-wood and
break them close to the ground. When the
season returns these stumps send out fine
shoots which are soon covered with leaves ;
flowers follow, and the cotton becomes as
luxuriant as ever. A great part of the soil is
sandy, mixed more or less with shells and a
small portion of loamy clay. Mr. Bruce re-
presents that the sea air improves the cotton,
making the staple firm and better. Nankeen
cotton is extensively cultivated and manu-
factured in a very decent sort of nankeen.

Baboo Radhakant Deb alludes to the
method of cultivating cotton in the central
districts of Hindustan. The superior cotton
is called “ Banga,” of which there are three
kinds, the 1st Bhagella, 2nd Bhochurry, and
the 3rd Pokhy. The culture commences in
the month of Assur ; when the sun enters the
sign of Gemini, a quantity of seeds is inter-
mixed with cow dung and exposed to the
solar rays to dry ; when moderately dried,
they are sown upon a light soil kept in pre-
paration for the purpose, and freed from
weeds. Our author states that it is a singu-
lar custom of cultivators to taste the soils in
order to distinguish the saccharine from the
saline or nitrous, the chalky, and insipid soils.
The saccharine soil is deemed the fittest for
the culture of the best Indian cotton. It
appears, by this writer’s account, that the
cultivators follow the ancient mode of dis-
tinguishing seasons by the solar transits,
or by the sun’s entering the various signs of
the zodiac, as well as by marking the changes
which are most commonly influential with-
in every twelve years, or those attributed to
the revolution of the planet Jupiter, which
is also known to operate upon the seasons.
It appears that the seeds sown in the man-
ner before mentioned soon give shoots,
which run up to the height of a span ; the
soil is then opened and weeded with a small
instrument called the native weeding-hook.
In the month of Maug, when the sun enters
the sign of Capricornus, the plants will have
arrived to maturity. In this month the ground
is dug up with hoes or ploughed; and as nu-

262 ON THE CULTURE OF COTTON IN THE DOAB AND BUNDELCUND.

merou3 small scions are formed in the plants,
they are plucked off, which expedient directs
the sap to the productive branches and gives
a better crop. In the month of Choyte, when
the sun enters Pisces, the pods are formed,
which are allowed to become fully ripe ; and,
having at this period a gradual increasing
solar heat, they burst and exhibit the wool
in the fulness of bloom. The gathering
continues until the month of Joistee.
It is then threshed with an instrument
in the form of a double reel, which winds
adversely and throws out the seeds : it
is then worked with a wired instru-
ment called “ dhuvee” which fits it for
sale. The produce may be estimated at
about one maund of cotton in each beegah
of the first crop. The price of the first
sort is ten rupees ; second, eight ; third^
six rupees per maund. In the western
provinces our author states that the pro-
duce is more abundant from the peculiar
adaptation of the soil and climate ; constant
rain or two much moisture in the soil he
states to be unfavorable to the growth of
the plants which, in such situation, were
destroyed by a species of vermin. Saline
moisture or superabundance of putres-
cent matter, heavy dews or frost, are
also deemed unfavorable.

Mr. Vincent, speaking of the culture of cot-
ton in the Doab and Bundlecund, states that
it is sown on almost all descriptions of soil,
but chiefly in the richest lands from which, in
the months of March and April preceding, the
wheat and barley crops have been cut. The
land is well manured preceding the rains, and
is in general sown immediately after the first
heavy showers at the end of J une or beginning
of July, at the rate of 4§ and 5 seers
of seed per biggah of 160 feet square;
irrigation is seldom necessar’y, and never
before the end of September or beginning of
October. The plant is weeded three times,
and in the best lands rises to the height
of 4 and 5 feet ; in inferior lands to 2 and
3 feet only. The pods are plucked when they
begin to burst, which commences in Octo-
ber and lasts until November. The cotton
first plucked is represented as being the
best; the cultivators make no difference, but
mix all together ; an information which is of

great importance ; for may not this neg-
lect of selecting the first crop be one
reason for the India cotton brought to
market being of an inferior quality. Mr-
Vincent states that the produce of a biggah
is on an average about a maund of cotton.
A specimen of cotton, gathered in the Bogle-
pore district from a shrub in its wild state,
w^as presented to the Agricultural Society by
Mr. Hunter : it was of a superior kind and
afforded a strong proof that the soil and
climate of Boglepore in Behar is well suit-
ed to the cotton plant.

The following communication on the
growth of cotton in Ava is of too great im-
portance to admit of being abbreviated.

“ The Burmese, it is well known, cultivate
cotton very extensively, and the larger por-
tion of the produce is exported ; conveyed to
China by the inland routes, and to Arracan
and the districts of Chittagong and Dacca,
either overland, by the two passes of An or
Aeng, and 'I'alak or Dalet, or by sea, fiom
Bassein i-ound Cape Negrais.

Two British merchants, Messrs. Laird
and Conger, who had both resided for some
time at this Capital, when examined by Mr.
Crawffurd at the close of the w'ar, gave him
the following information respecting the pro-
bable quantity of cotton annually exported
from this country. Mr. Laird considered
that the quantity exported from Ava to China
annually, could not be less than 70,000 Ben-
gal bales of 300 lbs. each ; that is. 21,000,000
lbs.; and Mr. Gouger estimated the quantity
annually taken to Dacca by Burmese boats,
to be about 20,000 bales of 100 viss or 360 lbs.
each, thatis, 7,200,000 lbs. See Appendix to
Crawfurd’s Mission to Ava, pp. 44 and 75-

I am of opinion, that Mr. Laird’s estimate
of the quantity exported to China is far too
high, although my enquiries from the Bur-
mese themselves w'ould go rather to confirm
its accuracy. At my request Mr. Lane, an
English merchant now residing here, private-
ly applied to the Clerk or Collector, who
levies the export duty of 3 ticals per 100* viss
on cotton conveyed to China, and received the
following statement of the quantity on which
duty was actually levied during the year 1830,
at the two Chinese marts. Made and Ban-
mau pronounced Bamau.

At Made 3, COO, 030 viss, <>r, 1-2,060,000 Ids.

Ai Baii-inau ., . 6,i00,000 do oi , 24, l-iO,00O do^

Total 10,300,000 vis?, or, 37,080,000 llts.

The number of boats-loadof cotton annu-
ally taken to Made and Ban-raau was declared,
by the same person, to amount to 1400 ;
and he estimated the exports from the
Shan countries to China at 1,200,000 viss, or
4,320,000 lbs.

Equal to about 12| annas per maund, or p.
cent, ad valorem.

INTERESTING ACCOUNT OF COTTON IN AVA.

263

The above statement affords a striking
proof of the very great difficulty of obtaining
in this country any accurate information on
questions of statistics. I am convinced that
the Burmese clerk has added a cipher in each
of the above sums. Cotton is taken from
Made to China on mules and ponies, each
having a load of only 50 viss, as I ascertained
on the spot. At this rate, to convey 3,600,000
viss would require the extravagant number
of 72,000 of these animals ! My enquiries at
Made assured me, that the whole of the
Chinese traders this year did not exceed
5000, and as some of them make two or three
trips in the season, I should think that 7200
loads of cotton, or 360,000 viss, would be
just about the quantity conveyed from Made.
Besides, all the cotton boats, which are re-
markable objects on the river, pass close to
my house, and I am positive, that the num-
ber during the past year has been nothing
like 1400. Those which proceeded to Made,
between December and April, conveyed each
about 100 bales, or rather large baskets con-
taining 100 viss each, and I should not esti-
mate the number whieh passed, at more than
from 30 to 40. Those which transport cotton to
Ban-mau, proceed at all seasons of the year,
but they are less heavily laden than the boats
whieh go to Made, carrying not more than 60
baskets of 100 viss each; and 110 boats would
be as many as I would allow to have passed
to Ban-mau during the year. Captain Cox
was informed in 1797, that the number of
these cotton boats was from 100 to 160, each
carrying 10,000 viss, and the average amount
of sale of the cotton 600,000 ticals.

With respect to the quantity taken to Ar-
racan by the route of Aeng, we have the
information eollected by Captain M. G. White,
Principal Assistant to the Superintendent of
Arracan, in a report made by him after visit-
ing Aeng in April last year, that the num-
ber of bullocks which went to Arracan from
Ava dui’ing the preceding year, amounted to
20,000, each carrying a load of two Bengal
maunds ; but as much cutch, stick lac, and
other articles are taken to Arracan (the
Chinese caravans export scarcely any thing
but cotton), we cannot perhaps allow that
more than one-half of this number of bul-
locks conveyed cotton. Perhaps one thou-
sand more bullock-loads, however, were
taken by the less frequented route of Talak ;
and this would give an amount of 22,000
maunds, or, 1,804,000 lbs. exported to Arra-
can overland. If a similar quantity be allow-
ed for the exports by sea, the whole amount
would be 3,608,000 lbs. which would still be
far from Mr. Gouger’s estimate. But I have
no means of ascertaining the amount of the
exports by sea, to which mode of conveyance
alone Mr. Gouger’s estimate appears to be
limited. I can only observe, that, allowing
the boats from Bassein to take 60 bales, or
21,600 lbs. each, it would require 83 large
boats to convey the 1,804,000 lbs. which I
allow to be exported by that route. Captain
Cox reported the number of boats, that trad-
ed in his time between the Southern Burmese
ports and Luckipore, Dacca, &c. proceeding

by the way of Bassein, not to exceed 42 very
large boats, and the value of their cargoes,
exclusive of specie, 20,000 ticals only. But
Mr. Gibson estimated the number of boats
which annually go from Lamina, a town on
the Irawaddy above Bassein, to Arracan and
Bengal to exceed 1,000. Following my esti-
mate, the exports of cotton from this coun-
try would not be more than as follows :

From Made to China,. ..... lbs. 1,296,000

From Ban-mau to ditto,. . . . 2,412,000

To Arracan, Chittagong, &c. vi^

Aeng, 1,640,000

To ditto via Talek, 164,000

To ditto by boats, 1,804,000

Total lbs. 7,316,000

The ponies and mules of the Chinese cara-
vans, which are very poor, miserable ani-
mals, do not carry much heavier loads than
the bullocks which travel to Arracan. The
latter carry 2 Bengal maunds, or about 164
lbs. and the former 50 viss or 180 lbs. ; but
the Chinese traders have an ingenious mode
of compressing the cotton into a small com-
pass,* by forcing it into pits dug in the earth
of the size and shape required to fit the back
of their ponies and mules. Over the pit is
placed a mat which is forced down with the
cotton, and serves to pack it. Both Colonel
Symes and Captain Cox mention that the
Nankeen cotton is carried to China ; but
saw no other than the white at Made, or in
any of the boats which have passed my
house, and I am assured, that that descrip-
tion alone is taken to China. It is used
there, the Burmese say, almost entirely for
quilting. In the time of those officers also,
Tsa gain, opposite to Ava, seems to have
been the great mart for cotton. At present,
however, a small village about two miles below
Ava, and on the same side of the Irawaddy,
called, Lettshoung-yoo, is the spot where the
cotton is generally collected, packed into bas-
kets and shipped in the large Burmese boats,
which convey it to Made and Ban-mau.

Messrs. Gouger and Laird informed Mr.
Crawfurd, that the Burmese cotton was con-
veyed to Dacca, to be used in the manufacture
of the fine Dacca muslins. This same in-
formation was given to me by all traders in
this country ; but it would be worth ascer-
taining at Dacca, if such is really the fact,
for I observe that lately in England, a good
deal of enquiry has been made, without any
one being able to answer it, as to the parti-
cular cotton of which the fine Dacca mus-
lins are manufactured. (See Minutes of
Evidence before the Committee of Evidence,
before the Committee of the House of Lords
on East India Company’s Affairs, part lO,
Question 4729 to 4750.) Bishop Heber, in
his journal, states from Dacca, that “ the
cotton produced in this district is mostly
sent to England raw.” (Octavo Edition,
vol. I. page 285), and Walter Hamilton, in
his description of Hindoostan, Quarto, vol. I.

* Neither the Chinese here nor the BuriAeae
have any Cotton screws.

ON THE CULTURE OF COTTON BY THE BURMESE.

pp. 182 and 184, states under the head of
Dacca, that a considerable proportion of the
cotton is raised in the adjacent country, but
a great deal is also received by the course
of the Ganges from Patna and Upper Hin-
doostan ; and that “ in this district a species
of cotton, named the hanga, grows, necessai*y,
although not of a very superior quality, to
form the stripes of the finest muslins.”

The Burmese cultivate cotton in almost
every part of their country, but the largest
quantity is grown in the districts lying be-
tween Ava and Prome. It is not grown as a
second crop after the cultivation of rice, but
in distinct lands. The seed is sown about the
same time with the paddy, in the beginning
of the rains, in the months of Katshoun and
Wagoung, our April and May, and the cotton
is gathered in Tha-dengy-wot and Ta tshoun-
moun, our October and November. The seed
is sown broad cast, after being well washed
with water, and the ground is weeded three
times before the plants attain the height of
three feet. A scanty second crop is some-
times gathered in the months of Tahoung and
Tagoo, our March and April, before the
plants are cut down, and the ground prepared
for fresh sowing. Frequently, at the same
time with the cotton, brinjalls and other es-
culent vegetables are sown ; the seeds of the
two are mixed, and thrown on the ground to-
gether.

The Burmese know only the annual plant.
The Nankeen, called Wa-nee, or red cotton, is
often grown in the same fields with the
white ; and some cultivators assured me at
first, that the seeds of the two are pi’ecisely
the same, and that they cannot tell which de-
scription of cotton will be produced, until the
flower appears. But upon further enquiry I
find, that the seeds are mixed by the women
and others employed in cleaning the cotton,
and that no trouble is taken to separate or
keep the two distinct, by which means the
mixed seed is usually planted. A careful en-
quiry would enable the planter to discover
from the small portion of cotton adhering to
each seed, whether it belongs to the white or
Nankeen species ; but this would give too
much trouble to a Burmah. No manure is
used, and the plants sometimes grow up as
near as three and four inches from each other,
according to the spot where the seed fell
when sown in this slovenly manner.

The red cotton is used by the Burmese to
manufacture a description of cloths of which
the women, particularly in the country, make
their jackets. It is called Phyen-nee or Pen-
nee, and does not require frequent washing,
a great recommendation here. The Mye-lat
or middle ground Shans, those situated in
the country between Ava proper and the
Saluen (Dr. Buchanan’s Mre-lap), cultivate
more of the Nankeen cotton, and manufac-
ture a better kind of Phyen-nee, which they
annually bring for sale to Ava. It is in
pieces of 60 cubits long and 1§ cubits wide,
which sells for 7 ticals, or 9 rupees 12 annas.
The Burmese Phyen-nee is often made of the

white cotton and dyed. I send herewith two
small samples of the Burmese and Shan
Phyen-nee cloth.

The Burmese call the dressed or cleared
cotton Givon, and the undressed Wa. It is
cleared from the seeds in the same manner
as in Siam, by a simple machine called Kyait \
or Gyaif, consisting of two cylinders re- !'
volving close to each other, and moved by i
a handle. The cotton is drawn between
them, leaving the seeds in the hand which (
feeds the machine. There is a large descrip- ij
tion also of this machine with iron cylinders, ?|
called Than gyait, and moved, in addition to (
the handle, by a w'heel and the foot, in the 1 1
same manner as a knife grinder’s engine, j

The bow, like that of India, is aftex'wards jij

used, still further to clean the cotton when it '|j
is x’equired for spinning ; but the cotton, which ij

is expox’ted, has the seed only removed. The H
pex’son who sepax-ates the seed can, it is said, jj
prepax’e lOviss or 36 lbs. of clean cotton per ]
diexn, and his usual hire is 2 moas or Sg annas
per diem. 300 viss of undressed cotton yields '
loo of cleaned cotton. The price of cotton
fluctuates from ten to fifteen ticals for the
undressed, and from thirty to fifty ticals for
the cleaned cotton : which last, however, has
sometimes been so high as 80 ticals per 100 ;

viss. But the average price of 40 ticals per '
loo viss, will be about 10 rupees 14 annas !
per Bengal maund ; and I observe, from a ;
Calcutta price current for last month, that the ,
highest priced cotton, then at Calcutta, was
12 x-upees per Bengal maund. Captain
White mentions, that at Aeng the traders j
told him that they purchased the cotton fox* I
30 ticals per lOO viss, and that they can sell |l
it there for 65 rupees. They buy the cotton i
directly from the planter, and can probably ii
get it cheaper than what it sells for here. I;

The Nankeen cotton is often mixed with j
the white fx'om the manner befox’e described, i
in which the two are planted ; and, to get a j,
quantity of Nankeen cotton only, a higher
price is usually paid for the trouble of sepa- !:
rating it entirely from the white. Few plant i
the Nankeen cotton only. I have sent down f
to Captain Rawlinson at Rangoon, to be for-
warded as samples to Calcutta, 10 viss of
each description of cotton. It appears to xne not '
particularly long in the staple, but very fine '
and silky, and so I understand it is considered
by competent judges. The white cotton I i
have sent, is the produce of Mendoun, a dis-
trict on the frontier of Ax-racan, in which .
territory also it might perhaps be extensively !'
cultivated. The red cotton is from a place :
called Tharet or Thayit on the western |
banks of the Irawaddy near Made (Wood’s i
Siri’aip Mess).

The cotton of the Martaban province, called !
lately the Tennassexdm cotton, appeal’s to me j
to have a much longer staple than that of ,
Ava, and so does that I saw at Bankok bx’ought
from Menan-noi on the frontiex’s of Tavoy.
The Kareans are the cultivators of cotton in
the Moulmein px’ovince, and their plantations
are always, I believe, on alluvial soil, on

IMPORTANCE OF COMMERCE TO INDIA.

265

banks of the rivers, or on islands in them,
overflown during the height of the rainy sea-
son. This seems to be the same description
of soil as that on which the Sea Island cotton
of America is grown.*

The Burmese use the cotton seed exten-
sively for lights, particularly in the open air,
at their dances and entertainments. Two or
three lbs. of the seed with some earth oil are
put into a vessel, usually a broken cooking
pot, and when lighted they give for several
hours a good large flame.

We have no space to continue the subject
in our present number, but shall resume it
in our next.

Art. V. — Bell’s Comparative View of the
External Commerce of Bengal, during
theyears 1834-35, and 1835-36, accom-
panied with tables, illustrative of the
extent of trade carried on with each
country and state, by John Bell,
Superintendent of Inspectors, Sfc. Royal
Octavo, pp. 106, 1836. Baptist Mis-
sion Press,

Works of this nature are seldom examined
by readers beyond the mercantile sphere ;
but when we reflect that the country which
gave the British sojourner birth owes her
opulence and grandeur, her improvements in
arts and knowledge, the great bulk of her
comforts and convenience, to the instru-
mentality of commerce alone, some enquiry
into its causes and resources is not un-
worthy the attention of the man of science.
That we may escape the charge of imparting
an erroneous view in laying down the fore-
going proposition, we would advert simply
to one of the most interesting works that can
be perused and which is devoted to this
subject we mean that celebrated work ; “on
the Historical and Chronological Deduction
of the Origin of Commerce.” Vast and vari-
ous are the subjects which are connected
with commerce, comprehending discoveries,
inventions, improvements, navigation, coloni-
zation, manufactures, agriculture, as well as

* The finest tobacco in Ava is cultivated at a
place called Nga-myo-gyee, a little above
Yaudaboo, on islands and on the bank of the Ira-
■waddy, on ground always overflown during
the rainy season.

their relative arts and sciences. Although we
do not anticipate so great a feast in Mr. Bell’s
Comparative 'View of the External Commerce
of Bengal, still we take up his work, with the
conviction that nothing less than the instru-
mentality of commerce can enrich British In"
dia. Those things which are useful and ex-
cellent in nature or art, especially for intel-
lectual gratifications, for comfort conveni-
ence, or the elegance of life, it must be ac-
knowledged, are principally derived from
commerce, either primarily or mediately. It
is profitable therefore to convey to our readers
those notices and instructions on commercial
questions which are connected with this
country. Mr. Bell’s work appears annually.
He congratulates the mercantile community
onaremarkable extension of trade andimpor-
tant fiscal alterations which have been effected
since his last annual. He places the laurel on
the brow of the Honourable Mr. Ross for the
bold measure of releasing the upper provinces
from the thraldom to which the country was
rendered subservient by the mischievous ef-
fects of the transit system, and which “ was
only surpassed by the act for their subsequent
abolition under this presidency, followed, as
that step was, by the downfall of the town
duties.” The foregoing is a degree of
praise altogether misplaced. We are ready to
give Mr. Bell due credit for the sincerity of
his feelings ; but we can assure him that it
required no boldness on the part of Mr.
Ross to do what he did ; nor was it any great
merit on that of the Supreme Government
to follow up what the Hon’ble the Governor
of Agra had commenced, and which the
home authorities had more than once ex-
pressed their desire to see effected. In
a letter to the Governor General dated 10th
June 1829, the court observe, “with
respect to the transit or inland duties on
commerce, you are not unapprized of the
weight we have long attached to the objec-
tions against them.” The court considered
it so complex and burthensome a system
that in a letter dated January 1830, they
again direct attention to the propriety of
abolishing all internal duties under what-
ever name collected: they declare “we
hardly anticipate any possible objections on
your part.” Under this view of the state

266 CONSEQUENCES OF TOO RIGID AN ECONOMY IN THE GOVERNMENT.

of the question we are inclined to reverse
our author’s opinion, and suppose a boldness
bad the Supreme and other Governments any
longer withstood the court’s express or-
ders on the subject. This reminds us of
the local Government withholding all patron-
age from Oriental literature : it might as well
be said that it would be boldness in the local
Government to renew the support notwith-
standing positive injunction; quite contrary
is the case ; as we have fully proved in
the first number of our review. If we
may judge from official documents, the
local Governments have, for years past,
been in a great measure the conservators of
systems of extraordinary economy, the policy
of which is now about to be proved as injuri-
ous to the prosperity of the resources of
the country, as it has been burthensome
and oppressive to the people. Mr. Bell
next alludes to the mild and consider-
ate foundation on which the new tariff is
erected, evincing a policy at once, he says,
liberal, and judicious; — ^liberal as regards the
interests of the merchant, and judicious as
relates to the future welfare of the State and
happiness of the people. He is in anticipation,
which we earnestly hope may be realized, that
when the plan is matured and extended, it
will secure to the honest trader protection,
and secure the Government against loss by
smuggling. If any good does result, much
wiUbeascribable to our author, who is the
able and zealous superintendent of inspectors,
and who, on so many occasions, whether
as secretary to the Agricultural Society, or in
other lesser offices which he fills, has proved
himself to have the interest of Government
and the governed at heart, and to be an inde-
fatigable labourer in promoting not only the
commercial but the agricultural interests of
India. We are glad to see our author taking
the right view of the question. If unshackled
intercourse throughout India will more than
compensate eventually for the deficit which
may at first be felt in the accustomed re-
ceipts. Mr. Bell very properly calls the atten-
tion of the Government to the melioration of
the agricultural resources of the country, and
shews the mercantile community that agricul-
tural improvements are as closely connected

with their interests. Numerous have been the
causes which have tended to depress the
agricultural prosperity of India ; but we are
satisfied that the strenuous exertions of the
numerous agricultural societies in all parts of
the country will work an important change,
and that decided improvement of our' agri-
cultural resources will ere long begin to
appear on the general condition of the trade.
Mr. Bell opens his “review” with the
following.

“We introduced our remarks in 1834-35 —
by a comparative abstract of the trade in that
and the preceding year, which gave a very
favourable result.

We showed that on the official value of
merchandize imported, increase had taken
place to the extent of Sa. Rs. 18,48,956 —
and on merchandize exported, to the extent
of Sa. Rs. 14,22,477 — or a total increase of Sa.
Rs. 32,71,433.

On Imports of Bullion and Specier-the
excess was Sa. Rs. 7,04, 794j— while, on
Exports, the decrease was Sa. Rs. 19,95,541
— leaving a Net Deficiency under this head,
of Sa. Rs. 12,90,746§.

We further showed, that this surplus of
Private Trade in Merchandize had overba-
lanced the decline of the Honorable Com-
pany’s Exports, by Sa. Rs. 2,58,278

This improvement, in the amount of Trade,
comprehending, as it did, a large proportion of
merchandize, wholly free on importation, as
on produce exported (free in regard to Sea
Duty) — under protection of Rowannahs, did
not exhibit so favourable a contrast in regard
to Revenue ; the increase of Duty on Im-
ports, being only 14,857 Rs. and on Exports
93,753 Rs.

It is gratifying to follow up this statement
by one in the present year, still more pro-
ductive, as follows :

Private Trade Merchandize.

Increase on the official value of
Imports, 31,32,896

Increase on the official value
of Exports, 1,51,21,084

Making a Total of,. 1,82,53,980

Bullion and Specie.

Increase on amount value Im-
ported, 4,15,946

Decrease on amount value Ex-
ported, 43,194

Net Increase, 3,72,752

Total Increase in Merch. and
Treasure in 1835-6, Sa. Rs. 1,86,26,732
The above does not include the Honorable
Company’s Trade, the falling off in which
(Merchandize) amounts to 13,33,405 Rs.
but if we give Private Trade credit for this
displacement, there is yet an excess on Ex-
ports of Produce to the extent of 1,37,87,
679 Rs.

INTERESTING ACCOUNT OF THE ISLE OF FRANCE.

267

The collections of duty have been as follows :

On Imports, Increase, 9,25,535§

On Exports, Increase,. ..... 85,921

Total Increase, Sa. Rs. 10,11,456§

IMPORTS.

In regard to the augmentation which has
taken place on Imports of Merchandize and
Treasure, the following countries and places
have contributed to the extent noted against
each — viz :

Great Bi’itain, Sa. Rs. 22,92,319 § —
Antwerp, Sa. Rs. 462 — South America, Sa.
Rs. l,48,358j — North America, Sa. Rs.
7,49,516 — Maldives and Laccadives, Sa. Rs.
11,582 — Bombay and Malabar, Sa. Rs. 9,36,
978 — Arabian and Persian Gulphs, Sa. Rs.
1,43,314^— Penang andMalacca Sa. Rs. 1,98,
669^ — Sumatra and Java, Sa. Rs, 42,867§
— Pegu, Sa. Rs. 1,45,222^ — Bourbon, Sa.
Rs. 3,08,378.

The aggregate of the sums has been redu-
ced to the N et Amount exhibited in the fore-
going statement, by Decrease on Imports
from France, Sa. Rs. 1,244 — Madras and
Coast, Sa. Rs. 94,945 — Ceylon, Sa. Rs. 58,
944 — Singapore, Sa. Rs. 5,99,599 — China,
Sa. Rs. 5,52,780 — New Holland, Sa. Rs.
7,121 — Mauritius, Sa. Rs. 1,14,061— and
Cape, Sa. Rs. 132.

EXPORTS.

The great Increase in the amount value of
Exports is made up as follows : —

On Trade to Great Britain, Sa. Rs.
42,79,261 § — France, Sa. Rs. 9, 58, 565 — Den-
mark, Sa. Rs. 56,492 — North America, Sa.
Rs. 23,97,791 — Maldives and Laccadives, Sa.
Rs. 18,547 — Arabian and Persian Gulphs,
Sa. Rs. 4,22,188 — Penang and Malacca,
Sa. Rs. 2,38,919— China, Sa. Rs. 77,36,890
— Sumatra and Java, Sa. Rs. 1,27,082 —
Pegu, 2,91, 848i — Bourbon, Sa. Rs. 87,535
— reduced to the N et sum above stated, by
Decrease on Exports to Madras and Coast,
Sa. Rs. 2,28,465— Ceylon, Sa. Rs. 49,829—
Bombay and Malabar, Sa. Rs. 5,34,204 —
Singapore, Sa.Rs. 49,399 — New Holland, Sa.
Rs. 34,704 — Mauritius, Sa. Rs. 6,06,566 —
Cape of Good Hope, Sa. Rs. 34,062.

Having pointed out the countries that have
contributed to this improvement, the next
question which naturally presents itself to the
general enquirer is, upon what articles has
this increase taken place ?

It is not essential to enter minutely into
details, for to such of our readers as study
this book for commercial information only,
the tabular statements exhibit the best guide ;
but there are others who soar above the drud-
gery of particulars, and who, although equal-
ly interested in the well-being of our external
commerce, have not time at their command,
and are glad to arrive at general conclusions,
without more trouble than scanning general
results.

The Net Increase on Merchandize Import-
ed, during the last year, compared with
the value of goods in 1834-5, has been stated
at 31,32,896 Rupees.

Dropping odd thousands therefore, and
noticing only important increase, the articles
upon which augmentation has taken place,
and the extent of that increase, are

Salt, (Paying Duty,) about

11 lakhs increase.

Cotton Twist, . .

7f ditto.

Haberdashery
Hosiery,. . . .

and

2 ditto.

Copper,

3f ditto.

Iron,

4f ditto.

Spelter,

2f ditto.

Lead,

If ditto.

Steel

Brandy,

f ditto.

If ditto.

Port, Claret, and Cham-
Paigne, „

2 ditto.

Beer,

I ditto.

Betel Nut,

if ditto.

Beads,

f ditto.

Coffee,

f ditto.

Cocoanuts and
nels,

Ker-

1 ditto.

Paints,

f ditto.

Stick Lac,

Teak Timber, . .

f ditto.

• • • • jy

1 ditto.

Say, 42f lakhs.

^ Against this sum we must place those ar-
ticles on which sei’ious decrease had taken
place, viz.

Woollens, about 5 lakhs decrease.

Cotton Piece Goods, „ If ditto.

Silk Pieces Goods,. ,, If ditto.

Pepper, ,, 2f ditto.

Tea, ,, 2 ditto.

Block Tin, „ if ditto.

Vermilion, ,, 1 ditto.

Alum, „ f ditto.

Segars, | ditto.

Sherry, ,, | ditto.

Lametta ,, | ditto.

Chanks and Cowries, ,, f ditto.

Say, 17| lakhs.

This leaves an excess of 35 lakhs, the dif-
ference between which and the Net Increase
already shown, being made up of increase
and decrease below half a lakh, on other
articles, as given in the Table of “Imports
General.”

(To he continued.)

Art. VI. — Cursory notes on the Isle of
France, made in 1827 with a map of
the Island: by E. Stirling Esq.,
Member of the Asiatic Society, 1833.
Calcutta. Thacker & Co. Qvo. pp. 50,

The work we are about to examine has
been published three years ago : there are
numerous persons now in India to whom it
is unknown. The subject of which ittreatsis
of great interest, especially to those who,
from loss of health, may hereafter bend their
way to the isle of France, in the hope of its

268 GEOGRAPHICAL AND STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF THE MAURITIUS.

restoration. Our author quitted the Sand-
heads on the 1st September and reached the
sland on the 4th of October. He experienced
rough weather nearly the whole way ; and, in
consequence of the ship having been loaded
with rice, the cabins were sufficiently offensive
and warm to render the voyage disagreeable.
Our author doubtless looked upon it with dis-
gust. He makes no mention of it, but brings
us at once to the heart- stirring animating re-
port after a month at sea of land in sight.
The lofty hills of the island and the high land
of two or three small isles on its north were
seen at a distance of forty miles : early in the
morning he reached Bill Bay at the en-
trance of the harbour. Our author does not
attempt to amuse the reader with any at-
tempt at the description of the scene on his
arrival ; but enters at once upon a geographi-
cal and statistical description of the place.

“ According to the measurement of Abbe
de la Caille, the island is about thirty-three

miles long and twenty-one miles broad, in its
extreme points of distance. Its form is not
unlike a triangle, reckoning its southern shore :
to be the base, and its face on the west '
and east, its two remaining sides. The ■
circumference of it was ascertained by the r
Abbe de la Caille to be 93 miles. The above 1
estimate and measurement I believe to be ji
pretty correct, and suffciently accurate for j
all geograpbical purposes. From the sea, >
the island presents little more than a group !,
of lofty and inaccessible mountains, having ii
the most irregular shaped summits, and peaks
exhibiting numerous isolated eminences jlj
either pyramidical or in the form of ilbshap- [j
ed pillars. The Petre-boite and the Pouce i|
are conspicuous above the rest for their sin- I
gularly elevated pillared tops ; judging }
these as the centre around which the other ]
hills are congregated, they may be consider- il
ed as the highest in the island. They are
both nearly of the same height ; the former '
is reckoned 420 fathoms, or 2520 feet high
from the level of the sea. A table of the ;
heights of the different mountains, and the si- ;
tuation of the chief points of the island, is sub-
joined, extracted from Grant’s History of the
Mauritius, being the result of observations
made by the Abb6 de la Caille.” ;

Table of the Geographical Positions of the most remarJcahle Points in the Isle of France, with li

the Height of its Mountains above the level of the Sea, according to the Geometrical opera- i;
tions of° the Abb^ De La Caille, madeinthe Year 1753. j

Summit of the Isle of Serpents, called Parasol or small round

Isle,

Summit of the Great Round Isle,

Summit of le Coin de Mire,

Point of Cannoniers,

East point of the great Isle d’Ambre,

Point of Rocke,

Foot of the flag-staff on the first discovery of Ships,

Foot of the flag-staff of the Long Mountain,

Front of the New Church of Port Louis,

Point of Flac,

Foot of the flag- staff at the opening of Port Louis,

Summit of the Mountain called Petrebotte,

Summit of the Rock called Le Pouce,

Point of the entrance of the Small River,

Summit of the Piton de la Tayence

Summit of the Mountain of the Corps de Garde,

Point of the middle of the Isle,

The Isle Rocheat, at water level, at the entrance of E. channel,

P. Bourbon,

Summit of the Mountain Du Rampart,

The highest point of the Three Mamelles,

Summit of the Mountain of Bamboo,

Summit of the Mountain of the little Black River,

Summit of the Mountain of Port Bourbon,

Flag- staff of Port Bourbon,

Middle of Isle Marie Anne,

Middle of the Isle du Passage,

Point of the Mountain of the little Black River,

Summit of the Mountain of the port,

Summit of the Morn du Brabant,

Summit of the Mountain de le Savanne,

South-east point of the Isle,

South Lati-

tude.

East Longi-

tude from
London.

Height above

the sea, in

fathoms.

U

19 48 55

57 46 10

S3

19 50 34

57 45 6

165

19 56 12

57 34 37

81

19 59 50

57 30 49

20 2 9

57 40 28

20 2 39

57 29 13

20 6 44

57 35 14

134

20 7 56

57 29 51

89

20 9 45

57 28 0

20 9 49

57 44 5

20 10 8

57 27 10

166

20 11 21

57 30 48

420

20 11 40

57 29 25

416

20 12 49

57 21 14

20 14 28

57 39 13

223

20 15 22

57 26 48

369

20 17 9

57 33 10

302

20 17 26

57 47 8

20 18 2

57 23 23

396

20 18 28

57 24 42

342

20 18 57

57 42 46

322

20 20 40

57 20 13

286

20 21 29

57 41 14

249

20 22 20

57 41 9

20 22 34

57 45 3

20 23 44

57 43 51

20 24 18

57 22 7

424

20 26 50

57 19 27

309

20 27 I

57 17 ll,

283

20 27 2

57 27 30

355

20 27 50

57 16 8|

NATURE OF ITS SOIL AND THE EXTENT OF ITS CULTIVATION.

269

Mr. Stirling next turns to the nature of the
soil. Unacquainted with the exact quantity
' of arable land, he concludes that all the
[ land which is fit for cultivation has been
made arable by clearing away and cutting
down the trees. The expenses of clearing
are very considerable. The land Mr. Stir-
^ ling saw being cleared was covered with trees
whose roots appeared to be in possession of
the whole of the sub-surface, and stems or
stumps, after the trees had been cut down,
occupied, two or three feet from each
other, the surface above ground. The
brush- wood had been burnt, but the large
trees were strewed indiscriminately about
the field which was being prepared. It ap-
pears that much labour was employed, and
that the expenses were considerable. Such
was the profit resulting from the service
of clearing the land and appropriating it
for agricultural purposes. Our author con-
ceives that the quantity of land in culti-
vation is six thousand English acres : the
quantity of arable land at present amounts,
by the French measurement, to a little short
of fifty thousand, or about six thousand acres
more than reckoned by the Abbe de la Caille
eighty years ago. We submit the followingas
worthy the attention of the authorities here.

“ Lands were originally granted to indivi-
duals in small untilled and unreclaimed por-
tions, to be cleared and brought into cultiva-
tion, with a certain number of slaves, to be
paid for from the produce of the ground, at a
distant date, when the means were afforded
by the advancement of the tillage, so that set-
tlers were enabled to cut down the wood, cul-
tivate the ground, and build houses, mills,
&c. &c. According to the instructions given
by the JCast India Company, dated 24th May
1761, to the Governor of the Isle of France,
they recommend the division of lands into
small parcels, among such as chose to be-
come planters, and to let each follow the beat
of his genius, whether it be for tilliRg corn,
breeding horses, bullocks, poultry, planting
cotton or coffee trees : but to afford facilities
for shipping, and to reduce the price of labour,
they particularly recommend the breeding car-
riage and draught beasts of small kinds. On
these conditions, joined apparently with that of
military service of a slight nature, lands were
distributed to all those who resorted from the
mother-country to realize an independence-”

Talking of the food for cattle, our author
states that the forests and hills, during three
or four months in the year, supply an abund-
ance of food for cattle. There are three

species of grass, which Mr. Stirling believes
to be of the genera denominated the Cyno-
sarus, the Festice, and the Bromas. It is
remarkable, notwithstanding a plentiful sup-
ply of forage, that cattle do not thrive in the
island: bullocks, mules, and asses are in con-
sequence imported from foreign countries.
On the subject of manufactures and public
works we have the following.

“ A country that furnishes nothing but
its colonial produce, when there are a number
of inhabitants who are unconnected with the
proprietors of the soil, would be expected to
manufacture articles to a considerable extent
for its own consumption, or to augment by
their labour the value of foreign importations ;
and acccording as attention to this subject
was manifested, we should be inclined to ac-
knowledge their industry. It may be stated,
that the Isle of France produces at present
nothing but colonial produce for exportation.
The manufactories of sugar are no doubt very
great, and the number of mills for producing
it, since the last regulation of parliament in its
favor, have been increased very considerably.
There are probably not less than forty sugar-
mills at work during the season. I have heard
one bundled and fifty, but this appears to
exceed the proportion due to the produce.
Rum is also manufactured, but I am ignorant
of any data on which to estimate its quantity.
Ship-building is carried on to a limited extent,
but the high price of labour and timber pre-
vent it being undertaken except under favor-
able circumstances. The boats that are em-
ployed on the coast of the island are all made
here. Carts and waggons are likewise manu-
factured for the use of the colony,”

There is no nation in the world excelling
the French in the promotion of science and
arts. The administration of M. Bourdonnois
is favourably spoken of.

“ The French during their administration de-
serve much praise for the many improvements
they effected, which tended greatly to the ad-
vancement of the interests of the proprietors,
and those of the government. The indefati-
gable exertions of M. Bourdonnois, for the at-
tainment of these objects, excites a certain
degree of astonishment, when we remember
the innumerable difficulties this laborious
Governor had to surmount, in bringing this
island into a state of cultivation ; in overcom-
ing the torpid indolence of the colonist ; in
forming a militia ; in making roads, bridges,
aqueducts, hospitals, piers, and dock-yards,
fqrrning harbours for the shipping, and in pro-
viding for the defence of the island, by con-
structing fortifications and batteries in all
commanding situations : and this astonish-
ment is still more augmented when we view
him, towards the end of his government,
building vessels and embarking his soldiers
for India, and, notwithstanding the great im-
pediments that were put in his way, and the
disasters he suffered in the voyage, manfully

270

DESCRIPTION OF THE CAPITAL OF RAMBREE.

coping with the English fleet, and making him-
selt master of Madras, and preserving the most
inviolable faith and good conduct towards the
English who surrendered, in opposition to the
low and dishonorable intrigues of his fellow-
countrymen, instigated, supported, and coun-
tenanced by M. Dufleix, Governor of Pondi-
cherry. It is to the singular abilities of this
man that the Isle of France is indebted for
most, if not all tlie works of a public nature
she now possesses. The quay is perhaps
unequalled for the advantages it affords to
vessels. They lie there in perfect safety :
they load and unload with the greatest facility,
and they are supplied with water from a jet
d’eau, which conveys it into their water casks
without removing them from the boats. There
are several docks in the vicinity, where ships
can be repaired, but as these are private, we
have no occasion to describe them, and
satisfy ourselves by this allusion to them, in
mentioning the harbour to which they ap-
proximate in situation, and that they are fre-
quently found of use to vessels that have suf-
fered at sea.”

(To he continued.)

Art. VII. — Journal of a Tour through
the island of Rambree, with a Geologi-
cal Sketch of the Country, and Brief
Account of the Customs, ^c., of its
Inhabitants. By Lieut. Wm. Foley.
With a map. — Journal of the Asiatic
Society, 1835.

(Continued from page 210.^
Lieut.Foley says that the Hughs have no
idea of the distance intervening between one
place and another : he believes the distance
between Oogah and Singhunnethe to be as
much as 16 miles; from that to Seppo-towng
12 miles ; and as many more from thence to
Rambree. Our traveller now proceeds to the
capitalof the island. The Saaynekyong creek,
after winding through the vale to the right,
suddenly takes atonr into the interior, cross-
ing the road within a very short distance of
Seppo-towng. Patches of paddy ground, suc-
ceeded by long mountainous ranges with the
same abrupt ascent and inclination, were the
never-failing features of the country passed
over between Singhunnethe and Rambree.

“ The soil on the hills was generally a red
clay, containing nodules of chert, and fel-
spar combined with talc. Had I possessed
even a common acquaintance with botany, I
might have derived much pleasure in the
examination of the various vegetable tribes
that surrounded me. Unfortunately I was
a stranger to the greater number, recognizing
only those of moat frequent occurrence, such

as the Girjun, Tilsah, Jharral, wild Peepul,
and a host of Mimosas. There were also some
very pretty creepers, and a vine which corres-
ponds in description with that given me of the
black pepper-plant*. After the first two or
three ranges had been overcome, we approach-
ed the village of Leppang, the site of an
old stockade, and scene of an encounter be-
tween the Burmah chief Nemyo-sooyahf, and
the Ramoo Rajah Keembrang, in which the
latter was shamefully defeated. From hence
it is but a short distance to Tseembeeyah and
Kehsree, the latter prettily situated on the
plain, hud surrounded with clumps of trees.
Among the inhabitants of Kehsree are a class
of people engaged in the oil manufacture, and
who shall receive further notice hereafter.
The oil is prepared chiefly from the Thel, and
the mills are in evei’y respect similar to those
used in Bengal. Beyond Kehsree is Koyan-
downgX with the two guardian temples on its
summit : and to the right of that, the “ Red
oi Rambree, almost destitute of ver-
dure, and answering in appearance to that
predicated by its name. Tiger traps ^ of a
novel construction were very numerous in the
ghats leading to the town; Rambree has on
several occasions been much infested with
tigers ; they have been known to come into
the town shortly after dark, and, entering the
houses, carry off the inhabitants. Cattle
and poultry are even now continually taken
away, and it is considered very dangerous to
sleep outside upon the michaun. To facili-
tate the description of one of these traps, I
have endeavoured to represent by a drawing
the several parts of which it is constructed.

A, is a long |1 pole possessing great strength
and elasticity, which is bent and held down
by B, a peg connected with C, a good thick
cane rope. The peg B. is fixed with great
care between the bars D, and E, ; the bar D,
having been previously fastened to the two
posts F, F, which are driven into the ground.
That part of the platform marked G, is brought
into contact with the bar E, and the peg B.
H, is a noose laid upon the platform, and I, a
heavy wooden cylinder so nicely attached to

* The black pepper-plant is found on the hill
in the Sandoway district.

+ Afterwards Meyo-woon at Eambree.

X Called “ St. George’s Hitt” by the troops
quartered at Rambree during the war. The
temples were built by the Burmah Meyo-Avoon
Yeh-jutta-gong.

^ Already noticed in vol. Vnd (1833,) Journal
Asiatic Society .

|j A large branch of a tree sometimes serves
as well.

ON THE POPULATION OF RAMBREE TOWN.

271

I the cane rope that the least jirk causes it to
i fall. The platform is laid upon the path fre-
quented by the tiger (generally a gap in a
I fence, or a ravine), and carefully concealed
I with grass and leaves. The animal treads
I upon it and it gives way, disturbing the bar
I E, and peg B, on which the pole springs up
to its natui’al position, bringing the wooden
cylinder with such violence upon the arm of
the tiger (already caught in the noose) , that
; it is generally broken by the concussion. This
; cylinder covers that part of the leg that has been
I entangledin the noose, andis of great^use in pre-
' venting the animal from gnawing the rope. The
I beast hangs suspended in the air at the mercy of
t the villagers, who dispatch him by means clubs
I or bamboos hardened in the fire, and pointed at
! the end so as to resemble pikes.

Arrived at the highest point of the ascent over
1 Koyandowng, the large and pretty town of Ram-
1 hree, surrounded with hills and dividedby a creek
[ that is seenin the distance meandering towards
! the sea, appears spread out to view in the vale
below.”

The town of Rambree* **, with its meander-
ing creek, fine wooden bridges, and the hand-
some temples that surround it, is perhaps
the prettiest spot upon the island ; and from
no place is it seen to such advantage as from
the hills of Koyandowng. The creek is not
very broad, but it contains sufficient water to
admit of the approach of large boats to the
market place — a matter of some importance
in a country where land carriage is not to be
obtained ; or, if procurable, would scarcely be
available, from the absence of good roads,
bridges, and ferries, throughout the island.
The town is divded into the following com-
partments ; viiz. Oung-tshiet, Shuwe-dong ,
Wedt-chu, Tath-twengy and Taing-kuman. The
former commemorates the landing of the
first Burmah chieftain at the ghaut of Ram-

bree, when the island was first annexed to the
dominions of Ava. In Shuwe-dong, a large
pole, covered at the top with gold, was erect-
ed ; and in its immediate vicinity, stood a
house in which the conjurors^ used to dance,
invoking the aid of their favourite idol on the
occasion of any calamity. Wedt-chu was so
called from the great assemblage of pigs in.
that quarter. Tath-tweng was the site of the
Burmah stockade, and now the locality of the
Government jail, formed chiefly from the
materials of that stockade. Taing-kuman is
the place occupied by the Kuman-thsiy a class
that shall be more particularly noticed here-
after. It is generally admitted that the town
has increased in size (though perhaps not in
wealth) since it fell into the hands of the
British ; but this augmentation has been
slow, and by no means equal'to the expecta-
tions that might have been indulged on the
change of rule. It would be foreign to the
purpose of this brief sketch of Rambree to
enter into a detail of those causes that seem
to obstruct the accumulation of capital ; but
this much may be said, that the multiplication
of taxes, by the intricate division of trades,
and the vexatious nature of many of these
taxes, is one grand check to the industry of
the population ; and from thence it is easy to
deduce its consequences, as they may affect
the revenue, or the morals of the people.

The whole of those improvementswhichhave
been made in the town of late years, and con-
tribute so much to the comfort and convenience
of the inhabitants, it owes to the taste and li-
berality of themagistratef (now residing there),
who has devoted large sums of money from his
private purse towards the erection of bridges,
market stalls, and other public buildings.

Noticing each class under a separate head,
with the distinction of sexes, the number of
souls residing in Rambree town will be as
much as follows :

Adult males.

Adult females. ,

Boys.

Girls-

Total of each.

Mughs,

1549

1637

1393

1224

5803

Burmahs,

554

473

359 '

375

1761

Kuman-thsi,

407

383

324

\ 323

1437

Grand total of souls, 9,001

* Also called “ Taingy'^ or “ Yaing^ Ruali‘*
by the Mughs ; the provinces Rambree, Maong,
and Thandowey having suffered considerably
from the incursions of the Burinahs and Thali-
ens during the year 791 M. S. the Raja Chou-
Mioeiig, on his restoration to the throne of
Rukkhein-preh (Arracan), adopted such means
as were likely to restore them to their former
flourishing condition; and, for that purpose,
deputed his minister Anunda-Suyah to proceed
to those provinces, taking with him such Bur-
mah or Thalien agriculturists and artisans as
had been able to quit thecountry. Anunda-
Suyah, in the first place, visited Aawdree Island,
forming colonies, and giving names to the
several new settlements, according to the
various ominous appearances that presented
themselves. It is said, that, during the night
his vessel lay at anchor in the Rambree Creek,
a voice was heard to exclaim,

** Thain’lo « Thain-lo V* Stop ! Stop ! a
favourable omen, inducing a further stay at
the place, and the foundation of a town that

In addition to the above there are a few
Musalmans and Hindus ; but their number
is comparatively small, and their residence in
the town (especially of the latter), attended
with so much uncertainty, that I have not
thought it necessary to include them in the
census. The Musalmans were either (origi-
nally) adventurers from Cathai and Ava,
or owe their extraction to the Musalmans
of Bengal, who fell into the hands of the

received the name of “ 7'aing"‘^ or “ Taing-
Riiah.^*

• A set of vagabonds, receiving little counte-
nance from the people At large. A man, attir-
ed in woman’s apparel, connects himself with
another of the profession, whom he calls his
husband, and obtains for this husband a woman
as his second wife ; every respectable native
looks upon all this with disgust and horror.

t Captain Williams, 45th Regt. B. N. 1.

272

THE POVERTY VISIBLE AT RAMBREE.

Rukkhein marauders in earlier times, and
were taken prisoners during the wars of the
Rukkhein -pr eh* Rfijds with the Nawdbs of
Chittagong and Dacca. They are now so
assimilated to the rest of the population in
dress, language, and feature, that it is diffi-
cult to conceive a distinction ever existed. As
if ashamed of their Mahammedan descent,
individuals of this class have generally two
names, one that they derive from birth, and
the other such as is common to the natives
of Arracan, and by which they are desirous of
being known. The Hindus, again, are gene-
rally natives of Chittagong and Dacca,
who came down into Arracan to pick up
what they can, returning to their homes so
soon as a certain sum of money shall have
been collected.

Under the head of Mughs {Magas) are
included many inferior castes, such as the
Hydh, Phrd-gyoung, and DMng. Much
uncertainty prevails with respect to the
origin of these castes ; it is either involved
in obscurity, or totally lost to those with
W'hom I have conversed upon the subject.
By some, it is affirmed, that the Hydhs were
originally natives of a country beyond Mani~
jjur, but nothing further could be obtained,
so as to facilitate a discovery of their des-
cent, or account for their settlement in the
province. In former days the Hydhs tilled
the crown lands, were exempted from taxa-
tion, and gave one-half of the produce to the
sovereign. It is insinuated by the Rak-
kheins, that not a few of the Hydh caste were
employed as eunuchs in the service of the
Arracan Rajas. They now occupy themselves
in the cultivation of pawn and chilly gardens,
but are looked upon as an inferior caste, and
consequently never intermarry with the Rak-
kheins,”

Many houses are seen at Rambree ; but
although it is the second city in Arracan, empty
shops on each side the street and other signs
ofpoverty are visible. Here and there a Man-
chester shawl, a piece of chintz, or printed
handkerchief might be seen hung up to view.
Few engage in trade ; the greater part of
the population are either idlers, day-labourers^
agriculturists, or fishermen. At one time
Rambree was the grand emporium of trade.

We must here conclude our review of these
interesting papers by Lieut. Foley. We admire

* Arracan, known in past times as Refcha-
ywra I and so called from its having been the
abode of the “ Hakhhus j” a fabulous monster,
said to devour the inhabitants. The scene of
this monster’s alleged depredations seems to
have been in the neighbourhood of what is
now termed the “Fort of Arracan !”( )/row-
fi-mu, built by Raja Choumoeng, in the year of
Gautama 1150, and in the common era 792, or
A. D. 1430.) On the extirpation of this mon-
ster, Arracan was termed “ Hulckhein-prefi,^'*
or “ the country of the Ruk

kheins ; an appellation equally common to the
natives of Arracan with that of Mugh, or
Mogh : the Burmahs, substituting the letter Y,
for R, call them “ Yukkhein. ”

the style in which they are written ; and, al-
though we are disappointed in our expecta-
tions as to his details of the geology of
Rambree, he has displayed much talent ;
and we trust he will furnish the public with
further accounts of this interesting country
and its inhabitants.

ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS.

DESCRIPTION OF SUNDRY NEW
SPECIES OF CINNYRIS INHA-
BITING NEPAL.

By B. H. Hodgson, Esq.,
Resident in Nepal.

For the India Review.

TENUIROSTRES CINNYRIDCE GENUS
CINNYRIS.

Section with short even tail.

1st species. — Magna. Great Sun bird,
nobis. Above, lively yellow green; below,
flavescent white ; the whole picked out with
a large central streak of black on each
feather ; alar and caudal plumes, unstreaked ;
the former, dusky within ; the latter,
throughout concolorous with the body and
furnished near the tips with a broad black
cross bar: bill dusky ; legs, feet, and claws,
bright orange. Sexes alike. Size large, 8 by
11:| inches and 1^ oz ; bill 1^ inches,
signally large and very moderately curved ;
wings to middle of tail ; 5 th quill usually
longest ; 1st not bastard; 2nd and 3rd dis-
tinctly gradated.* Seems to be nearly allied
to the Longirostris of Temminck.

2nd species. — Purpurata auctorum ?
Epauletta nobis. Throughout saturate blue,
with an intense changeable gloss ; mostly
metallic green above, and purple below.
Across the breast a sanguine chesnut band ;
near the shoulders, under the wings, a bril-
liant yellow tuft, more or less touched with
igneous (unde nomen) ; wings and tail less
glossed than body, and black internally ; bill
and feet jet black , iris, saturate brown.
Sexes alike : 4f inches by 6|, and | oz.
Bill ^ longer than head and moderately cur-
ved, but more so than in the last : wings
to mid-tail, 1st bastard, 2nd long, three
next subequal and longest. Indications of
subgeneric division ?

3rd species. — Strigula. Stripe-throat
nobis. Above, dark olive green ; below,
bright yellow ; shoulders and a long cen-
tral stripe from chin to breast, brilliant deep
blue ; alarand caudal plumes dusky or black ;

* According’ to my experience, this is the
more general form of the wing in. Cinnyris ;
a genus, however, which courts subgeneric
division, relatively to the diverse minor diver-
sities of wing, bill, and tail.

NEW SPECIES OP CINNYRIS INHABITING NEPAL.

273

the latter tipped and margined laterally in
the extremes, with white ; a paler line oyer
the eyes, and darker one through them ; bill
dusky ; legs black. The female is earthy
brown above, and greenish yellow below.
She is without gular stripe or shoulder spot.
Size of the last and characters the same.

Section with long wedged tails.

4th species. — Miles nobis. Military
Sun bird, nob. Top of the head, upper tail
coverts, and tail, metallic green, changing
to violet ; rest of head, whole neck, breast,
back, and shoulders, intense crimson-scar-
let ; rump, bright yellow ; body below, and
inferior wing and tail coverts, sordid
greenish ; remiges and rectrices, internally
dusky ; the former, rufously edged ; long
coverts, the same ; a long hiacynthine stripe
from the base of the lower mandible down
either side the neck ; bill conspicuously
arched ; tail as long as the body, gradated
throughout ; the two central feathers, nar-
row, pointed, and exceeding the rest by
nearly an inch ; wings gradated as in the 1st
species ; 4th or 5th quill longest, six in-
ches long, whereof the tail is three width
6f, and weight oz.

The female and young wear a sombre
russet robe instead of the flaming scarlet of
the male ; their cap is not burnished, nor
have they the splendid mustache ; and the
central rectrices are neither pointed nor pro-
longed beyond the series of the rest.

5th species. — Nipalensis nobis. Intire
head with the whole neck near it, the up-
per tail coverts and caudal plumes, black
merged externally in an intense metallic
green gloss changing to blue ; superior and
inferior glossed surfaces of the head and
neck, divided by an unglossed band passing
through eye and ear from the bill ; bottom
of the dorsal neck and top of the back,
sanguineous lake colour ; central and largest
portion of the back, with the wings, and
their coverts, rufo-flavescent olive green ;
lower back, rump, and the bodybelow, with
imal neck and breast, bright yellow, tinted
igneous on the breast ; lateral tail feathers
frequently albescent at their tips ; remiges,
internally dusky; legs fleshy brown; bill
black. {Size and characters of the last. The
female somewhat less. Above, olive green
with a luteous rufous smear ; below, paler
and yellower : her tail shorter and less
pointed. The young males, earthy brown
on all the glossed parts of the mature males.
So also in miles, and (as 1 suspect) in ail
the gorgeous species.

6th species. — Saturata nobis. Black with
pale green belly, vent, and under tail co-
verts ; the black ground colour overlaid ou
the cap, mustache, upper tail coverts, and
central caudal plumes, by a splendid metallic

blue gloss, changing to violet and hyacinth ;
and on the whole top of the back and bot-
tom of the dorsal neck by an unglossed
sanguine lake dye (the imperial purple of
old Rome) ; across the lower back, a nar-
row greenish yellow band ; lining of the
wings and quills basally on the lower sur-
face, albescents ; bill, glossy black ; legs,
dusky. Size and characters of the last ; but
the tail yet more elongated, longer than the
body, and its two central plumes exceeding
the rest by as much again as their length.

6 inches long where of the tail is ; width

7 inches ; weight f oz.

7th species. — Ignicauda. Fire tail, nobis.
Above, olive green ; beneath, together with
the rump, yellow : chin, cheeks, and front
of the neck, blue grey with a greenish wash;
breast dashed with fiery red ; caudal plumes
and their upper coverts intense igneous red ;
remiges and rectrices, internally, dusky
brown ; lining of the wings pale green yel-
low ; bill black ; legs dusky brown ; seven
inches long whereof the tail is 3f , its two
central plumes passing the rest by 1| inch.
Weighty oz, or considerably larger than
most of the others. The female is smaller,
and has her caudal plumes concolorous with
the body above and merely fringed with
fiery red ; but the coverts are igneous, and
the breast is touched with fire, as in the
male. The tail wants the prolonged plumes
of the male, as in all the preceding long-tail-
ed species. Ignicauda is distinguished spe-
cifically for the comparative straightness of
its bill, which is, indeed, distinctly curved,
but less so than in any of the above species,
save the first, wherein, however, the distinc-
tive feature of the bill is elongation, not
straightness. In magna, the rostrum is more
than double the length of the head ; in igni-
cauda it scarcely reaches the average excess
of the genus, or one-third more than the
head.

N. B. In all the above species the iris is
brown, more or less dark.

Remarks. — These elegant little birds are
very common in all parts of Nepal ; nor are
they any where migratory. Hereafter I
hope to throw some light on their habits
and manners, and meanwhile shall only ob-
serve that I entirely doubt their alleged
nectarinarian diet : I conceive too that the
characters of the genus as, given in the
Genezoology (Shaw XIV. 229), want revi-
sion ; ‘ pollux gracilis, in particular, being
the very opposite of correctness.

The Cinnyris Gouldioe of the Century of
Himalayan Birds is, I suspect, meant for
our Nipalensis ; but, if so, the description
is very inaccurate, necnon the drawings. In
saturata, indeed, the mantle is almost
hollyw sanguine; but in Nipalensis it is

274

DESCRIPTION OF A SPECIES OF GALL GNAT.

principally flavescent olive, the dark san-
guine hue (imperial purple of the ancients)
being restricted to a band between the
shoulders and bottom of the dorsal neck. So
far from being “ exceedingly rare,” this
species is much the most common of all,
and I have now twenty specimens lying
before me, notwithstanding my large des-
patches to England.

DESCRIPTION OF A DIPTEROUS
FLY, THE LARVA OF WHICH PRO-
DUCES A KIND OF GALL ON THE
LEAVES OF THE FICIJS RACEMOSA.

By P. F. H.Baddeley, Esq.

For the India Review.

A species of gall gnat (order, diptera ;
tribe, cecydomyia) also deposits its eggs
in the parenchymous substance of the
leaf of the ficus racemosa, which turns into
a small light coloured grub ; this latter, feed-
ing upon the juices of the plant, changes
into a chrysalis ; and this again, after a few
days, into a little two winged insect. The
larva, by its irritation, causes that part of
the leaf in which it resides to swell into a
flat kind of blister, in the centre of which a
single insect is confined.

The chrysalis is of a reddish brown co-
lour approaching to black at the anterior
part, where it is provided with four tuber-
ches, having much the appearance of a pig’s
snout : by means of these, it forces itself
partly out from the under surface of the leaf,
when, the skin bursting, the fly escapes.

The^colour of the perfect insect is of a
light brown with the antennae darker, and
the head, which is entirely occupied by two
compound eyes, black. Its body and wings
are covered with long hairs.

Metamorphosis. — Incomplete or coarc-
tate.

Wings. — Two, with large poisers.

Antennoe. — Verticillate, composed of 24
joints alternately large and small.

EXPLANATION OF FIGURES.

Figs. 1 and 2. — Under and upper surfaces
of a leaf of the ficus racemosa containing
several of these false galls.

Fig. 3 — A section of one.

Fig. 4 and 5. — Larva.

Fig. 4 a. — Do. in the nucleus of the gall.
Fig. 6. — Pupa.

Fig. 7. — Perfect insect.

Fig. 7. a. — Part of an antenna
Fig. 7. b. — A wing.

Fig. 7. c. — A wing magnified.

GENERAL SCIENCE.

NOTICE OF SOME RECENT IMPROVE-
MENTS IN SCIENCE.

HEAT AND LIGHT.

1. TEMPERATURE OF THE GLOBE.
— M. Poisson, in his elaborate work entitled
Mathematical Theory of Heat, has broached
some new notions in respect to the source of
the earth’s heat. He observes, that the
spherical form of the earth, and its flattening
at the poles, prove that it was originally in a
fluid, or perhaps in a gaseous state. After
this period, it can only have become solid,
either wholly or in part, by a loss of heat,
proceeding from the circumstance that its
temperature exceeded that of the medium in
which it was placed. He conceives, that it
has not been demonstrated that the solidifi-
cation commenced at the surface, and gradu-
ally extended to the centre, as those theorists
assert who adopt the idea of a fluid centre.
The contrary appears to Poisson more pro-
bable; those portions nearest the surface
having been cooled first, have descended into
the interior, and been re-placed by matter
from the interior, which has again descended
in its turn, and thus the process was repeat-
ed until the whole mass was cooled down.

But further, the central layers would become
solid, in consequence of the immense super-
incumbent pressure at a temperature equal
to, or even superior to that of the layers
nearer the surface. Experiment has proved
that water at common temperatures, when
submitted to a pressure of lOOO atmospheres,
undergoes a condensation of about i^of its
original volume. Now, if we conceive a
column of water equal in height to the earth’s
radius, and reduce its weight to one half of
what it possesses at the surface, in order to
render it equal to the mean gravity of each
radius of the earth, supposing the latter homo-
geneous ; the inferior layers of this liquid
column will undergo a pressure of above three
millions of atmospheres, or equal to above
three millions of times that which reduced
the water of its volume. Without any
knowledge of the laws of the compression
of this liquid, we must still believe, that
such an enormous pressure would reduce
the inferior layers of the mass of water to
the solid state, even when the temperature
was very high.

In order to explain the elevation of tem-
perature which we observe, in proceeding
from the surface towards the centre of the
earth, he suggests the effect of the inequality

AMPERE’S THEORY OF HEAT AND LIGHT.

27S

of the temperature of the regions of space,
which the earth successively traverses, be-
cause he considers it very improbable, that
the temperature of space is every where the
same. The mean temperature of space may
be admitted to differ little from zero, in place
of being, as has been generally calculated
below the temperature of the coldest regions
of the globe. The variations in the tempera-
ture of space may, however, be very consi-
derable, and they ought to produce corres-
ponding variations in that of the earth, which
will extend to depths dependant on their
extent and degree. ‘‘If we suppose, for
example, a block of stone to be carried from
the equator to our latitudes, its cooling will
have commenced at the surface and extended
into the interior, and if it has not reached
the whole mass because the period has been
insufficient ; this body when it has arrived
in our climate will present the phenomenon
of a temperature increasing from the surface.
The earth is in the condition of this block of
stone ; it is a body which proceeds from a
region whose temperature was superior to
that of its present situation ; or, if we wish,
it is a thermometer, moveable in space,
which has not time, inconsequence of its
great dimensions and its degree of conducti-
bility, to take in through its whole mass the
temperature of the different regions which
it trasverses. At present, the temperature
of the globe increases below its surface.
The contrary has already, and will again
take place. At other periods, besides at
epochs separated by numerous ages, this
temperature ought to be, and will be, by
consequence, much higher or much lower
than it is now, which prevents the earth from
being alvrays habitable by the human species,
and has, perhaps, contributed to the succes-
sive revolutions of which its external layer
has preserved the traces.”*

2. THEORY OF HEAT AND LIGHT.—
Ampere, in stating his views in reference to
a theory of heat, sets out with defining
ticles, molecules, and atoms which he consi-
ders to enter into the constitution of matter.
A pat^icle is an infinitely small portion of a
body, and of the same nature with it, so that
a particle of a solid body is solid, that of a
liquid body liquid, and that of a gas aeriform.
The particles are composed of molecules kept
at a distance ; 1. By what remains at this

distance, of the attractive and repulsive
forces peculiar to the atoms ; 2. By the re-
pulsion which the vibratory motion of the in-
terposed ether establishes between them :
and 3. By the attraction directly proportional
to the masses, and inversely as the
square of the distance. Molecules consist of
a collection of atoms kept at a distance by
attractive and repulsive forces peculiar to
each atom. Atoms are material points from
which these attractive and repulsive forces
emanate.

* Bibliotheque Universelle, June, 1835,
Ann. de Chimie, lix. 71.

From this definition, it follows, he consi-
ders that a molecule is essentially solid,
whether the body to which it belongs be
solid, liquid, or gaseous ; that the molecules
are polyhedrons, of which these atoms, or at
least a certain number of these atoms occupy
the summits, and it is these polyhedrons that
are termed primitive forms by crystallogra-
phers. The particles alone can be separated
by mechanical means. The force which re-
sults from the vibrations of the atoms may
separate the compound into simpler mole-
cules. Chemical action can alone separate
the latter. Thus, in detonnating a mixture
of 1 volume of oxygen and 2 volumes of
hydrogen, by which 2 vols. of vapour of water
are formed, each molecule of oxygen is
divided into two, and the atoms of each of
these halves unite with the atoms of a mole-
cule of hydrogen to form a molecule of water.
Proceeding upon these premises. Ampere
distinguishes the vibrations of molecules
from those of atoms. In the first, the mole-
cules vibrate together, approaching and
retreating alternately the one from the other,
and whether they vibrate in this manner or
remain at rest, the atoms of each molecule
vibrate and, in fact, always do vibrate by ap-
proaching and retreating the one from the
other alternately, without ceasing to belong
to the same molecule. The latter, he terms
atomic vibrations. To the vibration of the
molecules, and to their propagation in the
surrounding media he attributes all the
phenomena of sound ; to the vibrations of
the atoms he ascribes all those of heat and
light.*

3. OPTICAL PROPERTIES OF CHAR-
COAL.— If a portion of well burned fir char-
coal be placed upon a layer of heated coal on a
wind furnace, and all openings be closed, so
that no air can penetrate below the coal, the
combustion will be carried entirely by the
decomposition of the carbonic acid. After
the fire has subsided. Degen found that the
portion of Icoal had wholly or in part dissolv-
ed into amass of fibres, which did not adhere
strongly to each other. When examined
under the microscope they were found to be
round tubes ; they are more or less translu-
cent, and their colour by transmitted light
is brownish yellow. These tubes have round
apertures on their sides, whose margins are
thicker than the rest of the sides ; some of
them when of a large size, however, have no
edges of any considerable diameter. When
heated to whiteness in platinum foil before
the blowpipe, these tubes lost their trans-
lucency and became very brittle. The dia-
meter of these tubes was from about*00049
inch to 0000908 inch. I here is remarkable
appearance observed when the miscros-
cope is directed through one of the aper-
tures upon a distant {entfernten) object.
This object appears double. One of the
figures stands upright about. 0004 behind
the opening ; it is, at least so distinct, that

* Ann. de Chim. et de Phy». Iviii.

276

ELUCIDATION OF “ TRANSITION” ROCKS.

we can see the window-post clearly. The
second figure is inverted, and appears before
the opening ; it is more indistinct than the
first. These appearances belong to the phe-
nomena of diffraction. The form which the
charcoal assumed, by the powerful heat
applied in the manner described, is similar to
the filamentous nmatter examined by Dr. H.
Colquhoun, which was obtained during some
trials made by Mr. Macintosh to convert iron
into steel, by surrounding it with coal gas in
an air tight iron chest.*

RECENT RESEARCHES IN GEO-
LOGY.

Geology is a subject of immense extent ;
and the discoveries which are made in it al-
most necessarily proceed by slow steps and
minute details. Hence it would be utterly im-
possible, even in a memoir of considerable
length, to give a complete and comprehensive
survey of the recent progress of this rapidly
advancing Science. But here, as in all sound
inductive researches, the accumulation of par-
ticular facts generally terminates, aftera while,
in the development of some great general
principles. When such epochs occur, it it often
very practicable to condense into a short com-
pass, and in a generally intelligible form, a
statement of the results so obtained. This
is what we shall attempt, in the following
article, with respect to one or two leading sub-
jects of geological inquiry, which have not
only excited peculiar interest of late, but also
have important bearings on the principles of
Science, and on some of the most instructive
inferences and contemplations into which we
are led by the study of it.

The conclusions of geology, like those of
every other part of inductive science, must be
grounded on the sole authority of well-ascer-
tained and classified facts ; and we must be
guided to them, neither by random conjec-
tures, nor the dictation of authoritative opi-
nion, but by the so/e pursuit of well-founded
natural analogies. We must seek to interpret
the past from the present, and advance from
the known to the unknown.

Proceeding on such principles, then, we
shall presume that our readers will acknow-
ledge the force of the reasoning by which it
is inferred that where two beds, or strata, lie
one over the other, the former was deposited
or formed subsequently to the latter ; that
each one of the vast number of lesser beds or
layers, of which even a small thickness of
any stratum is composed, were all formed one
after another; and, when we come to dis-
tinguish the larger divisions and classes of
strata, by the fossil remains of plants and
animals, which we find imbedded, and often
completely mineralized in them, — that these

* PoggendorflTs Ann. xxxv. 468. — Thomson’s
Inorganic Chemistry, i. 160.

are the remains of creatures which actually
lived and died during the period at which the
depositions took place respectively ; and that
the lowest rational estimate we can form will
not allow U3 to suppose any short or limited
period of time as requisite for the formation of
any one bed, the enclosing in it of all its
organic remains, and (marine or aquatic as
those remains so universally are) its elevation
from the bottom of the primaaval ocean into
dry land.

Pursuing our researches on these simple and
truly philosophic principles, we are brought
in succession to recognise an immense series
of deposits, characterized by organic remains,
in which the skill of the naturalist and the
anatomist detects species, genera, entire orders
of living beings which do not now exist. The
deposits in which these occur, now in a great
degree hardened and consolidated into rocks,
are thus characterized as distinct formations
which have gradually emerged at sticcessive
remote epochs, at incalculably long intervalsof
time. Other classes of phenomena are obser-
vable in a series of rocks of a different texture,
and wholly destitute of organic remains, which
appear protruded, as it were, among and
through the others : having, in many cases,
an exact resemblance to the effects of exist-
ing volcanoes, — and in all, following a close
analogy to such modes of eruptive action.

We shall in the following sketch presume
no further on our reader’s acquaintance with
the subject than to the extent here briefly
descr ibed. The names given to the successive
leading groups of formations, which all over
the world succeed one another in this order,
are principally, the tertiary (or newest),
above the chalk. The secondary, from the
chalk inclusive to the coal formations : then
those whrch have been called transition ; and,
lastly, the primary, of crystalline texture,
without organic remains, and bearing marks
of being upheaved, protruded, or forced
through all the others, in the way that mass-
es of melted matter are now forced up by
volcanic action.

SILURIAN AND CAMBRIAN FOR-
MATIONS.

Mr. Murchison and Professor Sedgwick
have been for a long time directing their joint
labours to the elucidation of the rocks usually
confounded together under the unmeaning
name of “ Transition,” comprising all the se-
ries intervening between the old red sand-
stone and the primitive rocks. They have
been minutely examined by these two eminent
geologists, as developed in Wales and the
part of England adjoining, and they have suc-
ceeded in dispelling almost entirely the ob-
scurity in which the nature of these rocks has
been long involved.

From beneath the old red sandstone, there
rises out this considerable group of rocks,
which, taking them in the order from upper
to lower, Mr. Murchison has named the
Ludlo, Wenlock, Caradoc, and Llandeillo
formations, each being distinguished by cha-
racteristic organic remains, and frequently by
subordinate beds of limestone, 'i hese beds
form a well-marked connected group, inter-

ON THE IMPRESSIONS CONVEYED BY THE TERM TRANSITION. 277

posed between the old red sandstone and the
slaty-grauwacke of Wales. Hence it seemed
very desirable to apply some distinctive name.
So great have been the recent advances in
geology, that the term “ transition,” formerly
applied, has (as we observed above) now be-
come wholly unmeaning, and, in fact, conveys
incorrect impressions. Hence these geologists
have adopted the name “ Silurian System,”
(from the Roman name for this part of Wales;)
and this they subdivide into the “ Upper Silu-
rian,” comprising the two fii'st of the four
classes named above, — and the “ Lower,” in-
cluding the two last.

Beneath these appear the various slaty
rocks, which are common to Wales and Cum-
berland. These Professor Sedgwick has
minutely investigated ; and divides them, ac-
cording to order of superposition, into upper,
middle, and lower. The upper formation is
seen in the chain of the Berwyn mountains,
and is thence expanded over a large part of
South Wales, including Plinlimmon ; it con-
tains in general less calcareous matter, and
fewer organic remains, than the Silurian
systems. The middle Cambrian includes the
Merionethshire ranges and Snowdon, con-
taining a few organic remains, and some highly
calcareous slates, but no beds of limestone.
The same group is largely developed in Cum-
berland. The lower or oldest Cambrian
group occupies the south-west of Caernar-
vonshire, and much of Anglesea. It con-
tains no organic remains.

In this rapid sketch, we, of course, can do
little more than explain the nominal distinc-
tions which have been thus laid down. But
it must be understood, that they are far from
being mere distinctions of names. They
involve essential characteristics of extensive
geological districts, and serve to bring under
a luminous classification a series, of great
importance to a connected knowledge of
British strata, which has long been involved
in obscurity from want of such a principle
of arrangement.

A full account of these researches was
given at the Dublin meeting of the British
Association ; and elicited besides the encomi-
ums so justly due to the talents and persever-
ance of its authors, many able illustrations
and remarks; especially from Mr. Greenough,
who considered that similar principles of
classification might very probably be exten-
ded to other regions ; and from Professor
Phillips, who made some highly interesting
observations on the distribution of charac-
teristic organic remains in rocks, especially
those here considered. He dwelt upon the
important fact, so utterly destructive of the
favourite hypothesis of some geologists and
cosmogonists, of a gradual advance from the
simplest to the most complex forms of animal
life, as we advance to the newer rocks ; that
in these Silurian groups, though we find a
diminution in the number of fossil species in
the older rocks, yet they exhibit no inferio-
riiy of structure or organization. They
belong to extinct classes. Among beings of

lower organization, as among shell-fi.sh, some
single species may be found even in rocks so
ancient as the Silurian system, which also
now exist; and he was hence led to remark,
that it is not by any single genus, but by a com-
bination of co-existing genera that strata must
be identified.

FOSSIL FISHES.

The natural history of fishes has been gene-
rally considered more obscure than that of
any other of the great divisions of the animal
kingdom; and it has been almost entirely
through the labours of M. Agassiz that a
new light has been thrown over it, by tracing
out, as he has done, a new principle of clas-
sification : by this the whole science has been
remodelled, It is also a singular circumstance
in this investigation, |;hat (contrary to the
usual order of procedure) the study of the
fossil remains of fishes has been a material
source of elucidation for understanding the
relations and classification of existing species.

The great principle of classification
adopted by M. Agassiz, is derived from the
nature of the external covering or scales* The
peculiar form and structure of the scales dif-
fer essentially in different classes of fishes ;
and the nature of the covering, which pro-
tects the animal externally, is found to bear
a direct relation to the internal organization.
Here then there appears a principle of rela-
tion which, doubtless, depends upon some
essential modification of the animal cha-
racter, and thus may fairly afford a satisfac-
tory ground of a real distinction and classi-
fication of species. This principle, then, M.
Agassiz has adopted; and, in following it out,
has arrived at a grand distinction of fishes,
under four principal orders, characterized by
the peculiar nature of their scales. .They are
termed, 1. Placoi'dians, 2. Ganoidians, 3.
Ctenoidians, and 4. Cycloi’dians

Of the whole number of species now known
to exist, more than three-fourths belong to
the two orders of Cycloidians and Ctenoi'di-
ans, the other fourth to the remaining two.
Whereas, of the species whose fossil remains
we find imbedded and mineralized, none of
the two orders last-named have been found
in any formations below the chalk ; whilst in
the lower or older formations we have abund-
ance of the other two kinds. The propor-
tions of these in the different formations are
very remarkable, and have been carefully
traced by the persevering industry and skill
of M. Agassiz,

In the most recent or tertiary deposits, not
only the fossil orders and genera, but also
the species, approach nearly in character to

* These names are derived from Greek
words, describing the shape and appearance
of the scales.

1 . From plax, a table or broad surface, the
scales being large.

2. From ganos, beauty or splendour ; from
the bright enamel with which they are armed.

3. From cteis, a comb, the scales being
formed with teeth.

i. From cpclosy a circle, the scales being
round.

273

THE CHANGES WHICH OUR PLANET HAS UNDERGONE.

those now existing ; though he has not found and the oolite rocks, it is a highly interesting

more than one species exactly the same. fact, that the capsule of the eye has been pre-

Those of the formation called “ crag,” in served: and in many species from Monte

Norfolk, are allied to the species now inha- Bolca, Solenhofen, and the lias, we see dis-

biting the tropical seas. In the London clay, tinctly all the little blades which form the

the beds in the basin of Paris, and at Monte branchiae.

Bolca, about two-thirds belong to existing
genera.

In the formations next below these, the
chalk, about one third only belong to
existing genera.

In the formations older than the chalk,
there is not a single genus identical with the
recent. The oolitic series, to the lias inclusive,
forms by its species of fossil fish a very na-
tural and well-defined group. The weald
formation is included in this, in which M.
Agassiz did not find a singlespecies referrible
even to the genera of the chalk.

Throughout the series of rocks deposited
in these epochs, the two orders which pre^
vail by so large a majority (as above stated)
in the existing creation, are not to be found.
New species have since been created ; the
whole genera formed of all those species are
new, not merely in a few instances, but
through such a range and extent, that even
the entire order comprising those genera is
new. In these older strata, on the other
hand, different species, genera, and orders,
existed in proportional abundance, most of
which have since died away and disappeared ;
and the two great orders, which at the present
day form a small minority, were then pre-
dominant.

The most striking characteristics, per-
haps, of^these periods are the predominance
of those Ganoidians which have a symmetri-
cal caudal-fin ; and those Placoi'dians, which
have their teeth furrowed on both sides, and
have large thorny rays on the dorsal-fin.
These fossil rays had long been known, but
their real nature was wholly misunderstood.

In the formations below the lias, the
character, above stated, in the tail-fin of the
Ganoidians is entirely changed. Instead of
n tail parting off into two equal and similar
divisions or lobes, the backbone is continued
straight on, into a true tail, while another
lobe, or fin, is formed beneath, so as to give
the appearance of a tail-fin, with two un-
equal, unsymmetrical, lobes. This distinc-
tion prevails up to the fishes of the most an-
cient strata.

The form of the teeth is another important
distinction, bearing obviously a direct rela-
tion to the habits of the animal and its means
of subsistence.

In strata more recent than those contain-
ing coal, we find no fish decidedly carnivo-
rous,— that is, provided with large conical
and pointed teeth. In these strata, up to the
chalk, the fish appear to have been omnivo-
rous, their teeth being either |rounded, or in
obtuse cones, or like a brush. The nature of
the food of these fish is also ascertained by
the discovery of the fossil contents of their
intestines, in which scales of other fish, on
which they had preyed, have been found.

In a great number of instances from the
tertiary beds of the Isle of Sheppy, the chalk.

In the strata below the lias, we begin to
find the largest of those large fish, of an
organization allied to the Saurian, or lizard
tribe ; the resemblance is chiefly in the mode
of connexion of certain parts of the skeleton,
and the form of the teeth.

Froiii the general distribution of the species
of fossil fish thus investigated, M. Agassiz has
deduced some important and profound in-
ferences, with regard to the clianges which
our planet has undergone at remote epochs.

There is a remarkable distinction between
these fossil fishes, and the fossil zoophytes 'md
testacea. Of these last, the same genera are
found through several different formations, as
we have already noticed ; and their organi-
zation was such as enabled them to live
through all the great changes in the physical
condition of the globe, which accompanied
the successive depositions of those formations.
With the fossil ^s/ies the case is widely differ-
ent. We have seen that the several genera,
and even orders, vary extremely from one
formation to another. Thus the changes in
the constitution of the globe, which accom-
paiiied the successive epochs, were of such
a kind as these genera of fishes were unabla
to survive. We see at once, then, a reason
for this difference between them and the infe-
rior classes, in the greater perfection and deli-
cacy of their organization ; their more complica-
ted structure required important modifications,
according as great changes took place in the’
climate, and various physical relations in the
order of things on the surface of the globe. Here
then was the same beautiful series of adapta-
tions, existing in as high perfection myriads of
ages ago as at the present time : displayed
equally in all the long series of creations, by
which the globe has been gradually brought
into its present condition, and evincing the
ever-enduring and universal influence of the
same creative Power and Intelligence.

The fishes of each of the great periods of the
earth’s formation are thus essentially diffeient
from each other, but each series agreeing
among themselves in some peculiarities of
organization. The multitude of species so
coexisting must, doubtless, have been fitted by
that peculiar organization for the particular
conditions which prevailed on the surface of
the globe at the time they lived. So, likewise,
the disappearance of whole species and genera,
is the evidence of great and universal changes
in those attendant conditions of the external
world, which introduced a new order of things
unsuited to that peculiar organization with
which they were furnished. Thus, not only
individuals, but whole families and species
perished ; not only a few species, but a wide
range of species, comprising a whole genus;
and not only this, but so many genera as made
up the larger portion of an entire order. One
common peculiarity constituted the distinc-
tion of the order ; that peculiarity was no

INTERESTING ACCOUNT OF THE DISCOVERY OF FOSSIL FISH. 279

longer suited to external nature, — the whole
order therefore perished.

Did then these vast alterations in the plan
of nature take place suddenly"? Was this
immense destruction, not only of animal life
but of a whole system of organization brought
about at one time ?— in a short time ; or did
it take place by more gradual changes? by a
series of changes so slow as to be imperceptible,
going on through a countless series of ages?

M. Agassiz has introduced some remarks
bearing on the solution of these questions. He
observes that, in some cases, local and tran-
sient causes may be capable of producing such
effects over a certain extent of district : such,
for example, as volcanic eruptions. A sub-
marine eruption might destroy all the fish in
the particular region where it took place ; but
this would hardly account for the disappear-
ance of species diXiA genera, however extensive
or often repeated. M. Agassiz possesses spe-
cimens in which a great number of fossil
fishes are crowded into a small space ; and the
appearance of the whole is such, as to impress
the spectator with the belief that they were
destroyed and imbedded, as it were instan-
taneously, by some sudden catastrophe: such
as a sudden eruption of volcanic matter, ora
sudden influx of fresh water, or even the heat-
ing of the sea by a submarine volcano.

Such causes as these, however, could be
only local ; and it is evident we must refer to
changes, upon a much larger scale, in the
condition of the earth’s surface, as alone capa-
ble of producing the greater effects we have
above described. M. Agassiz appears to lean
to the theory of those geologists, who contend
that the great changes which have affected
the crust of our globe were brought about by
vast and sudden catastrophes and that, cor-
responding with the occurrence of these con-
vulsive movements, the great changes in the
characteristics of animal and vegetable life
were as suddenly introduced. Those of our
readers who have perused the masterly but
extremely popular work of Mr. Lyell (and
we hope there will be few who have not), will
know how to estimate the claims of this
theory.

M. Agassiz commenced his researches on
the Continent ; but has, more recently,
extended them to an examination of tlie
specimens fourid in English collections.
Here, indeed, we have been long accu-
mulating these geological treasures, in
which our island is peculiarly rich, but with-
out' fully understanding the value of them,
until M. Agassiz has pointed it out to us ; and
invested many of these accumulations of neg-
lected remains, with a new value and interest.
He has found, in the English cabinets, 300
species new to his researches. Here, then,
was an interesting, perhaps critical, moment
for his speculations ; his views were thus put
to a severe test. All these specimens, however,
were found to furnish a complete verification
of his former inferences, and entirely to corro-
borate the laws ofdevelopment which he had
previously determined, in regard to the suc-

cession of these orders of animals, during the
different changes which our globe has under-
gone.

The oldest formation in which fossil fishes
are found, is the Silurian system of rocks; in
which there are five or six species, exhibiting
the first appearance, in the primaeval world,
of this long-continued series of vertebrated
animals ; the species of which become more
and more diversified and numerous, as well
in their outward forms as in their organiza-
tion, as we advance to the later formations.
Yet, as we have- indeed already noticed,
those which do occur even in these most
ancient rocks, the first of living beings which
tenanted the globe, were animals of the most
perfect and exquisite structure and organiza-
tion.

A highly interesting account has lately been
given to the Geological Society, by Mr. Mur-
chison, of the discovery of fossil fish , in the
new red sandstone of Tyrone, in Ireland,
being the first discovery of such remains in
the particular stratum, though they were
known to exist in others of the group to which
it belongs. The part of the formation in
question surrounds, and includes, a small
coal-field, but reposes, for the greater part,
on mountain limestone. The sandstone con-
sists of many distinct beds, which have evident-
ly been deposited at different, and widely
separated, periods of time; since some of the
lower exhii'it, on the upper surface, the marks
of the rippling action of water, and must,
therefore, have long presented an exposed
surface to a calm sea. It is in the lowest beds,
twenty-five or thirty feet below the surface,
that tire fishes are found.

Another curious and interesting fact, con-
nected with these researches, has been the
light thrown by them upon some very singular
specimens, which had been, for years, in the
possession of Dr. Buckland, but of which nei-
ther he, nor any of the numerous geologists
and naturalists who examined them, could
make out anything. They are now ascertain-
ed, by comoaiison, to be the jaw-bones of a
rare fossil fish, of which four different species
are now recognised, in the oolitic formation,
by the acute investigations of Dr. Buckland.

We have alluded to some remains of fossil
fishes, which bear a resemblance to those of
the Saurian reptiles, (the tribe including the
lizards and crocodiles). We must not omit
one very remarkable instance, which throws
considerable light on this sort of relation.

In the limestone of Burdie-house, in Scot-
land (belonging to a deep-seated bed of the
coal formation, beneath all the beds of coal),
numerous specimens of fossil fish were dis-
covered by Dr. Hibbert, a few years ago.
Amongst other remains, he has since found,
in this locality, many specimens of teeth,
scales, and large bones, apparently of a Sau-
rian character. This being mentioned to M,
Agassiz, he at once traced an analogy which
has enabled him to explain, with the highest
probability, the nature of the animal to which
they belonged. In the tropical parts of

280 GRADUAL AND PERMANENT RISE OF A LARGE TRACT OF LAND.

America, he immediately called to mind a
species offish (the Lepidosteus), now existing,
which has, in many points, a striking resem-
blance to the lizard tribe. The form of its
scales particularly, as well as of its teeth, are
extremely similar to those of the crocodile
genus; and even its internal organization
forms a sort of connecting link between that of
a fish and a lizard. The swimming-bladder,
when minutely examined, is found to be, ana-
tomically, a true Lung-, and approaches closely
in structure to the lungs of reptiles. It has
a regular trachea, communicating with a
glottis, surrounded by ligaments intended to
open and shut it, constituting an apparatus
even of a more complicated structure than
that of many reptiles. 'I'he heart, again, re-
sembles that of a reptile in some particulars.

With this fish M. Agassiz compared the
sauroid remains (as they had been provision-
ally termed,) tound at Burdie-house : he was
materially assisted, also, in making out the
analogy, by the entire head of a large fossil fish
in the museum at Leeds. By this sort of
comparison, he has at length classified the
fossil remains into a new genus, under the
name ol JMegalicthys; of which more than
one species are now recognised in the coal-
fields of Scotland.

These investigations were given in a paper,
read to the Royal Society of Edinburgh, by
Dr. Hibbert (Dec. 1834), who, in conclu-
sion, well observed the importance, in
geology, of such analogies with living species.
In this instance, he observed," M. Agassiz
had rescued from obscurity a sauroid fish,
dwelling among the lakes and rivers of the
most thermal regions of America, and ren-
dered it elucidative of one of the most earliest
states ol our planet, when, in the language of
this naturalist, fish united, in their particular
organization, the character of reptiles, be-
longing to that class of animals which only
appeared in far greater numbers during a
later epoch.’’

ELEVATION AND SUBSIDENCE OF
LAND.

A paper was read to the Geological Society,
November l8, 1835, in which Dr. Pingel, of
Copenhagen, gives a detailed description of
the evidences which he has collected in a
tour, of the fact of a subsidence, during the
last half century, of the coait of Green-
larid, between N. lat. GO® and 69«. 'I bis is
evinced by the ruins of houses and villages on
the shore, vyhich are now covered at high
water, and, in some instances, are only visible
at very low tides.

From astatement, by Captain Fitzroy, R.
N-, read at the same meeting, it appears that
the earthquake ofFebruary, 1835, on the coast
of Chili, not only produced an alteration
in the currents but that the island of S. Maria
was permanently elevated ten feet. Another,
and more detailed, account ofthe same earth-
quake, was given in a letter from Mr. Alison.
I he most remarkable circumstances were
these : Forty minutesafter the first shock, the
sea suddenly retired so far, thata great part of
the bottom of the bay, at the port of Talca-
huno, was laid dry ; but the water very soon

afterwards returned with increased violence^
and flowed twenty feet over the town, carry-
ing everything before it. This was repeated
three times. The same thing occurred in the
earthquake which destroyed Pence, in 1730
and 1731. In the present instance, the land
permanently rose two or three feet on the shore
andinthebay. Mr. Alison also mentions the
existence, near Valparaiso, of recent marine
shells, 1400 feet above the level of the sea ;
and, in the bay of Valparaiso, he says, a rock,
which, in 1817, could be passed over in a
bout, is now dry except at spring-tides.

At the island of Juan Fernandez, a similar
recession, and then violent influx of the sea
took place; but here it was accompanied by
another remarkable phenomenon, namely, the
breaking out of a submarine volcano, which
caused an immense agitation and boiling or
the sea.

At a meeting, of December 2nd, a paper was
read on the effects of earthquake waves on
the coasts of the Pacific, by Woodbine
Parish, Esq. In this valuable memoir, the
author has collected all the information he
could obtain from well-authenticated histori-
cal accounts of earthquakes, producing those
sudden overflowings, or rather immense
vyaves, in the sea of which we have just spoken.
These are highly curious, and attest the vast
force with which inroads of the ocean, under
these circumstances, have taken place. They
by no means u/rr;ai/s accompany earthquakes :
in fact it evidently depends on the direction
which the shock takes, and the locality of its
origin, w'hether such an effect will be pro-
duced or not.

A most remarkable and instructive example
of the gradual and permanent rise of a large
tract of land, is that described by Mr, Lyell
as now taking place in Sweden. (PMl,
Trans., 1835, i.)

It is more than a hundred years since the
Swedish naturalist, Celsius, declared his opi-
nion that the level of the waters, both of the
Baltic and the ocean, was suffering a gradual
depression ; that is, that there was a change
in the relative level of the land and the sea.
Von Buch, in the course of his tour in
Sweden and Norway, about twenty-five years
ago, found, at several places on the western
shores of Scandinavia, deposits of sand and
mud, containing numerous shells referrible to
species now living in the neighbouring ocean.
From this circumstance, and from accounts
which he received from inhabitants of the
coasts of the Bothnian Gulf, he inferred that
Celsius was correct in regard to a gradual
change of relative level. As the sea cannot
sink in one place without falling everywhere,
^mn Buch concluded that certain parts of
Sweden and Finland were slowly and insensi-
bly rising.

Some difference of opinion, however, pre-
vailed on the subject ; and there were not
wanting able observers, who contended that
the inferences were founded on mistaken
data, and, on other grounds, denied the truth
of the statement altogether. The question

DANGER OF SUSPECTING WITHOUT PROPER EXAMINATION.

281

thus acquired additional interest : and Mr.
Lyell, determined to investigate the facts him-
self, made a tour into Sweden for the purpose.

He visited a considerable part of the shores
of the Bothnian Gulf, between Stockholm and
Gefle, and of the western coast of Sweden,
between Uddevola and Gothenburg, districts
particularly alluded to by Celsius. He exa-
mined several of the marks cut by the Swedish
pilots, under the direction of the Swedish
Academy of Sciences, in 1820, and found
the level of the Baltic, in calm weather,
several inches below the marks. He also
found the level of the waters several feet below
marks made seventy or a hundred years be-
fore. He obtained similar results on the side
of the ocean ; and found, in both districts,
that the testimony of the inhabitants exactly
agreed with that of their ancestors, recorded
by Celsius. After confirming the accounts
given by Von Buch, of the occurrence, on
the side of the ocean, of elevated beds of
recent shells at various heights, from lO to 200
feet, Mr. Lyell discovered, in addition,
deposits on the side of the Bothnian Gulf,
between Stockholm and Gefle, containing
fossil shells of the same species which now
characterize the brackish waters of the sea.
These occur at various elevations, of from 1
to 100 feet, and sometimes reach fifty miles
inland. The shells are partly marine and
partly fluviatile: the marine species are iden-
tical with those now living in the ocean, but
are dwarfish in size, and never attain the
average dimensions of those which live in
waters sufficiently salt to enable them to
reach their full development. Mr. Lyell
concludes, in general, that certain parts of
Sweden are undergoing a gradual rise, to the
amount of tivo or three feet in a century,
while other parts, visited by him, further to
the south, appear to experience no movement.

All these facts have an extremely valuable
bearing on geological theories. The fact that
a slow, and imperceptibly gradual rise, is now
taking place in one large district of the earth,
whilst a sinking has been also going on in
another, afford us the strong ground of ob-
served facts for admitting, as a true philoso-
phical cause, the like slow, gradual, elevation
of land out of the sea, in other cases and in
earlier epochs. 'To account for the actual
appearances of strata, now hundreds or thou-
sands of feet above the sea, containing beds
of marine shells and animal remains, we re-
quire nothing but a repetition, or rather con-
stant succession, of such events as are now
going on in Sweden and Greenland, to account
for all those level, or but slightly inclined de-
positions, which, to so vast an extent, have
contributed to form our existing continents.
And where is the slightest ground of proba-
bility for supposing these changes to have
gone on at a more rapid rate formerly than
nowl And if we form anything like the
roughest calculation, what length of time shall
we assign for the elevation of any one, even
of the superficial and most recent forma-
tions'?

But the effects of earthquake waves is a
subject not less worthy of consideration. Some

geologists have contended that the sudden
elevation of mountain chains, by volcanic
forces, of whose intensity nothing, in the pre-
sent degenerate condition of the globe, can
convey any idea, caused mighty waves, delu-
ging, at one sweep, vast regions of the earth,
and accounting for numerous phenomena,
which those of another scliool attribute to the
action of ordinary causes, acting through im-
mensely long periods of time. These earth-
quake waves give us an idea of the extent to
which such causes can act under the influence
of volcanic forces, of the highest intensity of
any within human experience; i.e., capable
of producinglocal inroads, on particular coasts,
to an extent absolutely insensible compared
with those which must be imagined in order
to account in this way for geological pheno-
mena. We may then falculate, in some de-
gree, what enormous intensity must be sup.
posed in an earthquake, to cause an inun-
dation of any considerable tract of country.
Further, we must own, we find it impossible
to conceive how the upheaving of a mountain,
from the bottom of the sea, supposing it merely
to ascend uniformly and steadily, could pro-
duce any wave at all. It seems to us solely
the trembling motion and rapid shock of the
earthquake, which produces the wave.

ON AN INCREDIBLE EXPERIMENT
IN WHICH THE HUMAN BODY
LOSES ITS WEIGHT.

Related BY Sir David Brewster and

ANOTHER.

Highly exciting as the marvellous “ may
be to a large proportion of mankind, even in
the most advanced state of civilization yet
known, it ought never to be drawn from
sources whence truth may be obtained by
ordinary industry of research, nor furnished
by men whose dicta, from their intellectual
rank, may be received, without examination
or suspicion, not only by the ignorant and
unreflecting, but by many who are in the
habit generally of requiring proof whenever
it is possible to be obtained.

To suborn nature, and abuse knowledge,
for the vulgar purpose of exciting surprise
among tlie ignorant, can now never acquire
more than a very short-lived success, and
must, eventually, be productive of great
humiliation.

Besides, there is abundantly sufficient
among the grand, and even among the minute,
operations and productions of nature, to satisfy
the most ravenous appetite for the “ wonder-
ful” and the “ new,” without fabricating,
or circulating, when fabricated by others,
statements at utter variance with all known
acts, and ushering them into the world in a
manner tending to disturb that confidence in
the constant uniformity in the laws of nature,
which centuries of investigation have com-
bined to produce, and upon which the philo-
sophic mind reposes with satisfaction and
delisht.

282 EXPERIMENTS RELATIVE TO THE STRENGTH OF THE HUMAN FRAME.

Without meaning lo impute ignoble motives
to so eminent a philosopher, and so acute an
observer, as Sir David Brewster, it is, at least,
surprising to see him expose himself to a
charge of this nature, and that, too, in a work
whose very intention seemed to be the clearing
of the mind’s eye, the strengthening of its
vision, and the increase, to borrow an astrono-
mical phrase, of its penetrating power, so that
it might pierce more thoroughly the mistiness
which superstition and knavish cunning, some-
times for base, and frequently for criminal,
purposes, envelop some simple, but little
known operation of nature, or some refined,
but only partially exposed, process of art.
Sir David had also an abettor, if not an accom-
plice in the late Sir Walter Scott, but in him
the love of mystification, and the practice of
ingenious deception,*^ were so predominant,
that we rather wonder he was content to play
so second-rate a part in the case which we
are about to refer to.

In the “ Letters on Natural Magic, addres-
sed to Sir Walter Scott, Bart., by Sir
David Brewster, K.H., LL.D., F,R.S.,
V.P.R.S.E., &c..” p. 255, &c., is the follow-
ing passage: —

“ One of the most remarkable and inexpli-
cable experiments relative to the strength of
the human frame, which you have your-
self seen and admired, is that in which a hea-
vy man is raised with the greatest facility,
when he is lifted up the instant that his own
lungs and those of the tiersons wdio raised him
are inflated with air. This experiment was,
I believe, first shown in England, a few years
ago, by Major H., who saw it performed in a
large party at Venice, under the direction
of an officer of the American Navy. As Major
H. perfomed it more than once in my pre-
sence, I shall describe, as nearly as possible,
the method which he prescribed. The heaviest
person in the party lies down upon two chairs,
his legs being supported by the one, and his
back by the other. Four persons, one at
each leg, and one at each shoulder, then try
to raise him, and they find his dead weight to
be very great, from the difficulty they experi-
ence in supporting him. When he is replaced
in the chair, each of the four persons takes
hold of the body as before, and the person to
be lifted gives two signals by clapping his
hands. At the first signal, he himself and
the four lifters begin to draw a long and full
breath, and, when the inhalation is comple-
ted, or the lungs filled, the second signal is
given for raising the person from the chair. T o
his own surprise, and that of his bearers, he
rises with the greatest facility, as if he were
no heavier than a feather. On several oc-
casions, I have observed that when one of the
bearers performs his part ill, by making the
inhalation out of time, the part of the body
which he tries to raise is left as it were behind.
As you have repeatedly seen this experiment,
and have performed the part both of the load
and of the bearer, you can testify how remark-
able the effects appear to all parties, and how
complete is the conviction, either that the
load has been lightened, or the bearer strength-
ened, by the prescribed process.

” At Venice, the experiment was performed
in a much more imposing manner. The
heaviest man in the party was raised and
sustained upon the points of the fore-fingers
of six persons. Major H. declared that the
experiment would not succeed if the person !
lifted were placed upon a board, and the
strength of the individuals applied to the board.
Fie conceived it necessary that the bearers
should communicate directly with the body
to be raised, I have not had an opportunity
of inaking any experiments relative to these
curious facts; but, whethei the general effect I
is an illusion, or the result of known or of
new principles, the subject merits a careful
investigation.

The circumstances under which this nar-
ration is given to the public are such, that if
the feat, said to have been performed, was not
so utterly incredible, they would be amply
sufficient to procure for the “ wonder,” ready
circulation and unhesitating acceptation even
among scrupulous observers of truth. Here
a Major H, is stated to have performed the ex- I
periment successfully in Sir David’s presence ; j
and Sir David Brewster, F.R.S., addressing i
Sir Walter Scott, F.R.S.E., speaks of the
feat as one you have seen and admired ” de- '
scribes the experiment: as one“ you repeatedly '
have seen, and performed the part both of the
load 07} d the hearer,” can testify how

remarkable the effects appear to all pai'ties,”
&c.

As Sir Walter never in his life-time publicly
noticed this appeal nor contradicted the
statement, he united his testimony to that of
Sir David, and as if even this united evidence
could be strengthened, there comes “ over
sea” another circumstantial account of the
same feat, and that from a quarter in which
no confederacy could be suspected, unless
indeed the American naval officer, who taught
it to Major H., at Venice, had carried it
across the Atlantic, and up the St. Lawrence.

In an American periodical, Silllmn7ds Jour-
^fl/. No. 57, published in April, 1835, there
is the following communication to the
Editor : —

Kingston, Upper Canada, OctoberSl, 1834.

“ Sir,— As a subscriber to your valuable
journal, I take the liberty of asking of some
of your scientific readers the rationale of the
following experiment.

“An individual is to place himself on a
stool or a table on his back , with his arms and
legs crossed, keeping the whole body stiff;
four or six others are then to place themselves
at about equal distances, by the sides of the
first,— say tw’o at the shoulders, two about
the middle of the body, and the others by the
hips and thighs. Extending the fore-fingers
of each hand so as to touch the body, some-
what underneath. At a given signal, the
whole party are to take as full an inspiration
as possible, and at another given signal,
simultaneously to respire very slowly, gently
pressing the body upwards at the same time,
when it will be found to rise with a very
slight effort, and to continue rising until the

A VERY REMARKABLE EXPERIMENT.

283

breath is exhausted, when it will suddenly
fall down with great force. The operators
must be prepared for this circumstance, and
immediately pass their arms under the body
to break its fall ; it will also be well for one
individual to hold a pillow under the head
for the same purpose. The experiment ap-
pears to succeed best in a closed room, and
if the inspirations and respirations are not
uniform, it will fail. I first saw it tried about
twenty years ago, but have never yet heard
or seen any satisfactory explanation of it.

“ I am not aware that it involves any prin-
ciple adverse to the known laws of gravitation,
but it certainly appears for a short time to
act independently of them. If you deem it
(this letter) worthy of a passing notice, I
should be glad to see it ; if otherwise, let it
be deposited in the Archives of the College
ofLaputa. “ lam, Sir, respectfully yours,

“ James Nickalls, Jr.”

In this account respiration is one of the
conditions, and the experiment differs in some
other respects from SirDavid’s, not materially,
however ; but so far as it does, the feat is ren-
dered still moreimprobable, This gentleman
also states that he “ saw it tried about twenty
years” before, and still, in 1834, “ he had
never yet heard or seen any satisfactory expla-
nation of it !”

What shall be believed, then, of § this extra-
ordinary fact, so extensively promulgated in
the Old Hemisphere, and echoed back from
the New? We agree with the editor, in the
journal above referred to, that“ it is desirable
that it should be decided either that the ap-
pearance is illusory, or that a reasonable
cause should be assigned,” and also with Sir
David Brewster, who says, at the conclusion
of the extract given, that“ the subject merits
a careful investigation,”

We have the satisfaction of laying before
our readers an investigation and decision,
made with a most careful attention to all the
circumstances described by Sir David Brews-
ter. We have been permitted by an “ Ex-
perimental Society,” which holds its meetings
in London, to have access to that part of their
minute-book, in which the introduction and
investigation of this very subject, and the
final decision of the Society, are recorded.
In order that the weight due to this investiga-
tion and decision may be properly estimated,
we shall state, that though none of the mem-
bers possess names which are to be compared
with the splendour of those of the knight or
of the baronet in question, yet some of them
have distinguished themselves in the scientific
world, and they all have a reputation for vera-
city, sufficient ability, habits of observation
and patient inquiry, quite sufficient to qualify
them to form a competent jury to try the
question.

Though the members of this society systema-
tically avoid notoriety as a body, the name
of the members who assisted in this experi-
ment may, in this particular case, be known,
if any person should think it worth while to
express the wish for them.

We also, for the same purpose of proving
the confidence that maybe placed in an in-
vestigation by these gentlemen, shall state
shortly their mode of proceeding. When a
subject is decided by them to be worthy of ex-
periment, a director of the investigation is ap-
pointed, at whose command all the means that
the society, as a body, or each individual so
disposed, can furnish ; and to avoid distraction
and confusion, and ensure effective co-oper-
ation, his instructions are implicitly followed.
At the conclusion of an experiment, made un-
der these circumstances, the whole of the mem-
bers present discuss the proceeding, and sug-
gest any omissions they may have observed ;
if these are important, the experiment is re-
peated, and so on, until every doubt of every
individual is removed, and unanimity ob-
tained. This result cannot always be arrived
at by one experiment, or in one meeting jit
was not on the subject in question, but the
process is repeated until itis accomplished.

It was under such a procedure that the fact
described by Sir David Brewster was exa-
mined. Almost every member of the society
was, at one time or other, “ t/ie load or the
bearer,” hut particularly the heaviest and the
lightest persons of the number were always
lifted. As might be expected, the opinions
were various in the first experiments. The
differences however became less and less as
the investigation went on and the proofs were
multiplied; and at length they entirely va-
nished. The final unanimous verdict of the
society being, that no such effect was pro-
duced as that described in the Letters on
Natural Magic, that there was nothing what-
ever remarkable produced by the mode of
lifting: and that the facility which was ac-
quired in the lifting was no more than might
be expected from the promptness which the
bearers, by practice, acquired in acting
uniformly together, upon a given signal. The
feat of raising and supporting even their
most minute member upon the fore-fingers
of six persons, they found quite impractica-
ble.

If this verdict should, by any accident,
reach the ear of Sir David Brewster, and
he should think any further trial necessary,
we are authorized to say, that the“ Experi-
mental Society” wish it to be understood
that they are ready to undertake it, under
any modification that he may be kind
enough to suggest; and, after following his
instructions with the most scrupulous ac-
curacy, to state the result to the public.*

Until some such re-agitation of the ques-
tion should take place, we think after
the above investigation, it must be admitted
that the appearances described by Sir David
Brewster were illusory and that no reason-
able cause can be assigned which will pro-
duce such effects. VVe think, also, that

* Notwithstanding the conclusions at which
the Experimental Society have arrived, we
recommend to our readers a trial of the expe-
riment, and they will be satisfied that the effects
are really astonishing .—Ed. India Review-

284

TRANSACTIONS. OF THE LINNEAN SOCIETY.

scientific men should abstain from giving
currency to such monstrous improbabilities
unaccompainied by refutation or explana-
toi y remark. It would be far better to con-
tinue the inquiry into the cause, either of
the fact or of the error, and abstain from
publication until some satisfactory infor-
mation had been obtained.

THE TRANSACTIONS OF THE LIN-
NEAN SOCIETY OF LONDON,
vol. xvii.

The contents of this portion of the Transac-
tions are,

A commentary on the fourth part of the
Hortus Malabaricus. By (the late) Francis
Hamilton, M. D. &c.

Memoir on the degree of selection exer-
cised by plants, with regard to the earthy
constituents presented to their absorbing sur-
faces. By Charles Daubeny, M. I). &:c.

Review of the order of Hydrophylleae.
By George Bentham, Esq. &c.

On Diopsis, a genus of Dypterous In-
sects, with descriptions of twenty-one species.
By J. O. Westwood, Esq. &c.

The fact that about two-thirds of the half
volume now before us are occupied with the
fourth part of Dr. Hamilton’s Commentary,
which, however valuable, has already obtained
Its full share of the pages of the Linnean Tran-
sactions, must excite regret in those who are
desirous for the prosperity of this very res-
pectable Society, that its moderate funds
should be thus drained, when a contribution
from the ample means which it is well known
the author possessed, could have so readily
dispensed with this burden.

The object of the commentary is to remove
the discordances in the nomenclature of In-
dian botany, particularly with regard to the
adaptation of the native to the scientific names.
The difficulties attending such an attempt are
very numerous and complicated; because the
native names are often indiscriminately applied
to various species, when the latter approach
each other in character or quality ; and, in the
east, where the vegetable kingdom is ransack-
ed in all departments for the purpose of sup-
plying a materia medica to the native physi-
cians, these obstacles become more multifarious
and perplexing than in more civilized parts of
the earth, where, however, it may be alleged
that the physical properties of plants are un-
dervalued. Dr. Hamilton is inclined to con-
sider the native names properly applied as ex-
hibited in the following columns, which we
have drawn up for the benefit of our friends
in India, where our Journal is already
perused ;

Manoa domestica
Calappa sylvesiris
Myrisiica Malal)arica
Bariinsjtonia raceiiiosa
Stravadium acutaii«uluin
Holiyarna lonsiifolia
Tenninalia, or i
Myrobalanus '
lluuiphia tilicefulia

Taiia

Man?o Man, or Mau
Ada luatarn
Paiiein palka
Samstravadi
Tsjeiia Samstravadi
Katoii Tsjeiou
Taui

Tsjeui Taui

Limpnia moiiophylla ?
Uaiidia viiosa
Liitioiiia acidissima
Valeria Indica
Laiisiiim ?

Alaiiuiiim decapetalutn
Hamiltoiiia?

Sapindus emarginatus
Duahanaa Soimeratoides
Laijerstroemia hirsula
Eieocarpiis perincaia
Mimusnps Uexandia ?
Alaiiiiiuiii tiiiiieiuosuui
Theka lei iiifolia
VVebeia corymbosa
Clerodeiidrnm seiratiim
Cyiiomeira ramiflora
Ithiis Odina
<^aru!ra piiinata,

Scliiuus Salieria?

,, Niara

Papyrius, or f
Broussoneiia^ "“egrifolia
Vitex leiicoxyloii
Cordia ?

Calophylluin iiiophyiluin ?

» calaba?

Ceiiis orieiitalis

Ainboieiisis
Ceiiis Acala
Zizypliiis Mauritiana
Melaslnina aspera
,, Malabathrica ?

A viceiiiiia Oepaia
Oueitarda ?

Saiiiyda Canziaia
,, piscicida
>> glabra

?

Sapium Indicam

Melia iiitegerrima
Camuiiium Beugeleuse
Heigera iiitegei rirna
Olea dioica

Aoyneja mnllilocularis
Pbjsaiis Sugmida
Aiilidesiiia Zeylanica
,, paiiiculaia
Calicarpa ?

Azalea 1

Scaevola laccada
,, lobelia i

„ Modauani $

Sterciiiia giittaia )

,, Balaiiglias f

Mai naregam
Cam naregam
Tsjerouratou naregam
Paeiioe, Baenu
Nyalel

Aiigolain, or Alangi
Idou Moulli
Poeriiisii

Du)al)anga Adamboe
Catou Adamboe ?

Peril! Cara
Maiiil Cara
Dliela
riieka

Katon Theka
Tsjerou Theka
Iripa
Kalesjam
Cam calesjam
Ben Calesjiim
Niyar

Poiiga

Karil

Vidi maram
Poniia

Tsjerou poiiiia
Mallani Toddaii
Tilayi
Acata

Perim Toddal
Kadali

Katou Kadali
Oepata
Rava Pou

Kanjiala, Anavinga
Kouijal
Loiiajang
Coroiidi

Bengiri, Hurinayi
Ana Bepou
Bepu

Ban Kongeha
Kari Vetti
Pee Velli
Sugunda
Noeli Tali
Amri

Poutaleisje
Modagain
I accada
Bella?

Rameiia Pua or
Pou Maram?

According to Hamilton, the Vateria Indica
produces the gum anime which Dr. Roxburgh
says is termed in commerce, East Indian Co-
pal. Schindler tells us that there are three
kinds of Copal : 1. The East Indian, or Afri-
can Copal, is the brightest and softest, and
affords the best varnish. It is sometimes call-
ed ball copal. 2. The second variety is call-
ed West Indian or American Copal, being
derived from the Antilles, Mexico, and North
America, and is procured, according to Mar-
tins and Hayne, from different species of
Hymenea, Trachylohhim, and Vouapa. It is
termed stone copal, and is yellower than the
preceding kind. It comes to us in hard, flat
pieces, weighing dbout three ounces. It is
less easily melted than the preceding variety,
and seldom contains insects. 3. The third
variety is also termed West Indian copal, but
might be mistaken for the first species, as it oc-
curs in the form of convexo-concave pieces,
eight ounces in weight. Taste aromatic. Melt-
ing point between that of the two preceding.
Fresh oil of rosemary dissolves the first ia

PRODUCTION OF SILICA BY THE ASSIMILATING PROCESSES OF PLANTS. 285

any proportion. Fresh oil of turpentine dis-
solves the first variety completely, but only
dissolves a small portion of the other two, af-
ter long digestion. The action of alcohol is
similar. Schindler terms the last species, for
the sake of distinction, insect copal.

These facts 1 consider it proper to bring for-
ward, because Dr. Hamilton denies that copal
comes from India. Now, this opinion is at
variance with the statement of Retzius, who
called it Elaeocarpus copalliferus, because it
afforded the gum copal. Dr. Roxburgh alle-
ges also that the resin of the Paenoe is called
East India copal. Mr. Turnbull of Mirza-
pore informed Dr. Hamilton that some which
he sent home for trial would not sell for copal,
although it was allowed to be anime. “ The
real copal and anime, ’ he adds, “ are Ameri-
can productions.” The resin of the Paenoe,
or Dripa (Vatena Indica) was probably used
by the Brahmans of Malabar as an incense.
The Paenoe is one of the finest ornamental
trees in India ; and in the province of Canara
it is usually planted in rows by the sides of
highways, making remarkably fine avenues.
I’he statement of Mr. Turnbull is not conclu-
sive, because he does not state that its rejec-
tion was the consequence of chemical exami-
jiation.

The paper of Dr. Daubeny, who is pro-
fessor of both tl)e very extensive sciences of
chemistry and botany, is devoted to an account
of some researches carried on in prosecution
of the curious facts pointed out by Schrader
and others, who found that there was some
reason to conclude that plants, in their assi-
milating processes, produced silica.

Their method of proceeding was first to burn
the seeds and ascertain the quantity and nature
of the residual earthy matter j then to sow a
given portion of similar seeds in sulphur : and'
then to ascertain the nature of the earths con-
tained in the ashes of the plant. Dr. Dau-
beny employed dififerent soils, and instituted a
comparison between the effects of each. The
materials of the soils were sulphate of stron-
tian, Carara marble, sea sand, and mould. The
results do not appear to lead to any new infer-
ence. The author, however, concludes “ tlrat
the roots bf plants do, to a certain extent at
least, possess a power of selection, and that the
earthy constituents which form the basis of
their solid parts, are determined as to quality
by some primary law of nature, although their
amount may depend upon the more or less
abundant supply of the principles presented
to them from without.”

The order Hydrophylleae was first pointed
out by Mr. Brown, in his Prodromus Flor.
Nov. Holl, under which he included the gene-
ra Hydrophylkim, Phacelia, et Etlisia, and
afterwards added Nemophila and Eutoca.
Mr. Bentham, in the present paper, describes
forty species belonging to these five genera,
and anew one which he terms Emmenanthe.
They all differ from their nearest allies, the
Borragineue, in the capsular point, and copi-
ous albumen, and the structure of the ovarium,
in the Hydrophyllum, Nemophila, and Ef/isia,

the placentae are broad, fleshy, line the whole
ovarium, adhere at the top and basis only,
being free from the parietes, and bear on their
inner surface, each of them, from two to six-
teen ovulae, placed in two vertical rows, one
on each side of the central line.

InjEtocflr, Phacelia, and Emmenanthe the pla-
centae are linear, or slightly dilated, and adhere
more or less to the parietes along their cen-
tral line, bearing on their inner surface from
two to fifty or sixty ovulae.

I. Tlydrophyllum comprehends the species,

1. Appendiculatum, from the Alleghanies ;

2. Cayiadense ; 3. Virginicum ; 4.Macrophyl-
lum, near the Columbia.

II. Ellisia, I Nyctelea, Potowmac and
Missouri ; 2. Ambigua, Missouri ; 3. Membra-
nacea California ; 4. Crysanthemifolia Cali-
fornia; 5, Microcalyx; 6. Ranunculacea.

III. Nemophila. 1. Paviflora Columbia ;
2. Pedunculata Columbia; 3. Phaceloides;
4. Aurita California ; 5. Insignis California
6. Menziezii.

IV. Eutoca. 1. Douglasii California ; 2.
Cumingii Chili; 3. Brachyloha California;
4. Mezicana ; 5. Parviflora Pennsylvania ,
6. Loasaefolia California ; 7. Franklinii ;
8. Menziezii California ; 9. Sericea ; 10
Gj-and/yZom California ; 11. Z>ir;«rjccta Cali-
fornia, 12. Phaceloides California.

V. Phacelia. 1. Malvaefolia California ;
2. Brachyantia Chili ; 3. Circinata Colum-
bia ; 4. Integrifolia Platte ; 5. Ciliata Cali-
fornia ; 6, Ramosissima California ; 7. Tana-
cetifolia California; 8. Bipinnitifida Allegha-
nies ; 9. Fimbriata Kentucky ; JO. Hirsuta ;
11. Glabra.

VI. Emmenanthe Pendulifiora Calaronia,

Of these species 19 were sent from tha
western parts of North America, by the in-
defatigable Mr. Douglas, who, unfortunately,
lost his life in the Sandwich Islands, during the
prosecution of his botanical researches.

The chief interest of the genus Diopsis arises
from the extraordinary elongation of the sides
of the head into two cylindrical horns, which,
in some instances, are as long as the whole
body, and at the extremity of which, the eyes,
of a semi-globular form, are placed. The
antennae, also, are inserted near the extremity
of these protuberances, at a short distance be-
fore the eyes. These horns, at first sight,
might be mistaken for antennae, but they are
inarticulated at the base, as well as along the
surface; they have, therefore, no independent
motion, their movement^ being, necessarily,
accompanied by those of the whole head.
When, however, we recollect that they con-
tain not only the infinity of nerves of the com-
pound eyes at their extremities, but also those
producing the sensation, of which the anten-
nae are the seat, we can easily imagine how
necessary it is that the means of communica-
tion with the remainder of the head should be
unbroken by articulation. Mr. Westwood
describes 21 species : 1. Ichneumonea Guinea.
2. Collaris Senegal. 3. Pallida. 4. Nigra
Sierra Leone. 6. Apicalis Sierra Leone.

286

A RECENT AND VALUABLE DISCOVERY.

6. Tennipes Senegal. 7. Indica Bengal. 8, Assi-
niilis. 9. Abdominalis. 10. Fumipennis,
Senegal. 11. Punctiger West Africa. 12.
Signata Sierra Leone. 13. Fasciata. 14.
Concolor West Africa. 15. IMacrophthalma
Siena Leone. 16. Thoracica West Africa.
17. Obscura Sierra Leone. 1. Confasa
Congo, Sumatra. 19. Dalmanni Java,
20. Sykesii East Indies. 21. Brevicornis
Pennsylvania.

This paper is illustrated by engravings of
twenty figures.

CONSTANT VOLTAIC BATTERY.

Professor Daniel, of King’s College, exhi-
bited his battery on the 6th inst., at the Royal
Institution. He was led to construct this
very beautiful apparatus, by following up the
investigations of Davy and Fai’aday. He
found that the protecting power of tin on cop-
per sheathing, was due to a chemical action.
Thus he placed a plate of silver in a solution
of sulphate of copper ; and on touching it with
a fine-pointed rod of zinc, he found the cop-
per deposited on it in a circular form, and in
a regular manner ; and, if the contact was
kept up, the whole plate was supplied with a
copper coating. The elfect of protecting me-
tals appeared, at first, an objection to the
chemical theoi*y of electricity ; but this experi-
ment demonstrates its truth. To determine
and measure the definite chemical action of
electricity, Mr. Daniel has constructed a
dissected battery. It consists of ten cylindrical
glass vessels, which contain the fluid electro-
lytes ; the two plates of metal are immersed
in these fluids, each plate communicating
below by means of a separate wire, which is
made to perforate a glass stopper closing the
bottom of the cell, with a small quantity
of mercury contained in a separate cup below
the stopper. The plates consisted of amal-
gamated zinc and platinum ; the electrolyte
consisted of 100 water, and 2’25 sulph. acid.
He found that by increasing the size of the
platinum plates, the action was promoted,
and that the zinc might be reduced to the size
of a wire, with the same effect as when a
plate was used. Iron answers in place of the
platinum, but not instead of zinc. The dilute
acid described, has little action on the amal-
gamated zinc, because the'latter becomes spee-
dily covered with bubbles of hydrogen, which
mar its action. — When nitric acid is added,
the plate is soon dissolved, without extrica-
ting any gas, in consequence of the elements
of the nitric acid combining with the nascent
hydrogen. N ascent hydrogen also deoxidates
copper. To remove the hydrogen, he con-
structed the constant battery ; which consists
of a copper cylindrical vessel, containing in
its axis, a membranous tube formed of the
(Esophagus of an ox, in which is suspended a
rod of zinc. Diluted acid is poured into the
membranous tube, by means of a funnel ; and
passes off by a syphon, communicating with
the bottom. The space between the animal
lube and the sides of the copper cylinder, is

filled with a solution of sulphate of copper^
and pieces of this salt, to keep the solution
saturated. By this arrangement, the oxide
deposited is removed as it is formed, by the
syphon tube ; and the hydrogen evolved from
the surface of the copper, is absorbed. For,
on completing the circuit, the electric current
passes freely through the blue vitriol solution,
and no hydrogen appears on the conductor ;
but the latter is covered wdth a coating of
pure copper. The advantages of this battery
are obvious ; it may be kept for hours in ac-
tion, with the same power, and is economi-
cal.— Records of Science, June, 1836.

THE INDIA REVIEW.

Calcutta: October IS, 1836.

INDIA ASSOCIATION FOR THE AD-
VANCEMENT OF SCIENCE.

When we witness the great number of
well educated youths so well prepared for en-
tering upon collegiate systems of study as
at the High School, the Parental Academy,
and the other seminaries at the Metropolis,
it becomes a matter of regret that there is no
institution in this city, to which the senior
students can have access for the attainment
of the higher branches of professional and
scientific education. To supply the desider-
atum we understand it is in contemplation
to build a theatre or lecture room, on
extensive grounds, and to establish an Indian
association for the advancement of Science
and mechanical arts. The chief aim of this
%stitution is to qualify young men for the
practice of the learned professions, as
well as to teach practically the me-
chanical arts. The model is to be that of the
French Ecole Poly technique, which may,
without doubt, be as successfully carried
into execution in India as it was in France.

The Ecole Polytechnique took its rise under
the auspices of Mo nge, Haiiy, Hassenft-aetz,

La Place, La Grange, Fourcroy, Chaptal, .
Poney, and others. Other schools of science ' j
were also establish ed. They had 1300 pupils , j
of whom different professors took charge in
their respective sciences. The system was vast,
and such was the progress and acquirement

ROHUN BARK, OR SWIETENIA FEBRIFUGA.

287

of the pupils that they surpassed all ex-
pectations by which the confidence of the
government and the public was secured,
and the Ecole Polytechnique permanently
established. At the risk of being thought
rash as to our expectations, we trust such
an institution may rise and that eventually
a university also for India may be founded*

CAUTION TO THE PUBLIC.

Nux Vomica BarJc^ sold in the bazars, as
the Rohun, or Swietenia Febrifugal.

The above notice appeared in the Bengal
Hurkaru on the 6th instant ; and, as the fol-
lowing letter contains matter of deep inter-
est, we are glad that we have an opportunity
of giving it insertion in our present number.

The great importance of the facts lam aoont to
(iesciibe, demands their immediate and general
publication. 1 am consequently compelled to place
them before the public in the ordinary journals.

The bark of the Rohixn tree (Svvietania Febrifu-
ga) has long enjoyed considerable reputation as a
remedy in the agues and remittent fevers of this
country. Hopes were even entertained that it might
yield on analysis an etfectual substitute for the cost-
ly Quinine. To encourage the necessary researches,
the Medical and Physical Society of Calcutta offered
a prize of a aold medal to the discoverer of the
desired sustance. In the course of the subsequent
year Mr. Piddington announced that he had accom-
plished that great object, and he forwaided to the
society details of the processes he employed, and
by which he stated that he had procured the sub-
stance in question from the Kohuii baik, (see vols-
4 and 5 of Transactions of the Medical and Physical
Society.)

On my arrival in India in December, 1833, I was
requested by the Society to repeat Mr. Piddingion’s
experiments, and I was furnished by Dr. Wallich
with the necessary quantity of the itohnn bark.
My experiments did not corruboiate Mr. Pidding.
ton’s statements, and similar researches canied on
at the H. C-’s Dispensary were equally inetfectual.

Mr. Piddijiigtou then declared that the Bark we
examined was not the true Hohun, and he sent a
specimen of what he considered to be the genuine
Bark to the H. C.’s Dispensaiy. About the same
lime he sent samples, of a crystalline substance (the
alleged new febiifuge) to the otiiceis of the Dispen-
sary. He also sent a minute portion of the same
crystal, and a specimen of the bark from which he
obtained them to my friend Mr. Huriy of Cossi-
pore-

These crystals were immediately subjected to ana-
lysis by iheolficers of the Dispensary, who, in con-
junction with Mr. Prinsep, declared them to tie a
compound of sulphuric acid and a neio vegetable
alkali, the base of the RohuntiUt or Swietenia
Febiifuga bark, (see India Journal of Medical Sci-
ence, vol. I. p. 354.)

It may not be suoerfltions to mention that I was
not favored with an oppoitunity of examiuing the

• Kuchilar Bengali). Kupilti {Sanscrit).
t Uahana ( Bengali) Rohitaka {Sanscrit).

substance iti question. 1 state this in order to acquit
myself before the public of responsibility for any
possible casualties connected with the facts I am
now about to describe.

On the 2d instant, while passing the day with
Doctor Goodeve at Cossipoie, 1 learned for the first
time that Mr Hurry had a portion of the “new”
substance. He immediately placed it at my dispo-
sal, with a specimen of bark received from Mr.
Piddington as the Uohmi. We at once commenced
its chemical examination.

I he first lest applied led me to the belief that the
Biihsiance under trial was either of the formidable
poisons strychnine or brxicine. There was hut
little difficulty in deciding the important question,
for these poisons in the minutest quantities produce
symptoms so peculiar and terrible that they cannot
be mistaken. Tbe symptoms are violent tetanic
spasms, occurring in paroxysms aud proving fatal
with fearful rapidity.

Mr. Hurry’s specimen of Mr. Piddington’s prepa-
raiion weighed about 3 grains.

I5< Exft. In piesence of Mr. Hurry, Dr. Good-
eve, and my brolhei Richard O’S., about one quar-
ter of a grain was given to a kitten — in about 20
minutes violent spasms set in, and the animal died
in one hour.

Ex^t. About one-tenth of a grain was introdu-
ced into a wound in the forepaw of a second kitten.
In 40 minutes tetanic convulsions occurred, aud tbe
paroxysms continued for two hours, when the symp-
toms slowly subsided.

On the following tiiorning I continued the enquiry
ill Calcutta. Some days before 1 had received trom
another quarter a few drachms of a very bitter black
extract, marked “ Extract of Rohunna)’ which
had been prepared for medical use in fever cases
from hark purchased asRohun in the bazar, accord-
ing to a muster specimen stated to have been receiv-
ed from Mr. Piddington himself.

At3p. M., oil the 3d instant, in presence of Dr-
Cantor, my brother, Mr. Seyers, the Pundit Madoo
Suddin Gooptu, and others, at the laboratory of the
Medical College, the following experimeiits were
performed.

1st. 10 grains of the alleged “extract ofRo-
liiimia” were dissolved in rain water and poured
into the mouth of a full grown rabbit. I'he animal
made a slight convulsive movement of its forelegs
and iastanianeously died.

2d. A similar solution of the Extract was made,
and one half of it (5 grs-) was adminisiered to a
full giown rabbit. He seemed to sulfer no incon-
venience for five minutes, when he was suddenly
seized wiih tetanus, which proved fatal in less than
one minute more. Dr. Goodeve was present at
this expeiimeiit as well as the gentlemen above
mentioned.

The necessary chemical investigations were mean-
while proceeding, and an application made to Dr.
Wallic h with reference to the identification of the
balk, whicl), from the first experiment on the ex-
tract, I had no doubt was that of the Nux Vomica
tiee. 1 shall however continue the narrative of ihe
experiments wliicli demonstrated the true character
of the poison under examination.

At 8 A. M. on the morning of the 4th instant my
brollierand 1 pve 10 grs. of Ihe same extract to a
sheep. He did not seem to suffer until 9 A.m.
when a second dose of 10 grs. was given. In seven
minutes the poor animal was seized with tetanus,
and it died in fifteen minutes more.

Lastly, at 29 minutes past 2 p. m. on the same
day at the Medical College, in presence of Dr.
Bramley, Captain Birch, my brother, Mr. Seyeis,
and others, a solution containing 20 grs. of the ex-
it act was poured into the mouth of a pariah dog,
one half at least was immediately rejected, never-
theless, in eight minutes the animal was seized with
convulsions and in seven mitiuies more it died.

it would have been needless in humanity to have
continued these reseaiches further. They proved
indisputably, 1st, that tbe crystals and tbe extract
are powerful poisous aud of the same kind 2dly,

288

THE SPURIOUS OR EAST INDIAN ANGUSTURA BARK.

^lat ibf active agent is eitlier Strj clinineor Brucine;
and 3(lly, they led to the inference, that the Bath
from vvliich both ciystals and extiactweie piepar-
td was that of the Vomica or Poison nut of Bential,
'I he Botanical and Chemical links of the invt s-
ligalion were quickly supplied. I staled that 1 sent
Dr. Wallich a poitionofihe Baik received by Mr.
Hurry fiom Mr. Piddimjton. I subjoin Dr. Wal-
lich’s teply to my communication ; —

Botanical Garden, M October.

My Dbab O’Sh AUG hn essy,— There isnotthe
sligiitesi doubt in my mind, that the specimen of
Bark you sent me is of Strychnos Nux Vomica. I
send you samples of the fresh Bark which will at
once convince you of my asseitioti. But laste the
baik and you will perceive in it the same stiong
bilteiness joined to a most disagreeable sort of
pungency as there is in your own specimen, which
1 retain having taken the liberty to keep a small
bit of it.

Your’s, &c.

N. WALLICH.

On comparing the physical and chemical pioper*
lies of the three barks; No. 1, given liy Mr. Pid-
dington to Mr. Hurry ; No. 2, from wliicli the ex-
tract used in the above expeiimenls was made;
and No. 3, that sent by Dr. Wallich in reoly to my
note, nottbe slightest doubt a.s to their peifeci iden-
tity can, tor cue momeiii, lie entertained.

Lastly, as to tlie chemical nature of lire ciystals
termed “ Sulphate oi Kohunna’' by Mr. Fiddingion
and the writers in the “ India Journal of Medi-
cal Science f the substance proves to be a mixtuie
of Brucine^ Strychine, and adhering coloring
matter, with faini tiaci s of the sulphni ic acid em-
ployed in the prepaiation. F(»r the saiisfaciion of
gentlemen who uudeistand these maiieis piac-
tically, i may slate, that the crystals become
blood red when touched with iiiiric acid,
that piotochloride of lin changes this red gia-
dually and slowly to a beautiful violet (This ex-
periment was witnessed liy Dr. Bianiley and Mr.
Hate, and proves the presence of that

liydro-sulphaie of ainnumia added cautiously and
in minute quaiiliiies to tlie leddeiied crystals clian-
ges them to a violet blue, indicaiing

■file extract above alluded to on analyses afford-
ed both the bases in question. Ilie three haiks
lastly agiee in all their chemical chaiacteis and
afford unequivocal pioof of the pieseiice of Stiych-
niiie and iisassociaie the igasuiic acid.

it is a curious fact that ihe balk which Mr. Pid-
dingtoit supposed lobe ilial of the Swieieuia (Irom
which nevertheless it is totally diffeieiii in color,
taste, consistence, and chemical pi opei ties) is now
proved to be the same, which, under the name of
false Aiiguslura was iiitioduced into liurope many
yeais since, and caused so many calamitous acci-
dents, that the Austrian Government and several
other powers ^eized and destioyed all that could be
found in their tei riloiies.

As it is my iiiiention to publish minute details of
this remaikable occurrence in a professional peiio-
dical; there remains liule more of iliis disagieeable
task to peiform, ttian lo give a sufficient desciip-
tion of the cliaiacteis of the tine Itoiiim and ofiis
fearful sutistiiuie, as will enable the putilic lo
guaid against Hie fatal accidents which must ine-
vitably follow the incautious use of the latter.

True Rohun.

Externally giay,suh
stance red, consistence
loose, texture flexible,
taste slightly bitter and
austere. Powder coarse
and red, solution in
in water color of baik,
not affected by nitric
acid.

Nux Vomica Bark.

Externally gray , inter-
nally deep brown or
black, sometimes cover-
ed with rust colored
luiigi, consistence lirit-
ile, taste insuppoi tably
biiter, powder giey, so-
lution in water yellow-
ish, bark stained blood
red when touched with
nitric acid.

Specimens may be seen at tiie Medical College
daily from II a, M.to 4 p. m.

I here dismiss the sulijecl for the present with-
out comment or animadveision : ii is painful to me
to bring it forward at all ; but it would be criminal
to slirink from tbe pei foimaiice of such an urgenr
dll ty.

B, O'SHAUGHNESSY, M, D.

Professor of Chemistry, Medical College.

bth October, 1836.

P. S. — I annex a copy of a report from Mr. Foy
on experiments on two dogs made this morning at
the Geiieial Hospital by dii eclioii of the medical
utiiceisof that establishment.

To Duncan 8tewart, Esq. MD.

Sir.— Tlie dog to which was administered one
diachin of the extract was fiist convulsed one hour
and twelve minutes after, and after a lew rapid and
strong fits of convulsion died in one hour and
thii ty.one miiiiiies,

'I'he dog wliich got half a drachm of the extract
became convulsed SOminiites alter, and, after several
fits of tetanic Convulsions, died one hour and two
min utes after.

William Vo'i , Apothecary .

1 have only to observe on this e.\periment Hint
the extract was given lo those animals in ihe solid
form.

bth October, 1836, W. B. O’S.

With the view of making ourselves fully-
acquainted with the foregoing important
subject, we attended at the College, and Dr.
O’Shaughnessy, in our presence, again per-
formed the experiments to which he has
alluded. We are satisfied in our own mind
that this bark is the same as that examined
by Planche, who named it angustura ferrugi-
nea, which, he said, contained brucine. It is
also alluded to by Orfila among the class of
substances which excite violent paroxysms
of convulsions and tetanus. Dr. Rambach
of Hamburgh first distinguished two kinds
of angustura bark ; one of which he called
poisonous. That which was genuine was called
West Indian ; but the poisonous one he called
East Indian angustura. This statement was
adopted by Pfaff and other German authors
on Materia Medica. Both kinds are often in
commerce mixedtogether;and,in consequence
of the fatal effects, from the use of spurious
angustura in Hungary and Bern, proof of
which was obtained from its poisonous effects
on animals (Trait4 des Poisons, Paris, 1817),
the Austrian Government ordered all angustu-
ra bark in the empire, genuine and spurious,
to be burnt, and interdicted its future im-
portation. Its sale was also prohibited in
Denmark, in Russia, andinWirtemberg. Al-
though it be acknowledged that the results
alluded to proved the poisonous effects of

SPURIOUS ANGUSTURA BARK OF THE GENUS STRYCHNOS.

289

this barh, we are far from wishing a similar
prohibition here, seeing that a preparation
from it may supply a safer and milder remedy
than we already possess in genuine strych-
nine. Although we hear that there are no
just grounds for supposing that the natives
have sold nux vomica bark in the bazar
as the rohun or swietenia febrifuga when
these articles have been separately required,
yet it appears to us highly necessary that
the sellers of drugs should without delay be
warned of the poisonous nature of the bark*
The expediency of licensing the venders of
drugs, which require such nice distinctions
to discover the genuine from the spurious
barks, is in our opinion a subject worthy
the consideration of the legislature. The
Medical Faculty of Vienna had found that
dogs and rabbits were not affected by large
doses of genuine angustura, but were speedi-
ly killed by small doses of the spurious kind
given internally. Drs. Rambach, Pfaff, and
Planche give the following characters, which
they deemed sufficient to enable persons to
distinguish the genuine from the poisonous
angustura.

Genuine.

The produce of tlie Bonflandia trifoliata of
Humboldt, a native of Souili America,

Size from ^ to | of an inch broad ; 2,3, or 4 inches
long; half a line thick. Outer snrtace uniform
greyish while, as if covered witli an uneven mealy
coat, which is easily removed, and exposes a brown
surface heneaih. Inner surface greyish-yellow,
or lii-ht-brown. Texture fine; very brittle. Frac-
ture even; much darker and browner than the
inner suiface ; somewhat shining, and evidently
resinous.

Smell, aroma\ic ; somewhat nauseous.

Taste aromatic bitter, hut not at all disgustingly
hitter, or astringent, succeeded in some d%»iee'by
an aromatic flavour like mace, "

Bark, on being chew'ed, becomes dark brown-
yellow. Powder, when fresh, yellow, like good
rhubarb, becoming paler by keeping, with a more
aromatic smell than the bark.

Concentrated infusion, clear, of a fine reddish
brown or orange colour, and a bitter, only sli<'htly
acrid, taste.

Diluted with water, its colour becomes yellow.

On the addition of an alkaline caibonate, it is
changed to darkled, and after some time deposit a
clear citron yellow, somewhat flocculent, precipitate.

A solution of iiersiilpliat or permuriat of iron
imparts to it a higher red colour, and after some
lime throws down a rose-coloured precipitate.

Is not rendered turbid by solution of gelatine.

Saturated decoction of a fine redbrown, on
cooling becomes turbid, and deposits a deep yellow
powder.

Saturated tincture, dark red-brown, hecominiy
very turbid by the addition of distilled water, and
depositing a clear yellow resin.

Spurious.

Unknown. Said liy some to come from the F.asf
Indies; and one kind stispected by Planche, but,
contrary to piohaliilify, to he got fiom a variety of
the Cmchona magnifolia of Botiplaiid.

Size generally of greater breadth than length ; two
lines thick. Outer surface covered with a web
of distinct small white warts, not easily removed, or
wiih an uniform rust -coloured lichen-like covering.
Inner surface, riiriy yellowish white, or grey, or
most commonly black, without visible fibres, 'l ex-
ture coaise ; very brittle. Fracture even; partly
white, or yellowish-wliite, or even clear brow'u-
ish; not shilling and resinmis, hut more mealy,
and (laitly exbibiiing iw'o distinct layei s.

Smell, resembling somewhat that of the genuine
kind

Taste, in tlie highest degree disgustingly bitter,
very duiatile, and not at ail aiomatic, or astringent.

Bark, on beitig chewed, becomes paler. Powder
clearer yellow

Concentrated infusion, not so clear, more of
a dirty brown colour, and of a most disgustingly
hitter taste.

When diluted, it does not become yellow.

On theaddition ofan alkaline carbonate, it hecomes
greenish, and deposits a fioicnlent greyish yellow
precipitate, and the supernatant liquor becomes gra-
dually dark brown, beginning at the surface.

A solution of persult)liat or permuiiatof iron
imparts to it a dark-green colour, and soon throws
down a copious satin black precitiitate verging
somewhat to ash grey, which is perfectly re-dissolved
by niiiic acid, and forms an olive solution.

Is not rendered tnrhid by solution of gelatine.

Salinated decoction, brownisli-yellow, and, on
cooling, deposits a veiy copious grey brown
precipi late.

Saturated tincture, much paler; and, on the
addition of distilled water, only gets a pale-yellow-
ish opaline appearance, without becoming red, or
depositing any precipitate.

We have been favored with the following
from Dr. Jackson, the Apothecary General,
on some experiments performed by him.

“ The first pig got a draclim* dissolved in one
oz. of distilled water ; so much was lost in giving
it, that I repeated the same quantity before this
was well down : he died violently convnlsent.

The second was punctured in the cellular mem-
brane in the inside of the thigh: grs. in 2 drs.

of water were injected, which producing no appa
rent etTect in 16 minutes, J a drachm dissolved in ^
an oz. of water was administeied ; of this ^ was
lost in swallowing : in about a minute and a half
convulsive twitches at first confined to ilie ab-
dominal and muscles about the throat, were perceiv-
ed, then relaxed, and were succeeded in about two
niiiinies by a tetanic state of the whole body,
exhibiting a complete state of ligidity from the
inoiiih to the tail wliicli was extended like a riding
switch. This alternaie state of spasm and relaxation
occurred till the Mill minute, when, as the last
spasm was off, she expired passing urine at the
time, 'lire first did not do so having been so
instantaneously, and having itself emptied its bladder
it came into the yaid.

Professor Emmert of Tubingen published
an account of the poisonous effects of the
bark of the angustura pseudo -ferruginea, or
spurious angustura bark owing to its physi-
cal properties and effects, he refers its bo-
tanical origin, to the genus Strychnos ; and,
by comparing what has hitherto been men-
tioned with the known effects of other poi-
^The extract^ "

290

CHEMICAL EXAMINATION OF SPURIOUS ANGUSTURA.

sons, and the principles of physiology, he was
led to the following results as to the manner
in which this poison acts, and its chemical
nature.

f. The poisonous angnstura shews, with respect
to the effects that it produces on animal bodies, the
greatest analogy to the poisonous species of strych-
nos, viz. Strychnos nux vomica^ Strychnos ignatii,
and Upas tieute.

2. With regard to the part of the animal body it
affects, and the circnmstauces under whicli it ope-
rates, ilagrees perfectly with most other poisons, as
arsenic, barytes, tartarns emeticns, wliiie helle-
bore, viper poison, sulphuretted hydrogen, opium,
spiritus vini, prussic acid, and the poisons contain-
ing it, as the oil of bitter almonds, the prniins
lauro cerasus, nud padus, and the above-mention-
ed poisonous species of strychnos, the upas antiar ;
and the American arrow poisons, as ticuna, lama,
and woorara.

3. It exerts its fatal influence by penetrating
the coats of the blood-vessels, mixiitg immediately
with the blood, and then, by means of tlie citcnla
tion, affecting the spinal mat row in a tnatitier rie-
eti uctive and mortal to the whole Itody. The ab-
sorption of the poison lias no share in its effects,
and all local effects produced by it, proceed only
from file affection of the spinal marrow.

4. The action of this poison, like that of the
species of strychnos, seems to depend on a com-
bination analogous to prussic acid : for hitter
angiistura ami those species of strychnos (and
generally if not all, at least most vegetable poisons)
contain, like prussic acid, a great deal of azote; it
lias also, in common with the latter, and the poi-
sons containing prussic acid, tlie bitter taste which
is very distinct in bitter almonds; and which, in
these, does not proceed from extractive matter, as
Pfaff contends, but from an etherial oil, as they
altogether lose it when the latter is dissipated.
•| he poisonous species of strychnos afford besides,
by the salts of iron, a change of colont and preci-
pitation, like prussic acid; and I find, by my latest
investigalaiioii, that water distilled over hitter
almonds, indeed, partly loses its poisonous proper-
ties, by precipitating the prussic acid by meatis of
salts of iron (jtisi as bitter poisons do by the ab-
sence of that part which forms with the iron a datk
green precipitate,), but not entirely, like the water
impregnated with prussicacid.or prnssiatedalcohol ;
and that, when digested with iron and alcali, it has
the property of always reproducing new prussic
acid. Ihe datk greenish precipitate, which tlie
bitter poisons prodtice when combined with the
salts of iron, contains indeed no proper prussic
acid, and is in other respects different from Pius
sian blue; hut it consists, like the other, ofacon-
stituent matter and iron, and seems, like this, to
be innoxious to animal bodies,; besides, free liquid
piussic acid produces, with the salts of iron, pre-
cipitates, which likewise differ from Prussian blue,
and seem to indicate some modifications of prussic
acid.

The following fact seems, however, still more
strongly to militate in favour of such a chemical
composition of the bitter poisonous matter. 1 have
observed, that that remarkable hitter substance
which is obtained, after Welter and other chemists,
fiom amimal and other bitter suhsiances similar
to them, if treated in a warm atmosphere with
nitiic acid, has an influence on animal life similar
lo that of bitter angustura; for this nearly

agrees in its chemical composition with prussic
acid.

We may remark, also, in this respect that opium,
but especially all arrow poisons, have a strongly
bitter taste; and that, according to the excellent
Investigation of Majendie and Deiile, all hitter
species of strychnos are poisonous ; those, on the
other band, that are not hitter, like strychnos
potatorum and vontac, are innoxious; and, ac-

cording fo Leschenanlt, Ihe interior of the root of
fetryclinos tieuti, the external hitler haik of which
furnishes the strongest upas poisoii, is tasteless,
and free from all pernicious properties. Many
kinds of quassia amarawe also poisonous for birds,
lizards, and flies, (upon which animals only i have
hitherto tried them); and especially all those are
poisons which produce, iviih ilie salts of iron, a
steel grey precipitate ; and lastly, according to late
observations, a red gentian root occurring in trade,
has shewn narcotic properties*. All these cii-
ciimstances i ender it probable, that most vegetable
poisons contain a substance similar to prussic acid,
atid that the simple constituents of it foi m a set ies
of comhinatioiis which have the same relation to
prussic acid which the vegetalile acids have to
acetic acid.

The fatally poisonous properly of putrid black
puddings, wliirh has tieen confirmed hy late me- i
laiiclioly itistances, depends perhaps on something |j
similar. The poison, however, which is produced |'
in black (uiddings seems, more nearly to approach -
to the rancid acidity to which also vegetable oils I'
are liable, as the symptoms which attend its opera- |i
lions are similar to those produced by arsenic i
and coppert.

Mr. BRAMLEY’S INTRODUCTORY
LECTURE
Was delivered on the 6th instant, at which '
were present the Right Honourable the Go- j
vernor General, the Honourable Mr. Shake- j
spear, and a crowded audience. It embraced I
a lucid exposition of the value of the study
of anatomy, a perfect knowledge of which
was to be acquired in the dissecting room
only. Without this knowledge no man
could become a thoroughly enlightened
practical surgeon and physician ; the ,
studies of both were precisely the same and
were inseparably connected ; and, having
enlarged upon the value and importance
of the study of medicine with reference to
the happiness and comforts of mankind, he
concluded by exhorting his pupils to look
to himself and his colleagues not in the
heartless relation of teachers to them, but
as connected by more endearing ties,
having embarked in one self-same cause,
mutually and cordially co-operating to attain
one great and important end.

* Neues^Berlinesches Jahrbuck far Phar-
macie von Dobereiner, Berlin, ISll. 869.

•f If black puddings, Which are a compound of
animal and vegetable matters, in a putrid state
possess poisonous propeities, does it not confirm
Dr. Burrows’ hypothesis, that putrefaction is the
real cause of the poisonous qualities found in
various fishes?— Vide London Medical Repository ,
vol. iii. p. 4C7-8,

OBSERVATIONS ON THE NEW MEDICAL QUARTERLY.

291

QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF THE
MEDICAL & PHYSICAL SOCIETY.

When this journal was proposed and
ordered to be published at the last meeting
of the Society, we understood that the in-
tention was to publish the Transactions
quarterly instead of annually, and to notice
the proceedings and works the Society
might receive, — an arrangement we thought
exceedingly good ; but the advertisement on
the 3rd, and the editorial in the Englishman
of the 4th, have convinced us that the
Quarterly is arrayed against the India Jour-
nal of Medical Science, the editor of which
begs to say that, notwithstanding the mighty
power and wealth of a Society, he intends to
stand his ground, and to shew cause enough
for doing so in his forthcoming number. But
as the Editor of the Englishman would usher
in the Quarterly by detracting from the
merits of the monthly, we have deemed it
right to give the opinion of the Indian
Press, on the merits of the India Journal
of Medical and Physical Science. We
refer the readers to our advertising columns,
and beg they will compare the fol-
lowing extracts from the editorials of

Englishman vsith. what the editor pub-
lished on the 4th. We, who had so en-
chanted our contemporary, little expected
he could so soon cast us away to rush into
the embraces of a stranger ; but, alas 1 he is
like all faithless lovers.

The Englishman, June 2d, 1835.

“ The India Journal of Medical Science for
the present month (published yesterday)
contains many interesting articles, adapted
to a diversity of tastes, of which we shall
employ to variegate our pages in a day or
two : we are sorry however to observe, by
the following notice, that Messrs. Grant and
Pearson have abandoned the editorial voca-
tion, bequeathing it with all its cares and
honors to Dr. Corbyn, a gentleman of whose
writings we have seen enough to satisfy us
that the seceding parties have provided their
readers with a worthy and fitting successor.”

The Englishman, Friday, July 3, 1835.

“ If Mr. Corbyn proceeds thus in his edi-
torial vocation, there is no fear but that he

will go on and prosper ; and that his work
will long continue, what its name proclaims
it to be. The India Journal of Medical
Science.

The Englishman, Thursday, March, 3d 1836.

Page 428. “ The recent proposition to

establish an opposition Journal must fall to
the ground. We know enough of the labor
and anxiety of mind required in the manage-
ment of a medical work to be convinced that
no person will carry one on, for any great
length of time, unless he is paid either by
money or renown. A society’s Journal offers
neither the one nor the other to its ex-officio
editor ; and, if by any extraordinary chance,
it should succeed in putting down Mr.
Corbyn’ s publication, it would of itself die a
natural death in less than twelve months
afterwards. The profession has to choose
only between the present Journal or none.”

The Englishman, Monday, April \st. 1836.

Page 644. “ We should do great injustice to
Dr. Corbyn’ s industry and zeal were we to
omit to bestow some attention upon the pre-
tensions of the India Journal of Medical
Science for the present month. The worthy
editor has evidently been excited by the
threats of the Medical and Physical Society
to publish a Journal of their own, and, in a
spirit of defiance, which we are disposed to
admire, because it accords with our own no-
tices of what should be the tactique on these
occasions, produces a periodical unrivalled,
and, we believe, unrivallable in India, for its
variety and intelligence.”

MEDICAL COLLEGE.

The winter session for 1836 and 37 opened
on the 6th of October. Anatomy, Physio-
logy, and observations on Surgery, from Oc-
tober 6 to March 31, on Mondays, Tues-
days, Wednesdays, and Fridays, at 10 a. m.

M. J. Bramley and H. H. Goodeve, Ma-
teria Medica and Pharmacy, from 1st
November to February 28, on Tuesdays and
Thursdays, 3 p. m.

W. B. O’Shaughnessy, Surgery, from 5th
December to April 30, on Mondays and
Wednesdays, at half past 12 o’clock.

Examinations on Saturdays, at 12 o’clock.

DR. SMITH. — The talented Editor of
the Boston Medical and Surgical Journal
and other scientific works has written to us
for the skulls of animals peculiar to India.

292 .

MARTIN’S PLAN OF A SAFETY LAMP.

We shall esteem it a favor if any of our
brethren will enable us to comply with this
request. Dr. Smith has promised to return
similar preparations — minerals, shells, &c.
and thus become the medium of scientific
communication between scientific men in
America and India.

MR. ROYLE. — We cannot but lament
over the loss which science has sustained in
India by the retirement of that distinguish-
ed individual Mr. Royle. Is the mere
professorship of materia medica at the
London University sufficient to wean Mr.
Royle from the H. C. Service, who had only
a few years to serve for his pension. Really
this must, we should think, convince the
home authorities as to the present state of
their medical service in India, and deter-

mine them to do something to induce men
of scientific acquirements to remain in it.

A QUARTERLY MEETING OF THE
MEDICAL RETIRING FUND took
place at the Secretary’s quarters on the
10th. A report which will be published was
read and adopted, when the feasibility of
carrying our proposition of extending pay-
ment of arrears for 3 years was discussed,
and it was decided that the meeting approve
of the indulgence already granted by the com-
mittee of management for extending the pay-
ment of arrears, which of course authorized its
continuance at the discretion of the committee
of management rendering the distinct resolution
made by us no longer necessary. Sixty new sub-
scribers are recorded as having been added to
the fund since the last Quarterly Meeting, and
three anuities were to be at once declared.

PROGRESS OF SCIENCE,

AS APPLICABLE TO THE ARTS AND MANUFACTURES; TO COMMERCE
AND TO AGRICULTURE.

MARTIN’S SAFETY-LAMP.
Fig. 2. Fig. l.

Sir, — Mr, John Martin, the eminent
artist, submitted to the late Committee of the
House of Commons on Mines, a plan of a
safety-lamp, which, though it is not noticed

in their Report, and was not alluded to in the
trial at the London University, seems to me
to be possessed of considerable merit. Fig.
1, of the accompanying sketches, is a sec-
tional view of this lamp : and the better to show
its superiority to the common Davy-lamp, an
engraving of the latter (fig. 2) is placed by
the side of it. a represents the wick, which
should never be raised so high as to cause
the flame to smoke ; b is the oil chamber ; c are
grooved cylinders (shown more clearly in fig.3) ,

which are of such diameters as only to admit
air enough to support the flame. The advan-
tage which these grooves (the master-feature
of invention) have over wire-gauze or thin
perforated plates, is, that the air has to pass
through a body of metal ; a principle the safe-
ty of which will be at once acknowledged by
your scientifle readers, d is a copper top, with
an opening of the same size as that round the

ADVANTAGES OF THE NEW SAFETY CAB.

293

flame ; e, the break ; /, places for the heated
air to escape by, and through which the foul
air cannot enter ; g, a lens to cast the light
into those parts where the air is so foul as to
cause the lamp to go out ; h, handle of the
lamp, on the principle of the universal joint.
Submitting the above to the impartial consi-
deration of your readers,

I am. Sir,

Your obedient servant,

POLLSA.

THE NEW SAFETY CAB.
Weextractthe following clear and sensible
exposition of the advantages of this new vehi-
cle (the invention of Mr, Hansom, the archi-
tect of the Birmingham Town-hall, confessedly
one of the finest architectural productions of
modern times), from the prospectus of a com-
pany which has been formed for promoting its
introduction into the metropolis : —

“ 'J lie very peculiar construction of this
carriage secures advantages that men of science
and of practical experience have long wished
for, but which have never before been obtained.
Instead of an axle going through from side to
side of the carriage, Mr. Hansom uses a frame-
work, so contrived, that, while fully able to
sustain any shock to which it may be exposed,
and admitting the use of wheels of any diame-
ter, it allows the body to be placed at any
distance, however small, from the ground. By
this contrivance, three most important objects
are attained ; namely —

“ 1st. Absolute safety: for the body is
placed so low, and the framework so arranged,
as to render it impossible that the carriage
should be upset in any direction whatever ;
nor can a kicking, a rearing, or a stumbling
horse place the passengers in danger.

“2d. Great relief to the horse in peculiar
situations : for the centre of gravity of the load
being placed below the centre of the wheels,
the injurious pressure on the horse, in ascending
and descending hills with a 2-wheel carriage
of the common construction, is avoided ; for, in
descending, the pressure on his back is entire-
ly removed; while, in ascending, a small and
advantageous addition is made to it.

“3d. Considerable reduction of draught in all
circumstances: iov wheeh of larger diameter
than usual maybe employed, not only without
prejudice to the other advantages of the inven-
tion, but in promotion of them ; and it is on
all hands agreed, that very great saving of
draught might be effected by the use of large
wheels, but for the hitherto supposed impos-
sibility of reconciling them with the other
necessary properties and conveniences of a

“ The inconvenience and danger of the
present cabs have been long, loudly, and just-
ly complained of. The new cab is perfectly
and obviously safe, and effectually protects pas-
sengers from injury by a vicious or stumbling
horse ; it affords ingress and egress as safe and
easy as those of a sedan-chair, and is smoother
of motion than many of the best carriages of
other kinds ; it also combines the shelter and
comfort of a close carriage, with the lightness

of an open one, and the speed of the best of
the present cabs, at the cost of perhaps one-
third less labour to the horse, and with the
entire avoidance of the injurious effect of com-
mon 2-wheel carriages on hilly roads.

* * * # *

“ In ascents and descents, any moderate
degree of safety to the passenger, or of pres-
sure on the horse, has been, hitherto, attain-
able only by the use of four wheels. Where
four are used, they cannot be large: much
pow'eris thus lost— to say nothing of the addi-
tional friction — and two horses are needed.
Absolute safety, and greater comfort to the
passengers, and much greater ease to the ani-
mal, are now secured by two wheels, and those
large ones. The additional horse is thus dis-
pensed with, and posting may be done by one
horse, on terms and with a convenience and
rapidity yet unaccomplislied. The convey-
ance of mails and dispatches maybe done by
2-horse carriages, with the like, or even
greater, benefit.

“ A carriage has recently been built, and is
ready for public inspection and trial, which
exemplifies the plan, and fully justifies the
preceding observations. It has been subjected
to severe trials, both intentionally and by acci-
dent; and, by coming out of them without
the slightest failure, has proved that its frame-
work may be safely relied on in any emer-
gency.”

ELECTRICAL SHOCK FROM A
SHEET OF PAPER.

Place an iron japanned tea tray on a dry,
clean beaker-glass, then take a sheet of
foolscap writing-paper, and hold it close to
the fire until all its hygrometric moisture is
dissipated, but not so as to scorch it ; in this
state it is one of the finest electrics we have.
Hold one end down on a table with the finger
and thumb, and give it about a dozen strokes
with a large piece of India-rubber from the
left to the right, beginning at the top. Now
take it up by two of the cornersand bring it over
the tray, and it w'ill fall down on it like a
stone ; if one finger be now brought under the
tray, a sensible shock will be felt. Now lay
a needle on the tray with its point projecting
outwards, remove the paper, and a star sign of
the negative electricity will be seen; return
the paper, and the positive brush will appear.
In fact, it forms a very good extemporaneous
electrophorus, which will give a spark an inch
long, and strong enough to set fire to some
combustible bodies, and to exhibit all the elec-
tric phenomena not requiring coated surfaces.
If four beaker-glasses are placed on the floor,
and a book laid on them, a person may stand
on them insulated ; if he then holds the tray
vertically, the paper will adhere strongly to it,
and sparks may be drawn from any part of his
body, or he may draw sparks from any other
person, as the case may be ; or he may set fire
to some inflammable bodies by touching them
with a piece of ice.

I beg to remain,

Yours, &.C.

G. Dakin.

294

DIFFERENT OILS EMPLOYED IN MAKING SOAP.

VEGETABLE OILS.

(From Report of the Commissioners of Exeise
Inquiry.)

Customs' Duties on the Raw Materials.

Although the instructions contained in our
commission do not lead us to the examination
of the Customs’ duties on the raw materials
employed in the manufacture of soap, we
trust that we shall not be considered as ex-
ceeding the proper line of our duty by calling
attention to the remarks of the deputation,
as well as of Mr. Fincham and Mr. Taylor,
as also of Mr. Tennant of Glasgow, upon the
great disadvantages to which the manufac-
turer is exposed from the heavy duties on
importation, to which the vegetable oils are
still liable. These oils would enter largely
into the composition of soap, if their price
were not so much increased by these duties,
which amount on some descriptions to a
virtual prohibition of their use. The French,
at Marseilles, employ olive oil exclusively in
their soap ; and in that town alone a quantity
is made very nearly equalling the consump-
tion of Great Britain. According to Mr.
Tennant, the soap made from olive oil is
better than that which is made from palm
oil ; and if the present duty of 4Z. 4s. per
ton on the former could be materially
reduced, there seems to be every probability
that after the abolition of the present re-
strictions on the manufacture, such improve-
ments would be introduced as would enable
us to rival, and probably to surpass, the
French in the North American market. Our
manufactures are now placed in so disadvan-
tageous a situation as compared with the
French and other makers, that it is very diffi-
cult for them to contend with them in the fo-
reign markets ; and even if the restrictions
imposed by the Excise on the process of ma-
nufacture were removed, they would still suffer
considerably from the duties on the materials
which they employ, and on which no draw-
back is allowed ; and it must be remembered
that the difficulties under which the trade
labour on this account have been materially
increased by the discontinuance of the allow-
ance of the tenths, to which we have already
alluded.

The representations which were made to
us on this head appeared to be so much de-
serving of attention, that we were induced to
request the attendance of Mr. Crawfurd (the
late resident at Singapore, and the author of
a valuable work 'on the Indian Archipelago),
for the purpose of obtaining such information
as he could furnish with respect to the supply
of those vegetable oils which might be obtained
from the East Indies. Mr. Crawfurd ap-
pears to have directed his attention, during a
long residence in India, very closely to the
productions of that country, with a view of
extending its commerce with Great Britain,
and it will be seen from his evidence, that a
very large field may be opened for a mutual
trade, especially with reference to the articles
more particularly wanted for the manufacture
of soap. He states, that there are no less

than fifteen pZawfs in ordinary cultivation, in |i
the continent and islands of India, from which j
an abundant supply of oil is obtained for the i
purposes of food and light ; and he adds, that,
from the general facility with which this cul- !
tivationmaybe extended, he sees no limits to
the quantity which may be furnished for the
demands of this country. He particularly i
points out the advantage which may be derived j
from the cultivation of the Palma Christi, or j
castor-oil plant, which grows in any soil, I
however barren, and yields a most abundant |
crop of oil.

* * * *

The present rate of duty on castor-oil,
sesamum, cocoa-nut, palm-oil, poppy-oil,
mustard, and pig-nut oil, and the amount
received for the last five years, will be found
in the appendix. The ad valorem duty on i
pig-nuts, sesamum, and poppy-seed, and on
the oil made from them, is so high (viz. 20 i
and 50 per cent.) as to amount to a virtual !;
prohibition of their extensive employment in
any branch of manufacture. The duty on
castor-oil “ from any British possession, but
not the produce thereof,” is also so high as to
prevent its use in manufactures. We are
aware of the reductions which have been late- I
ly made in the duties on some of the vegeta- ;
ble oils ; but it has been almost impossible for il
the manufactures to avail themselves of these ji
reductions, on account of the Excise regula- |!
tions. When these are removed, we anti- jj
cipate the best effects from these reductions, i
Our other trades and manufactures, the
materials of which are subject to import duties, 1:
are not so much injured by them as to deprive i
us of the means of carrying on a profitable
competition in foreign markets. But our i
Inferiority in the manufacture of soap, in so i
far as it arises from the duties on oils,' gives
the foreign manufacturer the power of exclud- !i
ing us fi’om large poi’tions of the globe, ^ and i
this certainly is a state of things from which L
so important a manufacture ought to be
relieved. We feel it to be our duty not to lose '
this opportunity of again representing the !
strong impression which has so often been
made upon us by the consequences of the |l
impolicy of taxing the raw materials of [!
industry, because we are fully satisfied that our i
commei’cial and manufacturing prosperity, i
great as it is, would be still more increased if |!
the principle of exempting all raw materi- i
als from taxation were strictly adhered to. li
Whatever the loss of revenue might be which i
wmuld take place in consequence of repealing j'
these duties, it would soon be made good by ;
the additionab means of payment which would I,
follow from increased national wealth. jl

PRESERVATION OF COPPER J

SHEATHING. ['

Sir, — The following methpd of preserving j;
copper under ship’s bottoms, for a consider-
ably longer time than usual, is, 1 believe, but 1 1
little known : — '

Tar from wood or tar from coal con-
tains a quantity of acid, which is a par-

DIRECTION OF BALLOONS WITH CERTAINTY.

295

ticular enemy to metals ; this is shown in
(: chemistry, in the course of manufacturing
I white lead, red lead, verdigris, and other
i colours, which are made by evaporation
I of acid, or its combination, with mineral
substances. If this acid, which exists in
' the wood of the ship’s bottom, in the tar
wherewith the bottom is payed, and in the
I tar in which the paper or felt is soaked,
j! can be got rid of, it is evident that the

I copper sheathing would last much longer.
Some years ago, the copper covering of a house
in the Royal dock-yard at Carlscrona, Sweden,
being stripped off in the course of making some

I' repairs, a quantity of lime-paste was found
laid under a few of the plates, which were in
an excellent state of preservation, and appa-
rently likely to have lasted double the time of
I the others. Professor Berzelius, of Stockholm,

I the eminent chemist, when asked the cause of
this, explained that nothing neutralises or kills
the acid from wood so effectually as lime.
Now, I am of ooinion, that if paper or felt were
soaked in a mixture of boiled oil, and as much
slacked lime as the oil conveniently could con-
tain, it would make a ship’s copper bottom
last for double the usual time. If oil be con-
sidered a too expensive article, the lime may
be mixed with tar ; but this would not be so
effectual, for although the lime would kill the
acid in tar, it would not entirely prevent the
acid passing from the wood through the paper
or felt. It would perhaps be worth while for
some shipowner to try the experiment, and
sheath one side of a ship’s bottom in the com-
mon way, and the other in the manner I re-
commend ; the result would be ascertained
in seven years, or perhaps in a shorter time.
The lime would not injure either the wood or
• the copper.

I remain, your very obedient,

J. F. Olander.

43, Fore-street, Limehoiise, London,

April 4, 1836.

BALLOONING.

Dr. Agme in a recent essay, which he read
at the French Institute, endeavours to prove
that it is possible to obtain such a Imld on the
upper atmosphere as to be able to direct a
balloon with all the steadiness and certainty
of a boat moving in the waters. This he pro-
poses to accomplish by means of oars or levers
to be attached to the car, and which are to
be made of oiled skin, or cloth, capable of
containing an adequate quantity of hydrogen
gas, the specific gravity of which being lighter
than the air would obtain ahold on the natural
fluid, as they would meet with the same resist-
ance as the balloon does itself— G/oie.

OPTICAL MACHINE.

At the late Meeting of the British Associ-
ation, Mr. Roberts exhibited a machine which
renders objects visible while revolving 200,000
times a minute.

If a firebrand be whirled, in the dark, round
a centre in a plane perpendicular to the eye

of the spectator, it will present the appear-
ance of a luminous circle. From this fact it
has been inferred, that the impression on the
retina made by the luminous body in its pas-
sage through every point of the circle, remains
until the body has completed a revolution.
How rapidly soever the-, firebrand may be
made to revolve, the circle, and, therefore,
every part of it, will be distinctly visible :
hence a probability arises, that at the greatest
attainable velocity, a perfect impression of the
object in motion will still be produced on the
optic nerve, provided that the time of viewing
such object be limited to that which is requir-
ed for passing through a small space — small,
at least, with reference to the size of the revol-
ving body — and also that no other object be
presented on the field of vision before the for-
mer spectrum shall have vanished from the
eye ; unle-ss in the case of the same object
under similar circumstances. The former of
these conditions is provided for in machine.
No. 1, in which the eye-hole is made to tra-
vel through 180 feet between every two in-
spections of the moving object, and which
object is made to assume a different position
at each successive inspection. The latter
condition is included in machine No. 2 ; the
object is there presented to the eye in one
position only.

APPLICATION OF THE COMPRESSI-
BILITY OF WATER TO PRACTICAL
PURPOSES.*

By Jaynes D, Forbes, Esq, F. R. S.

L. E., 8fc.

Only two methods have been applied with
much success to the precise determination of
pressures communicated in all directions ; the
one, by observing the volume of air inclosed
in a tube, as in the common manometer ; the
other, by the actual measurement of the height
of an equi-ponderant column of fluid such as
mercury. Each of these methods is subject
to grave practical inconvenience : in the case
of the manometer, from the immense dispro-
portion of the division of the scale for great
variations of pressure, and, in the other, from
the extremely cumbrous and unmanageable
apparatus which it requires when the pres-
sures are considerable. Both these methods
were resorted to by the Commission of the
Institute of France, appointed to ascertain
the relation of the temparature and pressure
of steam, thq.pressure being ascertained by
the volume of air in a manometer, previously
graduated experimentally by comparison with
the pressure of a column of mercury.

The idea of substituting a manometer con-
structed of water instead of air, occurred to
me a considerable time ago, when applied to
by a friend to suggest a form of guage for
measuring the pressure of condensed gas in-
tended to be used for a furnice. I had recent-
ly been making experiments with the very
convenient compression apparatus of Oers-
ted, in which the changes of volume of water

* Read to the Society of Arts on 22nd April, 1835.

296

FORBES ON COMPRESSIBILITY OF WATER.

and air are exhibited at once, under any pres-
sure, that of the water being sensibly uniform
for equal increments of pressure, whilst that
of air rapidly diminishes.

It is the very trifling compressibility of water
^or any other liquid) which gives the value to
^his application, and which seems to have been
practically overlooked.

The reason is obvious. The changes o^
volume produced by a pressure of only one or
two atmospheres, in the case of air, are
quantities very large in proportion to the
primitive volume, so that, in the considera-
tion of an additional change, we are obliged
to take into account not merely the effect up-
on the primitive volume, but upon the volume
affected by the first unit of pressure. In other
words, we are not at liberty to neglect quanti-
ties of the second order, which we may safely
do in the case of any known liquid. In the
case of water, for instance, the variation of
volume for one atmosphere does not exceed

1

of the whole ; so that the variation of

20,000

the variation is necessarily insignificant.
All that we know of the constitution of liquids
would lead us to infer, that such would be
Mie case, and upon this circumstance depends
the linearity of the expression, which coi\nects
the volume of a liquid such as water, and the
pressure to which it is subjected.

Within ordinary practical limits, we may
confidently anticipate the sensible proportion-
ality of pressure and change of volume ; and
this is fully borne out by a comparison of the
best experiments on the compressibility of
water made within great and within narrow
limits.

I did not hesitate, therefore, to recommend
the trial of a manometer of water instead of
air, for measuring the elasticity of gas up to
40 atmospheres of pressure.

The construction of such an instrument
being almost like that of the common ther-
mometer, is incomparably simpler than that
of the other instruments above mentioned ;
and almost the only practical difficulty is
common to all these, namely, the accurate
determination of the temperature of the fluid
employed.

It may be proper to remark, that Professor
Oersted’s instrument for indicating the com-
pressibility of water, consists merely of a
very -sensible thermometer, constructed of
water, and having the end of the tube left
open. The tube being capillary, a short
column of mercury rests on the surface of the
water, indicating its volume at any moment ;
and the whole is immersed in water contain-
ed in a strong vessel, to which pressure is
any how communicated, so that the thermo-
meter-shaped vessel of glass being equally
pressed within and without (the neck being
open), is unaffected by pressure, and the true
change is perceived in the volume of water
which it contains.

The applications of this form of instrument
are very numerous ; we may take as examples.

1 . The determination of the tension of gas
or air in a compressed magazine, as I have
just suggested.

2. The measure of elasticity of high-pres-
sure steam.

3. The determination of the degree of com-
pression under which bodies change their
state, when such experiments can be per-
formed in glass vessels, as in the case of
the condensation of the gases into liquids,
the pressures as stated by different authors
varying extremely, and being confessedly im-
perfect approximations.

4. The ready determination, by inspection,
of the pressure per square inch exerted by
Bramah’s press at any instant.

Nothing could be easier than to convert the
instrument as above described into a self-
registering one, by simply inserting an index
of glass, which may be drawn back by the
little mercurial column, just as in Six’s ther-
mometer. We should thus be enabled to
determine the operation of causes by their
nature concealed from direct view ; as,

5. The force exerted by water in the act
of freezing, in a manner much more direct i
and satisfactory than that of the Florentine I
Academicians, because it would not be neces
sary to cause the recipient to hurst, the '
maximum expansive force being indicated by I
the register.

6. The force of fired gunpowder : and even i
of dead pressure and of percussion in a va-
riety of cases.

7. The depth of the ocean by the measure
of the pressing column, the instrument being
attached to the sounding-lead. I have been
informed that the ingenious Mr. Perkins pro-
posed this application of the compressibility
of water which naturally arose from his method
of ascertaining the fact of compression by
using the pressure of the ocean, though no
notice of this is taken in his paper in the
Philosophical Transactions. The Piezometer
there described was like Oersted’s instrument, '
intended for measuring compressibility not pres-
sure.

In these cases, a Register Thermometer
would need to accompany the self-registering
instrument. Probably no considerable error
is to be feared from abrupt changes of volume
to which the water might be subjected, for the
coincidence of the velocity of sound in water,
theoretically deduced from its modulus of elas-
ticity, and experimentally by M. Colladon,
seem to prove that little or no heat is deve-
loped during its compression.

The accompanying thermometer would, of
course, require to be itself protected from the
disturbing influence of pressure.

The extensibility of the glass vessel contain-
ing the water under pressure, might be applied
to give an independent confirmation of the
first result; and elegant practical construc-
tions might be pointed out by which these sepa-
rate results might be obtained, and also the
effect of temperature eliminated.*

* Jainesou’s Journal, No. 37.

ON THE CONSTRUCTION OF BRICK ARCHES.

297

HOUSE-FLY GUARD.

At the Entomological Society, on Monday,
a paper was read by the secretary on exclud-
ing the house-fly. d'he mode adopted was a
net made of different coloured meshes of
about three-quarters of an inch square, and
which, when placed against a window, v/as
found quite effectual in excluding the visits of
these troublesome insects from the outside of
the room. 'J’hesarne experiment was tried
with meshes made of the finest black thread,
one inch and a quarter square, which proved
to be equally effectual. The approach of wasps
was also prevented by the above mode, very few
finding their way within the boundary. This
was accounted for by an optical illusion in the
eyes of the insect, of the highly magnifying
power of vision, and the small focal length.

MR. BRUNEL’S MODE OF CON-
STRUCTING ARCHES WITHOUT
CENTRING.— INSTITUTE OF BRI-
TISH ARCHITECTS, l4TH MARCH.

The secretary read a paper explanatory of
M. Brunei’s mode of constructing brick arches
out centring ; and also explained various ex-
periments of that gentleman, with regard to
the insertion of iron hoops in constructions of
brick-work in cement. * * The principle,
which was originally adopted, and its
efficiency ascertained, in the formation
of the shaft of the Thames with Tunnel, is
founded upon the cohesive power of Roman
cement, coupled with a system of ties, the
most eligible substance for which, from a se-
ries of experiments performed by M. Brunei,
appeared to be hoop iron. The piershaving
been • constructed in the usual manner, it
is proposed to pin or secure to them a
mould for the purpose of determining the
contour of ihearch. A narrow rib may now be
carried over, and keyed, using cement (with
the occasional insei tion of ties), which, by its
adhesion to the bric c being greater than the
cohesion, enables the arch to he carried to
any extent within the limits of the strength of
the material. The several arches being in suc-
cession,once keyed, they will be inastate to
receive the whole of the materials necessary to
the completion of the bridge. The bridge of
the Santissinia Trinita at Florence was parti-
cularly adverted to, affording a magnificent
example of rubble construction, and the dura-
bility of the material. The arches are com-
posed of a mass of irregular stones embedded
in mortar, having the consistence of a single
stone, or of two stones abutting against each
other at the crown.— Ed. Arch. Mag.

MACHINE FOR CUTTING SAUSAGE
MEAT, and stuffing SAUSAGES,
ABRAHAM AND JOHN KEAGY,
PENNSYLVANIA.

The cutting is effected by means of a
cylinder, around which are placed knives

which we usually make of a triangular form,
one of the sides being in contact with the
cylinder. This revolves within a concave,
or hollow cylinder, furnished with similar
knives so placed as not to interfere v?ith
those on the cylinder. These knives are but
placed somewhat obliquely, so as to stand ia
the direction of a spiral around the cylinders.
'1 he revolving cylinder has its axis placed
horizontally in a box, the sides and ends of
which are enclosed excepting where the meat
is admitted and discharged. A gudgeon pro-
jects through the box at one end to receive
a crank of wheel to turn the cylinder.

The opening for feeding is on the upper
side, and at one end of this box ; and this
opening is surmounted by a vertical trunk,
which may be in the form of a parallelogram,
of the.width of the lower box, and about half
its depth, more or less. A piston, or follower,
is adapted to this feeding trunk, or hopper,
from the middle of which a rod rises, operating
as a piston rod, being acted upon by a lever,
worked like a pump-handle. The piston rod
passes through the lever, and has a rack, or
notches, upon it, which engage with the lever
in its descent, but allow it to rise without rais-
ing the piston, so that the meat put into the
feeding-trunk is forced down by each succes-
sive stroke. To facilitate the passage of the
meat into the horizontal, from the vertical
trunk, I form a spiral excavation in the hollow
cylinder, immediately under the vertical
trunk ; which operates as an inclined plane in
producing the desired effect. The cut meat,
when it airives at the extreme end of the cut-
ting cylinder, passes out through an opening
in the bottom of the box. When the feeding-
trunk is to be replenished, the lever may be
turned back on its joint, and the piston re-
moved, leaving the opening perfectly free.

When the cutting has been completed, the
vertical trunk, with its piston, is used for the
purpose of stuffing. To effect this, a shutter,
or slider, is slipped into its place where it
forms a bottom to the vertical, and cuts off its
communication with the horizontal trunk, and
a tin, or other tube, of proper size, is' fitted
into an opening prepared for it on one side of
the trunk, at its lower end; upon this tube the
entrail to be stuffed is gathered in the usual
way.

To allow the escape of.air, this latter tube
has a small tube, or opening, soldered on its
outside, from end to end. This' opening may
he semicircular, so as make but a slight pro-
jection on the stuffing-tube. The effect of
this will be obvious.

We have not thought it requisite to give
the dimensions of the respective parts, as they
will vary according to convenience, and will
depend upon the power to be applied, and the
quantity to be cut. One thing, however, is
essential, namely, that the length and size of
the cylinders, and the number of knives, be
proportioned to the quantity to he cut ; but
this can be regulated also by the pressure made
upon the piston.

( 298 ) '

THE

SPIRIT OF THE INDIAN PRESS,

OR

xMONTHLY REGISTER OF USEFUL INVENTIONS,

AND

IMPROVEMENTS, DISCOVERIES,

AND NEW FACTS IN EVERY DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE.

TRANSPLANTING LARGE TREES.

The operation of transplanting a large tree
is described in the Madras Herald as liaving
been recently carried into effect at Mr.
Chamier’s garden in Buffalo -Square, Madras.
We learn that the machine which is used
in transplanting the tree is exceedingly sim-
ple. The plan consists in cutting through
all the horizontal roots of the tree which is
to be removed, at the distance of about
three and half feet from the stem, making a
trench about thirty inches wide around the
tree, and putting in loose surface mould
and a little comport to encourage the growth
of young fibres. The shortest time allow-
ed for this operation in Scotland, where it
was first practised, is two years — and in
some cases trees are allowed to stand four
or more years before they are removed. In
this country it appears that a tree may be
transplanted with perfect safety in four
months after the roots are cut through — at
the end of which time, as was found in the
present instance, an immense quantity of
young fibres, some perhaps two feet long,
are thrown out from each divided root.

When the tree is about to be transported
to its new site, the earth is carefully cleared
out from the young fibres, the tap-roots are
divided, and the tree, having been previously
fastened to the transplanting machine, is
taken without difficulty wherever it may be
required. Trees may be removed in this
manner to a considerable distance, from
Madras to Guindy for instance, without
losing a single leaf.

All the different species of hanian, of
which there are four or five very common in
Madras, are the easiest and surest to move,
with complete success. The best season for

transplanting them is during the hottest wea-
ther, as too much rain is apt to destroy the
young roots.

The corially (so pronounced), a beauti-
ful, clean tree, which grows to a large size
and very rapidly, may also be removed with-
out difficulty.

The peepul (or Arsii Marum) is the next
on the list. It can be transplanted to any
size, and scarcely ever fails, provided it is
done at the right season. This tree re-
quires even less care than the banian and
ought not to be very highly manured, as it
is apt to shoot up too quickly, resembling
the poplar.

The tamarind is among those trees
which are not easily moved; indeed it was
thought impossible to transplant it success-
fully, within a few months, when Mr.
Elliot completely succeeded in removing
a tamarind tree about 20 or 25 feet high.
The tree was prepared nearly a year ago,
and transplanted in June 1st. It did not
lose a leaf, and is now thriving and filling
out daily.

The neem (or Margosa) is a difficult tree
to manage, extremely sensitive at its roots —
and, if the tap-root is touched ever so little,
is hopeless. Several of these trees have
been moved, however, and are now large
and healthy after the lapse of two years.
The expence attending the transportation of
these trees is great, in consequence of the
immense quantity of soil which is usually
attached to them.

In addition to these very large trees,
there are about a dozen chiefly flowering
trees, which are good subjects for trans-
plantation. We learn, that the Vadenar^
rain, a beautiful tree like the Gloriosa
Superba — the Cork — the Wood apple tree
and the caoutchouc or India Rubber tree,

PEARL FISHERY, SURVEYS, POPULATION OF ARRACAN, &c.

are all easily transplanted : and that hand-
some specimens of them are now flourish-
ing at Guindy, which have been taken
thither from Madras.

PEARL FISHERY.

From a paper published by Lieut. White-
lock of the Indian Navy, in the Transactions of
the Geographical Society of Bombay, we learn
that the pearl fishery in the neighbourhood
of the Persian Gulf gives employment to no
less than 30,000 men, and produces 40 lacs
of rupees’ worth of pearl annually.

SURVEY OF THE MALDIVES.

A paper on the Maldives is also pub-
lished. This curious group of islands is
on the direct tract of ships bound from
Calcutta to Bombay. The desire of aiding
the project of steam navigation ; induced
to their careful survey ; they were however
found exceedingly unhealthy, which circum-
stance has been the great obstacle to their
foreign intercourse and internalimprovement.

THE INDUS RIVER.

A valuable paper is also given on the
Indus by Lieut. Wood, who has been
employed by Government in surveying that
river. This paper contains a narrative of the
Lieutenant’s passage in the little Steamer
Indus from Hyderabad to the Sea. The
result of his experience was rather unfavour-
able to the navigation of the river, in the
Delta.

POPULATION AND EXTENT

OF

CACHAR AND ARRACAN.

We learn from a report on the eastern
frontier by Capt. Pemberton that the new
population now rising in these countries,
especially in Cachar and Arracan, is quite
distinct from the original inhabitants, and
consists chiefly of settlers from the adjoin-
ing parts of Bengal. It is still extremely
inadequate to the cultivation of the soil.
According to Captain Pemberton, the whole
valley including Upper, Central, and Lower

Assam, has an area of 18,900 square miles,
and a population of 602,500 souls, or nearly
32 to the square mile ; whereas from the
richness of its soil it will support a popu-
lation ten times as numerous as that which
now occupies it. Ih 1833, Captain Fisher
estimated the quantity of arable, but unoccu-
pied landin Cachar at 1,800,000 biggas. The
entire area of Arracan is calculated by Cap-
tain Pemberton to be about 16,520 square
miles ; and the statistical returns for 1831
gave a population of 73,928, or lOf to the
square mile. Hence it is evident that in these
three provinces there is the widest scope for
colonization. There is land in abundance
unoccupied, which is at the perfect disposal
of Government, and may therefore be allotted
to new settlers on whatever terms may be
thought expedient. There are no existing
rights to be interfered with, and no popu-
lation to be thrust out of their native
acres.

LINES OF COMMUNICATION BE-
TWEEN THE BRITISH POSSES-
SIONS AND THE BURMAN EM-
PIRE.

We also learn from the same report which
we have abstracted from the Friend of India
that an army, proceeding from Calcutta to
Ava, would reach that city, by the Assam
route, in 170 days,by Muneepore, in 107 ; by
Rangoon, in 82 ; and by the Aeng Pass in
Arracan, in 39 days. From the comparison
of routes, it is manifest, that if ever the Bur-
mese are again foolish enough to engage in
hostilities with the English, and it be con-
sidered expedient to renew our invasion of
their territory, the way of the British army
must lie through Arracan.

With the exception of Muneepore and
Upper Assam ,t he whole of the inhabited coun -
try on the Eastern Frontier is now under
British rule ; and the excepted portions are
under British protection and influence. In
the first years of our way over these new
territories, many errors were committed in
the schemes of taxation and judicial admi-
nistration which were adopted. But as, we
doubt not, an honest intention existed on

300

AN IMPORTANT GEOLOGICAL PAPER.

the part of Government to do what was right
and just, a gradual improvement has been
apparent every where ; and the effect of this
upon the increase of the population has
been most remarkable and satisfactory.

POPULATION OF NAGPORE.

The following is a copy from the report
of Mr. Jenkins in the Nagpore territory.

Statistical Table of the Population of Nagpore.

According t<» the census ofl820-21, the population
oftlie several <iistricts and the cily stood thus :

Deouurh below the Ghauts 4,84,657

Wyne Gun«a distticts , 6,60,040

Cliiilieesgurh 571,915

rlianda *.£,79,556

Deotjurh above the Ghauts 1,07,505

City of Nagpore l,ll,*23l

Total 22,14,901

Assumin'.' that the rate of iticrease in Chutteesgurh
(where no subsequent census was taken) was the same
as iti other parts of the country, the population, ac.
cording to the census of 1825, is as follows ; —

[vi llages-

Deogurh below the Ghauts. 5, 72, 792 in 1890 towns &
Wyne Guniia districts. . . 6,90,770 in 21 1 1 ditto.

Chutteesgurh 6,39.603 in 4434 ditto.

Chanda • • • 3,06 996 in 1223 ditto.

Deogiirh above the Ghauts 1,45,363 in l24l ditto.
City of Nagpore and Subrs. 1,15,228

Total 24,70,752

being an increase of 2,55,848 in the course of five
years.

Tables of births and deaths have been kept in
the Wyne Gnnga district for the last four , and in
Deoguih bellow the Ghauts, for the last two years.
They sive the following results : —

Wyne Giinga district in 1831

I'otal population, 6,60,040
Births 25, 436. .Deaths 14,015,
being as one hundred to fifty-five, nearly.

riie births are one in twenty six, nearly, and the
deaths one in forty-seven, nearly.

The excess of births above the deaths, is II 4Jl,
and the proportion of excess of births above the
deaths, to the whole of the living, near ly one to
fifty-eight, so that, at this rate, the population
would double in about forty years.

In 1832.

Total population, 6,7 1,1 17.

Births 27,692... Deaths 15,664.
being as one hundred to fiity-six neatly. The
birihs are one in twenty-four, nearly— the deaths
one in foiiy-thiee, nearly.

The excess of births above the deaths, is 12,128,
and the poilion of excess of births above the
deatlis, to the whole of the living, nearly one to
fifty-five ; consequeiuly, the period of douhliitg is
about thirty-eight years and a half.

In r833.

Total population of the Wy ne Gungaand Deogiirh,
districts, 12,63,562.

'I'he births 47,896 The deaths 23,103.

The births being to the deaths, as one bundled to
fifty and a half, nearly.

1 he birihs are about one in twenty nine and a
half: the deaths are one in fifty-three and a half.

The excess of births above the deaths, is 18,873 ;
the proprn tion of the excess to the whole of the
living, being nearly one tosixty five, the population
would double in foity-five yeais.

In 1834.

Total population of the W'yne Gunga, and Dcoguth
districts, 12,63,562.

Birihs, 47,896. ..Deaths 29,946.

The births to the deaths ate one hundred to sixty-
two and a half, nearly.

The births, one in twenty-six. The deaths, one
III fortv-two. Excess of births above the deaths,
I7s950 ; the pioportion of this excess to the whole
of (he living being, as one to seventy ; at this rate,
the population would double in about forty eight
years.

GEOLOGICAL CHARACTER OF THE
MOUNTAIN RIDGE BETWEEN
SYLHET AND ASSAM FROM CHIR-
RAPOONJEE TO GOWHATTEE.

Within this range there appear to ns to be four
distinct formations, which claim particular atieiilion
from the geologist. Ihefiist is the surface of
the present epoch, arising from the silt of the nu-
merous and magnificent rivers, which from the
East, North, and W’esl, pour their waters through
the plains of Bengal into the ocean, laden with
the annual spoils of our great mouiiiaiu ranges, lu
traveisiiig the various streams of the Brunihapoot-
tra, the Teesta. and the Ganges, endless opportu-
nities are afforded us of matking the successive
changes through which the light, giay, and peifecily
incoherent, micaceous sand, jusi deposited from the
last oveiflowiiigs of tbe rivers, passes into iiitiniie
varieties of soil, by gradual decomposilinii of its
own component elements, by incoiporation with
the vegetable matter wliich even in one seaS' ii be-
gins to grow and rot amongst it, and by niixtnte
with the older and richer deposits, which the rivers
in their capricious changes are continually break-
ing up and disirilmting afresh. In such observa-
tions, with Mr. Lyell’s chapters on the formation of
deltas in our hand, we found endless eiiteitaiumeiit
in the first months of the present year: and often
we wished that this dislingnished Geologist had
an Opportunity of exploring our magiiificeiit river
coiiises, and adding the data they furnish to his
accumulated treasuies.

The next formation, if we may call it so, which
demands atteiiiioti, is the strong red clay which is
found on all sides, at the extreme verge of the range
within which the present uintations of tbe rivers are
confined. We liave lemaiked it on the west coming
in to the very hanks of the Bliagnrnttee not far from
Moorshedahad ; on the noith in the districts of Di-
nagepore and llajshaye; at Sohar, a few miles
north west of Dacca, where it forms an ahiupi
and striking bank to the river, and at Dacca itself
a few feel under the surface of loose soil similar to
that of the middle parts of Bengal ; and lastly tor
several miles on the south hank of the Briinihapoot-
tra, just above Goaipaia, wheie, in contrast with
the ordinary hanks of the liver, it looks more like
a precipice of rock than mere clay. This clay has
long aiipeareil to ns like the remnants of an ancient
continuous surface through which therivers have cut
their ciiaiinels for ages, so as nearly to have effaced
it altogether. In the pioper delta of the Ganges, or
the great plain enclosed helweeii the Bhagiiruttee
and the main stream of the Ganges to its conjunc
(ion with the Megtia, we have not seen a frag meiit
of this ciay, hilt are not confideiu that it may not he
found ill the Fiireedpore distiict wheie we once
thought we peiceived the counny to have an iiiidii-
lating surface differing materially from the rest of
the della.

Another most important formation inrludes the
carboniferous S} stems ofBuidwan, Sylhet.anri As-
sam. These we may conceive tofhe conteniporane-
ous deposits formed ill a marine bed. including the
whole of Bengal, Assam, and the einire valley of
the Soorma. On the western side in Burdwaii and
Beeihhoom they appear to have been lifted but
sUgliily from their original siiuation ; for the coal

CANALS, MINING, AND RAIL-ROADS,

301

measures we believe extend away indefinitely below
the plain surface of the country. But on the eastern
side, in Sylhet and Assam, we a^e presented with a
very different appearance. There the coal strata
are ihiown up as by one convulsion to a heiuht of
more than 4000 feel above the neiahhouriiii; plain ;
from which the whole system to which they belonii
rises at once, like a steep hank of a river gntteied
by immense falls of rain. It is a most interesting
inquiry to make : Does the plain of the Soortna
Cover over a counterpart, yet in their originai
place, of the deposits which we observe heaved up
to the skies at Chit rapoonjee ? or, when these last
were thus heaved up, did the fearful convulsion by
which that was accomplished break into fragments
the remaining parts of the ruptured series, and
sweep them away to (ill up by their debris some
ocean deeps of the present Bay of Bengal? In re-
ference to this inquiry, satisfaction might best he
obtained by boring at Sylhet and Chaituck : but to
whom are we to look for such experiments?

^ Perhaps the same object miglit be gaijied by a
careful observation of the last formation we have
to notice, consisting of the primitive rocks; by
which it is plain that the secondary formation just
mentioned has been tosseU out of itsoiiginal place.
These primitive rocks may be studied with great
advantage on the northern side of the Khassia
mountains, where they are of great extent, and
much exposed iii numerous immensely deep rents,
which are now river courses ; and, also all down the
valley of the Bi umhapoottra, which is stndded with
beautiful groups of hills entirely composed of them.
The granite, gneiss, and schist of this formation
deserve the closest examination ; and, from the little
vve were able to see of them, we should think they
would furnish numerous appeaiances not less
striking than those of the celebiaied rocks of Glen-
tilt. Just under the cntcherey at Goalpara we notic-
ed a most singular confluence of different rocks, which
must have run iw a semi-liquid state into one mass ;
and similar phenomena we caught glimpses of else-
where. But the most interesting part of their exa-
mination would be iheii relation to tire secondary
strata. It appears certain that down the plain of the
Brumhapootira, far into Bengal itself, the present
soil lies immediately upon these rocks; no secon-
dary strata intervene betweerr it and them. Can it
be decided that no secondary strata were ever de-
posited in the same place, before they came up to
the surface ; or that secondary strata were there
and have been swept away ? And can it he ascer-
lained where in the plains of Bengal, the secondary
strata of Bnn.dwan are broken off by the primitive
system traced down from the north and east?*

TEA FORESTS IN ASSAM.

Mr. Bruce of Sudtya has discovered no less than
ten new localities, in which the plant is growing in
abundance and vigour. All the ten localities now
discovered are in one vicinity, which, on looking
at any tolerable map of the eastern portion of As-
sam, onr readers may easily recognize by the help
of the following description. Sudiya, it will be
seen, lies on the north hank of the Brumhajiootlia,
at the junction of a small liver called the Koondil
Paneel The country to the south is watered by two
rivers, the Dihooroo and the Booree Dihing, which
both run from eastward to weslwaid, and join the
Brumhapootira at different points below Sudiya.
If a line he carried nearly south, with a slight in-
clination towards the east, from Sudiya, until it
cuts the Booree Dihing, it will fall upon the village
of Ningrew,on the north bank of that river; and
all the new localities of the lea plants are scattered
in almost every direction aiound this village at va-
rious distances, from half a day’s to a whole day’s
journey. Seven of the localities lie between the
Booree Dihing and the Dihooroo ; and the remain-
ing three are to the south of the former river, and

* Friend of India.

to the southeast of Ningrew, upon small trihularv
streams of the Booree Dihing, Immediately to the
west of Ningrew, and on thenorth sid.eofthe river,
is a low range of hills, from a hundred to a hun-
dred and fifty feet high, on the tops of which an in-
ferior tea is said to grow wild : hut because of its
inferiority the Singphos pay no attention to it. The
plants of this sort do not grow above ten or twelve
feet high ; the largest leaves are not more than an
inch aiidahalfin length, and they are much more
indented than those of the other sorts. Another
kind of tea also grows about in the jungles in the
neighhonrhood, and on the Naga hills about a day’s
journey from Ningrew, to the south of the Booree
Dihing, which is equally disregarded by the Sing-
phos, and is known as the bitter tea. It is distin-
guished by the brown colour of the central thick
fibre, and also of the edges of the leaves. T his
sort, it is said, will not grow in the same neighbour-
hood with the finer kinds : at least, they are never
seen together.

Thus, it appears, we have three varieties of the
tea plant. 'I’hat which the Singphos make use of
is not at all biiter, and differs widely from the sort
produced in the Hookoom country in the Burman
territories. Indeed from a trial of some of this tea,
piepared in a particular manner, Mr Bruce is firm-
ly uersnaded that it will prove to be Green. To
raise nlants of this tea, the Singphos sometimes
sow its seed : hut they prefer one mode or anoti/er
of planting shoots. Some cut off twigs about a foot
and a half long, just as the young leaves begin to
shew themselves, and lay them in the earth, in an
angle of about 45“, with the top of the twig appear-
ing at the surface. Others take a branch as thick
as a man’s arm; and, having cut deep notches in it,
about one-thiid through it, and three feet apart, lay
it in the ground, and cover it all over excepting
where the notches are: at the notches the new
shoots spiing up.*

CANAL BETWEEN RAJMAHL AND
CULNA MINING RAIL ROADS.

We are happv to perceive that the construction
of a canal from Rajniahl to Culna, with the view
of keeping Open the communication of the West-
ern with the Lower Provinces thionghout the year,
still engages the attention of Government. This i.s
an object of the highest national importance, and
the completion of it will form an era in the history
of India, vVe have heard the expense of the canal
estimated at between forty and fifty lakhs of Bn
pees : hut, great as this sum may appear, it is not to
be put in compaiison with the advantages which
stich an nndei taking would confer on the trade of
the country. But while the question of so large an
expenditure is on the tapis, it would not be impru-
dent to enquire, whether the same sum, or perhaps
even less, might not be sufiicient for laying down
a noble rail road between Kajmahl and ralcnita.
We are not acquainted with the local obstacles
which exist to the accomplishment of such a
scheme, but they cannot he gieater than tliose
which European eiiterprize is accustomed to over-
come in England. The division of the country,
tlirough which it would pass, is more free than any
other section of Bengal.!

INDUS STEAM NAVIGATION COM-
PANY ; AND PROPOSAL TO UNITE
THE SUTLEGE WITH THE JUMNA.

Our readers are already aware that it has
been “ proposed to have two iron tug steam

* Friend of India.
+ Friend of India.

302

PROPOSAL TO UNITE THE SUTLEGE WITH THE JUMNA.’

vessels, and four iron lighters, to draw
when loaded, four feet w'ater ; one tug boat
would tow two lighters six miles an hour
against the current of the Indus, or 600
tons of goods to Attock or Loodianna, in
twenty-one days, if steaming twelve hours
per day, and fourteen days of steaming eigh-
teen hours, and ten and a half days if she
steamed day and night each vessel at the
consumption of 120 tons of coals per
trip. Supposing she made eight trips per
annum, she would convey up 4800 tons,
with an expenditure of 1000 tons of coals.
Two tugs would, therefore, convey annually
9600 tons into the centre of Asia, with
an expenditure of 2000 tons of coals.
A mean rate of freight may be taken at
£3 per ton, which would give an annual
receipt of <£28,800 ; exclusive of any
downward freight or passage money up
and down. It is evident all Europeans
and the respectable natives of the upper
provinces will prefer this route to the
tedious and expensive water conveyance by
the Ganges or land carriage.”

In case of emergency these vessels would
be available to the Indian Government for
transporting 2000 troops in one trip from
the entrance of the river to Loodianna.

In addition to the foregoing, w^e find, in
that ably conducted Journal the Mofussal
Akbar, a paper characteristic of its la-
mented but talented and enterprizing
author Mr. Henderson, shewing the
feasibility of cutting a canal to con-
nect the rivers Sutlege and Jumna for pur-
poses of navigation. He had previously as-
sumed that the best line in all probability
would be a direct cut across from the Sut-
lege at Ferosepoor, the point where the
Beegas joins it, to Koonjpoora on the Jum-
na ; but as he afterwards found that the
Sutlege above Ferosepore has a north-east-
erly direction and might probably alter its
course at Tehara, thereby obliterating a
portion of the canal, he proposed to exa-
mine the line between the last mentioned
station Tehara, and the nearest point on the
Jumna, the distance between the two rivers

being there about one hundred and thirty
miles.

“ The country between Tehara and Jumna
appears to the eye to be perfectly flat. In-
sulated sand hills indeed are here and there
situated over the country, being generally
selected as the sites of villages, but do not
interfere with the general level. The Sut-
lege is one furlong broad where he examin-
ed it at Tehara, its average depth may be
reckoned at five feet, and where the banks
are under three feet high, the utmost depth
may be estimated at seven or eight feet.
Boats drawing three feet of water may come
up to Ferosepore, but after passing that sta-
tion, they would probably require to draw
even less than two feet. The Jumna is na-
vigable during the whole year for boats of
500 maunds as far as Borassee Ghat, still its
waters have been diminished so much by
canals intended for irrigation, that it would
not appear to him advisable to take the
waterfor the proposed canal from that river.’’

Mr. Henderson adds “ that the Sutlege
seemed to flow about 19 feet above the line
of springs ; that the different nuddees were
from 12 to 20 feet above it, the lower ones
containing the greatest quantity of water,
and that the Jumna, which is about 14 feet
under the Delhi Canal, is 15 feet above
the line of springs.”

“ It may be observed by examining the map
of the country situated between the Jumna
and Sutlege, that the rivers arising from
the intermediate hills, have a tendency to
courses which may be represented by radii
of a circle, having its centre in the point
where the courses of the two rivers, after
issuing from the mountains, would intersect
each other.” With reference to the expense
required for the construction, Mr. Hender-
son remarks “ that the cost of the trunk road
in the upper provinces may be estimated at
300 rupees per mile, allowing 50 cubic feet
of earth raised, as the average work per day
of the convict or labourer. Now supposing
the canal to be 27 to 30 feet wide, the
above sum would be required to bd many
times multiplied in order to construct the
proposed canal. 300 rupees multiplied by
20 ; that is 6000 rupees per mile, or 8 lacs
of rupees for one hundred and seventy

A CANAL TO CONNECT THE SUTLEGE WITH THE JUMNA.

miles ; the proportion of cost would hear
nothing in comparison with the advantage
which might be derived from so important
an undertaking.

Mr. Henderson recommends that the Sikh
states through which the canal would have
to pass, and whose revenues amount to
above 55 lacs of rupees, should be called on
to defray the expense of its construction ;
being guaranteed by Government in a mo-
derate rent, sufficient to cover the interest
of the prime cost on an average estimate of
the traffic after the canal had been several
years constructed.

We think this latter proposition is not
likely to be carried into effect. We suggest
to our friends at Agra, a joint stock com-
pany, as more feasible.

The advantages to be derived from the
construction of the canal are innumerable.
We need only state that this would soon
become the route to and from Eu-
rope.

THE PRACTICABILITY AND PRO-
BABLE EFFECT OF A BREAK-
WATER AT MADRAS.

We perceive some very important docu-
ments in the Madras Herald of the 17th
September on the above subject. A let-
ter from G. Rennie, Esc[. to Capt. Grindley
dated 3rd December, 1835, gives the
following description of breakwaters which
have been constructed from the earliest to
the present time.

The ports of Alexiindria, Tyre, and Carthage,
were partly protected by moles, or breakwaters of
loose stones, and in the time of the Greeks similar
works were constructed at Ephesus, at the celebra-
ted port of Pyrceus near Athens, at Egjna, Mytelene,
Lemuos, Cyssus, Milo, Naxos, Eubcea, &c. ; and
ill the time of the Uoinans, the most famous artifi-
cial ports were Portus Lumce of Hercules fnow
Leghorn), of Brundisi, Tarentum, of Mlseiia, Puz-
zubli, Nisela, Ravenna, Ancona, Ostia, &c. ; of
which the latter presented the example of an insa-
lated breakwater in front of the harbour. In later
times the celebrated insulated breakwater of Civi-
ta, Vecchia, of Trani, and Barletta in Italy; and in
more modern times the moles of Genoa, Messina,
Rhodes, Cette, Nice, Antibes, Toulon, Valeniia,
Barcelona, Caithagena, Cadiz, Corunna, Ferrol,
Rochefort, the Isle of Rhe, St. Jean de Leon, and
lastly the famous insulated breakwaters of Cher-
bourg, Plymouth, and Delawarre— Examples are
not wanting therefore of moles, acted upon by the
waves, either in connected, or in insulated masses.
The methods of construction adopted by the ancients,
wete either by throwing large stones into tLe

SOS

sea, until they had formed masses of sufficient mag-
nitude to resist the action of the waves, or by sink-
ing masses of stones and cement held together by
frames as described by Virtuvius, or by jetties of
piles driven into the sea as practised at Euboea and
elsewhere. The moderns have adopted the same
methods according to circumstances, and there
seems no reason to deviate from the ancient prac-
tice, altlioiieh several plans for the formation of
breakwateis have been proposed and practised by
the moderns, as the masses of brick and cement
sunk at Sheerness, by the late General Bentbam ;
and which entirely failed, and the more absurd
propositions of floating chests of wood, aud cast
iron. The destruction of the cones at Cherbourg
aud subsequently of the barracks on that Breakwa-
ter, have taught the French several dearly-bought
lessons. The most approved method of forming
breakwater has been to throw large stones weighing
from 6 to 10 tons in the line of direction of the
proposed breakwater, aud allow them to assnme
their natural slope, which they will do below the ac-
tion of the waves, and the waves will perform the rest.
But in order that these slopes may be formed it be-
comes necessary to give such a base as shall allow
for ihe natural slopes both below aud above water,
and this, experience has shewn to be the caseboth
in Cbeibourg and Plymouth Breakwaters, The
oriainal form of the Cherbourg Breakwater was at
prismatic figure, havingS natural slopes of 45 de
grees and one sea slope of 8 degrees ; experience
has, however, proved tire total inadequacy of the
Cherbourg Breakwater as originally constructed in
1781 after the failure of the cones, inasmuch as that
its dimensions were too feeble to resist the impulse
of the waves at low water, and that it afforded no
protection to the roadsteads between high and low
water— the magnitude of the works has been tripled
and ill some places quadrupled since that period ;
and when completed it expected to have its sum-
mit raised 10 feet above high water. To have a natural
slope of about 45<* on its interior side between
high and low water maiks a sea slope of 5^ to one
and from low water mark to the bottom a natural
slope of 45*

The Plymouih Breakwater was originally pro-
posed to be constructed upon the triangular system,
with its interior slope inclined to one angle of 46*
and its exterior or sea slope at 18« or to one.
Subsequent consideration, however, led Mr, Rennie
to adopt an entirely new form for its section. The
average depth of the Breakwater at Plymouth below-
low water of an 18 feet tide is forty fee.’, but in
some places the depth is 43 feet and in others only
20 feet: now the breadth of the Breakwater in the
part where it is 20 feet in depth at low water (and
which is the depth of the water at Madras) is 350
feet at the base, including the slopes— as it is now
completed— the top of that patt of the Breakwater
having been swept or flattened down towards the
land side by the great storm of 1829. The base
was then only 250 feet, thus pointing out the neces-
sity or further augmentation of base and a change
in the slopes. The actual section of the Breakwa-
ter as now completed is shewn by the annexed
diagram.

i

Mr. Rennie states that the above form

has been found to answer most effectually
and to remain undisturbed during the great-
est storms. Another letter addressed to
Capt. Cotton is of great importance, for it
emanates from Major De Havilland, whose

304

ON THE BREAKWATER AT MADRAS,

opinions are grounded upon local knowledge
and long experience of public works in India.
This officer observes :

“ A veiy small stone, laid on the mud or sand, at
a depth of 70 feet water, will remain unmoved for
ages. I should say that one granite, rough quarried
of a cent weight would abide there, in the Madras
road: as the work rises, it becomes more exposed
to the action of the element; and, instead of a Oat
yielding surface to stand and impress upon, it
would have an inclined plane of hard substances
like itself— but the weight of a stone increases in a
triplicate ratio ; while its hoiizoniai section does
ou\y duplicately ; the effect of the water may
therefore be counteracted by increasing the size of
the blocks. I again repeat what 1 have held, offi-
cially and privately, that the base of the work should
be left to Nature, and they will place themselves
in their right situation ; and, above all, obseive to
use the smaller stones first, reserving the larger
blocks for the last ; you may safely employ stones
under a ton weight down to half, or even a third of
a ton, until your work is at man’s height from he.
low the surface, or rather until you find that your
apex is constantly thrown over, and blunted as it
were you should begin your heavier stones,

but cast them on the inner side; It would be idle
to press your large blocks on the outer side. The
well secured, the sea will never move the
OMfer, after it has acquired the proper Talus. At
this stage you will find the greatest difficulty, your
work will often be disturbed ; not so much by the
striking of the surf, as by the lifting of the waves ;
the undulation of the water has that eft’ect;
the waves subside with accelerating velocity, and
rise with the velocity so accelerated, lifting or
tending to lift the bodies it acts upon : hence it is
that a work in the course of execution, suffers more
when it reaches the trough of the waves, than
when it is just at the surface. The first storm that
occurred after my return from India, did some
damage to the Plymouth Breakwater. I went to
see it. 1 reported to the Admiralty, and stated that
it was left too low, and that without a superstruc-
ture it would greatly suffer. The following storm
verified my predictions ; I saw very large blocks
actually of their positions, where they

could scarcely have been touched by the break-
ers. Again 1 wrote to the Admiralty, for a stipe-
structure which [ estimated at 60, 009 £, but
Bennie, the Engineer, had sent in his estimate
for £170,000, to jface on both sides with large

blocks, carefully fitted into each other, and I be.
lieveclampt with iron. This mode has hitherto
succeeded ; but even if it were the best, which f
do not allow, at so great a cost, he has an advantage
fAere which you have not on your coast; a great
rise fall of water in spring tides, when the
lower tiers could easily be ranged in their places.
With you, 1 think a superstructure is indispensable,
to rise 12 or 15 feet above the surface of the sea, for
you must not flatter yourself that yonr wotk, ter-
minated m a/rex, some few feet above the sur-
face, will hold. When brought to that state, it
should remain till storms and swells have settled it,
so as to form a surface sufficiently wide for a super-
structure. This may not be for a year or two, or
more ; during which you will watch the operation
of the waves upon it, and take your measures for
its completion, and extension. What 1 mean for
the figure of the work aud my distinction of large

There will be great saving of mateiials by this
mode of erection, for I am certain the idea of the
work assuming a wide base at a great depth of water
is quite erroneous ; and whatever more is given to
it than the weight and shape of the stones would
effect, is ivaste to all intents and purposes. Your
superstructure should be 13 or 15 feet thick; and
probalrly nearly as high.

There is a- great advantage in this way of pro-
ceeding; that, however, the work may suffer from
time to time, it can only become more consistent
and secure; it must, in the end, bring the wor k, if
persevered in, to its intended use and effect. Yon
should make some allowance for subsequent opera-
tion?, when you determine on your distance from
the shore ; all that is thrown over, will fall within
the work. I think 20 feet a good depth for the
object now in view, measured from the clayey
bottom ; whatever there may be of sand above it
will move away when the work is completed. 20o
yards in length is little enough— but the horns of
your work will give it length. That dimension
however is of the least importance, as it may sub-
sequently be added to, when its operation has been
observed ; and thence you may best know at which
end to make the addition. The angle at the shoulder
of your horns, which will act as the starlings of
abridge, should form an angle of about 150 deg. with
the line of the breakwater ; when the body of the
work is raised, the lengthening of the horns will
accelerate the cuirent, and keep clear of sand the
space in shore. I observe" you expect an accumula-
tion to foim opposite the centre of the breakwater,
in a curved line against the bulwark: upon this
point I differ from you ; I think, on the contrary,
that your horns will make the water deepest there,
and accumulate the - sand on the opposite side
against the Breakwater. tV hen the work is com-
pleted, it will be convenient in every respect to erect
a quay with cranes, on the line drawn on your plan,
where you expect the accumulation ; and ultimately
a similar quay where I expect it to be formed;
whereby the current will be greatly accelerated .
The horns may, by degrees, be lengthened, if re-
quired, to clear the passage of sand; hut it is
probable that during the cAflTige of the monsoons
some little deposit may form at each end of the
passage, till the set in cuirent again removes it.—
I perceive you propose taking the stones from the
■Adiar bank in catamaiaris over the bar.— I have my
doubts if that is the best way ; however, I see you
have tried it with some success, and, during the
south west monsoon, you may not find it so labori-
ous. In the north east season, except you have a
steamer, I fear you will not progress much.— rtf-
ter the breakwater is raised so as 10 affect the surf,
you may perhaps do better, by bringins: the stones
from the Mount down to the Custom House; this
would he for \\\e large stones especially.

Should this undertaking answer your expectations,

I should in your place keep in mind the construction
of a railway, from the south side of the Adiar. —
It has long been in my contemplation,— Nay, 1 be-
lieve, in some of my reports, I hinted at one, or a
carrying Nullah from the Seven Pagodas at
Mahabalipooram, to biing the fine granite in that
neighbouihood to Madras,

If your horns are extensive, the intermediate space
outside will fill up to a certain degree with sand,,
during what I may call the aquastice season, or
during a succession of mild luonsoons ;— and in
time a counter breakwater may be made beyond
this accumulation, so as to form a solid body in this
shape,'*

THE INDIA REVIEW

OP WORKS ON SCIENCE,

AND

JOURNAL OF FOREIGN SCIENCE AND THE ARTS,

EMBRACING

MINERALOGY. GEOLOGY, NATURAL HISTORY, PHYSICS, &c.

REVIEW.

Notes on the Geology of the Country be-
tween Madras and the Neilgherry Hills,
via Bangalore, and vid Salem. By P.
M. Benza, Esquire, M. D. of the
Madras Establishment.

Continued from page, 260.

We now proceed to join Dr. Benza on his
journey to the Neilgherry hills ; and, strange
as it may appear to those unaccustomed to
ideal travelling, we, sitting within the ram-
parts of Fort William, can still imagine
ourselves in the company of our talented
and agreeable author. We can behold with
him the lovely scenes he has witnessed, and
with his avidity share the delights of his dis-
coveries. He travels to a bungalow near Al-
lampaucum on the road from Poonamalee.
Monotonous plains alone are seen, and, with
the exception of a few straggling pieces
of a chloritic slate derived from some of the
hills at a distance, there is nothing of interest
to the geologist at Allampaucura. Near the
bungalow, however, to which we have alluded,
there are protruding rocks composed of
foliated felspar of a pale flesh colour, in some
places decomposing ; it occasionally imbeds
angular pieces of white transparent quartz
and, vice versa, the quartz imbeds the felspar.
Quartz pebbles which originate in the
disintegration of the huge veins of quartz
seen protruding through the soil, bestrew its
surface. The surface of some of the pebbles
are of a red colour, extending for some lines
into their substance, which circumstance

Dr. Benza attributes to the effect of the
infiltration of oxide of iron after the dis-
integration of the veins. We now arrive at
Goriattum, approaching which, the country
becomes hilly, and majestic arboreous vege-
tation is observed in the ravines and on the
declivities of the hills. The projecting rocks
are of granite, both common andsienitic. We
proceed west ; the country is interspersed
with hills and valleys. All the hills are grani-
tic, the rock being traversed by thick veins of
quartz. In some places there are numerous
pieces of quartz magnetic iron ore. Numer-
ous beds of chloritic rock are seen at Saut-
gur sometimes porphyritic ; in other masses
the minerals are distributed either in strata
or uniformly through the substance of the
rock. Below the hills the rock is of
sienitic granite, intersected by thick veins
of quartz.

“ This sienitic granite, besides the horn-
blende intermixed with the other minerals,
has nests of it formed of the pure foliated
mineral, or in a granular state, with some
pieces of compact felspar, so as to resemble
hornblende porphyry .

All the plain below these hills is bestrewed
with numerous' pieces of quartz and of folia-
ted felspar, this last mineral being regularly
crystallized, and its surface shining when seen
at an angle with the light.

On both sides of the road are seen, nearly
level with the soil, the convex surfaces of large
masses of a poi’phyritic rock, composed of
regular crystals of red felspar, hornblende,
and a lively pistachio coloured substance —
(chlorite ?)

The approach to Laulpet is represented
as picturesque, surrounded by hills, and the
valley highly cultivated with gardens and fruit
trees. There is a magnificent mosque, and

306

A PECULIARITY IN THE STRUtTIURE OF GNEISS.

near the liver are majestic tamarind trees,
tending to add to the beauty of the scenery.
On both sides the river the country is alluvial
and sandy, and for two or three miles inter-
spersed with hills and knolls: rounded
blocks, like logging stones, are observed
on their summits and sides. Dr. Benza
discovered on a ridge, divided by a tor-
rent from a high hill specimens of sienitic
granite and a few plates of mica in addition
to the other three minerals. Among them
he found one resembling an analogous rock
he found at Chinnapatam like red porphyry,
but having nothing porphyritic in its struc-
ture, being composed of red foliated felspar —
fracture rather shining— honey-combed with
numerous small cavities, filled with yellow
substance, some being a micaceous, bril-
liant, metallic powder, strongly magnetic.
Our author advances to Baitmungalum
where he feasted on grapes, peaches, and
apples, of an exquisite flavour, the produce of
Bangalore and Palamanar: the climate is re-
presented as mild. Leaving behind the east-
ern ghats, our author found rocks of gneiss,
the contorted strata of which are seen al-
most in every one of the blocks. A mile to
the west near Golcondapatam blocks of
granite are scattered over the plains. In the
dry bed of a river Dr. Benza discovered a
thick basaltic dyke which stretched across
the whole breadth of the river, its outgoings
being split into rhombs or parallelopi-
peds, the dyke, appearing to burst through
granite. The blocks of granite scattered
over the plain resembled the erratic boulders
found in the plains of Sweden, Russia, and
Northern Germany, derived from the Scan-
dinavian mountains. The granite exfoliates
in concentric laminae of different thickness.
In the sienitic granite nests of greenstone
porphyry are imbedded, as is the case in
almost all the localities in India where
this rock is found. Our author proceeds
west towards Shamarpilly, near the road
to which is seen, a little oblong knoll,
or rather undulation of ground on
the tops of which rise many blocks of horn-
blende rock CO ntaining very little fel-
spar: structure semi-foliated, fracture glim-
mering, quartz veins intersect it irregularly.
The direction of the dyke-like bed of horn-
, blende rock is north a nd south ; its decom-

position imparts to the soil in its vici-
nity a red ferruginous colour ; the oxide of
iron appears, says our author, to enter largely
in the composition of the hornblende, since,
^ike other primitive green stones, it affects
the magnetic needle. Among the rocks, be-
fore reaching Bangalore, gneiss seems to pre-
dominate ; it iscomposedof theusual mineral,
forming regular strata conformable to each
other, in some of which at onetime the mica,
and at others the quartz, predominates.
The quartz is white and . transparent, the
felspar of a paler hue, and the mica black.
Our author now reaches Bangalore, in the
vicinity of which gneiss is seen every where,
having veins of quartz or of foliated felspar,
or of both together, traversing it. It is
decomposed to a depth of seventy feet; the
loam resulting from it is very abundant all
about Bangalore. The clay found is excellent
for tiles, bricks, &c.

Dr. Benza notices here a peculiarity in
the structure of gneiss ; namely, that of
splitting, both naturally and artificially,
into lamina, the direction of which is nearly
perpendicular to that of the seams of the
strata.

“ In fact, in the laminae naturally detach-
ed from the rock, we observed that the strata
are seen either horizontal, or vertical on the
surface of them ; therefore the laminae exfo-
liate in a direction at angles with these strata.

We see in all stratified rocks that they ge-
nerally split in the direction of the strata ;
so. that the surfaces of separation shew only
the surfaces of the seam. But, in the laminae
of this gneiss, the case is different ; on the
surfaces of the laminae we see the strata, and
their seams along the surface of the split,
and therefore its direction is at an angle
with that of the seams themselves.”

The following is worthy of notice.

“ It appears that the natives have availed
themselves of the peculiarity this gneiss has,
of splitting in a direction opposite to that
of the strata, to obtain laminae of any thick-
ness. The process to that effect is very
simple and economical. On the convex sur-
face of the gneiss they light a fire, the inten-
sity of which is proportionate to the thick-
ness of the slab to be obtained ; and, after
having kept it up for such a length of time,
as experience has taught them necessary for
the required thickness, they extinguish it,
and pour cold w'ater on the heated surface of
the rock.

This sudden refrigeration producing an in-
stantaneous contraction of the heated portion
of the rock, extending as deep as the heat
had penetrated, it is detached at that depth

SERINGAPATAM— THE DITCH OF ITS FORTRESS EXAMINED.

307

from the parent rock, and the lamina is ea-
sily removed, and cut in as many pieces as
required.

The curvature of these laminae being the
segment of a very large circle, in the small
dimensions they are generally cut, they ap-
pear nearly straight, and are used for all
architectural imrposes, as columns, door-
posts, steps, &c.

I have read, I do not recollect where, that
the foregoing process is had recourse to, at
Bangalore, to split granite. This must be a
mis-statement, since at Bangalore, as well
as in many other places in India, they use
another, and very different, method to split
granite, porphyry, green-stone, or other
unstratified rocks.”

Dr. Benza does not recollect to have
ever seen in India the gneiss so well
characterized and its strata so much con-
torted as in this locality. The whole,
mass of this gneiss has the usual convex
surface ; and exfoliates in thicklaminse, por-
tions of which lay, like huge cubic pieces, on
the convexity of the rocks. Our author pro-
ceeds next to Chinnapatam, a village situa-
ted in a plain. Hornblende slate is the rock
jutting above the soil near Kingairee and
Closepet. Here he found pieces of rock
which he was inclined to call porphyry ; they
were unstratified,- composed of semi-foliat-
ed felspar, approaching to compact, and glit-
tering— penetrated by numerous microscopic
cavities, occasionally filled with a yellow
clay, and containing grains of perfectly
transparent white quartz, some of them
in regular crystals of that mineral.
Dr. Benza reaches Mundium, between
which and Chinnapatam the rocks are
hornblende-slate, intersected in all di-
rections by numerous quartz veins, of
divers dimensions and shapes. In its vici-
nity our author picked up some loose pieces
of talcslate, mica-slate, &c. He now proceeds
to Seringapatam where he only remained a
few hours : he visited the ditch which sur-
rounds the fort, and the bed of the Cavery.
the walls of the ditch showed a stratified
rock of gneiss, abounding with mica, in a
decomposed state ; he met v>fith thick beds
of silicious slate, traversing the gneiss
at different places and in all directions,
and supposes it to be what Buchanan calls
hornstone, called by the natives madi-culla.
The strata of this silicious slate have a
thickness of many feet,

“ And are traversed in all directions by
numerous, almost imperceptible, fissures, in
the direction of which the rock, when stiuick,
often splits, showing on both surfaces of the
separation Ireautiful, superficial, dendritical
appearances, like those occasionally seen in
the alpine limestone and in some novaculites
(hones) of the clay-slate formation, produced
by the infiltration, through the fissure, of
the oxide of manganese, at least as far as it
regards the limestone.

This silicious schist, besides intersecting,
as veins, the gneiss, overlays it in some
places, as is seen, on entering the Fort by
the Mysore gate, to the right, where it lays
in large tabular masses over the gneiss.

A little farther on, going always west, we
see masses of hornblende rock, overlaying
the two rocks just described. This green-
stone, both as blocks and as dykes, I had
seen soon after descending into the ditch
below the bridge.

This hornblende rock hardly contains any
felspar, and it is evidently unstratified — so-
norous when struck — of glimmering fracture
— and of a black colour. The elegant
columns of Hyder’s and Tippoo’s Mausoleum,
beyond Shahar Ganjam in the Island, are of
this rock, which however was brought from
a different place, as Buchanan informs us, viz.
from Cuddahully near Turivieary, about 52
miles from, and N. E. of, Seringapatam,
and called by the natives Carricullu, or black
stone.

Some of the masses of this hornblende
rock have a variolated surface, w'hich, how-
ever, on breaking the stone, does not seem
to extend into the interior of the rock. 1 say
seem, because, polishing on the stone, the
rounded marks re-appear and of a deeper
colour than that of the rock itself.

Buchanan took particular notice of these
darker spots in the polished rock, and at-
tributed them to the crystals of basaltine
(so was augite called at the time he wrote)
imbedded in the hornblende ; in Avhich con-
jecture I think him perfectly correct, as the
mineral is augite which gives the described
appearance to the rock, and it is seen clearly
marked in the above mentioned columns of
Hyder’s Mausoleum.

It must be remarked that the veins of the
silicious schist, intersecting the gneiss up to
its surface, do not penetrate into the over-
lying green stone, showung the posterio-
rity in age of the last mentioned rock.

In going out of the Fort through the
northern sallyport, close to which Tippoo
wms killed, you come upon the right bank of
the Cavery, which washes the walls of the
Fort at this place. When I visited Seringa-
patam (March 1834) there being very little
water in the river, ail the rocks forming its
beds w^ei*e exposed to view, enabling me to
judge of their nature.

The principal rock in it is gneiss, which
appears to extend along the course of this
river for a considerable distance ; since I
have met w ith the same rock, jutting abov«

308

INTERESTING NOTES ON PERSIA BY COL. MONTEITH.

the waters of the same river, at the ferry of
Polleapoliam, nearly 100 miles S. E. of
Serlngapatam. This is one among the many
proofs that gneiss is the universal subjacent
rock in the table land of Mysore.

Mounting some of the masses close to the
outside sallyport, you stand on blocks of a
beautiful porphyry of red colour. This rock
cuts the gneiss in the bed of the river in an
oblique direction N. E. and S. W. across its
whole breadth, and is seen continued on the
opposite bank, a little below the northern
extremity of Wellesley-bridge.

This porphyry is composed of well de-
finedcrystals of red felspar, which occa-
sionally are white, imbedded in a paste of
compact felspar of the same colour. Be-
sides these two minerals it contains tour-
maline, in numerous needle-shaped crystals
distributed through the rock, without having
any common direction. The red colour of
this porphyritic dyke, through the grey of
the gneiss, points it out even from a distance.

Among the numerous pieces of rock, scat-
tered about the western side of the Fort, are
found some of a stratified rock of a porphy-
ritic appearance, composed of red felspar,
imbedding pieces of white quartz, and hav-
ing thin veins of beautiful pistachio-coloured
actynolite.

Just below the southern extremity of Wel-
lesley-brige, along the right bank of the Cave-
ry, I noticed an enormous accumulation of a
friable calcareous tufa, somewhat resembling
osteocolla, or those calcareous incrustations
enveloping vegetable substances, when plac-
ed in the course of waters abounding with
carbonate of lime. Many pieces were an-
alogous to the nodular kankar found in
the plains of India. From what I shall
mention hereafter, it appears that some of the
tributary torrents to the Cavery contain a
good deal of carbonate of lime.

The hill of Mysore I could not visit, but
judging from some specimens I have seen
from it, it is formed of granite composed of
white and rose coloured quartz, white felspar,
black mica, and a few garnets.”

Our author now reaches Nunjengode,
close to which flows a branch of the Cavery.
One of the rivulets appears to have its waters
overcharged with carbonate of lime, which
is deposited all along its course ; the high
banks of the torrent are formed of calcareous
tufa. The deposit is so white, spongy, and
light, that it might be mistaken for pumice.
Besides anew kind of kankar, our author
found, jutting from the soil or loose on
the surface, large pieces of ancient
kankar which is very different from the
modern, being more compact, semi-cry-
stalline, and sparry in the fracture, and
concretionary in its structure ; in short,
very much resembling the ancient fru-

vertino of Italy. All the blocks along both
sides of the Cavery, and projecting above the
water are hornblende rocks, with thick veins of
quartz, which seem also to be the prevailing
rock all over the plain. We now arrive at
Goondlapet. Our author at this place exa-
mines the different kinds of stones, employ-
ed in the construction of the buildings. He
found blocks of a very crystalline sandstone,
and some of quartz rock ; there are stones of
a beautiful chloritic porphyry, some of green-
stone, of gneiss, of granite &c. The only
rock about the place, in situ, however, is
the actynolite schist to be seenin the lower
parts and floor of the ditch. Dr. Benza then
reaches Goodloor, which stands at the
commencement of the ascent to the Neil-
gherries, at the foot of a very high hill of
the Wynaad group : the blocks about the
village are sienitic granite. This brings us
to the end of our author’s first journey, and
here we must part company for the present,
under the engagement to accompany him on
his second excursion at a future opportunity

Art. IL — Notes on Persia, Tartary, and
Afghanistan. By Lieut. Col. Mon-
te it h, K. L. S. Madras Engineers.

The notes, which we are now about to lay
before our readers. Colonel Monteith wrote
at the request of a friend at Madras for whom
they were intended, and not for publication.
But such is the lively interest taken in every
thing connected with the country, which is the
subject of these pages, that we are satisfied
the public will be highly gratified that the
author allowed his intentions to be changed,
especially when we state that his nineteen
years’ residence in Persia enabled him to
become personally acquainted with many of
the chiefs of their tribes : he had also frequent
communication with Tartars, and some of
the Russian Mission to Bokhara. Under
these circumstances we are sure our readers
will be anxious to peruse his own inter-
esting account.

“ The Caspian provinces, subject to Persia,
consist of Talish, Ghilon, Mozanderan, and
Astrabad. The nature of the country,
character of the people, their language, and
general appearance, and even the cattle of
the country, form a strong contrast to the
other parts of the empire, much more resem-
bling those of India.

MONTEITH’S ACCOUNT OF THE TARTAR TRIBES.

309

The mountains which divide them partake
of this difference. The sides looking towards
the Caspian are wooded nearly to the sum-
mit, and the others are bare, rugged, and
parched, the leading features of Persian
scenery. The elevation of the range being
about 7,000 feet, every degree of temperature
is experienced. The low country near the
Caspian bears, as is before mentioned, a
strong resemblance to India ; the charge of
unhealthiness only applies to the swamps in
the vicinity of the sea. After a slight ascent
the climate is particularly fine, and from its
dampness much resembles England, produc-
ing perpetual verdure. The strength of the
country, through which a stranger cannot
find his way, has generally saved it from
foreign invasion. Its inhabitants felt few ■ of
the calamities which afflicted Persia, from
the Afghan invasion to the establishment of
the Kadgar dynasty, by whom Mozanderan
and Astrabad have been particularly favour-
ed, being considered their immediate patri-
mony, and the cradle of the Shea sect.

The people, in consequence, are generally
richer and better lodged. A traveller passing
through the country, would form a very false
idea of the population and real extent of
cultivation ; the people, enjoying great se-
curity among themselves, and being seldom
visited by travellers, are not obliged to as-
semble in large villages, but are dispersed in
houses, three or four together, over the
country, always at some distance from the
roads, or, rather, difficult paths, which
traverse the rice fields and swamps. These
are purposely kept in a difficult state, as well
for protection, as to secure the monopoly
of the carriage, no cattle being able to convey
loads but those of the country. If a stranger,
however, has a quarrel with any of the in-
habitants, or attempts to press a guide, he
will be soon convinced, by the assembly of a
crowd about him, how great the number of
people really is.

On the death of the King, or in case of
foreign invasion, a few guards in the passes
secure these provinces from the miseries to
which the rest of the country is exposed,
and the news brought by fugitives is all they
know of passing events ; without they send
forces to the aid of the contending parties.
The Kadgars owe their reign in Persia to the
troops of Mozanderan and Astrabad. In the
latter district the chief part of their tribe
(Kadgars) has long been fixed, and forms its
guard against the Turkoman Tartars. They
formerly were established on the Goorgan
river, but have been gradually dispossessed
of the lands on its banks, and forced to retire
near the forest districts, where the Tartars
seldom venture in force.

Russia gained possessionof all the Persian
provinces on the Caspian by treaty with
Shah Sultan Hussain, in the time of Peter
the Great, on condition of assisting that
prince against the Afghans and Turks. She
never fulfilled her part of the engagement,
and these districts were restored to Nadir
Shah on his return from India. During this

partial occupation a great number of men
died from fevers, and Russia found none of
the advantages she expected, either from the
silk of Gilan, or sugar of Mozanderan.
Their possession is still a favourite object
with her, under the idea that they will render
her independent of other countries for those
valuable products, but in this I think she
would be much disappointed,”

The foregoing exhibits our author’s style.
There is a want of arrangement which critics
have to complain of even in our best
writers; and as Colonel Monteith’s narrative
is intended more fora fire-side account of all
he witnessed and felt than for a well digested
treatise, allowances should be made ; but
we hasten to introduce the reader to his
account of the Tartar tribes.

“ The three Tartar tribes of Goulkan,
Yamout, and Tekie, are decidedly Persian
subjects ; like all frontier tribes they pay
less respect to the orders of Government than
those settled in the interior of the country,
and, for some time, but little of any. kind,
owing to the weak and pacific character of
the late king. I have, however, seen about
3,000 of their best horse, serving with the
Persian army, of whom 1,000 were Tekies,
and attached to the Erivan force, where I
commanded the Artillery. During the winter
the greater part of these are encamped in
the Persian territory, and on the Ottrak and
Goorgan, the Persians can then do what
they please, and they seldom venture to
disobey orders, as they could not fly into the
desert without abandoning their families,
winter provision, cattle and property ; and
w'hat they did carry off would be plundered
by the other Tartars, whether of Khiva or
Bokhara, if they had not previously entered
into engagements with them. The sub-
joined list gives the names of the different
tribes, who form the principal and most
formidable part of the Persian Cavalry,
their principal force. The Infantry are either
from the fixed villages or the great tribes
of Lack, Loor, and Boktearee (supposed to
be the remains of the ancient Persians).
This system renders the assembly of an army
a matter of no difficulty, but keeping such a
force in order, or even together for any length
of time, requires a Prince of great firm-
ness and talent, as in times of confusion the
influence of these tribes is greatest, and a
civil war is easily brought on and difficult
to be subdued. Persia has always been a
country not difficult to conquer in times of
civil dissension, but, from the same cause,
impracticable to retain. When the country
is well roused, no army can long resist the
incessant attacks of a force, always pre-
sent, and never to be encountered. The
nature of the country singularly favours this
system of war ; half of it is only fit for the
abode of pastoral tiibes, who care little for
a change of residence, if it does not take
place in winter, or at the time their flocks

310

THE COUNTRY BETWEEN

PERSIA AND RUSSIA.

are bringing forth, when a march is de-
structive to their property. From the long
and inveterate feuds which have existed be-
tween many of these communities, it is not
difficult to form a party ; but they soon get
tired of any foreign power, and return to
their own people. With one of a different
religion, no dependence can be placed on
tlieir alliance.

The kings of Persia have always had the
greatest difficulty in keeping them in sub-
jection. Shah Ismail and Shah Abbas at-
tempted to form a royal tribe, calle 1 the
Shah Pussunds, or Shasewunds, by taking
volunteers from all and giving them the best
lands. The measure was not successful,
and they quickly became the most unruly
body in the kingdom. Nadir Shah being
an Afshar, that tribe rose to great power
under his family; to them succeeded the
Zunds, of which Kerim Khan was the chief,
and now the Kadgars. The present family
have much reduced the power of the tribes,
by raising regular troops and a corps of
Artillery. This, with the party they are able
to form, has been sufficient to restrain all
but those of the province of Khorasan ; had
Abbas Mirza, lived that too would have be en
perfectly subdued. In Azerbijan, formerly
the most turbulent province, no tribe dares
disobey the orders of government ; but op-
pression has followed, and, in the late wars
with Russia, theytook no part in the strug-
gle, and joined General Paskewitch’s forces
after the fall of Tabreez.”

Colonel Monteitli says that travellers are
much deceived as to the I'esources of Persia ;
they merely judge of its population and ferti-
lity from what they see in passing through 'it ;
but he adds that a considerable part of the
country is desert. Alluding to cultivation, he
observes that it generally depends on irriga-
tion : in the plains water is seldom to be met
with ; fortunately, however, the rain is suffi-
cient for vegetation. The want of population
is best shown by our author’s statement that
one may march for days and not see a sin-
gle village. This, however, appears to be no
inconvenience to travellers ; for, from our
author’s account, the traveller is able to pro-
cure every supply from the keeper of the
caravanserai. The cheapness of bread and
meat is truly astonishing. Colonel Monteith
states that 40 lbs. of bread for a rupee is
considered high, and that 10 lbs. of excellent
mutton may be had for the same price. Th©
villages which supply these things are ten
miles to the right and left. On the subject
of supplies to marching armies, the following
under existing circumstances is of deep im-
portance.

“ An army, under the Persian govern-
ment, would be directed to assemble at a
certain point in some fertile district, and but
a small part would follow the high road.

The Khorasan troops annually come to the
camp at Sultania, and 30,000 pilgrims pass
the same way ; they all purchase provisions
without difficulty. An invading army could
be deprived of this advantage, and it would
be necessary to march by several parallel
columns, joinin? at certain towns, where a
large stock of provisions is always kei<t.

An army should therefore have one month’s
supply of provisions (biscuit is better than
grain or floui'). When the crops are on the ]

ground, forage for the cavalry will be pro- I

curable, and the country ruined, and a fa- I
mine generally follows the passage of a large I
army, if arrangements have not been ma le
for at least one year before, and the mea- '
dows strictly preserved in the line the troops
take.

The country between Russia and Persia, jj
to the east of the Caspian and sea of Aral, !!
is generally considered a desert, though for- |
merly it comprised the povverful kingdom of i
Khorasan, and several parts of it, as Bokha- |t
ra, Sameraud, Ko Khan, &c. are described ' |i
as the most agreeable residencies in the vast i|
empire of Timur, abounding in great and l!
flourishing towns, and frequented by mer- i
chants from every part of the world. It is at I:
present much more thickly inhabited than is
generally supposed, but, the population
being principally migratory, it presents a
very different appearence, according to the
season of the year. In winter the low lands
are covere 1 with tents, wherein summer not
a soul will be seen, all having gone to the
mountains or upper part of the rivers near
Ala Taug.,

Russia first settled the present govern-
ment of Orenburg, and established t ie line
of the Yaik, or Oral, in 1730. It wms at
that time infested by the Cossack pirates
who had fled from the Volga, and, joining
the Baschiers and other Tartars, made ir-
ruptions into the neighbouring provinces.
The town of Orenburg was then founded,
and a line of forts drawn from the Caspian
to the ‘;reat chain of the Aral mountains.
The Cossacks and Baschiers were taken into
the service of Russia, and formed into 12
regiments of 500 men each, to whom were
granted lands, a small pay, and freedom
from taxes.

They have since been good subjects, and
opposed the great Kalmook emigration,
which, however, they were nbt able to pre-
vent ; the 60,000 families of whom forced
the line and retired into China. The line
was subsequently reinforced wdth 12,000"^
regular troops and artillery ; settlers arrived
from Russia, and it is at present one of the
most fertile provinces supplying Ashter-
khan and other places, with a vast quantity
of grain and provisions. The finest horses,
and most numerous studs, are also kept here.

• Now more consideiable, said to be near
30,000 men.

311

DISCOVERY OF THE

This extension broiight Russia in contact
v?ith the Kirgis Tartars, generally called
Cossacks, the naost powerful of all the tribes
of Khorasan. After several years’ war,
peace was concluded in the latter part of the
reign of Catherine the 2d, and the tribes
were allowed to pasture their cattle in the
mountains forming the Russian boundary,
on acknowledging the sovereignty of that
power, which is content with a nominal rule,
and the right of confirming the election of
the Khan, They voluntarily furnished 5,000
horse during the French invasion, and, in
the days of their power (they have not now
halfthat number), counted 200,000 tents. To
the west and north of the lake of Aral are
the Kara Kalpaks, or black cap Tartars,
by whom the greater part of the Russian
subjects are carried off and sold as slaves in
Khiva ; they profess themselves under the
rule of Russia. To the south of these are
the Aral Tartars, extending to Khiva ; an<l
the Persian Turkomans, who are not nu-
merous and always live in fear of their more
powerful neighbours. The whole of these are
wandering tribes, but they cultivate a small
part of their lands, which in many places are
far from being barren deserts.

To the east of the Aral lake are several
small states of the Usbecks, who pride them-
selves on being the descendants of Gengis and
Timur ; some of these are within .the Chinese
territory, which, notwithstanding its reported
weakness, is gradually extending in this di-
rection. The most powerful is Kashgar, from
whence there is a direct communication with
Cashmeer and Bengal, across the great Hin-
du Cush and Tibet. I have seen a Russian
Armenian subject who had made several jour-
neys to both places.

Kokhan, or more properly Koo-Khan (the
Lord of the mountains ), has several consider-
able towns, and a great number of villages,
with fixed inhabitents, along the Sir Derria
river and its branches. The chief of this
country exercises a great influence over all the
mountain tribes of the Ala I'aug. The Chinese
are pressing on his independence, and he will
probably soon be subject to that empire.

Badakshan is frequently, but improperly,
included among the Tartar states, and has
sometimes made nominal submission to Bok-
hara and Cabsel. The nature of their country,
which is extremely mountainous and diffi-
cult, protects them from foreign invasion.
Through it lies a good summer road to Cash-
meer, which caravans from Bokhara iienerally
take. The people generally speak 'I'urkish,
but they more resemble Afghans than Tar-
tars, and are extremely bigoted, and unfriend-
ly to strangers ; they may amount to 30,000
families and are celebrated as very brave
infantry, of which their force is almost en-
tirely compose;^. Merchants give them a
good character f^or honesty.”

We must her0 conclude : in our next, we
shall give our author’s opinion on the ques-
tion of the Russian invasion of India.

GENUINE TEA PLANT.

Art. III. — Discovery of the Genuine Tea
Plant in Upper Assam.

Memorandum of an Excursion to the Tea
Hills, which produce the description of
Tea known in Commerce under the de-
signation of Ankoy Tea. By G. J.
Gordon, Esq.

Journal of an attempted Ascent of the
river Min, to visit the Tea Plantations
of the Fukhin Province of China. By
G. J. Gordon, Esq., Secretary, Tea
Committee. — Journal of the Asiatic
Society of Bengal.

The above articles open with a corres-
pondence of the Tea Committee to the Go-
vernment of India. The first are reports from
Capt. Jenkins and Lieut. Charlton, for-
warding samples of the fruit and leaves of the
tea plant of Upper Assam which proved be-
yond doubt that the tea shrub is indigenous
in Upper Assam, being found from Sadiya
and Beesa to the Chinese frontier province
of Yunnan, where the shrub is cultivated for
the sake of the leaf. This discovery, the
most important and valuable yet made in
matters connected with the agricultural or
commercial resources of this empire, the
Tea Committee ascribe to the indefatigable
researches of the two officers, the authors of
the reports to which we have alluded. The
Committee, however, add that they were
acquainted with the fact so far back as
18|6. The late Dr. David Scott sent down
from Munipore specimens of the leaves of a
shrub which he insisted was the real tea.
We beg also en passant to observe that we
found precisely the same tea at Sandoway
in Arracan in 1827 specimens of the leaves,
and a plant in its natural soil, we forwarded
from that place for the Governor General’s
garden at Barrackpore. Our report at that
time was considered to be of sufficient im-
portance to induce Lord Amherst to place
it on the public records, and to forward a
copy for the information of the Hon’ble
the Court of Directors.

The Tea Committee go on to observe that
it was known to them that several species of
camellia w^ere natives of the mountains of

3112

THE SADIYA PLANT THE GENUINE TEA OF CHINA.

Hindustan, and that these were indigenous
in our north eastern frontier provinces
Taking into consideration the close affinity
between the two genera, they were disposed to
expect that the alleged tree would prove no-
thing else, but some sortof camellia. Having
obtained however the fruit of the Sadiya plant
they were able to state with certainty that
it was a genuine tea — th" identical tea of
China, which is the exclusive source of all the
varieties and shades of the tea of commerce.
The following sketch exhibits the peculiari-
ties in the structure of the fruit on which
depends entirely the difference between the
tea and camellia. We give the sketch with
explanatory remarks, in order that our
readers now in Rambree and Sandoway may
be able to extend their researches.
Memorandum explanatory of the sketches which

accompany the report of the Committee of

Tea Culture,

There is no danger of mistaking any plant
for the tea except the camellia. Both are
very closely allied to each other in general
appearance, in the form of their leaves, and the
structure of the flowers. It is by the charac-
ter of the fruit alone that they can be satisfac-
torily distinguished for practical purposes, in
that respect the two genera differ very widely.

In both the fruit consists of a roundish,
more or less triangular, dry capsule, of three
distinct cells, containing one solitary seed or
nut. At the period of maturity the dehiscence
or bursting takes place vertically, by means
of three fissures, extending from the top of
the capsule towards its base. So far their
ca])sules are precisely alike ; the following
are the points of difference.

In the tea, the capsule is more or less deep-
ly divided luto three globular lobes, sometimes
appearing as if it consisted of three round
capsules united into one. The general outline
is therefore always decidedly triaiigular, with
extremely obtuse corneas. The bursting
proceeds along the middle of the lobes or
angles, when a large seed is discovered
through each aperture enclosed on all sides
within its proper cell, which cell is in fact
formed by the corresponding lobe of the fruit.
By this process six valves are, properly speak-
ing, formed, (and not three, as they are gene-
rally counted,) each lobe splitting into two
hemispherical valves. The partitions alter-
nate with the lobes, and are formed by the
sides of two adjoining cells being, asitwere,
glued together, and extending to the axis of
the capsule, from which they at length com-
pletely detach ihsmselves, when it disappears
altogether. The seeds or nuts are almost
globular.

In camellia the capsule is very obscurely
triangular without any tendency to become
deeply three-iobed. It bursts along the
middle of each side (consequently alternately

with the corners) into three very distinct j
yaives, each of which belongs to two adjoin- j'
ing cells, because the three partitions originate I
lengthwise from the middle of the respective j'l
valves, and are therefore opposite or contrary |j
to these, converging fiom thence to the tri- I
angular axis, fiom which they gradually I
separate, leaving it finally unconnected and i
free. The seeds are of an oval oblong shape,
smaller than those of the tea.

The preceding remarks are made with re-
ference chiefly to the Assam tea and the Nipal i
camellia; and purposely without technical
precision, the object being simply to convey 1
a general idea of the structure of the two j
sorts of fruit. But they admit of being applied ij
to all other instances of comparison between 1|

nrfjntiro in nnootinn ii

THE DEPUTATION TO UPPER ASSAM.

313

Reference to the Figures in Plate III.

A The Assam tea. Figs. 1, 2, 3, ripe
capsules scarcely enlargerl ; at 1, seen from
below, deeply three lobed ; 2, the common
from commencing to burst; 3, the same com-
pletely burst open, anddiscovering tbe seeds;
4, the same, the seeds being removed , and
one of these represented separately ; of the
natural size ; 5, tlie lower half of a ripe cap-
sule divided by an horizontal section and the
seeds removed, exhibiting the places of
deiiiscence along the angles or lobes, and the
partitions alternating with these and sepa-
rating fiorn the axis; a little enlarged; 6,
outline of a full-grown leaf, of the natural
dimensions.

B The- Nipal camellia (C. kissi). Fi^.
7, ripe and entire capsule slightly enlarged ;
8 and 9, the same after bursting, the free axis
being seen in the last figure ; 10, a horizontal
section as in the tea, much enlarged, repre-
senting the places of bursting, w hich alternate
with the angles of the fruit, the partitions
which are opposite to the angles of the fruit,
and the valves, separating from the free axis ;
11, a detached seed, natural size; 12, outline
of a full grown leaf.

(Signed), N. Wallich, M. D.

Off. Sec to the Com. to Tea Cult.

H. C. Bot. Garden, Dec. 24, l834.”

On the grounds of the important intelli-
gence to which we have alluded, the Com-
mittee recommended to the particular con-
sideration of the Government, that a de-
putation of scientific men be sent to Upper
Assam for the purpose of collecting on the
spot the greatest variety procurable, of bota-
nical, geological, and other details, preli-
minary to ulterior and successful measures
being taken with regard to the cultivation Of
the tea shrub in that country. Captain Jen-
kins states that the soil where the trees grow
is alluvial ; they rise to the height of twelve
or fifteen feet, at the foot of a low range of
hills or a small distance up the hills; but never
on the summit, from which he inferred they
required a sheltered situation. The aspect
was gnerally southerly or south east. The
leaves about two inches in length and one in
breadth, alternate, elliptic, oblong, and serrate;
the flower white, very like that of the white
wild rose, but much smaller. The editor of
the Asiatic Journal states that, in 1828,
Captains Grant and Pemberton sent speci-
mens of the tea plant from Manipore to Mr.
Secretary Swinton. They made tea from a de-
coction of its leaves, and found it approach
very nearly in flavour the ordinary black tea.

We learn that Mr. Gordon anxious to
have an opportunity of personally inspect-
ing the tea plantations in the black tea dis-
trict, next in celebrity to the Bohea hills,
determined upon visiting the Ankoy hills
and Kwuy Taou bay, he, in company with
Messrs. GutzlafF, Ryder, and Nicholson,
proceeded in a ship’s long boat towards the
head of the bay where the town of Hwuy
Taou is situated. We pass over the account
of the journey, but bring our readers at once
to the end and object of it.

“ Arrived at Taou-ee. We were hospitably
received by the family of our guide, and soon
surrounded by wondering visitors.

Mr. Gutzlafl speedily selected one or two
of the most intelligent of them, and obtained
from them ready answers to a variety of ques-
tions regarding the cultivation of the plant.
They informed him that the seed now used for
pr opagating the plant was all produced on the
spot, though the original stock of this part of
the countr y was brought from Wae-eshan ; that
it ripened in the 10th or 11th month, and was
immediately put into the ground where it was
intended to grow, several being put together
into one hole, as the greater part was always
abortive; that thesprouts appeared in the3td
month after the seedswereputinto the ground ;
that the holeinto wdiich theseeds were thrown
are from three to four inches deep, and that
as the plants grow the earth is gathered up a
little round their root ; that leaves are taken
from the plants when they are three years old,
and that there are, from most plants, four
pluclsingsin the year. No manure is used,
nor is goodness of soil considered of conse-
quence : neither are the plants irrigated.
Each shrub may yield about a tael of dry
tea annually (about the 12th of a pound). A
mow of ground may contain three or four
hundred plants. The land tax is 300 cash
(720 dol.) per mow. The cu'tivation and
gathering of the leaves being [rerformed by
families without the assistance of hired la-
bourers, rro rate of wages can be specified ; but
as the curing of the lead is an art that requires
some skill, persons are employed for that par-
ticular purpose, who are paid at the rate of 1
(11. per pecul of fresh leaf, equal to five dollars
per pecul of dry tea. The fire-place used is
only teinoorary, and all the utensils as well as
firel are fuinished by the owner of the tea.
'fhey stated that the leaves are heated and
rolled seven or eight times. The green leaf
yields one-fifth of its weight of dry tea. The
best tea fetches on the spot 23 dls. per pecul,
(l33§ lbs.) and the principal part of the pro-
duce !S consumed within the province, or ex-
ported in badcets to Formosa. That the pre-
vailing winds arenorih-westerly. Theeasterly
winds are the only winds injurious to the
plants. Hoar frost is common during the
winter months, and snow falls occasionally,
but does not lie long nor to a greater depth
than three or four inches. The plant is

314

CHINESE CULTIVATORS OF TEA IN UPPER ASSAM.

never injured by excessive cold, and thrives
from 10 to 20 years. It is sometimes destroy-
ed by a worm that eats up the pith and con-
verts both stem and branches into tubes, and
by a gray lichen which principally attacks
very old plants. The period of growth is
limited to six or seven years ; when the plant
has attained its greatest size. The spots
where the tea is planted are scattered over
great part of the country, but there are no
hills appropriated entirely to its culture. No
ground in fact is formed into a tea plantation
that is fit for any other species ot cultivation,
except perhaps that of the dwarf pine already
alluded to, or the Camellia Obeilora. Mr.
GutzlafF understood them to say that the
plant blossoms twice a year, in the eighth
moon or September, and again in winter,
but that the latter flowering is abortive. In
this 1 apprehend there was some misappre-
hension, as seed of full size, though not ripe,
were proffered to me in considerable quan-
tities eaily in September, and none were
found on the plants which we saw. I suspect
that the people meant to say that the seeds
take eight months to ripen, which accords
with other accounts. We wished much to
have spent the following day (the 13th) in
prosecuting our inquiries and observations
at 'I'awand and its neighbourhood, but this
was rendered impracticable by the state of our
finances. We had plenty of gold, but no one
could be found who would purchase it with
silver at any price. W e therefore resolved
on making the most of our time by an early
excursion in the morning previous to setting
out on our return.

We accordingly got up at day-break
and proceeded to visit the spot where the
plants were cultivated. We w^ere much
struck with the variety of the appearance of
the plants ; some of the shrubs scarcely rose
to the height of a cubit above the ground, and
those were so very bushy that a hand could
not be thrust between the branches. 1 hey
were also very thickly covered with leaves,
but these were very small, scarcely above ^
inch in length. In the same bed were other
plants with stems four feet in height, far less
branchy and with leaves If to 2 inches in
length. The produce of great and small was
said to be equal. The distance from centre to
centre of the plants was about 4f feet, and the
plants seemed to average about two feet in dia-
meter. Though tbeground was not terracetf, it
was formed into beds that werepartly levelled.
These were perfectly well dressed as in garden
cultivation, and each little plantation was
surrounded by a low stone fence, and a
trench. There was no shade, but the places
selected for the cultivation were generally in
the bottoms of hills, where there was a good
deal of shelter on two sides, and the slope
comparatively easy. 1 should reckon the site
of the highest plantations we visited to be
about 700 feet above the plain, but those we
saw at that height and even less appeared
more thriving, probably from having some-
what better soil, though the best is little more
than mere sand. 1 have taken specimens
from three or four gardens. Contrary to

what we had been told the preceding night, f
1 found that each garden had its little nursery t
where the plants were growing to the height t
of four or five inches, as closely set asdliey j
could stand ; from which I conceive that the |
tea plant requires absolutely a/ree soil, not
wet and not clayey, but of a texture that will
retain moisture ; and the best site is one not I
so low as that at which water is apt to spring
from the sides of a hill, nor so high as to be
exposed to the violence of stormy weather, i
There is no use in attempting to cultivate the j
plant, on an easterly exposure, though it is ij
sufficiently hardy to bear almost any degree j
of dry cold. i!

By half-past 10 A. M. we set out on our re- [
turn, in chairs which we were, fortunate ![
enough to procure at this village, and reached I
the banks of the river at Aou-ee a little before
one o’clock. In the first part of our way we [
passed by some more tea plantations on very j
sterile ground. One in a very bleak situation, 1
with nothing but coarse red sand by way of !
soil, seemed to be abandoned.” 1

Our author in his next communication I
gives an account of bis attempt to ascend j!
the river Min, to visit the plantations of the !!
Fakhin province of China, but he and his jl
party met with so much opposition (there 'j
lives being in peril) that they were com- jl
pelled to return.

We must refer our readers to our last
journal (page 301) for further discoveries
of thfe tea plant in Assam. It is sufficient
to add that a considerable number of
Chinese cultivators have been obtained ; they
arrived at Sadiya in Upper Assam on the jj
3rd of last month, so that we may expect i
tea in abundance.

Art. IV, — Cultivation of Cotton, By W, '
Bruce, Esq. Remarks on the culture of \
Cotton in the United States of America, I
Capt. Basil Hall’s Travels. Remarks j
on the best method of cultivating New i
Orleans Cotton. Ibid. Regarding the j
cultivation of Cotton, Ibid. On the i
cultivation of Cotton in Central India, '
By Baboo Radhakant Deb. Obser-
vations on the culture of Cotton in the |
Eoab and Bundlecund, By W, Vin-
cent, Esq. On the artificial produc- j
tion of new varieties of Cotton, By H. j
PiDDiNGTON, Esq. On the method used I
in Cayenne topreserve the Cotton plant, j

COTTON IN CACHAR AND DACCA.

315

On a specimen of Cotton gathered in
the Boglepore district from a shrub in
its wild state, by F. Hunter.

Use of the Sawgin, by F. MacNaugh-
TEN, Esq. Cotton of Ava. Cotton of
Cachar, by Capt. S. Fisher. On
Cotton grown in Cuttack, and its sta-
ple for spinning, by^l. T. Weekes.
On the native Cottonproducedin the Gar-
row Hills, by Capt. A. Bogle. Report
on specimens of Cotton reared by Col.
Coombs, at Palaveram. On the cultiva-
tion of Upland Georgia Cotton at Alla-
habad,hyMr.^ Huggins. Onthecul-
tivation of Pernambuco Cotton at Tavoy,
by W. Mainby, Esq. On the cultiva-
tion of Sea Island Cotton in the district
of Cuttack. On Upland Georgia and
Sea Island Cotton. — Transactions of the
Agricultural Sf Horticultural Society of
India, Vol. 11.1836.

(Concluded from page 265. J
The next communication is from Thos.
Fisher Esq. from Cachar, where the quality of
the cotton is not deemed fine, but from which
cloth is made both warmer and finer than
that fabricated from the cotton grown to the
westward. It is cultivated on a hilly land
contiguous to a navigable river which ac-
cording to Mr. Fisher, offers considerable
advantages to the cotton grower. Mr. Lamb
of Dacca forwards samples of cotton from the
neighbourhood of Dacca ; these are discolour-
ed and ill-looking from having been kept for
months in the smoky huts of the owners; the
staple is short, and the seeds form an un-
usually large proportion of the weight of the
raw material. Mr. Lamb believes that more
favorable specimens may be produced by
careful search among the dealers, yet at the
best it will be inferior to the American and
Bourbon cottons. The finer threads are
not now produced, and there has been a
great falling off within these few years.
Mr. Lamb observes that —

“The cotioii from which the fine Dacca Muslin
is niauufactiiied, is cultivated on both banks of
the iMe>:na and Ganges, near their junction and
on the low lands between those rivers.

It is an annua) plant, and In good soil grows to
the height of (oiii or five feet, but It is geneially
too closely set to admit of its branching out well.

It is sown in Oct iber and November. The seeds
are welted for a few minutes, then diopped by the
hand into the ground in drills from 16 to 20 inches
apart.

When the plant has attained the height of five or
six inches, iiie gioiitid is carefully hoed up on
both sides and kept clean by repeated weeding.

The crop is gathered in April, May, and June,
and where the situation chosen is beyond the reach
of the inuiifiatlon, a second ciop, but inferior both
as regards quantitv and quality, is olriained, but mote
generally the land is inundated and produces only one
crop of from J to 3 mds. of undteased cotton from
the beegnh.

Some of the more industrious ryiits connive to
liave a sutrslding ciopfrom the ground hy sowing
l ice ill the spaces between the drills, a few weeks
hefore the colioii is removed, the rice rising with
the water.

S he Cotton crop does not at present seem to be
in favour with the farmeis; it is an uncertain one,
heiiig liable (u injury from insects in the eaily
moiiihs from bait and rain when farther advanced,
and front being mostly cultivated on low lands, it is
not fieqiieiiiiy desiioyed by the river in June before
the pioduce can he gathered.

The culiivaiiou has declined with the muslin
trade, and the price obtained is now scarcely lemu-
neratiiig ; it has fallen from 6 tbs. to 3^ wiibia
these few years-

For the finer thread the hand is used in separa-
ting the seeds from ilie cotton ; indeed the cylin-
ders employed here are so inefl’ective aud the cotton
adheres so stiongly to the seed, that an active
person will do nearly as mucii woik with lire
hand alone as be can do with the aid of the
maclitiie in common use.

Accompanying I do myself the pli-asiue to send
you a few samples of the cotton and of the thread
(the iictter quidiiles) spun from it. From the
enclosed extiact from the books of the Custom
House, you will perceive that little or no cotton is
introduced from Ava. fhe imports noted as 754,
28!, and Sill luds. include lioih what is brought
by the Biirmali boats, and the supply from our
own provinces. 'I’lie imported cotton is only used
in tlie coarse mauufactui ies, and if lltere beany
considerable iaiponation of coitott fioin the Ava
tei iito. ies it is absorbed in Chittagong and about
Lnckipofe atnoiig the baftah weaveis ; but I have
great i easoii 1m bel ieve that the importation is al-
logeiliei trifling.

Cleaned cotton or rooie passed the Custom
House - Dacca.

Imported, Exported.
mds. srs. mds. svf.

182»-29, 19 20 235 17

1839 20 0 14 132 25

1830-31 1 21 50 0

1 his report does not include the principal im-
port of cotton from the Western Provinces which
iieing covered iiy ilmvannahs from Miizapore,
Patna, or Vlooi sbedabad, is not eiiteied in the
books of the Custom House at Dacca.

Account of ('apuuse {cotton) passed the Dacca
Custom-House, during the years 1828 29,
I92y 39, aud 1830-31-

Years Article Quantity Quantity Total.
Ujtdressed Imported Exported
cotton.

1828 29. Capanse, 754 34 8 5,215 20 0 5,970 !4 S

1829 30. Ditto ..284 3 8 6,102 20 0 6,386 288

1S30 3I. Ditto, 3,111 34 4 1,839 18 0 4,951 t2 4

Maunds l7,3o8 10 4

316

COTTON PRODUCED ON THE GARROW HILLS.

Oar next paper contains remarks on
Bourbon cotton grown at Cattack, and its
staple for spinning, communicated by Mr.
J . T. Weekes. This gentleman states that
a beegah of land might be made with little
trouble to nett upwards of 20 rupees per
annum. In a beegah of ground containing
about 320 plants, he made ninepiecesof cloth,
each piece 1 yard wide, 12 in length, making a
total of 108 yards. The expense in making
was one rupee eight annas for each piece ; in
making the thread 12 annas, and to the
weavers 12 annas, the selling price of which
is 3 rupees 12 annas. The writer adds —

“ That a piece of cloth of equal length and
breadih might he made by a Native for 1 Rupee,
my calculation then stands thus :

P.ent of I hcegah of good land, Re. 4

This heegali will contain between 6 and 700
plants, which will produce cotton, an-
mmlly, for 20 pieces of cloth, 20

Total expense to a Native farmer, Rs. 34

Selling price of the above cloth, 60

Profit, Rs. 46

Deduct half for any possible errors,
accidents &c. &e. 23

Nett animal profit on 1 beegah, .. .. .. Rs 23

My having made 9 prieces from half a beegah of
inferior soil without any trouble or care places the
correctness of my calculation beyond dispute, and
the fact only requires to be made known, by a few
hundred notices iiiNagree and Bengalte, and ilistii-
buted to all ilie Collectors with inslrnciions for piibtt -
city being given to them to the Mokuddnmsand oihei
beads of villages wiihin their Collecloiate. to attiuci
the notice of the Native community . I believe tliei e
is no dili'ereiice between the Bourbon cotton and
that denominated Sea Island, and I never saw
plants more hardy or require less caie. Putting
the seed into the ground at the commencement of
the tains (which should be well turned up) is tlie
piiiicipal part of the labour, ill 85 day s tlie plants
will he in flower, and cotton may he gaiheied 9
months in the year, and they will continue 8 or
10 years: mine were planted In 1827, and from
the produce I have annually made pillows, bedding,
&c. &c. but was resolved during tlie past season
on ascertaining the annual value of half a lieegali,
wliicb has given the lesult now conununicated. 1
should observe that at the commencement of the
tains of each year I take the shears and clip the
plants down to about 4 feet, their average height
at the close of the rains will he about 7 feel- I
have fiequeutly transplanted them duiing the
rains when in full leaf and bud and saved the
gathering. One man is capable of taking care of 3
heegalis. A muster of the cotton accompanies.*'

The next paper is from Capt. Bogle on
the native cotton produced on the Garrow
hills. The Garrows inhabit an extensive
tract of the Gowalparah district, and are de-
pendent for subsistence on the means of
barter, which the growth of cotton amongst
their hills enables them to carry on with
their neighbours in the plains below, who

again export it to the adjoining districts of
Assam, Rungpore, Diuapore, Mymunsing,
Dacca, &c. &c. The cotton grown is of
that description called cupass or the desee
cotton, which is commonly grown through-
out the countries to the eastern side of
British India, and more or less throughout
Lower Bengal and some parts of the Coro-
mandel Coast. It is coarse and short in fibre,
and very difficult of separation from its seed ;
and, although strong in its nature, especially
when very fresh, it possesses no other de-
sirable quality for the machine-spinner.
The seed is small in size, furred over with a
yellowish green fur, and abundantly covered
with wool. The soil and climate of its site
of culture would be favorable to the growth
of new and better kinds of cotton, and^
which would rank higher in value by from
50 to 100 per cent. Some specimens of
cotton have been imported from Liverpool,
with the following particulars of prices.

“ Specimens of sundry cottons as uiidermeiition-
od, forwarded by Messrs. Daniel and Thomas
Willis, of Liverpool, to Messrs. Willis and Earle,
of Calcutta, and received per ilie ,)>amuel Brown
in tlie mouth of May, 1832.

Their several values are affixed as separately esti-
mated h) two eminent Liverpool cotlon brokers in
the month of October, 1831.

ESTIM AT ED VALUE,

Per Messrs. Salisbury. Turner., and Earle,
Brokers, Liverpool, October, 1831.

Sea Island.

No. i Ootnmon,

2. Good,

S. Fine,

4. Very flue,
Egyptian.

No .1. Middlinj;,
2 Good,

3. Fine,
Orleans.

No. 1. Ordinary,
*2. Good fair,

d.

10

13

18

2-6

n

8

3. vine,

Bowed .

d.

No. 1. Ordinary, ....

•2. Fair, ”

.... S|

3- Fine,

7

Mobile.

No. 1. Ordinaiv, ....

5

2. Good fair, .

5|

3. Fine,

.... cl

Pernambuco.

No. 1 . Middling, . - . .

....

‘2. Good (air, . . . .

3. Fine,

Bahia,

N’o. 1. Ordinary, ....

... 6

2. Fair,

.... 6|

3. Good, ....

. . . •

7

M aranhani .

No. 1. Middling,

.. .

.... 6i

2. Fair,

3. Fine,

BELL’S REVIEW OF EXPORTS FROM INDIA.

317

Per Messrs. Salisbury, Turner, and Earle,
Brokers, Liverpool, October, 1831.

Demerara,

No. i. Middling, .... r

2. () 00(1, .... ... .... 8

3. Very fine, .... ... 10

Surat.

No. 1. Middling, ... 8l

2. Good fair, .... dl

3. Good, .... 4|

Bengal.

No. 1. Middling, .... 3^

2. Good fair, .... -a

3 Good . . . . . . . .

Ter Messrs. Molyneux, Taylor, and Co. Bro"
kers. Liverpool, October, 1831.

Sea Island. d.

No. 1. Mid. quality, per 11)

2. Good ditto

3. Fine ditto ....

4. Extra ditto....

Egyptian.

No. 1. Ordinary quality

2. Fair ditto ....

3. Good ditto,

Orlea7is.

No. 1. Very middling ditto

2, Good ditto .. ,

8. Pritne ditto, . . ....

Bowed.

No. 1, Ordinary quality

2. Fair ditto

3. Good ditto. .

Mobile.

No. 1. Ordinary quality..

2. Middling..

3. Good ditto,

Pernatnbuco .

No. I. Middlitig quality.. . .

2. Fair ditto .

3. Good ditto..

Bahia.

No. I. Ordinary quality ..

2. Middling ditto....

3 Good fair ditto..

Maranhani.

No. 1. Middling quality

2. Fair ditto

3. Good ditto..

Oemerara.

No. 1. Fair quality . .

2. Good fair ditto . .

3. Good ditto ..

Surat.

No. 1. Ordinal V quality, ..

2. Fair ditto,.. ....

3. Good ditto.. .. ....

Bengal.

No, 1. Ordinary quality,..

2 Ditto ditto...

3. Good fair ditto ..

(A true copy)

Willis and Earle.
Calcutta, June, 1832.
For the use of the Agricultural Society, Cal-
cutta."

The next report is from Colonel Coombs,
at Palaveram near Madras : the specimen fur-
nished is from plants grown on the hill on
which he resides, five miles from the sea-coast
and about 400 feet above the level of the
sea. Another specimen is from plants grown
at the foot of the same hill. The plants
appear to have thriven well : the file or fibre
is strong and long, possessing a good deal of

fineness, and it bears the hue of what is
termed healthy and well grown cotton ; it is
likewise gathered in a remarkably, clean
manner, and would be much esteemed by
our machine spinners. It is valued in Liver-
pool at 7d. to l^d. sterling per pound. The
cotton grown at the foot of the hill is of
middling quality, the fibre is shorter, weaker,
and rather finer than that of the hill cotton;
neither is the hue quite so good.

The last report is from Mr. Huggins at
Allahabad. The cotton was raised from Up-
land Georgia : he raised the plants in May,
and as soon as the rains set in he transplant-
ed them into beds which he had prepared
with two or three ploughings at the distance
of five feet each way. The plants during the
rains grew very rapidly, and began to burst
their pods early in October.

Art. V. — Comparative View of the
External Commerce of Bengal, during
f/ie years 1834-35, awe? 1835-36, accom-
panied with tables, illustrative of the
extent of trade carried on with each
country and state, by John Bell,
Superintendent of Inspectors, dfc. Royal
Octavo, pp.V)Q, 1836. BaptistMis-
sioN Press,

{Continued from page 267.)

Mr. Bell next proceeds to give a review
of the exports, which will be important to
our readers, particularly in Europe, to whom
by the way we strongly recommend the
work itself. It appears there has been 27
per cent increase on the whole amount of
export trade, and our author adverts to the
abundance of other resources which only
require increased capital to draw them forth.
We are satisfied in our own mind that
the Government has not yet learnt the grand
principle of employing capital to enrich
itself and the members of the community :
if the revenue be largely employed in deve-
loping the powers of production in the coun-
try, even those who are least acquainted with
the soil and the climate will assent to the

318

ON THE RETURNS FOR EXTENSION OF IMPORTS.

assertion that the resources are unquestion-
ably inexhaustible. We agree with Mr. Bell
that the amount of the external commerce of
Bengal is now perfectly contemptible com-
pared with what it might be. Our author
is, and we admire him for it, enthusiastic in
his expectations, that the effect of the abroga-
tion of the Company’s trading charter the
abolition of the transit duties, and the im-
petus that will be given to the export. trade,
when the home duties on sugar will have
been equalized, will work wonders.

Mr. Bell reprobates, and very justly, the
idea that India has nothing to offer in re-
turn for an extension of imports. He ac-
knowledges that the successful extension of
imports has been checked and occasional
“gluts” in some particular branches pro-
duced; but since the “avenues —

“ To an immense Commerce have been
nearly cleared of all the obnoxious weeds
that formerly choked its growth, and the agri-
cultural industry of India will, under proper
example and encouragement, keep pace with
the never-ending improvernents, which are
from year to year progressing through the
mechanical genius of our countrymen at
home, which has so effectually changed the
features of the Trade between England and
India within the-last twenty years.”

He contemplates a prosperity for the
future, which will make us forget the past.

The probability is, according to our intel-
ligent author, that England will feel the
necessity of drawing upon India for her
supplies of sugar.

“ And nothing has occurred in the politi-
cal aspect of our West India Colonies, to
shake this impression ; on the contrary, the
shipments during the last year, of nearly
nine thousand maunds of Sugar from Cal-
cutta to North America, is evidence of a
deficiency somewhere ; and it is obvious, that
free labour in the West Indies, without
taking into account, the immense sacrifice
already made to rescue it from the stigma of
slavery, can never be brought low enough to
to compete with that of the Hindoo.

Upon what principle, then, is the discrimi-
nating duty on East India Sugar maintained 1
The people of England have been made to
pay enormous sums, to indemnify the West
India planter for the loss of his slaves, and in
return for this boon, the people are com-
pelled to purchase the produce of the East, at
a much higher rate than that of the West,
because England must maintain a strong mi-

litary force to prevent the enfranchised negro
from cutting his employer’s throat.

This monstrous injustice will remedy itself
at no distant period, if England continue
long to bolster up the interests of one country
at the expense of another. So long as an
unnatural price for Sugar is maintained by
means of unfair resti ictions, the West India
planter may endeavour to stem the current of
competition from this country, but the odds
are fearfully against a continuance even
under the fostering patronage of protection,
when it is considered that few estates are
otherwise than deeply mortgaged, that the
best lands are impoverished to an extent re-
mediable only by importing manure from
England, and that the amount of labor, to be
purchased from a free negro, is far below the
average of slave labor. The consequence of
all these concurrent circumstances must be
decreased production in the West, since in
proportion to the enhanced cost of labor
required to yield the same returns, as under
slavery, it stands to reason that the Sugar
must be sold at a higher rale, to give an ade-
quate rate of interest on the capital employed.

This inconvenience to the West India
planter will be felt more and more every year,
unless he can.replenish his estate with Euro-
pean laborers, and the climate is such as to
place success in this respect out of the ques-
tion, and he must ultimately abandon his
estate. Not so, if free competition were al-
lowed. The extent of shipments from India
would give the West India planter timely
warning to apply his remaining capital to
some other channel of production, which
could not be displaced by India. Unless
some effort of this kind be made, it is clear,
that the British West India Colonies will
cease to export Sugar. I'hey cannot com-
pete with Foreign Colonies, where the trade
in slavery is as life, as when introduced by
the Portuguese nearly four centuries ago ;
and unless England continue her restrictive
duties on East India Sugar, an injustice that
cannot be anticipated, she must necessarily
look to India as the only source of supply.

Here then is a field for British skill and
capital, if British skill and capital be not
scared from application, of which unhappily
there is some dread at present.”

The foregoing is written in a language and
spirit which are highly creditable to the
author’s feeling, whether we consider him in
the character of a citizen, or, in the light of
one warmly advocating the interests of this |
people and this country. He next shows the ||
excessive amount of exports, in the past |
year, which has been made up of increase as I
follows, in round numbers. I

“ But to proceed with our present enquiry, f
— the excessive amount of Exports in the past [
year has been made up of increase as follows, I
n round numbers : —

COMPARATIVE VIEW OF PRIVATE TRADE. 319

On Opium, Sa. Rs.

Indigo, 55

Cotton, »

Silk, 5,

Saltpetre, ,»

Sugar, 5,

Silk & mixedPc. Goods „

Lac Dye, „

Shell Lac, „

Hides and Skin, „

Ginger, ,,

Gunnies, ,»

Linseed, ,,

British Cotton Pc. Gds., ,,

I Ditto Woollens, ,,

Coffee, ,,

68^ lakhs increase.
47^ ditto.

27^ ditto,
ditto.

1| ditto.

^ ditto,
ditto
ditto.

2| ditto.

2 ditto.

^ ditto.

I ditto.

I ditto.

ditto.

I ditto.

1| ditto.

About 172| lakhs.

From this we are to deduct Decrease on grain

and Flour Exiiorted 17 lakhs.

Safflower, . i ditto

About 17j lakhs.

This would leave one croie and fitty-five
and a half lakhs, in excess, while the latter
gives only one crore and fifty-one lakhs ; the
difference between which and the former
amount being made up ofincrease on sundries
and other articles not enumerated in the above
list, but which will he found under the head
of'" Exports General.”

We now proceed to an analysis of the ton-
nage account, and it will be seen, that our
former remarks on this subject are fully
borne out by the results in the present
year.

In the first place, a reference to the
amount of Trade with each particular country
or state, will show, that the whole augmenta-
tion in the Import Trade during the past
year has been derived from British bottom,
excepting about two lakhs, in excess from
France : those who place reliance on tonnage
figures, w'ould therefore argue that the
amount of tonnage must have proportionally
increased.

Let us see how far this theory has been
verified. In the face of an actual increase

in the amount value of Merchandize imported
in 1835-36, of 31 ^ lakhs of Rupees, we have
an actual' decrease in tonnage under the
British flag, of34,564 tonsv

Again, under foreign colour.^, the amount
compared with importing vessels in the
previous year, exceeds it by 9,325 tons, equal
to about 40 per cent of the whole foreign ship-
ping, which, entered the Hooghly in 1835-36 ;
to support which there is an increase on Im-
ports of Merchandize from France, of some.-
ihing less than two lakhs of Rupees.

On the Expoit side we have a deficiency of
tonnage under British bottoms ot 29,511 tons,
and an excess in the amount value of Mer-
chandize shipped, of about one crore and se-
venteen lakhs of Rupees.

tinder foreign colours the increase amounts
to 9,953 tons, with an increase in merchan-
dize Exported of thirty-four lakhs.

From these data, it is evident that the ge-
neral prosperity of the trade of India can
never be determined tiy a blind reliance on
tonnage; but that, on the contrary, it is cal-
culated to mislead both the merchant and
political economist.

We admit that the greatest falling off in
the Import list, attaches to the trade between
Calcutta and Ports in Asia. Still the prin-
ciple of non-reliance out to hold, good, when
from America we find an excess in the nu-
merical tonnage to the extent of 5,087 tons,
and an increase in the amount value of
merchandize of only about 7,000 Rupees.

We ought, however, to make some allow-
ance for the quantity of tonnage occupied
by Ice, the nominal value of which does
not appear in the records of the Custom
House, although the proceeds are re-invested
in produce, and duly appear as a set-off
against nothing.

The following tables will sufficiently elu-
cidate what our readers may have failed to
comprehend by a cursory perusal of the
foregoing remarks.

COMPARATIVE ABSTRACT VIEW OF PRIVATE TRADE.
IMPORTS.

1834-35.

IS35-36

Result.

Cdunlties.

\1 ei (ball-

Mercbaii-

dize.

I’rea'iire

Total.

dize.

I'lcasiire,

rotal.

Increase-

Decrease.

Dt. Britain,..

1,47 57,9.57

77,009

1,18,31,957

1,71 22, 770 j

4 600

l,7l,?7.27oi

22,92,319^

France,

7.69,2,55

2,00,637

9,69,892

9,13.769

21,879

9,68,6.8

1,244

Aiitwei

462

462

462

S Anieiica .

7,12,834

8,8"0

1.51,154

2,93.127

6,385^

3,99 512^

l.t8,3.58i

N. Aitipt ica, . .

3,02,160

.5.51,577

8.53,737

3,09,799

12 93,454

l<i,0:3.2"3

7,79,il6

C.of Cl.. 111(11 ,

.5,16,134

1,00,988

6,47.142

4,71,92s

80,269 ,

5, .52, 197

94,945

Ceylon, ;

1 02 '684

1,02,684

43 740

43 7i0

53,944

Mai- and Lac..

1,39.312

1 .39,31-2

1 50 894

1,.'0 894

11,582

C.of Malabar . .

13 78,714

5.500

13.84,214

23 21,192

2 3 21 192

0 3,5,973

A.& F Gu1|)1i8.

2 -0,726

l,92,088

4,62,814

5 11,511

94,617^

6,06.12-fi

1..3 ;-.l4i

Siiijiap.'re, . , .

ll.Ot.831

12,30,61.5^

33,32 4 .6ri

6 00 117J

11,32,730

17.39,847^

1

5,99,599

Peiiii & Mai.

3,60,89.

1,12.400^

4,73,294^

5 69, -26. 5

1.02,699

6 71 fCl

1,98,C65|

China

11,42,136

32,91,383

44,36.519

5.90,936

32, 9 2, !» 03

38 83,7 39

5, .52 780

N Holland, .

13,076

13,076

5,955

5,955

7,121

Slim. and J av.

32,782

0 020

3S 755

70,926

lf),69f!|

81,992^

42,?67|

Pegne

2.06,193

6,54,7' 5 i

8,60,90Si

3,94 925

6,11,206

I0.06.13i

1,45,222|

Maiiriiins, . . . .

40,639

1,31,192

1 .75,131

6.816

5 4,254

61,070

1,1*1,061

Bourbou,. ..

1,05 302

1,0.5. 302

1.37,491

2 76,189

4 13 680

3.08.S78

Cape & S. HI .

9,624

2,624

•2,492

2,492

133

Total S. Its

2,11,15.226

I 6,5,68,736^

8,79.83,962^

i',2.45.48,123

69,84, 68->^

3,15,32.804^

,49.77,668

1 ,28,826

Deduct Decieasc, 14,2&,826

Net Increase, in 1833-36 Sa. Hs. S.7,48,843

Increase of Mercliandize, .31, .32, 896

„ ,, ofTieasute, 4,15,946

320 ENGLISH ADMINISTRATION IN THE ISLE OF FRANCE.

EXPORTS.

1834-35.

1835 36.

Res

lilt.

Countries.

1

Merchan -
dize.

rreasure.

1 Total. ,

Vlercliaii-

dize.

I’reasuie.

Total.

Inciease

Decrease,

Gi. Britain, .

1,47 56,781
27,57.570

52,262^

1,48,09,046^

27,57,570

1,90,74,653

37,16,135

13,655

1,50,88 308
37,16,135
56,192

42, 9,26li
9,58,565
56,492

Denmaik, ..

56,492

N America, ..

15V2,I1I

15,72,111

39,69,903

39 69,902

23,97,791

Cormaiidel C. .

15,54,063

' 10,350

15.63,412

11, 7,-20

1,83,427

13.45,947

2,28,40.5

rerlon,

31.124

1,33,000

1,64,124

3.3,295

Si 000

1,14 295

49,829

Mai. and Lac. .

53 075

5 1,07.5

71,622

71,622

18,547

(' . of Malabar,

26.26.114

35 OOO

26,61 114

21 26,910

21,20.910

5,31,204

A & P. Gulphs,

9,42.317

9,42,317
19,64 392

13,64,505

13,64,505

4, -22,188

Sitmanore, . . . .

19 51,117

13,375

19,15 003

10,15.0 93

49,366

Peng.& Malac,

3,69,889

3,69.H9

6 03,1-08

6,08,808

2,38 919

China

1,27,44,621

11,250 1

1,27,5.5.871

2,04,69,811

22 950

2 04 92,791

77,36,190

New Holland,.

2,0 ,365

36. 4, 524

2,37,747^

1,94,879

8,l64i

2 03,043.^

34,704

.Sum. and Java,

2i,on(i

21,000

1,4S,0 2

1,^8 082

1,27,082

Peoiie,

8,76,045

2,932^

.8.7«,977^

11.60,^01

10 02.5

11,70 826

2,91,8.8^

Maui itiiis, ....

11,61 ,094

1,35,563|

12 96,6571

6,27.121

62,970^

6,90,0914

6,08,566

Boui bon

1,90 712

1,90,712

2,71,247

2.78.247

1 87,535

Cape&st. Hel.

70,75

70,751

36,689

36,689

33,062

Toial, 8a. Rf.

4,18.79,681

4,30,183

4,23,09,867

5,70,00,765

3,86 992

5,73,87 757

ll,66 15,11

15,37,229

Deduct Decrease, 15,37 229

Deduct Decrease, 15,37 229

Net Increase ill 1835-36 8a. Us. 1,50,77,860

Increase of Merchandize, 1,51,21,081

Decrease of Treasure, ' . . . . 43,194

Sa. Us. 1,50,77,890

(To he continued.)

Art. VI. — Cursory notes on the Isle of
France, made in 1827 ^ with a map of
the Island : by E. Stirling, Esq.,
Member of the] Asiatic Society, 1833,
Calcutta. Thacker & Co. Qvo. pp. 50.

Continued from page 270.

Mr. Stirling proceeds to notice the im-
provements since the introduction of the
English administration in the Isle of France.
Attempts were made to improve the roads
near the port, which have been attended with
success. These improvements were under-
taken on a system which has been little tried
in wealthy India, — we mean the principle of
Mr. MacAdam. Mr. Stirling says that there
is no doubt that the scheme will render the
most distant, as well as the most rugged
part of the island, accessible for carriages
and waggons. He states that the country is
destitute of wells ; but that, streams descend
from the mountains and high lands ; and sug-
gests that the greatest benefit may be deriv-
ed from conducting these waters to parti-
cular places. The town of Port Louis is
therefore adorned with lively fountains,

which afford an ample supply to the inhabi-
tants, and, in many cases, the water is intro-
duced into private houses. Nothing can be
more true than that Mr. Stirling labours to
impress upon the mind of his reader, that
not only the health of the people, but the
advancement of agriculture, manufactures,
and commerce, in a tropical climate, depend
on the economy used in the distribution of
the waters. Mr. Bourdonnois, sensible of its
importance, displayed much philanthropic
exertion in conveying water to several places
affording an agreeable supply at each jet
d'’eau of the clearest and sweetest water.
What a splendid example I were it but fol-
lowed in this City of Palaces, where nothing
but filthy and abominable tank water is had,
and even that in small quantities in most
parts of Calcutta and its suburbs, how
much sickness, bowel complaints especially,
would be prevented I

“ Formerly the water was hrouaht by means of
aqiieducis from the “ grand liver,” and the hill
which ovetloohs the port, but now the town is also
supplied from the side of Dainplemousses. This
last work lias been only lately effected; about a
mile from the town, oti the northern side, and near
the road to Pamplemousses, is seen a very hand.

THE MILITARY FORCE AT THE ISLE OF FRANCE.

some aqHcduct, supported by several arches, nin-
iiiiig across a small valley or low land. This aqiie'
duct, it may be observed, appears to have been built
of bricks ; and allhon<>li it has only been erected a
short time, some accident had happened to ii, and
i( was utideruoiiig repair when I saw it. I'his de-
viation from the common practice in iisiii« biicks
instead of stone, whicli is pleniiful, does not, there-
fore, seem to have been successful, and it ivould
appear very advisable to erect all such public woiks.
In future, of stone, which is so mucli belter adapt-
ed for pet inanent structures. This work is entire-
ly due to the Biiglisb administration, and more
pan iculatl) , I believe, to the present Governor,
Sir Henry Cole.’*

Our author states that the produce of the
plantations is conveyed to the port at a very
great expense by waggons and carts drawn
by mules, bullocks, donkeys, and by boats.
The carts are ill constructed andheavy, and the
cattle yoked awkwardly. The coast vessels
are numerous, and are from 30 to 40 tons.
They bring produce from different parts of
the island, as well as navigate between the is-
lands of Rodriguez, Bourbon, and Seychelles.
It appears, according to Mr. Stirling, that no
attempts have been mads to improve the
harbours in different parts of the island :
canals cannot be constructed in conse-
quence of the nature of the country, which
prevents such an undertaking. It is re-
markable that there is no post established
in the island ; when a person wishes to
communicate with his neighbours, or a
more distant resident, he is compelled to
hire a carrier. The barracks for King’s
Troops and Artillery at Port Louis, as well
as at Magdefaurgh, are represented as excel-
lent. The principal public buildings consist
of a well-built Roman Catholic and a Pro-
testant church and a substantial Theatre. At
a short distance from Port Louis are two
strong fortifications in excellent order and
repair; these command the entrance of the
harbour. The Government House stands in
a conspicuous situation, facing the quay :
the Governor has a country house at Reduit,
where he generally resides. The following
remarks are worthy the notice of our com-
mercial a'eaders.

“ Tbe shiDpiii'^ of tlie Isle <>f France, Hie pro
peny of colonial iiihaiMiaiiis, is, I am led to sup-
pose, small and insullicient, for tlie extent of the
commercial iransactions cariied on. Tbe island,
therefore, depends very mucli on the good will of
otlier pons, for fuinisbing it with a sntlicient sup
ply of vessels, boili for the iransponatioii of its
new produce, and tlie Impoiiaiion of the necessa-
ries of life— its supeiflnites and agricuUmal stock.

1 conceive lam within bounds when 1 saj, that
there are not four thousand tons of shipping be-
luQging to the poit, exclusive of the gmali coast

S21

vessels before mentioned. The vessels that come
from Calcutta, frequently bring rice, wish the ex-
pectation of receiving a cargo of sugar for Eng-
land. Vessels from New South Wales and Van
Diemaii’s Land, also bring coals with the same
httpe. English vessels find it often convenient to
take out a few articles tliatare likely to meet with
a ready sale at the Isle of France, on their way to
India; and, in some few instances, siiips are sent
diiectly from London, and take back colonial pro-
duce ill exchange for British manufacture. Some
few ships arrive from the Cape with horses, and are
either chattered to go to England with sugar, or
leturii to the Cape w’ith colonial produce. As the
shipping of the Isle of France can scarcely be said
to possess a distinctive character from English ship-
ing in general, to attempt a description would be
useless; and as the Act of Parliament which sanc-
tioned the iiitioductiou of the sugars into England,
has, 1 believe, provided fctr the footing on which
its shipping should be received, a reference to it
will shew the terms prescribed on the subject."

The Military force at the island consists
of three King’s regiments stationed on the
island: they are changed periodically from
home, — the relieved regiments proceeding
either to England, New South Wales, or to
our Indian presidencies. Two regiments are
stationed at Port Louis and one at Magde-
burgh, on the S. E. coast or the windward
side of the island. Several posts are
supplied with men from these corps,

" Which may be divided Into external and in-
ternal commands. Under tbe former is Seychelles,
fiodtigitp?., and viadagascar; the latter is, how-
ever iioi pet maneiit, and maybe considered as
merely forming the escoit of the rha-gd d’Affaiiea.
Under the latter may be classed Flac, Pierre Poinf,
and the detachments at the Grand River, soiitb-
east, and Black Kiveron the west coast Theie
is likewise a small guard on one of the small islands,
at the eniiaine o( the grand port, or sonili-eastetn
harbour. Besides these there are several giiarda
that are furnished for various purposes, which itis
unnecessary to specify, as most of them are riailf
relieved, lam unacquainted with the exact details
of the detachment of aitillery, but as they ate su-
peiiiitended by an otllcer bolding llie rank <>f a
Lieut. -Colonel. I suppose they are somewhat exten-
sive. The streitgih of the whole force may be
esiimated at about eighteen liundred men. In ad-
diiion to the otlicers atlaclied to the several corps,
liieie ate many others who hold siafif appoiiiirneiits
in the Colony, either on the general or personal staff
of the Governor.”

(To be continued).

Art. VII. — Results of an Enquiry respecU
ing the Law of Mortality for British
India, deduced from the Reports and
Appendices of the Committee appointed
by the Bengal Government in 1834, to
consider the expediency of a Government
Life Assurance Institution. By Cap-
tain H. B. Henderson, Assistant

322

APPALLING CHARACTER OF INDIAN MORTALITY.

Military Auditor General, Secretary to

the Committee. — Transactions of the

Asiatic Society, 1836.

(Continued from page 255.^

Capt. Henderson furnishes a table of the
Calcutta burials, Euiopean and East Indian,
at the Park Street burial-ground. He expe-
rienced some difficulty in ascertaining the
births and periodical accession of strangers,
and of separating the classes ; he therefore
found it impracticable to prepare from such
data “ an accurate or even approximating
expectation of life for the city of Calcutta.

“ It may be presumed that the accessions
chiefly experienced, by arrivals from Eng-
land, include between the ages of 18 and
25, and that thenceforward unjtil the later
ages of retirement and return to the native
country, there is not much fluctuation in
numbers, except in the yearly uncertain
and temporary addition of seamen and com-
mercial visitors. This, of course, applies to
the European part of the community ; tire
East Indian inhabitants being throughout
moie permanent and stationary. Under the
foregoing supposition, it will be found from
the numbers exhibited in the Table that out
of a radix of population of both classes to the
extent of near three thousand souls of the age
of 20 to 25, about one hundred die annually,
or, as the real decrement shew, 3.84 per
cent. For the next ten years the annual
percentage is 5.49. For the ensuing same
term, or from 35 to 45 it is 6.7 per cent. From
45 to 55, it is 6.18, while from 55 to 65,
(though this term is little to be relied on
from the liequenl secession of persons
retiring to England) the percentage is
8.4. Out of four thousand, seven hundred
and seventy-nine are seamen, who died on
a visit to the port— swelling the ratio of
decrement, it may be supposed, at the middle
ages. It is to be regretted that this 4 able
could not be rendered available for any use-
ful purpose to the Committee: all that could
be gathered from it was a picture of Indian
mortality, probably in its concentrated, worst,
and most appalling character.”

Capt. Henderson does not think that the
experience of the late life assurance institu-
tions afforded data for guidance or a fair
estimate of the ratio of decrement among
the insuring classes, and proceeds to explain
the difficulty and danger of rel3dng upon the
results of the different offices: these he
ascribes to the insured being chiefly debtors
in the service ; men, it may be supposed, im-
provident in their life and habits: a few were
adventurers, and others had embarked in
speculations, who, however, were neces-

sitated unwillingly to incur the expenses of
life insurance ;

“ Or, as the figured Tables would sometimes
lead to the suspicio_^n, urged into the Society
by the appveheijsion of approaching death.
1 hus, in the Fifth Laudable Society existing
from 1822 to 1827 there were one hundied
and eighty-seven lapses out of one thousand
three hundred and ninety lives; no very
considerable mortality it would appear at first
sight, as it ranges under 3 per cent, per an-
num,— but on a closer inspeciion of the Table
it will be seen that seventy-five of the one
hundred and eighiy-seven deaths occurred in
the years immediately succeeding the Assur-
ance, while the remainder of the lapses,
one hundred and twelve in number, are
traced to have lingered through ten years from
tile peiiod of entrance into the Laudables.
Such a uiisproportion of early lapses must
have arisen from other causes than mere
accident.

The Sixth Laudable Table in the posses-
sion of the Commitiee, gives only the total num-
ber of lives and lapses without classing them
by years of entrance or decrement; the former
were nine hundred and ninety-six in number,
and the deaths one hundred and eighty, or
3.6 per cent, per annum— the common aver-
age ; but by apportioning the presumed
periods of lapses among the five years of the
Laudable, the more correct yearly percentage
would be exhibited at 3.8 9.

1 he Oriental has existed for a longer term,
and iias incurred engagements up to 1833,
on so many as one thousand seven hundred
and eighty-one lives ; out of which during
twelve years, it suffered to the extent of
three hundied and seventy-three lapses. But
unless, as will be understood by the more
accurate and certain Tables to be hereafter
referred to, there have been some extensive
frauds at times practised on the Society, it
is difficult to account for the very heavy late
of mortality it has expeiienced. It insured
on an average seven hundred and eight lives
yearly, losing of these with more or less regu-
larity, more than thirty-one persons in the
year, or an actual percentage of 4.39. Its
greatest percentage oflapses during one year
was 6.89, and its least 2.78. We believe
here also some of the heaviest lapses occurred
incertain cases shortly after the parties had
effected insurance.

Although the Committee were unable to
avail themselves of the experience of the Cal-
cutta Life Insurance Offices to form a true
estimate of the mortality, it maybe remarked
that the deaths exhibited by them never the
less wonderfully bear out the factshewn in all
the general Tables prepared from the hono-
rable company’s different services of the
regularly progressive ratio of danger (v/ith
^ trifling exception only in some of the
1 ables,) jf/’om increasing years and prolonged
residence in India. The ratio in the Army is
generally under 3 per cent, for the first years
of exposure, and increases to about 3f per
cent, at 30 : 4 per cent, at 40 : more than 4|
at 50, and considerably higher at the next de-
cennial period, while shortly after this time

DEATHS AMONG OFFICERS OF THE BENGAL ARMY.

323

pf life the lonc'evity of the surviving Anglo-
Indians almost keeps pace with the Nor-
thampton and other Tables, prepared during
the last century in Europe. In the Civil Ser-
vice the percentage of mortality for the last
forty years has been somewhat under 2 per
cent, for the first twenty years of residence in
India ; a result far more favorable than that
of the other services. After the age of 40, the
ratio of decrement would appear to keep pace
with that of the Army.

At Bombay a Table has been received
from England, prepared by an eminent Ac-
tuary on data furnished from that presidency,
which would have been valuable, but that
throughout the document the Actuary, in the
absence of more correct data, has erroneously
assumed, that the probability of living any
one year up to the age of 58 is correctly
expressed by the fraction ; or in other
words, that from the age of 18 to 58, one per-
son uniformly and regularly dies per annum
from every twenty seven members of the
service. This error, which it appears the
Actuary had no means of rectifying, has viti-
ated the Table and calculations throughout,
as it is at variance with the positive fact of
the increasing danger of every five or ten
years’ residence in India. The progressive
ratio of age holds good here as in Europe,
with an increased impetus from the effect of
climate. The result of this error has made
the expectation of life in the Bombay Table
nearly 20 per cent, too favourable for all ages
above 30 or 35, diminishing the probable

value of. life for all ages below it. The
fraction it is believed, may accurately
represent the average annual decrement at
Bombay for the entire service, but it varies
necessarily with the age and rank of
the individual, much in the same manner
we presume as has been actually experienced
in the last twenty years in the Bengal Army ;
where 2,34 per cent, has been the ratio of
yearly mortality for Ensigns, 2.75 for Lieute-
nants, 3.45 for Captains, 4. 10 for Majors,
4.84 for Lieutenant-Colonels, and 5.94 for Co-
lonels. We may assume the general ages of the
Ensigns to have been under 22, the Lieutenants
under 33, the Captains and Majors 45, the
Lieutenant-Colonels 55, &c.

In the last twenty years (as recently ascer-
tained) there have died one thousand one
hundred and eighty-four Officers of tlie Ben-
gal Army, or 59.2 per annum, out of an ave-
rage number of one thousand eight hundred
and ninety-seven persons, or about 3.12 per
cent ; the mean ages of the deceased were as

follows : —

81 Colonels, deceased, mean age, 61

97 Lieut.- Cols, ditto, ditto, 51

78 Majors, ditto, ditto, 4()

277 Captains, ditto, ditto 36

651 Subalterns, the mean age not ascertain-
ed, but it ranged from 18 to 33,

It may be as well here to exhibit in a simple
comparative Table the difference of the rate
of mortality at the three Presidencies, Bengal
being clearly less inimical to the health of the
European than either Madras or Bombay.

Comparative annual percentage of Mortality of the Office'>-$ of the three Armies of Bengal,

Madras and Bombay * ’

Presidbnct

Colonels.

Lie lit. -Colonels,

1

Majors.

Captains.

1 Lieutenants.

5

0

i Surgeons.

i

S

0

<u

bo

•2

Total or General

Percentage.

General Average.

Bengal, 1

I5.94

4.84

4.10

3.45

2.75

2.34

—

—

3.12

1

Madras

5.40

6.11

5.42

5.02

4.17

3 80

4.68

4.31

4.49

1

|.3.85

1

Bombay,

5.74

5 45

3.77

3.78

3.96

3.15

4.08

4.21

3.94

1

J

Service has been accurately registered for the
past thirty years. Its numbers' are not suffi-
cient for any general Table, as the annual
effective strength ol the Department has ave-
raged only about one hundred and forty indivi-
duals. Out of these have demised 3.36 per
cent, while as many as 31 more, (^or 0.73 per
cent.) have been drowned ; this mode of death
having occasioned nearly one-sixth of the
entire mortality. On the examination of the
lables ot the Pilot E.stablishment which have
been compiled in the Master Attendanl's

Office, under orders of the Marine Board, seve-
ral curious circumstances have come to view.
Presuming them to be correct, we find their rate
of decrement, generally speaking, does not ex-
ceed that of the Officers of the Army, but the
periods of service and the ages of the deceased
are much less than those of the Europeans
elsewhere exhibited. Thus while the Branch
Pilots or seniors, whose time of life corres-
ponds with that of Field Officers^ have de-
mised at the percentage of 4.46 per annum,
the extreme age of the oldest has been 4?
only, the mean age being 44 of all who died.

324

NEW SPECIES OF CASIA NOBIS OF NEPAL.

The oldest Pilot on the li-st had only served
thirty years, the mean of servitude for the
whole casualties being only iweniy-three
years. Thirty-two Masters have died in thirty
years, the peieentage being 4.30, their mean
age at the time of death being thirty-six,
after a mean of service of seventeen year.c.
The deatlis in the First Mates (tlie most
exposed class probably ) have been heaviest
of any, or 5 per cent . : their mean age was
28, and their period of service ten years.
The Second Mates deceased only at h;.lfth-t
rate, their mean age being 28 also, their ser-
vice eight years. Among ilte Volunteers, the
casualties by drowning are twenty, while the
natural deaths are only fifty, the total per-
centage per annum being 4.10, the mean age
of the deceased of this rank was 22, and their
average periods of service three and a half
years.”

Tb he continued.

ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS.

ON SOME NEW SPECIES OF THE
EDOLIAN AND CEBLEPVRINE SUB-
FAMILIES OF THE LANIID^ OF
NEPAL.

Bt B. H. Hodgson, Esa.,
Resident in Nepal.

(For the India Review.)

The dark-coloured shrikes of India, if they
are, most of them, not wholly unknown to
science, yet seem all very imperfectly known ;
■whence has resulted the customary confu-
sion of species and unsatisfactory classifica-
tion. Hereafter, with more ample know-
ledge of their manners, and the aid of Euro-
pean libraries and museums, I trust to be
able to dispose these birds in a natural man-
ner. But I shall at present confine myself
merely to a few indications on that subject,
limiting this paper chiefly to an attempt to
fix some of the species beyond the possibility
of future doubts.

EDOLIAN^.

Genus edolius ? Genus? Subgenus? Chihia
nobis. Bhring-raj * of the Hindoos. Chi-
bya of the mountaineers (generiee).

• Note, Bhring-Raja, quasi Rexa pum. is. in
the plains, the generic name of our 3 first
species. Chibia is the hill name. As 1 have
separated the 3rd species subgenerically, 1 have
applied the latter name to the two first species,
and the former,to the third* Bhriiiga, Bhringaca,
and Khring-raj,are synonimes, most improjjer-
ly applied by Wilson to Lanius carulescens and
other Bhuchangas . Quoad the use of native ge-
neric appellations, 1 think there is wisdom in
it, as heli)ing the student in India to discover
affinities which the people have ascertained
from long familiarity. And, with respect to the
European student, what can he rationally ob-
ject? A single word or dinarity cannot pour-
tray a group or genus; and are not half Cuviers
generic term.? derived from Greek or Ibatin

ist Species, new. Casia nobis (K^sya,
quasi comatus, of Nepal).

Form and size, 13 inches long by 20 in
expanse of wings ; bill 1 tail 6 ; tarsus I.^
central toe || ; hind ; weight 3^ oz. Bill,
a third longer than the head, conspi-
cuously and uniformly arched throughout,
not hooked, nor depressed, at base as high as
broad, and much compressed forwards; ge-
neral form, subtetragonal, with sharp ridges
and nearly plane somewhat spreading sides,
especially those of the maxilla in its basal
half ; for in its anteai half the sides become
nearly vertical by extreme compression :
tomiae very trenchant and remote from the
ridged palate, those of the lower mandible
fitting into a groove just within those of the
upper : the tips acute and subequal ; having
the curve and recurve ; the tooth and notch
all distinct, though very small, especially the
latter. Nasal fossae short but distinctly
keeling the culmen between them, provided
with membranes, and hid by thick-set velvety
plumes very moderately produced over the
bill and putting forth several long flowing
elastic hairs which sweep with a fine curve
over the head and neck.

Rictus to the eye and strongly bristled.
Narcs basal, lateral, ovoid, shaded above by
a small process of the fossal membrane and
hid by velvety plumes and adpressed rigid
hairs. Tongue nearly equal to the bill, deep-
ly cleft and feathered. Cervical plumes
elongated, narrow, pointed, and curved
gracefully backwards. Tail shorter than the
body, consisting of ten, strong, and nearly
even plumes, the two externals only pos-
sessing palpably the divaricating structure,
and, being produced about | an inch beyond
the next, have their tips curled boldly over
them. VVings ample, reaching to the mid-
dle and more of the tail, or two and half
inches short of its tip : alar quills broad-web-
bed and obtusely pointed, even in the prima-
ries which exceed the tertiaries by only
inches. Closed wing 6| ; whereof the 1st
quill is 3§ ; the 2ad 5^ ; the 3rd 6| ; the 4th
6| ; and the 5th and longest, 6^.

Legs and feet strong. Tarsus considera-
bly longer than any of the digits and heavily
scaled. Toes stout, short, unequal ; the
fores basally connected ; the outer, beyond
the joint ; the inner, less ; their soles full but
subdepressed ; the hind toe, large, depressed,
and equal to the outer fore one. Nails,
strong, falcate, and rather acute ; the hind
one largest. Intestines, 15 inches long, larg-

names o 1 unknown birds ? Indian words are
generally as euphonous as the cognate Greek
and Latin ones, and, I may add, as signigeant
too. 1 have serious thoughts of a classification
founded in the resulrs of native experience,
or, in other words, upon the adoption of Indian
generic terms. The great difficulty is to as-
certain the value of those terms ; but, once
ascertained, they will often serve as a belter
guide to affinities than all the scien* e of Eu-
rope, wasted, as it is, upon dried skins! Euro-
peans in India have done all they could to con-
fuse native nomenclature by limiting to species
the generic terms of the people: witness
Haran, Mriga, Bagjarceta, Dhaiiesa, &c. &c.

NEW SPECIES OF MALABAROIDES NOBIS. CALGIA OF NEPAL. 32.5

er above than below. Coeca ^ of an inch.
Stomach muscular and red; outer coat of
medial unequal thickness ; inner, tough and
striolated. Food, chiefly wasps, bees, and
their congeners, also green beetles, and
other coleoptera ; very rarely vetches. Soli-
tary or in pairs, part of the year in families
the young with the parents, never quits the
forests ; descends from time to time from its
lofty perch to seize on the wing, occasion-
ally seizes on the ground, but instantly re-
turns to its perch. Common to all the three
! regions of Nepal. Moults in autumn between
' August and October, and, I think, only in
autumn.

Colour, black, most brilliantly burnished
with metallic green on the alar and caudal
plumes, as well as on the elongate cervical
ones; but intense purplish blue, for the most
part, on the body, the lores., and ears, unpo-
lished black: the wing and tail, internally,
glossy black, without accessory hue : bill,
dusky : legs, jetty: iris, brown. Sexes alike
both in size and colours : the lining of the
wings, in male and female, apt to be spotted
with white ; as I think only in summer, and
the mark seems generic.

"" 2nd Species, new Malabaroides nobis.
Calgia (quasi cristatus) of Nepal.

Form and size Tip of bill to tip of ordinary
tail 15 inches, where of the bill is and the
tail 7. Appendage of the latter, 8 more.
Tarsus ; central toe ; hindjg; weight 3^
oz. The external and internal characters, like
the habits and manners, of this species are,
in general, strictly similar to those of the
precedent. We shall distinguish wherever
there is room for it. The bill, equally long
in proportion to the head, is noticeably
straighter, less compressed forwards and
rather more keeled and plumed at the base ;
its mandibles are less equal, less acute, and
they have the terminal curve and recurve,
tooth and notch, more distinct. The gene-
ral form of the bill is distinctly tetragonal,
the mere tip only being compressed. But
there is, as before, as. much height as
breadth at the base, and the bill is no where
depressed. The more advanced nares are,
however, much nearer to the gape than to
the tip. They are shaped, rnembraned, and
plumore, as before ; but their plumes are of
a different character. The close velvety
short capistral feathers of casia are replaced
by long setaceous and erect ones shooting
upwards and forwards far beyond the culmen ;
whilst the graceful comate crest of casia is
supplied by hardy less graceful plumose one,
consisting of narrow, composed, erect, and
recurved plumes inserted laterally and op-
positely on each side the base of the bill.
These hairs in casia are 4^ inches long,
and consequently fall over the shoulders. The
analogous plumes in malabaroides are but
two inches long ; and, being firm and erect at
their insertion, are restricted to the crown
of the head, over which they make a bold and
elegant curve. The tongue is rather shorter
and somewhat less feathered. The legs and

feet and wings are identical in both. The
tail has the same proportion to the body and
the same number of plumes ; but these plumes
in malabaroides are palpably forked, the
centrals being | of an inch shorter than the
laterals ; excluding, of course, the oar-
shaped appendages of the tail. The latter are
scarcely more than as long again as the true
tail ; at their separation from which the shafts
become denuded of webs until 3§ inches from
the ends, that space being occupied by a broad
paddle-like vane restricted to the inner side,
though constantly reverted (by curvation)
to the outer.

Colour. Bill and legs bothjetty, and iris
dark brown. Plumage uniform black, bur-
nished as in the precedent but rather less
highly. Head and neck plumes, especially
the latter, similarly elongated and lanceolate.
Setaceous feathers of the lores, chin, and ears,
unglossed. Sexes alike in all respects ; and
both apt to have the lining of the wings white -
spotted.

Remark. — Amid the imperfect, and, in some
respects, contradictory indications of books,
I discern the evident affinity of this species
with malabaricus vel retifer. I have there-
fore called it malabaroides. Is frequently
caged for its song ; and, if let loose in a
house, will eagerly catch and devour the
small lizards so common in Bengal residen-
cies.

Sub genus Bhi'inga nobis.

3rd Species, new. Tectirostris nobis.

Size and form, 11 inches long by 16 wide,
and 2| oz. in weight. Bill Ifg; tail 5| ;
appendage of tail 12; tarsus ; central toe

, hind fg. This species, to the habits and
manners of the two precedent, unites a plu-
masje and a general structui’e also similar to
theirs, with the material exception of the
bill, which both in form and proportion de-
viates from the rostrum of the two last to
approximate to the familiar species hereafter
described. It is as nearly allied to Temmincks
remifer as its predecessor is to malabaricus.
Bill scarcely a fourth longer than the head,
strong, straight, but with the raised acute
culmen arched from the nares not hooked ;*
tetragonal, at base broader than high, and a
good deal spread except near the tip, where it
is extremely compressed. Curve and recurve,
tooth and notch, all rather prominent. Upper
mandible half keeled, and nearly hid by
setaceous incumbent plumes (unde nomen).
Nostrils midway to the tip from the gape,
small, I’ound, subvertically exposed, without
membranous tect, and hid by the plumes just
mentioned, behind which, the thick set, soft,
composed and simple feathers of the fore-
head rise, helping, with the former, to con-

• Note. -The true hook or falconine pro-
cess of the maxilla is confined to the typical
shrikes. The Bush shrikes have it in a feei-ler
form. The Edolian and Ceblepyrine shrikes
■want it almost wholly. This is the g-eneral
rule : but, as we shall see, the hook is distinctly
developed in our Bhuchangas.

326

SUBGENUS BHUCHANGA NOBIS.

ceal the bill. Rictus to eye, and strongly
bristled, below as well as above.

Plumes of the head and neck, lanceolate ;
and those of the neck also elongated and bur-
nished as in the two^precedent species. Legs,
and feet, and wings, as in them ; but the tarsi
and toes somewhat slenderer, and the thumb
perhaps rather more developed. Ordinary
tail shorter than the body, and composed of
ten even plumes : its appendages more than
double its length ; nude-shafted as in mala-
baroides, with 3 and § inches of the tips barb-
ed, and equally so on both sides of the shafts.
Is a shy and retired forester, like the two
last, feeding like them on the wing, by occa-
sional darts from its lofty perch. Food,
wasps, bees, various small coleoptera, with
grilli, mantides, and other flying insects.

Colour, black, with a very brilliant blue
changing sometimes into green ; belly and
gloss, flanks, slaty black and unglossed, espe
daily in the female, which is rather less in size
than her mate, but otherwise similar. Lining
of the wings usually spotted with pure white
both sexes : bill and legs, jetty : iris, dark in
brown.

Subgenus Bhuchanga nobis.

4th Species. Indicus necnon Fingah auc-
torum? Albirictus or spotted gape nobis.
Described by me, some years ago, in the
Asiatic Society’s Transactions. Distinguish-
able from all the precedent, by its familiarity
with man,, by its simple plumage, by its
parabolic evolutions in -the air, by the supe-
rior length and power of its wings, its deeply
forked tail, its shorter and unfeathered tongue,
its feebler thumb, its more or less conical bill,
audits non-apivorous habits. In the strength
of its legs and feet it more nearly resemble
casia and malabaroi'des than tectirostris ; but,
in the form and size of its bill, is it much liker
to the latter than to the former.

Structure and size, 12§ inches long by
18§ between the wings. Bill ; tail
6| ; tarsus I| ; central toe js, hind
Weight 2f oz. Bill scarcely longer than the
head, strong, straight, hooked, conico-tetra-
gonal, with blunt ridges and subconvexed
sides, at base broader than high, and con-
siderably spread except towards the tip which
is compressed, but less so than in the last.
Curve and recurve, tooth and notch, all pro-
minent. Culmen scarcely § keeled, and only
so far hid by the thick-set soft frontal plumes
which end in adpressed setae and hairs over
the nares. The nostrils are a good deal ad-
vanced, but nearer to the gape than the tip.
They are small, round, lateral, shaded above
by a small process of the fossal membrane,
and closely pressed by the nareal tufts. Ric-
tus to eye and strongly bristled. Tongue
shortish, subbifid, and subjagged ; not fea-
thered like the foregone species.

Plumage simple and but faintly glossed.
Wings long, strong, and acuminate, reaching
beyond the middle of the long tail ; 2§ inches
less its tip. Closed wings fi^inches, whereof
the 1st quill is 3; the 2nd 5 ; the 3rd and 5th,
5| ; the 4th and longest 6 ; primes plus ter-

tials 14^ inch, and harder and more pointed
than in any of the precedent. Tail 10, longer
than the body and deeply forked, the centrals
being 2§ inches less the extreme laterals ;
legs and feet strong and heavily scaled ;
tarsus longer than any toe ; toes short,
unequal ; the fores rather full-soled, and
basally connected, but less than in any
of the foregone ; thumb, strong and depress- j
ed, though not elongated, equal only to the in-
ner fore toe ; nails very acute, the hind larg- j
est, as in the others.

Colour, black, with a dark blue gloss chang-
ing to green and prevailing throughout. Alar
plumes internally with a greyish hue and not j
glossed ; caudal, black and glossy below. Bill 1
and legs jetty : iris, red brown : lores, black : i
behind the gape a permanent pure white spot ;i
(unde nomen). Female, less : her belly and 1
flanks shaded with white ; and her wing-lining
under tail-coverts maculate with the same, i:
Young and moulting birds, very similar to the
female, but wanting the rictal spot which the
grown females in full plumage has, as well as
the male.

5th Species, new? Fingah? .^Eratus ? auc-
torum. Annectans nobis. Annectant Bhu-
changa nobis. A singular species, returning, j
both by its form and habits, towards the fo-
rest,— haunting birds first described, through 1

the 3rd or Tectirostris, which it very closely i
resembles in the form of its bill. 1

Structure and size, Ilf inches long by 17 j
in expanse of wings, and 2 oz. in weight ; bill
1^. tail 5f ; tarsus central toe hind {g. |

The strong wing with the 4th quill longest, [

the distinctly forked tail, the simple tongue,
the moderately elongated distinctly hooked I
bill, the shortish thumb, and simple plumage, j
proclaim this bird a bhuchanga, or, in other
words, attest its intimate affinity with the I
last or albirictus. Indeed, any ordinary ob-
server would confound the two, as those who
ought to have studied closer have done in
costly tomes of natural history. Yet a
broader, more angular, less straight, and less |
hooked bill, together with a shorter tail, far ^
less forked, sufficiently prove the specific 1
distinctness ; notwithstanding an uniformity j
of colouring in both sexes of the two species |
amounting almost to identity. Bill, distinctly
longer than the head, subarCuate, strong, i
spreading, but not depressed; slightly hooked, 1
tetragonal with sharp ridges, and nearly plane ,
sides, gradually and moderately compressed j
towards the tip, Nares, gape, and capistrum,
as in the last. Wings scarcely so strong. j
Tail shorter than the body, and forked barely
one inch.

Colour, lack with a moderate changeable I
blue or gre'en gloss : no spot behind the
gape. The female and young have the ,
breast, lining of wings, and lower tail coverts
spotted or shaded with white : bill and legs I
jetty: iris red brown. Rarer and less fami- 1
liar than albirictus, but not a forester.

Sub-genus Chaptia nobis. Chaptya (quasi
Platyrynchus) of Nepal.

NEW SPECIES NIPALENSIS NOBIS.

327

6th Species. Muscipetoidcs nobis. Re-
markable for the feebleness of its bill and
feet, and seeming absolutely to unite the
laniidae and rausci capidee. It might be
classed, indifferently, with either. The bill
and feet are quite those of muscipeta ; but
there is in both that additional degree of
strength which, added to the blue-glossed
black plumage with lanceolate hackles, and to
the ten-feathered forked tail, affines our bird
to the Edolian shrikes. Cuvier, I am aware,
classed the Edolianse with the fly-catchers:
but they have have since, with reason, been
associated with the Laniidae or shrikes.

Structure and size, 9| inches by 14§ : 1 oz*
or less in weight. Bill ; tail 5 Tarsus
Central toe hind TS- , Bill rather longer
than the head, feeble, depressed with sharp
ridges and plane spreading sides, scarcely
compressed at the mere tip of the bill,
straight with the culmen very slightly inclin-
ed from the naves ; upper mandible distinctly
longer and subhooked. Tooth, notch, and
recurve, all palpable but feeble. Culmen,^
keeled and so far hid by incumbent and pro-
cumbent setaceous plumes ending in hairs over
the nostrils. Nostrils elliptic, large, longi-
tudinal, forward but nearer the gape than the
tip, lateral, shaded above by a largish process
of the fossal membrane and closely hid by
incumbent setse. Rictus to eye and very
strongly bristled above and below. Tongue
short, flat, cartilaginous, subbifid, and sub-
jagged, not feathered. Wings long and acu-
minate, reaching to middle of long tail, and
2A inches less its tip : 1st quill very small ;
2nd long; 4th clearly longest, and inch
plus tertials. Tail longer than the body,
and forked more than one inch, that is, ra-
ther deeply. Tarsi rather feeble, as compared
with any of the precedent, but the acrotarsia
strongly scaled, as usual. Toes short, de-
pressed, slender ; the fores much connected ;
the outer § way beyond the joint, and the in-
ner § way to it. Outer and central sub-
equal ; inner, much shorter ; hind, least, some-
times equal to inner fore. Claws, strong and
very acute. Plumage of the head and neck
distinguished by the intense gloss and lan-
ceolate form, already noticed in regard to the
three first described species ; and lining of
the wings, similarly spotted with pure white.

Colour, black, with an intense blue gloss,
strongest on the head, necK, and wings. Alar
and caudal plumes, jetty and shining ontheir
inferior surface ; lower belly and flanks, fre-
quently unglossed and scarcely full black,
especially in the females and young ; bill and
legs, jet black ; iris, dusky brown. Sexes
alike. Shy, adhering to the forests ; feeds
chiefly on the softer flying insects which it
takes on the wing exclusively, but not by
continued questing ; has an autumnal moult
between August and October, and I think
but one per annum. Intestines 8 to 10 inches
long, thicker above, and provided with tiny
caeca. Stomach, musctilar and red ; its lining,
toughishand nearly smooth.

Ceblepyrin^e.

Genus Grauculus Cuvier.

7th Species, new. Nipalensis nobis.

Form and size, 13f inches long by 22 in
expanse of wings : bill 1§; tail 6. Tarsus I
central toe hind jg, A closed wing 7 inches
whereof the Istbuill is 4|, the 2nd 6|, the 3rd
and 5th 6|, and the 4th and longest 7. Weight
5 oz.

Bill, a fifth or sixth longer than the head,
strong, spreading, and much broader than
high at the base ; but -still not strictly depress-
ed, subarcuate throughout : upper mandible,
bent with an acute elevate ridge and sloping
sides nearly void of convexity; lower man-
dible, obtusely round, except near the tip ;
curve and recurve, tooth and notch, all palpa-
ble. but moderate. Frontal feathers, far pro-
duced over the bill, and soft, with a narrow
margin of subsetaceous plumes, the foremost
of which are laid over the nares, where they
end in adpressed hairs ; not more than a
fourth of the culmen keeled. Tomise very
trenchant, deeply locked, and remote from
the scooped and ridged palate. Rictus pro-
longed beneath the eye and distinctly though
very feebly bristled. Nares much advanced
and nearer to the tip than to the gape, small,
round, sunk, lateral, shaded above by a small
process of the fossal membrane, and closely
hid by adpressed setse and hairs. Wings
medial, strong, and acuminate, reaching to
middle of tail and more; rimes plus tertials,
l| inches.' Tail as long as the body, consist-
ing of 12 firm, straight feathers .; w-hereof
the 4 laterals are slightly gradated from be-
low, but scarcely § an inch in the extremes.
Legs and feet rather shoi-t and feeble in re-
lation to the size of the bird ; tarsi consider-
ably higher than any toe, and heavily scaled
to the front and sides ; smooth and sharp be-
hind, like all the foregone. Toes shortish,
unequal, subdepressed ; the fores distinctly
connected on the superior surface, but nearly
cleft below. Thumb short, but broad and
strong. Claws strong, curved, and rather
acute. Plumage, in general, soft and dis-
composed, but that of the rump, spinous.
Tongue short, flat, cartilaginous, with acute
subbifi tip. Intestines 14 to 15 inches long,
thicker above, and furnished with two tiny
cseca close to the anal end. Stomach muscu-
lar and red. Outer coat of considerable un-
equal thickness ; inner, leathery andgrooved.
Food, grilli, mantides scarabaei, berries,,
vetches, and seeds. Solitary for the most
part, and adhering to the forests; but some-
times approaching gardens and orchards.
Feeds on the ground as well as on the wing,
and has a shrill voice, exactly like that of the
halcyons. To an extremely corvine aspect
this bird adds something of the manners and
habits of the corvidae, entitling it, at least,
to generic separation L’om ceblepyris, though
its true place be, no doubt, amongst the
ceblepyrinae.

Colour', full slaty grey-blue, with black
wings and tail, and pure white belly, vent,
and under tail coverts. Lores, narrow fron-
tal band, mere base of bill, and the chin, con-

328

ERUCIVORA? SW. VOLVOCIVORA NOBIS.

fluently black. Alar and caudal plumes, with
the lining of the wings, albescent on the in-
ferior aspect : two central tail feathers almost
wholly concolorous with the body ; the rest
black, with clear broad whitish tips : the ter-
tiai wing feathers wholly, and the edges of
most of the rest, slaty like the body : bill and
legs, jet black : iris, dark browm. The female,
equal in size to her mate, is paler on the in-
ferior surface of the neck and body, where, as
well as on the lining of the wings, the slaty
hue is transversely lineated on a whitish
ground : the edging of her alar plumes also is
\vhitish ; and she wants, nearly or wholly,
the black zone surrounding the entire base of
the bill in the male. The young males, for a
whole year, resemble her.

CEBLEPYRINiE.

Erucivora ? Sw. Volvocivora nobis.

8th Species. New and type. Melaschistos
nobis. This singular bird indicates its affi-
nity with the last named by its slaty and
black garb, transversely lineated below, in
the female ; as well as by its puffy and spi-
nous rump feathers, the rest of the plumage
being unglossed, soft, and discomposed. The
wings, tail, and feet, too, are not materially
dissimilar, though the bill is. The wings,
however, are obviously feebler, and, being so,
are naturally accompanied by a longer and
distinctly wedged tail. But the almost
purely conical and wholly undepressed bill
seems to defy whatever has yet been predi-
cated of the sub-family 1

In the whole structure there is an evident
approach to Malaconotus and Phoenicornis.

Size and from. Bill scarcely longer than
the head, vex-y moderate in all respects, elon-
gately conical, culmen straight and concealed
as far as the nares, very slightly inclined and
apert beyond them. Nostrils central, small,
oval, lateral, membranous'ly edged above,
and hid by semi-setaceous curling plumuli and
hairs. Rictus moderate, subciliated. Nape
with a few feeble hairs hardly escaping from
the plumage. Wings moderate, round, acu>
minate ; 4th quill longest, gradated as in
grauculus. Tail as long as the body, or
longer, consisting of 12 feathers ; whereof the
6 central are even, and the 6 lateral, consi-
derably gradated, to l|:inch in the extremes ;
the whole, firm and broad tipped. Tarsi
sub-clevate, moderately stout, rather finely
scaled. Toes not short, rather slender ;
fores somewhat compressed and basally con-
nected; central, sub-elongate ; hind, short
but broad and depressed. Nails subacute. 9|
inches long by 14 wide, and if oz. bill 1; tail
5 ; tarsus 1 ; central toe jfi. hind closed
wing 4| ; whereof 1st quill is 2^, 2na 4f, 3rd
and 5th 4f. and 4th and longest, 4|. tertials
If less the primes.

Colour, blackish slaty, with jet black
wings, tail, and lores ; the 6 or 8 lateral rec-
trices with broad white points. Legs, dusky
slaty; bill black; iris, brown. Femde rather
less, paler below, and transversely rayed
throughout with a more saturate series of
zigzags. She has, also, a white spot, inter-
nal and basal, occupying 3 or 4 of her prime

quills ; and her lores arc not blackened.
The young of a year resemble the female.
They have, at first, whitish drops on a pur-
plish black mantle. The species is confined
to the woods, and is solitary or nearly so.
The intestines are 10 to 11 inches long, of
nearly equal calibre throughout, and having
the caeca hardly traceable. The stomach is
muscular and red, with an outer coat of me-
dial unequal thickness, and a tough lining.
The principal food is caterpillars and other
soft wingless insects ; but many soft and
hard flying insects are likewise taken, with
grubs, larvae, and insect eggs, and frequently
stony berries and even seeds. These birds,
though they procure the greatest portion of
their food on trees, yet freely descend to the
ground to gather it there also.

Our birds, in the structure of the bill, ap-
pear to be allied to Mr. Swainson’s Eruci-
vora ; but they have the croup puffy and
spinous, like the majority of their confami -
liars. 1 have procured abundance of speci-
mens from all parts of the hills, and at ail
seasons of the year, the species (like all those
previously described) not being migratory.

General Remarks.

Cuvier observes of the Edoliance that they
are principally distinguished by the two man-
dibles being bent the wffiole length. This is
a character distinctly marked in our 3 first
species, but wanting in the 3 next ; seen
again, in the 7th and absent in the 8th. Cu-
vier adds that the Edolian bill is depressed ;
a feature not strictly belonging to any otour
species save the 6th. Mr. Swainson says
that the Edolianae are characterised by a bill
broad at the base and compressed on the
sides. This, with some allowance, holds
true of our 5' first species, and also of the 7th,
if breadth at the base be not confounded with
depression. Mr. Swainson further observes
that “ in every species yet discovered the hind
toe is so much developed as to exceed the tar-
sus, being little shorter than the middle toe”.

Now, in all my species, the tarsus is long-
er than the central digit, which again ex-
ceeds the thumb in length. I measure the
tarsus, on the inner side, from its more
salient angle down to the sole of the foot ; and
the digits from their strict insertion, supe-
riorly, to the commencement of the claw. So
measured, there is not one of the foregoing
8 species, in w’hich the tarsus does not ex-
ceed any of the digits, or, in which the middle
finger does not surpass the thumb ; though
the superior size of the thumb in the 3 first
species, as compared with the other 5, is very
noticeable. In the former, this member is
equal to the outer fore digit ; whilst in the
latter it is equal only to the inner fore, or less.
Strong rictal bristles characterise the wffiole
of the 6 first species which I have classed
with the Edoliaaee ; and the 6th agrees with
the 3 first in possessing, on the neck, at least
ornamental feathers, as well as a highly-bur-
nished general plumage. But the bhuchan-
gas want both these marks ; and, in the two
species of them, the hook and tooth of the
bill, by their superior development, indicate
a leaning towards the lanianie. In all our

329

ON A SPECIES OF ICHNEUMON BY MR. BADDELEY.

8 species, the tip of fhe lower mandible is sen-
i sibly bent up and notched despite the dictum
of the systematist.

Nor is gregariousness the characterstic of
the manners^ of any of them, tho’ the young
attend their parents for several months.

The structure of the wing is similar in the
3 first species. The two next also have a com-
mon form, but diifering from the precedent.
A third change takes place in the 6th, The
first differs from the two next by its velvety
capistral plumes, which, however, are accom-
panied by strong nareal andrictal bristles.

In passing from the Edolianoe to the Ceblc-
pyringe Mr. Swainson observes that the
latter are characterised by “srreater depression
and consequent weakness of the bill.” I have
classed our two last species with the Ceblepy-
rinoe because of their smooth f’ape, their puf-
fy and spinous rump feathers, their unbur-
nished and unblackened plumai^e, their less
exclusively perchin'^ legs and feet, and their
more onnivoi’ous habits. But, the very op-
posite of depression is the character of the
bill in one of them ; whilst the other has
great breadth, indeed, in the rostrum, but
without feebleness or depression. These
latter are properly the characters of our 6th
species only ; which, however, is very clearly
not a Ceblepyris. Much as I admire the skil
ful labors of Mr. Swainson, I cannot think
so highly of my luck in the discovery of rari-
ties, or so lowly of my discernment in the ap-
preciation of ordinary forms, as not to sus-
pect that those labours call for yet further
revision. The Ceblepyrinog are obviouly less
formed for flight andraption than the Edo*
lianoe, and their ungarnished vestments are
equally contraoistinctive.

A forked tail often feathers seems as pre-
valent among th:’ Edoliano? as a wedged one
of twelve amongst the Ceblepyrinoe — one of
several indications tending to demonstrate
the superior power of the former upon the
wing.

Lastly, all of our Edolianoe have a fine
voice, whilst the Ceblepyrinoe seem to be silent
or worse : Heaven defend our ears from the
clamorous screaming of Grauculus.

Valley of Nepal, 1836.

DESCRIPTION OF A SPECIES OF
ICHNUEMON, INHABITING THE
INTERIOR OF THE GALL BY AN
INSECT ON THE LEAVES OF
THE FICUS RACEMOSA.

By P. F. H. Baddeley, Esq.

For the India Review.

In my examination of the interior of the
gall formed by an insect already described,
1 frequently observed a small light colour-
ed grub, which I at first imagined might

live and feed at the expense of the natural
inhabitant : I have, however, since ascer-
tained that such is not the case, but that
both live independently, and feed upon the
vegetable juices without detriment to each
other.

This insect is so often found to occupy
the interior of the gall, that many might
conclude that it was the very insect that
produced the excresence, and would con-
sequently be led to form opinions, regard-
ing its nature, totally at variance with the
truth.

In the description of this insect a strik-
ing contrast will be observed to exist be-
tween its internal economy and that of the
real gall insect ; for in the former all the
essential charactaristics both of the several
states of the imperfect, as well as the struc-
ture of the perfect insect, will be found to
agree exactly with the definition of the
hymenopterous order ; while those of the
latter scarcely tally with it in one point.

This circumstance may tend to confirm
the opinion, expressed on a former occa-
sion, that if the gall insect be a cijnips, it
must be referred to a class, different from
that under which that Tribe is usually
described.

The produce of this grub is a 4 winged
insect, of the ichneumon genus, the^ fe-
male of which is armed with a long ovipo-
sitor, whicli she introduces (I presume) into
the interior of the gall, (from its un-
der surface) formed on the leaves of the
ficus racemosa, about the period that the
gall insect has become enclosed in this ex-
crescence, and these deposit on the body
of the pupa, a single egg. This shortly
changes to a larva or grub, invisible to the
unassisted eye, which still continues at-
tached to the body of the gall insect, and
lives and grows for a certain time at its
experise.

With a change of skin however the pupa
rids itself of this rarusitic appendage, which
now becomes endued with different tastes
and acquires herbivirous habits, feeding in
concert, on the juices of the interior of the
gall.

In this occupation it continues to grow,
without detriment to the other inmate, and
about the time that the gall insect is ready
to emerge, this grub has attained its full
growth, and commences to form its cocoon,
for the purpose of undergoing its transfor-
mation to a chrysalis.

This, when completed, occupies about one
third of the cavity of the gall, to the side
of which it is closely adherent.

It is of an ovate shape, flattened on the
free surface and pointed at one extremity.

330

RECENT DISCOVERIES IN MINERALOGY.

and is thin, transparent, and of a very com-
pact texture, having a narrow bright yellow
band, surrounding its longer circumference.

In this web, the chrysalis, which is
white, is seen to repose, with its head in-
variably directed towards the point at
which the gall insect intends to escape ;
and in a few days gradually to assume the
appearance of the perfect insect.

We may now observe the several parts as
they lie doubled up in this confinement.

The antennae, which are remarkable for
their length, are seen lying along the back
and the ovipositor is turned in a contrary
direction, on the belly.

Not many days after the gall insect has
made its escape, this insect, having attained
its perfect form, breaks through its cover-
ing, and squeezing itself through the same
aperture, by which tlie former insect had
previously made its exit, emerges at once
a perfect fly, the wings and other parts
having attained their full size whilst in the
cocoon.

Little difference is observable in the
sexes; except that the female is rather
larger and is possessed of a long ovipositor
which she carries straight out from her
body; and the male has three brown
spots disposed in a triangular manner on two
of the upper dorsal segments of the abdo-
men. The colour of both is similar and is
of a warm yellow ochre hue, with the eyes,
antennte, and ovipositor dark brown ; the
wings are of a light brown colour dotted
and semi-transparent.

A few of the other peculiarities will be
better understood by reference to the draw-
ings and definition.

DEFINITION.

Lava. — A whitish or glaucus grub
possessing six minute tubercles, answering
to feet.

Metamorphosis. — Coarctate.

Antenna. — Long, raoniliform, contiguous,
and composed of 22 articulations.

Mouth. — Mandibulate, possessing labial
and maxillary pulpi.

Tarsi. — Pentamerous.

Wings. — Four, incumbent, somewhat
opaque and dotted, upper pair areolate ;
lower incomplete.

Ovipositor. — Extricated, two valved, con-
taining three spiculse.

Body. — Legs, wings, and ovipositor, co-
vered with short hairs.

EXPLANATION OF FIGURES.

Fig. 1. — A section of a gall, one of the
cells of which contains the grub of the
ichneumon and the pupa of the proper gall
insect.

1 A. — Pupa of gall insect.

1 B. — Grub of ichneumon.

Fig. 2. — Grub of ichneumon, magnified.

Fig. 3. — A section of a gall, containing
the cocoon of ichneumon, magnified.

Fig. 4. — The cocoon taken from the
gall, do.

Fig. 5. — The dorsal aspect of the pupa
or chrysalis taken out of the cocoon.

Fig. 6. — The insect nearly arrived at
perfection ; head points towards the opening
by which the gall insect has escaped.

Fig. 7. — Ichneumon about to emerge
from its cocoon.

Fig. 8. — Perfect male insect.

Fig. 9. — Do. female insect.

Fig. 10. — The maxillary and labial pulpi.

Fig, 11. — The ovipositor.

Fig. 12. — Extremity of a half-sheath.

Fig. 13. — Hind leg.

Fig. 14. — Fore leg.

Fig. 15. — 1 he three threads or spiculae
of ovipositor joined.

GENERAL SCIENCE.

NEW MINERALS.

Tripkylline, {rpig three and family),

from its consisting of three phosphates. It
is described by Fuchs as being crystalline,
cleaving in four directions; one of the cleav-
ages is vertical to the others. Two of them
are parallel with the sides of a rhombic
prism of about 132° and 148°. The primary
form is a rhombic prism. Colour 'greenish
gray, in some places blueish ; the powder
grayish white. In large pieces the lustre is
fatty ; in thin portions translucent. Speci-

fic gravity, 3*6. Hardness nearly that of
apatite ; fuses readily before the blowpipe.
With borax fuses into an iron-cloured glass.
It is soluble in acids. It consists of phos-
phoric acid 41*47; protoxide of iron 48*37 ;
oxide of manganese 4*7 ; lithia 3*4 ; silica
*53 ; water *68 ; loss 65. — Poggendorffs*
Annalen, xxxvi. 473.

Tetraphylline. — This appears to be a varie-
ty of the proceeding, it was obtained by
Nordenskiold from Keite, in Finland. It
contains phosphoric acid 42*6 ; protoxide of
iron 38*6; oxide of manganese 12*1; mag-
nesia 1*7 ; lithia 8*2. — Ibid.

CHRISTISON ON THE CEYLON GAMBOGE.

331

ANAGYRIS FCETIDA.

This tree grows to the height of 8 or 10
feet; the leaves are ternate, alternate, pub-
escent below, and supplied with a bifid stipula
at their summit. It is indigenous to Greece
and the southern parts of Europe. The bark,
according to Peschier and Jacquemin, con-
sists of a fixed oil, chlorophylle, resin, gum,
yellow colouring matter, extractive and a
peculiar principle. The latter also exists to
a considerable extent in the seeds. It is ob-
tained by submitting them, when dried, to
the action of alcohol of '800 with the assis-
tance of heat; and the product of the diges-
tion in alcohol of *836 ; evaporating the li-
quor to the consistence of extract, dissolving
the matter furnished by the alcohol in water
in order to separate the resin and oil and
evaporate to dryness. Thus prepared the
principle is yellow ; its taste is bitter, solu-
ble in water and alcohol. — Memoires de la
Societe de Physique et d^ Histoire Naturelle
de Geneve, v. 75.

ACTION OF GYPSUM ON VEGETA-
BLES.

Peschier finds that the solution of gyp-
sum which has been removed from the fur-
nace is sometimes acid. 2. That the influ-
ence of gypsum has no elFect upon vegetables
except in solution. 3. That on spreading
gypsum upon the leaves during rain, its de-
composition is effected in direct proportion
to its solution, and the surfaces which the
leaves present. 4. That its action upon ve-
getables is due to the influence which the
electric fluid exerts upon them, and upon
the chemical combination which they absorb ;
that from the influence of this fluid the de-
composition of these combinations, and the
formation of new products depend. Hence,
the sulphuric acid is set at liberty and com-
bines with potash in the juice. 5. That the
electric influence is equal upon the raw and
calcined gypsum. Hence, the former is to
be preferred. 6. That the roots like the
leaves decompose saline solutions. 7. That
hydro -chlorate of lime may be employed with
advantage. 8. That the influence of gyp-
sum is not confined to leguminous plants.
9. That when spread upon the leaves gyp-
sum has more influence than upon the
roots. — Ibid. 180.

ON THE SOURCES AND COMPOSI-
TION OF THE DIFFERENT KINDS
OF GAMBOGE. BY DR. CHKISTI-
SON; AND ON THE BOTANICAL
ORIGIN OF GAMBOGE.

By De,. Graham.

The papers of which the official abstracts
are subjoined, were lately read before the
Royal Society of Edinburgh.

Gamboge was first made known by Clusi-
us about the commencement of the seven-
teenth centiry, as a concrete juice from

China. About the middle of the same cen-
tury, Bontius conceived he had traced it to a
particular species of Eujyhor.bia, growing in
Java and in Siam; from the latter of which
countries the whole gamboge of commerce
was at that time obtained. About the close
of that century Hermann announced that
gamboge was produced by two species of
trees growing in Ceylon, which have been
since often confounded together, but which
are now designated by the names Garcinia
Gambogia, and Stalagmitis Gambogioides.
About the middle of last century, gamboge
was referred by Linnaeus to the former of
these plants, and his reference was generally
admitted; but about thirty years later. Pro-
fessor Murray of Gottingen conceived he had
traced it satisfactorily from the specimens
collected by Koenig in Ceylon, and informa-
tion obtained by the same botanists in Siam,
to a new species which he called Stalagmitis
gambogioides.

Dr. Graham shows, from specimens and
drawings sent from Ceylon, both by Mrs,
Colonel Walker to himself, and by David
Anderson Blair, Esq, to the late Dr. Duncan,
that the plant producing Ceylon gamboge is
neither Garcinia gambogia, as Linnaeus
thought, nor Xanthochymv.s ovalifolius, as
conjectured by Dr. Wight and Mr. Arnott,
nor Stalagmitis gambogioides, according to
Murray and Koenig, but is a species descri-
bed by Lamarck and Gartner under the name
of Garcinia or Mangostana morella, although
it differs from all of these genera in the struc-
ture of its stamens, and, therefore, probably
ought to be considered a new genus among
those producing a gambogioid juice.

Dr. Christison proved, that, at the pre-
sent time, Ceylon gamboge is not an article
of European commerce, and that the whole
gamboge of the markets of this country
comes, as in the time of Bontius, from China.
After mentioning the analysis of fine gam-
boge made by Braconnot in France, and
John in Prussia, he stated the following as
the mean composition of the several varie-
ties of gamboge he has hitherto examined : — ■

Pipe gamboge of Siam: Resin 72-2;
Arabia 23’0; iMoisture 4-8; Total 100’ 0

Cake gamboge of Siam: Resin 64’8; Ara-
bia 20-2; Fecula5'6; Lignin 5 3; Moisture
4-1 ; Total 100-0.

Ceylon gamboge sent by Mrs. Colonel
Walker: Resin 70-2; Arabia 19-6; Fibre of
wood and bark 5*6 ; Moisture 4-6.

Ceylon gamboge, adhering to a specimen
of the bark sent by Mr. David Anderson
Blair: Resin 75-5; Arabia l8-3; Cerasin
0-7; Moisture 4-8; Total 99'3.

The proportion of the gum to the resin
varied somewhat in each variety, but never
differed more than two per cent, from the
means given above.

The author added, that he had found the
resin to be the active principle of gamboge.

He inferred from the composition of the
different kinds of gamboge, and other cir-
cumstances detailed in his paper, that the
cake gamboge of Siam is not entirely a na-

332

ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF CERTAIN PLANTS.

tural production, but a manufactured article:
that Ceylon gamboge, if freed from incidental
fibrous matter, corresponds almost exactly
with Siam gamboge : that, therefore, they
are probably produced by the same plant :
that Ceylon gamboge possesses precisely the
same medicinal properties ; and that this
variety, if more carefully colleeted, may, in
all probability, be applied with equal advan-
tage to every economical purpose which is at
present served by the finest pipe gamboge of
Siam. — Repertory of Arts, May, 1836.

A. T.

PRINCIPLES OF CLASSIFICATION
IN THE ANIMAL KINGDOM.

By Professor Agassiz.

Although the principal groups of animal
are impressed with such characters as to be
easily recognised and to admit of little doubt,
yet their order and succession have been
determined by no general principle. This
appears from the discrepancy in the position
assigned to them by the most eminent systema-
tists, each of whom has assumed, arbitrarily,
some organ or system of organs for the basis
of his arrangement. Piofessor Agassiz, (at
the last meeting of the British Association),
after adverting to some German naturalists
who alone have sought after a general princi-
ple which should be satisfactory to “ philoso-
phic naturalists,” passed in review the clashes
of the animal kingdom, each of which, he sta-
ted, exhibited in an eminent degree the deve-
lopment of some one of the animal functions.
"While vertebrate animals (with man their
type) arrive at the greatest perfection in the
organs of the senses, the invertebrate offer
in the class of worms the representative of
the system of nutrition, in Crustacea of cir-
culation, in insects of respiration, and in mol-
lusca oi generation. The Professor next pro-
ceeded to demonstrate in what manner each
subclass of vertebrate animal derives its pe-
culiar character from some one element of
the animal economy.

This predominant element is the bony skele-
ton in fishes, the muscular structure in reptiles,
the sensibility of the nervous system in lurds,
and the perfection of the senses in mammalia,
which therefore reproduced the distinguish-
ing character and constitute the type of verte-
brate animals. He next showed tliat each of
the other subclasses of the higher group is
represented among the mammalia along with
its own peculiar type. He explained his rea-
son for the fourfold division which he had
adopted in the subclass, pointing out the close
affinity which connects the ruminantia, the
pachydermata, the rodentia, the edentata, and
the herbivorous marsupialia, (ia none of w'hich
is the true canine tooth developed,^ which he
considers as forming a single group ; in ano-
ther he unites those characterized by the pre-
sence of the canine tooth in its proper func-
tion, (as an instrument of nutrition, not mere-
ly of defence,) viz. the carnivora and those
marsupialia which partake of their character,

and the quadrumana. The cetacea form a
group in themselves; and man another. The
manner inwhich these represent the subclass-
es of vertebrata was exhibited by the compari-
son of

Cetacea, with Fishes,

Ruminantia , See. Reptiles,

Carnivora, S^c. Birds;

while man is the perfection and type of the
mamrniferous conformation.

Professor Agassiz then applied this prin-
ciple to illustrate the order and succession
of the groups in mammalia, by a reference
to the order in which the fossilized remains
of the vertebrata occur in the stratified
deposits: 1. fishes, 2. reptiles, 3. birds, 4.
mammalia. From the same consideration
results the following arrangement of the repre-
sentative groups among these last ; 1. cetacea,
2. ruminantia, &c., 3. carnivora, 4. man, who
thus in a twofold aspect becomes the culmi-
nant point of the animal creation.

ISINGLASS.

From the experiments made by Mr. Smith
in the United States, it appears that theintes-
tines of the fish the gadus merluccius furnish
the purest species of isinglass, (Journ. de
Pharm.) not inferior to that obtained from the
sturgeon. The swimming bladder of this fish
is laiger than that of other species of the same
family. It is cut out and washed with pure
water, and then dried in the sun. "When par-
tially dry it is pressed between wooden rollers
as thin as paper. The long stripes of isinglass
which are met with in commerce, are the
intestines of the gadus morrhua.f

SPONTANEOUS PLANTS.

Few things are more extraordinary than
the unusual appearance and development of
certain plants in certain circumstances. Thus,
after the great fire of London in 1666, the en-
tire surface ol the destroyed city was covered
with such a vast profusion of a species of a
cruciferous plant, the Sisymbrium irio of Lin-
naeus, that it was calculated that the whole of
the rest of Europe co\rld not contain so many
plants of it. It is also known that if a spring
of salt water makes its appearance in a spot,
even a great distance from the sea, the neigh-
bourhood is soon covered with plants peculiar
to a maritime locality, which plants, previous
to this occurrence, were entire strangers to the
country. Again, when a lake liappeus to dry
u !», the surface is immediately usurped by a
vegetation which is entirely peculiar, and quite
different from that which flourished on its for-
mer banks. When certain marshes of Zealand
were drained, the Carex cyperoides was observ-
ed in abundance, and it is known this is not
at all a Danish plant, but peculiar to the
north of Germany. — In a work upon the useful
Mosses by M. de Brebisson, which has been i
announced for some time, this botanist states |
that a pond in the neighbourhood of Falain

* Philosophical Magazine No. 43.
•1 Thomson’s Records, No. 3.

SIR JOHN HERSCHEL’S RESEARCHES AT THE CAPE.

333

having been rendered dry during many weeks
in ihe height of summer, the mud, in drying,
was immediately and entirely covered, to the
extent of many square yards, by a minute,
compact, green turf, formed of an impercep-
tible moss, the thaseum axillare, the stalks of
which were so close to each other, that upon
a square inch of this new soil, might he count-
ed more than five thousand individuals of this
minute plant, which had never previously been
observed in the country.*

BAROMETRICAL OBSERVATIOxNS,
By Sir John Herschel.

BAROMETRIC COMPARISONS.— Sir
J. Herschel’s fine mountain barometer having
been accurately compaied with the Standard
barometer of the Royal Society, accompanied
him in an extensive scientific tour which he
made through France, Germany, Switzeriend,
Italy, and Sicily, and was on that occasion
succesively compared with the other barome-
ters in the principal observatories of Europe.
On his return to England it was again compar-
ed with the Standard of the Royal Society,
and although it had ascended with Sir John to
the craters of Vesuvius and Etna, (in the latter
case “ under circumstances very trying to the
instrument,”) it was found to give the same
difference within the three-thousandth of an
inch as that obtained in the first instance be-
fore setting out. 2. In 1832, the same moun-
tain barometer was lent to Professor Hender-
son, on his going out as Astronomer Royal
to the Cape, and, having been compared both
on setting out, and again in the following year
on his return, the second difference was on this
occasion the sameas in the former case, — name-
ly, only the three-thousandth of an inch. 3. Be-
fore Sir John Herschel’s leaving England in
1833, it was again compared with the Royal
Society’s Standard, (giving the same diffeience
as before,) and, on his arrival at the Cape,
was compared with the barometer of the Roy-
al Observatory in that colony ; the determi-
nation of altitude in this latter instrument, as
compared with the Royal Society’s, by the
intermedium of the mountain barometer, be-
ing the same within the five-thousandth of an
inch as made on the former occasion by Pro-
fessor Henderson ; the mountain barometer
having, in the course of these comparisons,
made three voyages to and fiom the Cape.

EQUATORIAL DEPRESSION.-Sir
John Herschel, in the observations made dur-
ing his voyage out to the Cape, remarked the
interesting phenomenon, that “ the barome-
ter under the Equator has a lower mean alti-
tude than in north or south latitude, and that
the increase of altitude is steadily maintained
at least as far as either tropic— the equatorial
depression amounting to about two-tenths
of an inch. The physical cause is not far to
seek. It consists in the upward suction,
which is the immediate consequence of the
overflow of the equatorial atmospheric column
into the extia-tropical regions, and which is

♦ Jameson’s Journal, No. 39.

not immediately compensated by the under-
current of the Trades. It is a dynamical re-
sult, into which time enters as an essential
element. In this (as in the tides) equili-
brium is not established instanter, and this
gives room for the development of appie-
ciable differences of tension in diffeient parts
of ttie circuit.”

BAROMETRIC FLUCTUATION— Sir
John Herschel states tlrat he has, since his
arrival at the Cape, been collecting data for
an inquiry into the laws of barometric fluctua-
ation in those regions, and, having fortunately
met with a fine series of fifty-seven months’
observations by Capt. Bance, registered in
Cape Town, he has undertaken the labour
of reducing them. “They exhibit an ex-
tremely regular fluctuation of three-tenths of
an inch, by which the barometer stands higher
in July than in January. On the other hand,
by the Calcutta Registers, as published by
Priusep, for the last two years and a half,
it appears that the reverse obtains there,— the
barometer standing higher in January than
in July by about ‘5'i inch. Thus, it appears
that there is an annual bodily transfer of a
certain considerable mass of air from hemi-
sphere to hemisphere ; and of this, too, the
cause is obvious, being the more heated state
of that hemisphere over which the sun is
vertical, in comparison with that on which he
shines obliquely.”

FOOT-MARKS OF UNKNOWN ANI-
MALS AND BIRDS IN NEW RED

SAND STONE.

Our geological readers are familiar with
the description, by Dr. Duncan, of the traces
of animal impresstions in the new red sand-
stone of Dumfries-shire. Traces of un-
known animals have recently been detected
in a similar rock, at Hildburghausen, inThu-
ringia, by M. Lickler. Traces of four spe-
cies of different animals can be observed.
Two footmarks are always found together ;
one behind about six inches long, the other
before, only half as large. The toes are five.
The large toe is situated at a right angle in
relation to the others. The two large toes
of one pair of feet are directed always from
the same side, but the same toes of the fol-
lowing pair are directed in the opposite way.
The animal must, therefore, have ambled.
A remarkable feature is, that the pairs of feet
follow in a right line : — lienee the animals
must, when they walked, have raked the
earth. Count Munster considers them to
have been amphibia ; Weiss, on the contrary,
mammiferae ; while Link beleives them to
have been gigantic sauri, like the chameleon.
— (Bihliotheque Universelle, 1835, vol. ii.
399.)

The first traces of birds, however, in a
similar situation, have been discovered on the
banks of the Connecticut river, in Massa-
chusetts ; and described by Professor Hitch-
cock, of Amherst College. The appear-
ance presented is that of the feet of a bird
which had been walking in the mud. The

334

SCIENTIFIC MEETING AT THE GOVERNMENT HOUSE.

depressions are more or less perfect and deep ;
and have been made by an animal with two
feet, and usually three toes. In a few in-
stances a fourth, or hind toe, can be obser-
ved, not exactly in the rear, but inclining
somewhat inward ; and in one instance, the
toes all point forward. Sometimes these
ternate depressions run into one another, as
the toes approach the point of convergence,
but they also sometimes stop short of that
point, as if the animal had not sunk deep
enough to allow the heel to make an impres-
sion. Attached to the posterior impression,
there is frequently an appendage resembling
a tuft of hairs or bristles. In all cases, where
there are three toes pointing forwards, the
middle one is the longest. Mr. Hitchcock
found these impressions to correspond close-
ly with those formed by small species of re-
cent grallae, particularly snipes. He divides
the tracks in the sand-stone into 7 species,
under the genus Ornithichnites. 1 . Pachyd-
actyli ; O. giganteus ; O. tuberosus; Lepto-
dactyli; O. ingens ; O. diversus ; O. tetra^
dactylus ; O. palmatus; O. minimus. — {Sil-
liman's American Journal, xxix. 307.

1. SULPHURET OF NICKEL AND
BISMUTH.— This mineral is found in the
district of Syan Altenkirch, occurring along
with quartz and copper pyrites. It crystalli-
zes in octahedrons. Lustre metallic. Colour,
light steel gray. Hardness, between that of
fluor spar and apatite. Before the blow-pipe,
upon charcoal, it gives out in the oxydating
flame the odour of sulphurous acid, and after
being long exposed to the blast, leaves a me-
tallic-grain which is attracted by the magnet.
It affords no fumes of arsenic or antimony.
With soda, a sulphuret is obtained and a white
metallic grain which is magnetic. With bo-
rax, in the oxydating flame, a transparent
brown glass is formed ; in the reducing flame,
a gla«s possessing a similar colour but mixed
with precipitated nickel. With salt of phos-
phorus a brown glass is formed, which on
cooling, becomes faintly green. The specific
gravity could not be determined, in conse-
quence of the quartz with which it was mixed.
It dissolves readily in acids. Its constituents,
according to Kobell are, sulphur 38-40 ; nic-
kel 40-65 ; iron 3-48 ; cobalt 0-28 ; bismuth
14HI ; copper T68 ; lead T58. Its composi-
tion may be represented by 8 Nk SI .^Bs
^ A. - (Journal fur praktische Chemie, vi.
332.)

2. OERSTEDITE.— This mineral descri-
bed by Forchhammer, occurs at Avendal,
commonly seated in augite crystals. Colour,
brown-splendent. Crystals belonging to the
compound pyramidal system. The terminal
angle of the first pyramid is 123^ 16* 30
The shape has some resemblance to that of
Zircon, the angle of which is 123“^ 19'. Specific
gravity 3'629. Hardness, between felspar
and apatite. It consists of silica 19 708 ; lime
2 612; magnesia 2-047 ; protoxide of iron
1*136,; titanic acid and zirconia 68 965 ; water
5*532; manganese a trace. — (Poggendorff's
Ann, XXXV. 630.)

3. BIN-ARSENIET OF NICKEL.—
Mr. Booth has analyzed this mineral, from
Riechelsdorff, in Hess. Its colour is tin white
with a tinge of blueish gray. Fuses before
the blow-pipe into a metallic bead, giving out
arsenic and into a blue glass with borax. Its
constituents are, nickel 20-74 ; cobalt 3*37;
iron 3 -25; arsenic 72-64. The nickel and
cobalt were separated according to the method
of Laugier, that of Phillips having failed after
repeated trials. — (Silliman's Journal, xxix,
241.)

THE INDIA REVIEW.

Calcutta: November 15, 1836.

LORD AUCKL.4ND’S SCIENTIFIC P.4RTY

AT THE

GOVERNMENT HOUSE.

At a period when Science and the Arts are
throwing their dazzling light over all parts of
Europe, by the operations of that splendid in-
stitution, the British Association, it is with no
common feelings of exultation and delight that
we behold the dawning of a similar era in Bri-
tish India ; the more so when the avenues
are seen to open at the residence of the first
person in these realms. By this act the Go-
vernor General is infusing in the bosoms of
the people under his rule a spirit of emula-
tion and rivalry, in the glorious strife
for new discoveries promotive of good as
regards Science, the Arts, and the prosperity
of our eastern possessions.

On the 8th Instant there was a party at
the Government House, to which, gentlemen |
of scientific pursuits and attainments were in- j
vited, with the view of bringing forward in-
teresting discoveries regarding General
Science.

This portion of our Editorial matter is so
nearly being printed off, that we can give
but a faint sketch of what occurred on this
occasion. Among some beautiful collections
in Conchology, Botany, Hindoo Sculpture ;
drawings by Hodgson, MacClelland, and
Cantor on Nepal, Assamese, and Bengal
Zoology, there was a splendid cabinet of
insects, collected and prepared by the in-
genious and talented curator of the Asiatic
Society, Mr. Pearson.

DR. McClelland a zealous geologist.

335

The socket of the thigh bone of the ele-
phant, taken out of a rock at Seoonee by our
intelligent and esteemed friend George
Spilsbury, Esq. and plans of the building to
celebrate the never to be forgotten Libera-
tion of the Indian Press were on the table
and rigidly criticised and surveyed. By the
way, we must not omit to mention that this
was the best proof, which the Noble Host
could give of his sentiments regarding
his countryman and predecessor’s proudest
boast^ — The Liberty of the Press.

May this ever be the motto of the Go-
vernment House, in the capital of India.
But for the freedom of the press , science would
have been smothered in its infancy by those
who are the persecutors and oppressors of
the advocates of free discussion.

The entertainments of the evening com-
menced on the entrance of Lord Auckland,
when Dr. O’Shaughnessy exhibited a working
model of a machine made by himself, pro-
ducing moving power by the application
of electro -magnetic influence. The Reverend
Mr. McCauley of the British Association
exhibited the working model of a machine
for producing this power, and which is des-
cribed at page 137 of our Journal, to which
we must refer our readers. The exhibition
of the model by Mr. McCauley was received
with sincere and reiterated applause, and
many scientific men present expressed san-
guine expectations of the value of the me-
thod in a practical point of view : a similar
feeling was evinced by the whole of the
Governor General’s party, on witnessing
the ingenious working model of another
machine by Dr. O’Shaughnessy. The sub-
ject is one of the highest importance. We
beg to call the attention of our readers to two
papers, in our present number on the ap-
plication of electrico- magnetic power to
mechanics : one is illustrated by a lithogra-
phic drawing of the instrument originally
constructed by Mr. Saxton, but improved
upon by Mr. Watkins. Our last accounts
mention that it is exhibited at the Gallery
of Practical Science ; for contrivance, the
writer adds, none can vie either in simpli-
city or in beauty of design.

But to return to the party, — at another
table, to which, in consequence of the crowd,
we could not obtain access, we understand
the galvanic force from the ordinary magnet

was developed by an ingenious apparatus
belonging to Mr. J. Prinsep. Water was
decomposed, and other interesting powers
of the magnet shown.

As taste becomes pure, meetings of the
nature we have described, will be the means of
bringing forth a diversity of genius — to the
exercise of faculties which otherwise would
have lain dormant — to the meditation on the
labours of others, which would otherwise
never have been thought of, and finally
lead to the enchanting paths of distinction
and celebrity, marking the superiority of
intellectual, solid, and real pleasures
over those of a frivolous and trifling nature,
where the mind is never beneficially and
fully developed.

We know there are men in this country
who will differ from us in regard to our
expectations as to the great ulterior good to
be derived from Lord Auckland’s scientific
parties. There are some who conceive that
in India there is a deficiency of genius and
talent. Granting the aspersion as just by way
of argument,yet we repeat the encouragement
will inspire what D. ’Israelii, calls scientific
industry, — “ the art which seizes, as if it
were, with the rapidity of inspiration, what-
ever it discovers in the works of others, which
may enrich its own stores ; which knows by
a quick apprehension what to examine and
what to imbibe ; and which receives an atom
of intelligence, from the minds of others, on
its own mind, as an accidental spark, falling
on a heap of nitre, is sufiicient to raise a
powerful blaze.”

Dr. McClelland.

It is with great regret we learn that this
zealous geologist is about to return to his
regiment, on account of the Mission, of
which he was a member, being dissolved. Is
a man of his scientific acquirements, which
we have so fully shown in our review of his
valuable work on the Geology of Kemaon, to
be circumscribed in the great work of scien-
tific research and instruction ? Are his
capabilities of advancing the cause of Science
by developing the latent resources of this
country to be confined within the narrow
walls of a native regimental hospital ? Science
has surely stronger claims, and at least for
her sake, we earnestly and sincerely hope
they may be attended to.

33G

DR. THOMSON ON MANGANESE.

PROGRESS OF SCIENCE,

AS APPLICABLE TO THE ARTS AND MANUFACTURES; TO COMMERCE.
AND TO AGRICULTURE.

METHOD OF DETERMINING I’HE
VALUE OF BLACK OXIDE OF MAN-
GANESE FOR MANUFACTURING,
PURPOSES. By Thomas Thomson,
M.D., F.R.S., L. AND E. Regius Pro-
fessor of Chemistry in the University of
Glasgow.

The manganese to ‘be tested must be re-
duced to a fine powder or brought into the
state in which it is used by the manufactur-
ers of bleaching-powder. To determine its
value, proceed in the following manner :

Into a balance Florenced flask put 600
grains of water, and 75 grains of crystals of
oxalic acid. Then add 50 grains of the man-
ganese to be tested ; and, as quickly as pos-
sible, pour into the flask from 150 to 200
grains of concentrated sulphuric acid. This
is best done by having a given weight of sul-
phuric acid, say 210 grains previously weigh-
ed out in a glass measure, counterpoised on
one of the scales of a balance. You pour
into the flask as much of the sulphuric acid
as you can conveniently. Then, putting the
measure again into the scale, you determine
exactly how much has been put in.

A lively effervescence takes place, and
carbonic acid gas is disengaged in abundance.

Cover the mouth of the flask with paper,
and leave it for 24 hours ; then weigh it
again. The loss of weight which the flask has
sustained isexactly equal to the quantity of
hinoxide of manganese in the powder exami-
ned. Thus, let the loss of weight be 34
grains ; the quantity of binoxide of manga-
nese in the 50 grains of the powder which was
tested will be 34 grains ; or it will contain
68 per cent, of pure binoxide of manganese,
and 32 per cent, of impurity.

To understand what takes place, it is ne-
cessary to recollect that oxalic acid is com-
posed of 2 atoms carbon 1*5;3 atoms oxy-
gen 3 ; total 4‘5; and that binoxide of man-
ganese is composed of 1 atom manganese 3'5;

2 atoms oxygen 2 ; total 5'5.

The oxalic acid acts on the binoxide by
abstracting one-half of its oxygen, which
converts it into carbonic acid ; hence the
effervescence. 55 grains of pure binoxide of
manganese would give out 10 grains of oxy-
gen, which would convert 45 grains of oxa-
lic acid into 55 grains of carbonic acid
which escaping, indicate, by the loss of
weight, the quantity of carbonic acid formed.
Nows it happen, that the weight of thecarbo-
nic acid formed isexactly equal to the quanti-
ty of binoxide of manganese which gives out
its oxygen to the oxalic acid. Hence, the
reason of the accuracy of the test.

In other words, an integral particle of bin-
oxide of manganese, which weighs 5'5, gives
out 1 atom of oxygen. This atom of oxygen
combines with an integrant particle of oxalic
acid, weighing 4;5, and converts it into two
integrant particles of carbonic acid, which
both together weigh 5.5. As this carbonic
acid escapes, the loss of weight must be just
equal to the quantity of binoxide of manga-
nese in the powder subjected to experiment.

In practice, I find that a small quantity of
the binoxide of manganese sometimes escapes
the action of the oxalic acid, being probably
screened by the great quantity of impurity
with which it is mixed. But the deficiency
of carbonic acid occasioned by this is about
made up by the moisture which the carbonic
acid gas carries off along with it. 1 his ren-
ders the error in general trifling.

It will be proper to subjoin an example or
two of the method of proceeding, to enable
the reader to judge of the goodness of this
test, and its value to the manufacturer.

The black oxide of manganese employed
was subjected to analysis, and found com-
posed of Binoxide of manganese 68.49 Pero-
xide of iron 11.85 ; Water 5.6;8 earthy mat-
ter 13.98 ; total. 100.00

Experiment 1.

Put into the flask — Water 599 grs.

Oxalic acid . , 75,

Black oxide . . 50,
Sulphuric acid 1 84 ,

Total . . 908

Loss of weight 32'5 grains. It ought to
have been 34-245 grains. Eri’or 1'745 grains.

; Experiment 2.

Put into the flask — Water 600 grs.

Oxalid acid . 75,
Black oxide . 50,

Sulphuric acid 154,

Total 879

Loss of weight 34-5 grains. It ought to
have been 34.245 grains. Here the error is
in excess, and.amounts to 0*255 grains.

Experiment 3.

Put into the flask — Water 600 grs.

Oxalid acid 75
Black oxide. 50
Sulphuric acid 154*1

Total 879*1

Loss of weight 35 grains. Here also the
error was in excess, and amounted to 0.755
grains.

APPLICATION OF ELECTRICO-MAGNETIC POWER TO MECHANICS. 337

Let us take the mean of these three expe-
riments :

Loss of weight by 1st .. .. 32*5 grs.

2nd 34*5

3rd 35-0

3)102

Mean 34 grains-.

Here the error amounts to 0*245 grains
which is considerably less than 1 per cent. If,
therefore, three trials be made, the error will
be under 1 percent. ; so that the method is quite
sufficient to indicate very nearly the quantity
of binoxide of manganese in any ore. Now, it
is the binoxide of manganese alone that is
useful to the manufacturer; the sesqui-oxide
and red oxide availing very little in the pre-
paration of chlorine, for which almost alone
the ore is used by manufacturers.

I tried various other proportions of the
ingredients, but found the preceding the
best. I tided, also, the effect of rubbing up
in a mortar the oxalic acid and black oxide.
But the error is least when the oxalic acid
is merely poured into the water, and the
black oxide added before the acid is dissol-
ved. Unless the sulphuric acid be added
last, we cannot be sure of our weights.'

ON THE APPLICAllON OF ELEC-
d RIGO-MAGNETIC POWER TO
MECHANICS.

By M. J. D. Botto, Turin.

The singular energy with which magnetic
action is developed in soft iron, under the in-
fluence of electi icily in motion, is well known.

As the possibility of applying this new power
to mechanical purposes involves a subject of
much interest, 1 have been induced to make
known tlie results which 1 have obtained.*
The mechanism which 1 employed consists
of a lever put in motion, after the fashion of a
melronom, l>y the alternate action of two fixed
electiico-magnetic cylinders, operating upon a
third cylinder which is moveable, and attached
to the lower arm of the lever, whilst the su-
perior arm maintains a constant swinging
movement; which is regulated, in llie ordi-
nary method, by a metallic wheel.

'I'he apparatus was so disposed, tliat the axes
of the three cylindeis, all i erfectly equal, be-
ing situated in the same vertical plane, and
perpendicular to the axis of motion, the
oscillatoiy cylinder, by one of its extremi-
ties, alternatively came in contact witli, and
in tlie direction of, the one or liie other
of the other two cylinders, placed at the ex-
treme limits of its movements ; and each time,
at this very in-tant, the direction of the mag-
netiaing current in its spiral was changed, toe
lest of the circuit maintaining the same diiec-

* I may here I’emark, that the expectancy of
giving a wider range to my experiments, and
also my being under the necessity of leaving
town, have produced considerable delay iu tbe
pu lication of these facts. I have now, how-
ever, determined to announce them, from hav-
ing seen in the last num' er of Gazette Piemon-
faise, that M. Jacobi of Konigsberg has suc-
ceeded iu obtaining perpetual motion simply
by means of electrico-magnetic influence.

tion, so as to produce poles of the same name
with those in the fixed cylinders, at the two
extremities, situated in relation with the moving
cylinder. The change of direction, which we
have just been mentioning, is obtained with
the help of a piece of mechanism, on the prin-
ciple of a balance, and known under the name
of a Bascule, where the very movement of the
macliine itself inverts the communications.

It is clear that, on account of this arrange-
ment, the middle cylinder must undergo al-
ternating agreeing influences of attraction
and repulsion, in virtue of which the mecha-
ni.sm puts itself in motion, to all appearance
spontaneously, and so actively maintains it. .
by the arrangement of the magnetic force.s
which incite it, and which are sustained by
the electrical currents.

I have tried to succeed without the spiral
of the middle cylinder, by making the two
fixed magnetized cylinders alternately act
upon it. An adhesion, however, which con-
tinued alter the ce-isation of the magnetic
currents, very much diminished the mechani-
cal effect; whilst, on the other hand, in the
other arrangement, the adhesion not only
ceased, but was converted to a certain extent
into repulsion, with a rapidity equal to that
of the current itself, which, scarcely for an
instant interrupted by the play of the (bascule)
pendulum, precipitated itself (the com-
munication being inverted) into the spiral of
the middle cylinder, in a contrary way to its
former direction, at the same time resuming
its ordinary course in the other two spirals.

The niovemeni of the lever, and of the
regulator, resulting from this arrangement,
IS perfectly free. Commencing slowly, it
speedily and by degrees acquires the maxi-
mum of the velocity which the energy of the
curients wliich produce it allows of, a velo-
city which is then maintained as equally as
the intensity of the cu: rent itself, and as long
as the electrical influence is preserved.*

On the piesent occasion 1 shall say no-
thing concetning some observations 1 had
made upon the employment of various acid
and salute solutions, and also of sea-waier.

Much inteiest is excited by the contempla-
tion of these novel effects of a power, which
exhibits itself in a manner so different from
that seen in most other bodies ; and we are
almost tempted to anticipate flattering results
from those ulterior applications, to which
the management of this mysterious agent
may lead.f

♦ There is a great similarity ,both as it regards
the gener'al arrangement of the apparatus
and the nature of the moving principle, between
the mechanism of M. Botto and the electrical
clock ofM. Zamboiii. This clock is put in mo-
tion I y a pendulum, which is a Iternately at-
tracted and repelled by the poles of two dry
galvanic piles, wliich are known under the
name of Zami.oni’s piles.

+ The Chevalier.s Avogrado and Bidare, who
have both seen the apparatus in movement,
have given expression to their surprise, not
so much on account of the novelty of the fact,
as on account of the speculations it suggested
to those aide men. respecting the general con-
nexion which might subsist between this sim-
ple result and the progress of science and me-
chanism.

338

IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR ANATOMISTS.

The dimensions of the apparatus justdes-
cribed are very inconsiderable, and such that
the current arising from fifteen plates, Pinches
square, can produce the movement. J he
electro-dynamic cylinders, which principally
determine the limits of the mechanical effect,
are 4 inches in length, and about half an inch
in diameter ; they are surrounded by a spiral
thread 130 feet long, of the thickness of about
the fiftieth of an inch. The lever is of wood :
the superior and inferior arms are respectively
of the lengths of 14 and 3 inches; the extent of
the oscillations is 15 degrees. In fine, the
regulator weighs about 5 pounds, and the
entire weight of the whole is about 11 pounds.

Considerations, which readily offer them-
selves on a comparison of the maximum mag-
neto-mechanic effect of this apparatus, and the
size of its different parts, have suggested the
substitution for the cylinder of the ordinary
horse-shoe form of electrico-magnetic bars,
and the augmentation, within certain limits,
of the number and size of these bars, and also
of the length cf the spirals.

As I have not finished my experiments on
this subject, I shall at present confine my-
self to the statement of the foregoing facts;
which I have thought it expedient to publish,
not only on general scientific ground?, but
also because the study of the new kind of
effects to which it belongs, may be consi-
dered as fruitful of important mechanical
results.*

PRESERVATION OF ANIMAL
MATTER.

At a late meeting of the Asiatic Society, a
human hand, and apiece of beef, preserved by
means of preparation of vegetable tar, fourid
on the borders of the Red Sea, in the vicinity
of Mocha, and a specimen of the tar, were pre-
sented by Lieutenant-Colonel Bagnold. Jn
an accompanying letter Colonel Bagnold ob-
served— “ During my residence as Political
Agent on the Red Sea, a conversation witii
some Bedouin Arabs, in the vicinity of Mocha,
led me to suspect that the principal ingre-
dient used by the ancient Egyptians in the for-
mation of mummies was nothing more than
the vegetable tar of those countries, called by
the Arabs fettfraun. My first trials were on
fowls and legs of mutton, and which, though
in the month of July, and the thermomete r
ranging 94^ in the shade, succeeded so much to
my satisfaction, that I forwarded some to Eng-
land ; and have now the pleasure to send, lot
the Society’s information and inspection, a
human hand, prepared four years ago by rny
brother, Captain Thomas Bagnold. The best-
informed among the native Arabs think that
large quantities of camphor, myrrh, aloes, and
frankincense, were used ; these specimens will,
however, prove that such were by no means
necessary, as the tar, when applied alone,
penetrates and discolours the bone, The tar
IS obtained from the branches of a small tree,
or shrub, exposed to a considerable degree of
heat, and found in most parts of Syria and Ara-
bia Felix.” — AthencKum.

* Jameson’s Journal, No. 85.

SPECIFICATION OF THE PATENT
GRANTED TO JAMES CHERRY, OF
THE CITY OF COVENTRY, PAINTER,
CARVER, AND GILDER, FOR CER-
TAIN IMPROVEMENTS ON BED-
STEADS OR APPARATUS APPLICA-
BLE FOR THE EASE AND COMFORT
OF INVALIDS AND OTHERS.

Sealed January 15, 1835.

WITH AN ENGRAVING.

■with the said proviso, I. the said James
Cherry, do hereby declare the nature of my
said invention, and the manner in which the
same is to be performed, are fully described
and ascertained in and by the following des-
cription thereof, reference being had to the
drawings hereunto annexed, and to the figures
and letters marked thereon, (that is to
say) : —

My invention consists in certain arrange-
ments of apparatus and machinery attached
to bedsteads or other frame work applicable
to repose, by which a greater degree of ease
and comfort is imparted when the body is
in the recumbent posture, and by which the
position of the body may undergo vari-
ous changes with less trouble and inconve-
nience. But in order that my invention may
be most fully understood, I will describe the
drawings hereunto annexed.

BEDSTEADS FOR INVALIDS.

339

Fig, 1, shews a side view of a bedstead.
A, A, is the standard frame, b, is the bed
frame resting upon the standard frame, to
which it is attached by hinges (marked a),
c, is a frame to elevate the knees, placing
the limbs on a double inclined plane, the
frame is raised in the centre or knee point
(which is rule jointed) by turning with the-
windlass to the left hand. The roller mark
ed, D, round which is a belt or strap attached
to the bottom of the quadrant marked, e,
as the roller turns round the strap, draws up
the quadrant, and raises the knee-frame to
what elevation i s required. A ratchet-wheel
is fixed upon the roller, d, and is stayed by a
catch when the frame is at the required height.
G, shows the position of the knee-frame
when not in use. h, is the bed-rest or frame
for raisingthebody. i, is a roller and ratchet-
wheel with strap round the roller attached to
the bottom of the quadrant, J. By turning
the roller to the right the quadrant is drawn
up and raises the bed-rest at the head, which
is also stayed when at its required elevation
by the catch and ratchet, j, J, shews the
bed-rest when not in use. K, shews one of
two quadrants attached to the bed-frame,
one on each side, l, is a roller, on which
are two straps one attached to each qua-
drant, K. On the roller l, are also two wheels
or drums three times the diameter of the
roller ; round each wheel or drum is another
strap, which is also attached to the roller
marked, m, on which roller is a ratchet-
wheel ; the roller, m, is the moving power
when it is turned to the right hand, the straps,
connected to it, and the power- wheels or drums
on, L, revolve the roller, L; and by the straps
on, L. attached to the quadrants, k, the whole
bed-frame is elevated at the head turning
upon the hinged pivot (a) , but which will be
better understood by referring to drawing,
fig. 2. The necessity of two rollers and
power- wheels in this movement is obvious.
The -weight of the bed-frame and machinery,
together with the bedding and the body
would be too great for a single power. Thus
by adding a second roller with power-wheels,
the force required to raise the bed frame is
reduced in the same proportion as the roller,
M, is to the power-wheel, l, or one third
the position of the quadx-ants, k, j, and e ;
the rollers, straps, drums, ratchets, &c. will
be more clearly comprehended by referring to
fig. 3, that being a ground plan, n, shews
one of two cylinders running lengthwise one
on each side the bed-frame. These cylinders
revolve each upon an axis running through
them, the pivots of the axis acting in the
head and foot boards of the bed-frame mark-
ed, o and p. The axis is fixed by a ratchet-
wheel and catch at the foot end marked, o,.
Inside each cylinder are two springs upon the
chronometer principle, but proportionately
stronger, one near each end. The springs
are attached like those of the chronometer
to the axis and to the cylinder. The bed
sacking is attached to the cylinders, being
three times the width of the bed-frame, one
third of the sacking is wound round each
cylinder, the other occupies the space be-

tween them ; when the springs are set up,
which is done by winding the axles by the
windlass (a) outwards or right and left from
the centre, the sacking is drawn tight, as is
shewn by dotted lines from each cylinder in
figs. 4 and 5. The bedstead is thus ready
for use, and the bedding is made up on it in
the usual way. When you lay down upon
the bed, the weight of your body causes
each cylinder to revolve inwardly upon its axis
(which is fixed by the ratchet and catch), and
according to the strengh vrith which the
springs are set up, the sacking with the bed-
ding is compressed to a concave of any depth
from three'to twelve inches (see fig. 4, dotted
lines), the body riding in anundulating motion
supported by the springs, and the back being
relieved from pressure, which is imparted
equally to the sides and shoulders. Vv^hen the
position of the body requires changing, set
the axis of either cylinder at liberty by press-
ing upon the windlass, r, fig. 1, and freeing
the ratchet from the catch, then gently let
the cylinder revolve with the axle until the
sacking, &c. is received by the concave plat*
form (described by the double line in fig. 4.).
The weight is now supported by the platform,
and the springs of the cylinders are kept
inactive by bolting the catches oif the rat-
chets. As the bedstead is now arranged, the
body may undergo the various changes by
revolving the cylinder, a, fig. 4, outwards ;
the sacking which occupies the space across
the platform, and on which the bedding and
the body rest, coils round the cylinder, and its
place is su; plied by the sacking from the
cylinder, b, fig. 4. The bedding is cai-ried with
the sacking over the cylinder, a, whilst the
body gently turns in the concave, and is placed
on its right side ; one revolution of the cylin-
der effects this, and a second ; places the
body on its chest. A counteraction on the
cylinder, B, produces the same changes on
the left side ; a change of bed and bedding is
thus effected. On a table placed along side
the bedstead, make up the fresh bedding in
the usual way, but intersecting it with the
bedding already in use. The fresh bed and
sheet being placed over the cylinder and un-
der the bed in use, wrapping under about
twelve inches ; thus prepared, revolve the op-
posite cylinder outwards, this draws the
sacking over the platform, the two beds and
bedding going with it. That in use is drawn
over the cylinder on to the floor, and its place
is occupied by the fresh supply with the pa-
tient on it, he having gently turned over once
during the change, x, shevrs the bed-pan and
groove frame in which it slides.

Fig. 2, shews the bedstead w^hen converted
into an easy chair. First raise the knee-frame
to an angle of forty-five degrees, w^hich is
marked on the quadrant; this forms the
chair-seat ; next raise the bed-rest to an an-
gle of thirty degrees (also marked on the qua-
drant) ; this forms the chair back. Lastly,
elevate the bed- frame to forty-five degrees
(also marked on the quadrant) and chair is
complete.

Fig. 3, is a ground plan shewing the posi-
tions of the vaious rollers, straps, drums,

340

WATKIN’S ON MAGNETO-ELECTRIC INDUCTION.

ratchets, and quadrants, the whole of which
have been already explained in the reference
to fig. I. The spaces marked by the dotted
lines are the knee-frame, c, c. And the bed-
rest, H, H. The circle marked, x,is the aper-
ture in the platform under which the bed-pan
is placed.

Fig. 4, is a section of the bed-frame at the
head board, a, b, shews the two cylinders,
c, D, the side posts (marked b in fig. 1 ) e is the
roller extending across the bed-frame by which
the bed-rest, f, f, is raised, g, is a portion
of the quadrant ; the double black line shews
the concave platform, the diagonal lines shew
the bearers of the platform, those bearers
resting upon the bed-frame; the top dotted
line from the cylinders shews the line of sack-
ing when strained by the springs and free
from the pressure of the body ; the other
lines shew different degrees of compression by
the body according to its weight or the
strength with which the springs are set up.

Fig. 5, shews a section of the foot board
platform, and knee-frame.

Fig. C, represents a portable bed-rest affix-
ed on the bedstead as it may be wanted
occasionally, a, is a frame of brass or other
metal supported by a standard (also of metal)
marked, b, which is secured to the outside of
the bed-frame at, f. The frame, a, is at-
tached to the standard, b, by a pivot on which
it turns, c, is a quardrant by which the bed-
rest is raised at the head, actuated by a roller
and strap, o. e, shows the lied-rest when
elevated ; a coi responding frame is on the
other bed-post, and the two are connected at
the head by a board marked, a, fig. 7. To
the board, a, are fixed two quadrants, c, c,
fig. 7, actuated as has been already explained
by the roller, b, fig. 7, and d, fig. 6. The
upper bar of the frame runs parallel with the
top of the cylinder. A sacking is laid across
from cylinder to cylinder, and, passing over
the top bars of the frame is fastened to the
lower bar by straps upon studs, which are
described by the four dots.

Fig. 7, shews the head of the portable bed-
rest. A, is the board connecting the two
metal side frames, b. is the roller, c, c, the
quadrants, d, d, shews the ends of the metal
side-frames which sweep round the tops of
the cylinders from, f, to h. e, e, are the top
bars. F, F, the lower bars and studs, g, is
the sacking of the bed-rest, extended across
the bedstead, and strapped to the studs of the
lower bars, f, f.

'J he bed sacking, as before stated, is required
three times the width of the bedstead ; in the
sacking are two apertures each correspond-
ing with that in the platform, x, fig. 3.
These apertures are four feet distant from
each other, or two feet each from the centre, ,
so that when the sacking is stretched across,
one aperture appears on each cylinder. When
the bedstead is preparing for use, care must
be taken to have one aperture in the sacking
immediately over that in the platform. This
will cause more sacking to be on one cylinder
than on the other, and it is on that side that
the change bedding is to be made up, and

which is denoted to tlie attendant by a red
mark on the sacking at tlie foot of the c\ Un-
der when a change of bedding is effected, the
other aperture is over the centre and the bulk
of sacking is on the opposite cylinder, whiclj
is also denoted by the red mark, l lris is an
infallible guide to the attendant to that side
on which the change bed is to be made up,
tor was it to be made upon the wrong side,
there would not be a sufficiency of sacking
to permit the change to be completed.

For evacuation, the bed or mattress has an
aperture in it corresponding with the others.
This is closed by a cushion to fit when not
wanted, the bed-pan slides under the bedstead
immediately under the aperture, x, fig. I.
When wanted for use. revolve either cylinder
till the patient is placed on his side, the
cushion is then taken out, and the body re-
placed on the back.

Having thus described the nature of my
invention, and the manner of constructing
and using the same, I would observe that I
lay no claim to any of the parts separately of
which the apparatus is composed, they being
separately well known and in use. 1 there-
fore only claim as my invention the application
of the above combination of mechanical
powers to a new and specific purpose, as
herein represented and described, without
confining myself to the use of any particular
mateiial, or any particular fashion in the
construction of the apparatus.— In witness
whereof, &c.

Enrolled July 15, 1835.

MAGNETO-ELECTRIC INDUCTION.

By Mr. F. Watkins.

The production of motion by magneto-
electricity is not new, many philosophers
having already suggested and prepared vari-
ous mechanical contrivances by which a body
might be made to move continuously by mag-
neto-electric agency.

Among the contrivances with which I am
acquainted, none can vie, either in simplicity
or in beauty of design, with that which ema-
nated from the ingenuity of Mr. Saxton. The
instrument as originally constructed by him
may be daily seen in operation at the Gallery
of Practical Science in Adelaide Street.

Having been, as you know, for a long time
extensively engaged in the construction of
electio-dynamic and magneto-electrical ap-
paratus, on seeing Mr. Saxton’s machine,!,
with his permission, immediately commenced
making one nearly after his fashion, and af-
terwards conceived that it might be made to
show an increased number of phenomena.
Following out my ideas experimentally, I ob-
tained distinct revolutions from eight magne-
tic needles, together with the vibration of a
ninth. 1 am not aware that a multiplication
of motion to this extent has been achieved be-
fore ; indeed, by applying a second electro-
magnetseventeen bodies might be put in mos.
tion at the same time, and by a judicious ar-
rangement even more.

WATKIN’S MAGNETO-ELECTRIC INDUCTION.

341

Tiie drawing vfliich accompanies this cora-
niunication represents my apparatus. In ar-
rangement it varies very little from that of
Mr. Saxton’s, the difference being merely in
this respect, that Mr. Saxton places the axis
wdiich carries his main revolving permanent
magnet outside of the electro-magnet, while
my axis is situated inside. The only advan-
tage I obtained is that the apparatus is much
more compact. Were this all I have to ad-
vance on the subject, I sliould not trouble
you with tlie present communication ; but as
I have added seven permanent magnets in
different situations, and succeeded in obtain-
ing continued rotatory motion in all. I con-
ceive that 1 have thus rendered the magnetic
tov somewhat more interesting.

The rev>)lving magnets I have had in mo-
tion foreleven hours without superintendence,

and they were only stopped when my worlc-
shop was closed for the day. The chemical
action on the copper and zinc elements of the
voltaic battery employed to induce polarity
in the soft iron by means of the copper wiie.
surrounding it, is produced merely by salt and
water (not nearly so strong as sea water);
and I have a solution of this kind constantly
in use. which has been nuxed above a month,
and when the metallic elements are now
placed in it. the magneto-electric machine in
question acts without sensible diminution of
force.

The pendulum and suspended magnetic
needles of this toy at times exhibit in a beau-
tiful experiment of M. Plateau recordeil in
Correspondence Mathematiqne et Physique,
par M. Quetelel, tom. vi, p, 70 (1830).

(a). A piece of soft iron bent in the form
of a horseshoe magnet, paitly surrounded as
at A by copper w’ire covered with silk in the
usual manner.

(c) . A permanent magnetic needle revolv-
ing on an axis as represented in the figure,
which axis has a contrivance of points dip-
ping successively into a divided cup of mercu-
ry, oue division of which is in connexion with
the zinc element. The cup for the mercury
cannot conveniently be shown in this figure,
but it is placed so that the points on the axis,
which have the efFect of changing the current
in the copper wire enveloping each arm or
branch of the soft iron, may dip into it suc-
cessively as the axis rotates.

(d) . A cup of mercury connected with one
end of the copper wire coiled on the arms of
the soft iron, while the other end of the wire
is immersed in a similar cup situated at the
other end of the axis, which it was impossible
to show in the figure.

. (eeeeee). Traversing magnetic needles;
two, e S, revolve in a horizontal plane, the
five former in a vertical plane.

(/). A pendulum, consisting of a magnetic
bar suspended by one end, which oscillates as
already described.

(g ^ g)’ A. mahogany stand or base for
supporting the apparatus.’^

SAFETY OF LEAD PIPES PROTECTED
BY TIN.

(Extract of a letter from Mr. G. Chilton,
dated Neio-York, June 23, 1834.^

Dear Sir, — Obseiving, in a late number,
a notice of E w bank's tinned lea l pipes,

and having- had many applications for infor-
mation concerning tlie danger attending the
use of metal pipes for conveying water, beer,
cider, &c., I have been induced to subject the
pipes of Ewbank to a lew trials, for the pur-
pose of ascertaining whether, from the occa-
sional contact of acids, any deleterious solu-
tion of lead would attend their ordinary use.

^ Abridged fijom the Philosophical Magazine,
No. 38.

349

IMPORTANT DISCOVERIES.

It is well known, that the common beer
pump, with a leaden pipe, has frequently
given to the liquor a dangerous impregnation,
especially after remaining stagnant for a time,
and the beer in a sour state. The substitution
of block tin would remove the apprehension
of danger, but its greater price offers a strong
temptation to the use of lead. It appears to
me that the lead lube lined with tin will an-
swer the ends of cheapness, safety, and
durability. I would therefore invite your
attention to the following experiments, which,
if you think them of any importance to the
public, you may insert in your Journal.

Experiments. — Various portions of lead
tube, coated, some with pure tin, and others
with different alloys of tin and lead, were
bent into the form of a semi-cii cle, and filled
with vinegar of different degrees of strength.
After standing, some a month, and others six
weeks, with occasional disturbance, the clear
solutions were tested, first with sulphate of
soda, and afierwaids with bihydro-sulphuret
of ammonia. The application of the first of
these tests, namely sul. soda, produced no
alteration in any of the solutions, from which
it must be inferred that they contained no
lead.

The application of the second test produ-
ced, as was anticipated, a brown precipitate
of sulphuret of tin. In the same manner,
two fresh pieces of tube were filled with a
strong solution of common salt, which re-
mained in contact for some time. The solu-
tions, when assayed with the same tests, show-
ed that notliing but a little tin was dis-
solved.

It appears that in all these cases, which I
regard as galvanic effects, the tin was the most
oxidahle metal, although, when not under the
influence of polar arrangement and in the open
air, lead appears to oxidiate sooner than tin.
It is scarcely necessary to lemind you that re-
sults similar to these were obtained thirty
years ago by thecelebrated Professor Proust,
at Madrid, who undertook for the Spanish
Government an extensive seriesof experiments
on the different alloys of lead and tin, with
the express view of determining whether the
popular prejudices against the coating of cop-
per vessels with an alloy of tin and lead,
which is the common practice, was ill or well
founded. Nothing can be more satisfactory
than the conclusions he drew from his labours,
namely that as, in all his numerous experi-
ments, neither lead nor copper were dissolved,
there is little reason to fear the solution of
lead from the tinning of our kitchen utensils.
I may just mention here, that I am in the
habit of cleaning out my soda fountain every
spring with dilute muriatic acid, which uni-
formly dissolves the oxide of tin without
touching the copper, which 1 am persuaded
will remain as securely as the sheathing cop-
per in Sir Humphrey Davy’s great experi-
ment, and for the same reason.— /Immcan
Journal of Science and Arts,

METHOD OF MAKING CAPILLARY
TUBES IN METAL.

For gas-burners, for the safe combustion of
mixtures of oxygen and hydrogen, and forother
purposes, it is often desirable to divide the
end of the discharge-pipe into fine capillary
tubes, of the depth of half an inch or more.
It is difficult and expensive to bore such
apertures ift a piece of solid metal, and it is
hardly possible to he executed at all, if the
apertures are required to be of very small
diameter.

Two new methods of producing such capil-
lary tubes have been communicated to the
Society of Arts — one by Mr. J. Roberts, of
Queen-street, Cheapside, and the other by
Mr. Henry Wilkinson, of Pall Mall — which
are thus described in the last Part of the So-
ciety’s Transactions: —

Mr. Roberts’s Method.

“ Mr, Roberts very ingeniously and expe-
ditiously subdivides the end of a. metal pipe
into small tubes of any required depth, by
means of pinion-wire. Pinion-wire is made
by taking a cylindrical wire of soft steel, and
passing it through a draw-plate of such, a
figure as to form on its surface deep grooves
in the direction of radii to the axis of the
wire: the ribs which separate these grooves
from one another may be considered as leaves
or teeth, and of such wire, when cut into pro-
per lengths, are made the pinions used by
watchmakers. Hence arises the name by
which this wire is commonly known. If now
a piece of this wire be driven into the end of
a brass pipe of such a size as to make a close
fit with it, it is evident that part of the
pipe has thus been subdivided into as many
smaller tubes as there are grooves in the wire.
By using a draw-plate fitted to make smaller
and shallower and more numerous giooves
than are required in common pinion-wire, it
is manifest that wires or cores may be pro-
duced, which, when driven into metal pipes,
as already described, will subdivide them into
capillary tubes of almost any degree of
tenuity.”

Mr. Wilkinson’s Method.

“ In the course of some experiments on
artificial light, which I was enpged in about
twelve months since, I was desirous of obtain-
ing a great number of extremely minute aper-
tures for a gas-burner ; and, finding it impos-
sible, in the ordinary way, to obtain them, a
new method occurred to me, which imme-
diately produced the desired effect. I showed
it at the lime to several eminent scientific
men, who were unable to conceive how these
apertures were formed; and, as I made no
secret of the method, they were equally
pleased at the simplicity of the operation ;
and the specimen herewith sent has been ex-
hibiting at the Gallery of Practical Science
for several months. 1 did not attach much
importance to it myself ; but, as 1 do not
find that it is at all known, and now think it
might be useful in a variety of ways, I have
sent it for you to lay before the Society; and

ON DRAWING WATER FROM DISTANT PLACES.

343

feliould they be of the same opinion, I shall
feel much pleasure in communicating the
mode of operation, by which any number of
apertures, hardly visible to the naked eye,
and of any length (even a foot, if required)
may be made in any metal in ten minutes /
“The process consists merely in turning
one cylinder to fit another very accurately,
and then, by milling the outside of the inner
cylinder with a straight milling-tool of the
required degree of fineness, and afterwards
sliding the milled cylinder within the other,
apertures are produced perfectly distinct, and
of course of the same length as the milled
cylinder. A similar effect may be produced
on flat surfaces, if required.” — Mechanic’s
Magazine.

EASY METHOD OF FILLING LONG
SYPHON TUBES.

BY WILLIAM FOSTER ESQ.

(From Silliman’s American Journal)

The application of the syphon upon a
large scale, for the purpose of drawing water
from distant places, may not be new; but I do
not remember to have seen it in this, or any
other country, before I tried the experiment.

The ancients, we know, brought water
for the supply of their cities, by means of
costly aqueducts, over hills and valleys, with-
out ever using the fountain principle.

Some years ago Mr. Chapman, proprie-
tor of a distiller in Charlestown, requested
me to describe my plan for carrying water
through a syphon several hundred feet in
length, and drawing water from one well into
another : and with the instruction I gave
him, he employed a plumber to lay a leaden
tube of three-quarter inch bore, from a well
twenty-five feet deep, several hundred feet
distant from the well of his distillery, which
was about thirty feet deep, and where he
wanted a greater supply of water.

The operation failed. He then came to
me, told me that I had led him into an ex-
pensive error. I told him that, had he
communicated to me this intensions, I
would, with great pleasure, have superin-
tended the wmrk ; but now, not knowing
what defects there might be in the tube, I
consented to assist him, but my first essay
was uncuccessful.

The power of the syphon to overcome an
eminence is limited to about thirty-two feet,
answering to the column of water w'hich
the pressure of the atmosphere can raise ;
or that any defect in the syphon, or any
air confined in it, would be fetal to its opera-
tion. The usual mode of charging a syp-
hon is by exhausting it partially by inspi -
ration at the longer end. But [this was not
possible with a tube several hundred feet
long, and the expense of a pneumatic ap-

paratus, to procure a vacuum, would have
been too great ; therefore, I had determined
to put it in operation by filling it with water,
both ends being stopped ; this was done by
a small branch at the summit of the tube ;
and, when filled, this branch was well cork-
ed, and the cork pressed down hard on
the water, so as to exclude all the air at the
surface. It was to be apprehended that
some undulations might exist in the hori-
zontal part of the tube, and afford a recep-
tacle for air, which would there be confined
without a possibility of escaping, and also
prove fatal to the success of the experiment ;
but of this I could know nothing, as I had
not seen the tube laid.

In this state of uncertainty, I began the
operation, and filled the syphon ; but, as I
said before, it failed. On the second trial,
I observed that, when the syphon was full,
the water in the filling branch rose and fell
alternately, and so much that as water has
but little elasticity, I concluded that there
was air in the tube, and it was, therefore,
emptied. Then, to charge it anew, and, at
the same time, to exclude the air, it was
proposed to perforate the lower end of the
long branch, at the bottom of the receiving
well, with a fork, just above the cork,
which closed it. These small holes allowed
the air to escape as it was driven before the
water, without losing enough water to pre-
vent the filling the tube with ease. Thus
was the air excluded, and the syphon put
into operation, and continued for a long
time, with some occasional obstruction,
arising from the smallness of the tube, and
the want of water at the source.

I should suppose that there were many
situations where water might be brought from
one valley to another, over any hill not ex-
ceeding thirty-two feet or which could,
without too much expense, be reduced to
that point, for the purpose of UTigation, or
manufacturing. Large quantities of water,
as well as small, may be raised by means of
iron mains of large dimensions ; and the
cutting down hills to procure levels, or sur-
rounding them, and thus increasing the
length of aqueducts, at a great expense, and
loss of water by percolation and evapora-
tion, may be avoided. Mountain swamps
may be drained, or any swamps, where a
lower level is not too far distant for the
place of issue, or even in a level country,
provided some vein of loose gravel can be
found, into which a place of discharge may
be dug below the surface of the swamp. The
ingenuity of our countrymen will, I am
confident, yet find many other useful pur-
poses to which the principle may be ap-
plied.

344 HINTS TO THE PEOPLE OF INDIA— CAOUTCHOUC MANUFACTURE.

METALLIC LIGHTHOUSES.

Mr. Samuel Brown proposes employing
bronze or cast-iron in the construction of light-
houses, instead of stone. H e seems to ha ve made
out that a bronze lighthouse would be incom-
parably cheaper than a stone one, that it wotild
be more secure against dilapidation or subver-
sion by the waves, that tile lights would be
better protected from the spray by which
they are occasionally extinguished, that it
could be erected in one-twentieth part of the
time, and in situations where a stone structure
is impracticable. It has been proposed to
place a lighthouse on the Wolf Rock, near
the Land’s-End, a position where it would be
exposed to the most violent storms of the At-
lantic : and a plan was drawn up for the pur-
pose by Mr. Stevenson, who holds a high
rank in this department of engineering ; which
plan, Mr. Brown thinks, would require 15
years for its execution, and cost 150,0001. Mr.
Brown undertakes to erect one of bronze, 90
feet high, which would answer the purpose as
well as the stone one of 134 teet, for 15,000/.
and to complete it in four months. — Scotswurt.

LONGITUDE AT SEA.

The Progress, a journal of Arras, states, that
a person residing at Fauquembergue has, af-
ter studying for thirty years, discovered the
longitude at sea, and formed an instrument
which constantly points out and rectifies the
ship’s course, indicating the longitude and
latitude in the chart.

HISTORICAL RETROSPEC r OF 4 HE
CAOUTCHOUC MANUFACTURE.

( Continued from page 231.)

Hitherto caoutchouc had been supplied
entirely form the American continent ; but
near tne close of the last, or the begining of
the present century, it was discovered that
several kinds of plants giowing in the East,
tiiough very different in appearance from the
hevea of Mexico, afforded the same substance,
or one very much resembling it ; and hopes
were again raised that extensive use might f)e
made of the juice in its fluid state. Mr. Howi-
son experimenteddiligently with it, and be-ides
making gloves, shoes, &c., a process practised
by the Indians of Para, he proceeded to
saturate with it loosely woven fabrics, such as
Cossembazar gloves and stockings: —

“ Haying drawn them upon the wax
moulds, 1 plunged them into vessels contain-
ing the milk, which the cloth greedily absorb-
ed. When taken out they w'eie so completely
distended by the gum in solution, tliat,
upon becoming dry by exposure to the air,
not only every thiead, but every fibre of the
cotton had its own distinct envelope, and in
consequence was equally capable of resisting
the action of fluid bodies as if of solid gum.

“ This mode of giving cloth as a basis I
found to be a very great improvement; for,
besides. the addition of strength received by
the gum, the operation was much shortened.

“ Woven substances that are to be covered
with the gum, as also the moulds on which
they are to be placed, ought to be considera-
bly larger than the bodies they are afterwards
intended to fit; for, being much contracted
from absorption of the milk, little alteration
takes place in this diminution of size, even
when dry, as about one-third only of the fluid
evaporates before the gum acquires its solid
form.”

From these experiments. Dr, Anderson an-
ticipated imn)ense benefit to our fishing
and commercial interests, from the applica-
tion of the fluid to nets and cordage; and to
the arts, from its use as a varnish. Still,
however, there remained the difficulty of pro-
curing it in sufficient quantities ; partly arising
from the distance and wildness of the places
which produced it, and partly from the diffi-
culty of preserving it. He, therefore, stre-
nuously urged its cultivation on the coasts of
Africa, as the nearest tropical locality. No-
thing, however, came of his zealous and well-
men t efforts.

In Nicholson’s translation of “ Fourcroy’s
Chem stry,” vol. viii. (1804), we have a long
article on this substance; its remarkable
fitness to many purposes in the arts is strong-
ly staled, and itsuses,as it was then employed^
are enumerated ; but no better expedient for
extending its use is suggested than “ to import
the juice of the hevea with caustic alkali added
to it,” which prevents the elastic “ substance
from precipitating;” while it is distinctly said,
that “ it remains adhesive and viscid in the
solutions” in fixed oils—that •* when dissolved
by the oils of lavender, a«pic, turpentine, &c.,
with the assistance of a gentle heat, the viscid
combination remains adhesive, incapable of
drying, stiv.king to the hands, and. in fact, of
no utility” — and that mo.st of the varnishes into
the composition of which it is made to enter
by a mixture of fixed and volatile oils, “ have
the inconvenience of softening and becoming
very adhesive when exposed to the rays of the
sun or to heat.”

That no further advances had been made
up to 1807, is rendeied highly probable by
the circumstance that no mention of the sub-
ject is to be found in the immense collection
of scientific notices forming the 2d volume
of Dr. Young’s “ Lectures on Natural
Philosophy,” more than is implied in giving
the titles of some of the books we have already
quoted. Even the substance itself is rarely
mentioned, and then with very different
views; while the only notice of water-proof
cloth is a repetition of Vauquelin’s conjecture,
that ” the operation w'as performed by means
of soap, glue, alum, and a lit lie sulphuric acid.”

No further improvements seem to have
been attempted before 1820. the date of the
first patent taken out by Mr. Thomas Hancock.
It will be observed, that, up to this time, no
real progress had been made towards tender-
ing caoutchouc available for popular use,
owing, on the one hand, to the impossiblity
of obtaining the liquid juice in a proper state,
and in sufficient quantities ; and, on the other,
to the unmanageableness of caoutchouc when
it had once become solid.

(To be Continued,)

A VALUABLE PAPER ON THE MANUFACTURE OF GLASS.

345

ON THE MANUFACTURE AND USE

I OF SOLUBLE GLASS.

(Teaiislntcd from “ Traiie de Chimie nppliqtiee
|.| aiix Arts, par Mr. Dumas,” by James Renwick,

I I LL. D., Professor of Nat- Exp. Philosophy
I aixi Chermistry ill Columbia College, New Yolk. )

Soluble glass is a simple silicate of potassa
or soda, which unites perfect solubility in boil-
ing water to some of the general properties of

! common glass: besides, although the uses
to which soluble glass is applied are very
different from those of common glass, the
study of it will furnish such exact and close
analogies to other descriptions of glass, that we
: are compelled to include it in the groupofche-
j mical compounds which they form.

The discovery of soluble glass and of its
j uses, is due to a distinguished Germanche-
misf, from whom we derive all we have to say
in relation to it. This glass, when dissolved
in water, forms a liquid which may be applied
to cloth or wood, for the purpose of render-
ing them incombustible. In fact, by the
1 evaporation of the water in which it is dis-
solved, a layer of asubstance capable effusing
when heated, is deposited on these bodies,
which is capable of protecting them from the
contact of air necessary for their combustion.

Preparation,— Soluble glass may be obtain-
ed by dissolving pure silea, obtained by pre-
cipitation, in a boiling solution of caustic po-
tassa ; but, this process, being both inconve-
nient and costly, cannot be practised upon a
large scale.

When s^ind and carbonate of potassa are
heated together, the carbonic acid is never
wholly driven off, except when the sand is in
excess, but the whole of the carbonic acid
may be expelled by adding powdered char-
coal to the mixture, in such proportion that
the carbonic acid of that part of the carbo-
nate which is not decomposed may meet with
a sufficient quantity of carbon to convert it
into carbonic oxide. In this way the silica
first forms a silicate in the proportions con-
tained in common glass, and drives off the
appropriate equivalent of carbonic acid ; then,
ata high heat, the rest of the carbonate of potas-
sa is decomposed by the carbon, the carbonic
oxideescapes, and the potassa, thus freed, either
sublimes, or combines with the glass already
formed.

In order to obtain soluble glass of good and
uniform quality, certain precautions are
necessary. The caibonate of potassa em-
ployed, must be purified.^ If itcontainrauch
chloride of potassium, the product will
not be entirely soluble in water, and a glu-
tinous residuum will be left. In addition, the
glass will be liable to effloresce. Sulphate of
potassa does not produce any bad effect, be-
cause it is decomposed by the carbon, when
the matter continues sufficiently long in
fusion ; but without this precaution, the glass
will contain sulphuret of potassium, which
also has a tendency to efflorescence.

• Pearlash being the purer form, we shall use
its name in the practical part.

The sand must be pure, or at any rate must
not contain any notable proportion of lime
or alumina, for these earths render a part of
the glass insoluble. A small portion of oxide
of iron has no influence on the qualities of
the glass.

The sand and carbonate of potassa (pearl-
ash) are taken in the proportion of two of the
latter to three of the former, and to 10 parts
of pearlash and 15 of sand, 4 parts of charcoal
are added. A less portion of charcoal must
not be taken ; on the contrary, if the form of
potash employed be not sufficiently pure, a
larger proportion of charcoal may be advan-
tageously employed. This substance accele-
rates the fusion of the glass, and separates
from it all the carbonic acid, of which there
would otherwise remain a small quantity,
which would have an injurious effect.

In other respects the same precautions that
are employed in the manufacture of common
glass, are to be observed. The materials must
be first well mixed, then fritted, and finally
melted in a glass pot, until the mass be-
comes liquid and homogeneous. The melted
matter is taken out of the pot with an iron
ladle, and the pot is then filled with fresh /nf.
Thirty pounds of pearlash, 45 of sand, and
l21bs. of powdered charcoal may be taken for
a charge ; with this quantity the heat must
be continued for 5 or 6 hours.

The crude glass thus obtained is usually full
of air bubbles ; it is as hard as common glass,
ofabiackish gray colour, andtransparentat the
edges ; sometimes it has a colour approaching
to whiteness, and at others is yellowish or red-
ish ; these are indications that the quantity
of charcoal has not been sufficient.

If it be exposed for some weeks to the air, it
undergoes slight changes, which rather tend
to improve, than injure its qualities. It at-
tracts a little moisture from the air which
slowly penetrates its mass, without changing
its aggregation or its appearance, it merely
cracks, and a slight efflorescence appears at
its surface. If it be exposed to heat, after it
has undergone this change, it swells up,
owing to the escape of the aqueous matter it
has absorbed.

In order to prepare it for solution in boil-
ing water, it must be reduced to powder by
stampers ; if this were not done, it would
dissolve too slowly. One part of glass requires
from 4 to 5 of water for its solution.

The water is first heated to ebullition in an
open boiler, the powdered glass is then added
by degrees, and must be continually stirred,
to prevent it from adhering to the bottom.
The ebullition must be continued three or four
hours, until no more glass is dissolved : tha
liquor will then have acquired the proper
degree of concentration, li the ebullition be
checked before this state is attained, carbonic
acid will be absorbed by the potassa from the
air, which will produce an injurious effect ;
for the same reason, too great a quantity of
water must not be employed, for, during the
long evaporation which will then become
necessary, the carbonic acid of the water will
readily combine with the potassa, and cause a
precipitation of the silica.

346

ON THE USES OF SOLUBLE GLASS.

When the liquor becomes too thick, before
the whole of the glass is dissolved, boiling
water must be added.

When the solution has acquired the consis-
tence of syrup, and a density of 1.24 to 1 .25,
it is sufficiently concentrated and fit for use.
It is then permitted to rest, in order that the
insoluble parts may be deposited ; while it is
cooling, a coriaceous pellicle forms upon the
surface, which after a time disappears of it-
self or may be redissolved by depressing it in
the liquor. This pellicle begins to appear
during the ebullition, as theliquor approaches
a state of concentration, and may even
serve to indicate this state.

When the crude glass is of a proper com-
position, it contains but a few saline impuri-
ties, and no sulphuret of potassium ; it may be
treated in the way we have described. But
if it contain any notable proportion of these
substances, they must be separated before it is
dissolved ; this separation may be effected in
the following manner: — The powdered glass,
is exposed to the action of the air for three or
four weeks, during which time it must be fre-
quently stirred ; and if it run into lumps,
which will happen in moist weather, they
must be broken up. I’he glass as we have
stated attracts moisture from the air, and the
foreign substances either separate or effloresce.
It then becomes easy to remove them from the
glass. It is sprinkled with water, and fre-
quently stirred. At the end of three hours
the liquor is removed, it will then contain a
part of all the saline impurities, and a little of
the silicate of potassa ; the powder is again to
be washed with fresh water. Soluble glass
thus treated, readily dissolves in boiling water,
and the solution leaves nothing to be desired.

As soluble glassis employed in the liquid
form alone, it is kept in this state for use. To
preserve it, no particular care is necessary, as
even after a long space of time it undergoes
no perceptible change, if the solution have
been properly prepared. The only precau-
tion is not to allow air too free an access to
it.

A similar product may be obtained by
using a carbonate of soda instead of one of
potassa. In this case, two parts of the soda
of the shops is required for one of silica. This
glass has the same properties as the other, but
is more valuable in its uses. I'he solutions of
these two kinds of glass may be mixed in any
proportion whatever, and this mixture is more
serviceable in some cases, than either of them
separately.

Properties. — Soluble glass forms a viscid
solution, which when concentrated becomes
turpid and opalescent; it has an alkaline
taste and reaction. The solution mixes in all
proportions with water. When the density
of the solution is 1.25, it contains nearly 28
per cent, of glass ; if the concentration be
carried beyond this point, it becomes so viscid
that it may be drawn out in threads like molten
glass. Finally the liquor passes to the state
of a vitreous mass, whose fracture is conchoi-
dal ; it then resembles common glass, except
In hardness. When the solution is applied

to other bodies, it dries rapidly at common
temperatures, and forms a coat like a varnish.

Soluble glass, when dried, does not undergo
any perceptible change when exposed to the
air, and attracts from it neither moisture nor
carbonic acid; neither has the carbonic acid
of the atmosphere any well marked action ou
the concentrated solution ; but when a cur-
rent of carbonic acid is passed through the so-
lution, the glass is decomposed, and hydrate
of silica deposited. But a weak solution be-
comes turbid on exposure to the air, and is after
a time decomposed wholly. When the glass
is impure, an efflorescence is formed after a
while, which may be produced either by the j
carbonate and hyposulphate. of potassa, or by
chloride of potassium.

Soluble glass dissolves gradually without
residuum in boiling water ; but in cold water
the solution is so slow as to have led to a belief
that it does not dissolve at all. It however
never becomes entirely insoluble, except when j
it contains a much larger proportion of silica, or |
when it is mixed with other bodies, such as the '
earths, metallic oxides, &c., with which double '
or triple salts are formed, as is the case in the
common glasses. j

Soluble glass which has been exposed to the
air, and is afterwards submitted to the action of ?
heat, swells and cracks at first, and melts with !
difficulty. It then loses about 12 per cent, of |
its weight. It therefore contains, even when ’
solid, a considerable quantity of water, which j
it does not lose when simply dried by exposure
to the air.

Alcohol precipitates it unaltered from its
solution in water. When the solution is
concentrated, but little alcohol is requiied for
precipitation, and it need not be highly recti-
fied. Pure soluble glass may therefore he easily
obtained from an impure solution by the use
of alcohol. The alcohol being added, the gelatin-
ous precipitate is permitted to settle; the super- |
nalantliquor is decanted, the precipitate collect- |
ed, rapidly stirred after theaddilion of alittle cold
water, and subjected to pressure . In truth, how-
ever, this process is attended with some loss, for
even cold water will rapidly dissolve the precipi-
tated glass, in consequence ofitsminutedivision.

The acids decompose the solution of glass.
They also act upon it when solid, separating
the silica in the form of powder.

Uses.— The properties of soluble glass fit it
for numerous and varied applications. It has
been used in the theatre of Alunich as a means
of safety from lire. |

All sorts of vegetable matter, wood, cotton,
hemp, linen, paper &c. are, as is well known,
combustible ; but in order that they shall burn,
two conditions are requisite, an elevated tem-
perature, and free contact of air, to furnish the '
oxygen necessary for their transformation into
water and carbonic acid. When once set on
fire, their own combustion develops the heat
necessary to keep up the chemical action, pro-
vided they be in contact with air. If deprived
of such contact, and made red hot, they will, it
is true, yield inflammable volatile products, hut
the carbon which is left will not burn, as it is
deprived of air, and thus the combustion will
slop of itself. Such is the part which all the

APPLICATION OF SOLUBLE GLASS TO WOOD WORK.

Ml

fixed fusible salts are capable of performing,
ifthey be, in addition, composed of substances
incapable of yielding theii oxygen at a low red
heat, to either carbon or hydrogen. These
salts melt as the vegetable matter becomes
heated; they form upon it a coat impenetra-
ble to the air, and either prevent altogether,
or limit its combustion. The phosphate and
borate of ammonia have such a character, but
they are so readily soluble in cold water, as to
be liable to objections which cannot be urged
against soluble glass.

Although soluble glass is of itself a good
preservative from fire, it fulfils the object bet-
ter when it is mixed with another incombus-
tible body in powder. In this case the solu-
tion of glass acts in the same manner as the
oil of painters. The several coats have more
body, become more solid, and more durable;
and, if the substance which is added be of
proper quality, coagulate by the action of fire
into a strongly adhesive crust. Clay, whit-
ing, calcined bones, powdered glass, &c. may
all be employed for this purpose ; but we can-
not yet say with certainty which of them is to
be preferred. A mixture of clay and whiling
appears to be better than either used separately.
Calcined bones form with soluble glass a very
solid and adhesive mass. Litharge, which,
with the glass, makes an easily fusible mix-
ture, does not give a product fitted for coat-
ing wood, as the mixture contracts in drying ; it
therefore cracks, and is easily separated. Flint
glass, and crude soluble glass, are excellent
additions. The latter ought to be exposed to
the air after it is pulverized, 'in order to attract
moisture. If it he mixed with solution, and
be then applied to any body whatever, it in
a short lime forms a coating as haid as stone,
which, if the glass be of good quality, is unal-
teiable by exposure, and resists fire admirably.

The scoriae of iron and lead, felspar, fluor,
may all be employed with soluble glass; but
experience alone can decide which of these
substances is best, and in what proportion they
are to be employed. We should advise that
the first coat should always be a simple solu-
tion of the glass ; and that a similar solution be
applied over coats composed of its mixture
with other substances, particulaily vvhen such
coat is uneven and rough.

The last named substances form a solid and
durable coating, which suffers no change by
exposure to the air, does not involve any
great expense, and is readily applied. But, in
order that it may not fail, particular care is to
be taken both in preparing and employing it.

In order to cover wood and other bodies
with it, the solution must be made of a pure
glass, for otherwise it would effloresce and
finally fall off. However, a small degree of
impurity is not injurious, although after a
few days a slight efflorescence will appear ;
this may be washed off by water, and will
not show itself a second time. When a
durable covering is to be applied to wood, too
strong a solution must not be employed at
first; for in this case it will not he absorbed,
will not displace the air from the pores,
and in consequence will not adhere strongly.
It is a good plan to rub the brush several

times over the same place, and not to spread
the coating too lightly. For the last coats
a more concentrated solution may be employ-
ed, still it must not be too thick, and must
be spread as evenly as possible. Each coat
must be thorougly dry before another is ap-
plied ; and this will take, in warm and dry
weather, at least twenty-four hours. After
two hours the coat appears to be dry, but is
still in a state to be softened by laying on
another. The same inconvenience will then
arise, which occurs when a thick coat of a
concentrated solution is applied ; the coat will
crack, and does not adhere. This, however,
is only the case when potassa is the base of
the glass, for that formed from soda does not
appear to crack.

In applying soluble glass to the wood- work
of the theatre at Munich, 10 per cent, of yel-
low clay {ochre?) was added. After six
months, the coat had suffered but little
change ; it was damaged only in a few places,
where it had need of some repair. This arose
from a short time only having been allowed
for the preparation and application of the
glass, and they were therefore done without
proper attention.

When this mode is employed for preserving
a theatre from fire, it is not enough to cover
the woodwox’k, it is also necessary to preserve
the scenery, which is still more exposed to
danger. None of the methods yet proposed
for this purpose appears so advantageous as
soluble glass, for it does not act on vegeta-
ble matter, and completely fills up the spaces
between the thread ; it fixes itself in the web,
in such a way that it cannot be separated, and
increases the durability of the fabric. The
firmness which it gives to stuffs does not
injure them for use as curtains, because it
does not prevent them from being easily
rolled. So far as the painting of scenes
is concerned, the glass forms a good ground
for the colours. To prevent the changes
which some colours, Prussian blue and lake
for instance, might undergo from the alka-
line matter, it will he necessary before
painting to apply a coat of alum, and then
one of whiting.

There is no great difficulty in applying
soluble glass to cloths, still this operation is
not so easy as might at first he imagined.
It is not sufficient to coat or dip them in the
solution ; they still require after this opera-
tion to he subjected to pressure. This object
might perhaps be best attained by passing
them between rollers plunged in the solution.
When a cloth is only coated with soluble
glass, is put into the fire, it will remain
incandescent after it is taken out. This is
not the case when it has been properly im-
pregnated with the solution. A still better
purpose is answered in this case, wh^en li-
tharge has been added to the solution. The
stuff' in drying yields to the shrinking of the
mixture, and becomes inseparable from it,
which is the reverse of what happens when it
is applied to wood. A single part of litharge
in fine powder is sufficient for fourteen parts of
concentrated liquor.

343

MODERN PRINCIPLES OF NATURAL PHILOSOPHY,

Soluble glass is capable of many other ap-
plications, and particularly as a cement ; for
this use it is superior to all those which have
hitherto been employed, for uniting broken
glass, porcelain, &c.

It may be used in place of glue or isinglass,
in applying colours, although when emjdoyed
by itself, it does not make a varnish which
will preserve its transparency when in contact
with air. — Mechanic's Magazine.

THE

STUDY OF SCIENCE,

A FAMILIAR INTRODUCTION

TO THE

PRINCIPLES OF NATURAL PHILOSOPHY.

As, among our readers, there may be some who have not had opportunities of becoming ac-
quainted with the recent elaborate researches and ingenious speculations of learned men
in the several departments of Natural Philosophy, we have determined to devote a certain
number of pages monthly, to form a series of lectures in the several branches of science, by
way of a familiar introduction to the study of Natural Philosophy with modern discoveries.

GEOLOGY.

Geology is a greek word, compounded of
ge, the earth, and /o^os, a discourse. While
it is obvious that it constitutes a very import
ant and attractive study, it is equally plain
that it is attended with considerable difficul-
ties ; in consequence, especially of our inabi-
lity to penetrate far below the surface of our
globe, and in fact the restriction of our exami-
nations to only a portion of the land. We stand
on the borders of oceans and rivers, or look
into ravines, mines, and the clefts of moun-
tains, like insects that skim the surface or pace
the rim of a small vessel of water, or traverse
the little mole-hill in the foot-path.

We might here advert to some of the sys-
tems which have been framed to explain the
present appearances of the surface or, as it
has been called, the crust of the earth ; but
statements of this nature will be better defer-
red till some of the principal facts which have
been observed shall have been stated. Great
diversities of opinion have prevailed on many
points among geologists; and although our
knowledge of tacts is continually increasing,
we cannot be said to have yet advanced be-
yond the surface of the science.

Naturally, one of the first subjects of remark
is the position, relative situation, and general
character of the rocks thatconslitute thestruc-
ture of the earth. They not only differ tiom
each other in their essential elements, but in
their figure, magnitude, and position , as well
as in other circumstances. They lie in strata
or beds, and layers. The word stratum, of
which strata is the plural, signifies bed, and is
used to express the order of rocks. Hence,
when a mountain, or series of rocks, is com-
posed of a similar and undivided mass, it is
Bgid to be unstratified ; which, however, is com-
paratively rare. The crust of the earth, regard-
ed as a whole, is disposed in layers or beds of
earth, stone, and various materials, and is,
therefore, stratified. These strata are, in one
respect, regular ; in another, extremely irre-
gular. In the order in which they occur, no-
thing can be more regular ; but in the direc-
tion or inclination in which they are found, the
utmost irregularity prevails.

Before giving a delineation of the order of
rocks, we must remark, that, although this ex-
hibits the law or rule as to the succession of
strata, they following each other invariably
after this manner, yet all are not found in
every, or indeed together in any entire series, in
any one situation. Many ofthe particular
classes are always absent ; and there may be
only two or three present. Butthe lawofsuc-
cession is never violated ; that is, those which
sustain others are never u ppermost and recum-
bent upon them, and vice versa. If one, two,
or more of a series is missing, the rest in going
downwards are all rocks of the classes below
the one in question ; or upwards, those which
belong to a superincumbent series. In this
respect, therefore, there is no confusion.

The position of the strata, however, is ex-
tremely irregular. Some are horizontal, some
almost or quite perpendicular ; and the dip or
inclination of others is diversified at every pos-
sible angle. To a superficial observer, this
disarrangement appears accidental, and he is
naturally disposed to regard the directions, in-
clinations, and frequent convolutions of the
masses as mere confusion, as if all had been
thrown together by some mighty povverintoa
disorderly mass. This very disorder, however,
is an unquestionable proof of design and wise
superintendence, — a design v^hich pervades
the universe as well in its apparent contingen-
cies, as in its most consecutive arrangments
and nicest adaptations. If all the strata or
layers of rocks on the earth’s surface had been
placed horizontally one above the other, it is
evidentthat we could only have become ac-
quainted with the superior series ; and beds of
coal, salt, metals, and othersubstances which
belong to the inferior strata, could never have
been available. Upon the supposition, too,
that these layers had been wrapped round the
nucleus or solid body of the globe like the
coats of an onion, the earth would have pre-
sented nothing to the eye but a monotonous
plain ; innumerable varieties of animal and
vegetable life could not have existed; and the
fertility which now results from the descent of
dew, the formation of springs, the gathered

FAMILIAR INTRODUCTION TO GEOLOGY,

349

waters of lakes and inner seas, and the flow of
rivers, would have been precluded. What
modifications of beauty, then, what combina-
tions of utility every where challenge our admi-

ration and love of His wisdom, power, and
benignity who governs the universe !

'I'he following sketch represents tlie manner
in which different classes of rocks are disposed.

*<

Q

2

O

c

H

*<

<

g

TO

a '
<
s
a

Pi

DIFFERENT KINDS OF ROCKS AND SOILS.

Vegetable soil

Sand clay, gravel, with bones of animals of

species which now exist

Deep beds of gravel, large loose blocks,
sand, containing bones of extinct animals.
iSand, clay, pebbles, beds of hard white sand-
stone, many sea shells, bones of extinct

animals

Alternations of limestones, with fresh-water
shells, clays, and limestones containing

marine shells

Thick beds of clay, with sea shells ; beds of
limestone, extinct species of plants and
, fruits, land, and amphibious animals

8.

10.

f Chalk with flints

\ Chalk without flints

r Chalk marl ;

I Green sand

•{ Thick beds of clay

j Yellow sand, with beds of iron ore . . . .
(.Argillaceous sandstone

r Limestones

j Beds of clay

j Limestones with corals .

I Beds of clay

I Thick beds of limestone

I Thin beds of limestone and slaty clay . ,

Red marly sandstone

11. Limestone containing magnesia

{Coal measures, containing various seams of
coal, beds of ironstone, clay, sandstone,
and freestones

13. Coarse sandstone and slaty clay . . .

14. {

Thick beds of limestone, and slaty clay and
sandstone alternately

15. Dark red sandstone, with beds of pebbles. .
r Thick beds of slate and sandstone, occasion-

16. -I ally impressions of shells, with thick beds

of limestone

Slates and hard rocks alternating, in which f
no trace of animal remains have been
found

(To be continued.)

350

THE INTERESTING CHARACTER OF ASTRONOMY.

A POPULAR COURSE OF ASTRO-
NOMY*.

I.

Introduction.

There can have been no period in the
history of mankind, in which they did not
behold, with a desire to comprehend them,
the changes which are daily taking place in
the face of the heavens above them ; and
there can have been none in which they did
not perceive these changes to sympathize
with others in the surface of the earth around
them. He who looks out upon the heavens,
beholds a canopy spread forth like the half of
a great sphere, of which he appears to oc-
cupy the centre. In the day-time, when it
is of the colour of azure, — the hue of light in
which his perception of its existence is most
pleasant to him, — the sun daily takes his
course, in a zone, across this fair canopy,
** like a giant that renews his strength.” As
night approaches, the curtain of the heavens
gradually loses its transparent azure tint,
becomes opaque, darkens, and at length it is
black as sackcloth of hair ; then come the
millions of the stars, and are strewed like
gems upon its surface ; and in her season the
moon walks foi’th in her brightness, and
holds sway amid the dreary watches of the
night. These daily changes in the heavens
appear to have but little relation to the
changes of vegetable life, but over the whole
of the animated creation their power is
absolute. The song of the birds be-
comes mute at nightfall, and again
wakes only to welcome the returning sun.
The beast lies down in the forest, the reptile
crawls to his lair, and man himself sinks
under the mysterious influence of the chang-
ing heavens : and returning to that state of
oblivion, out of which his birth first brought
him, he stretches himself out to sleep. Such
is the experience of a day. That of a year
brings a still further knowledge of the won-
derful sympathy between the changes in the
heavens above him, and those in the things
around him. He sees the sun not daily to
describe the same path in the heavens, but at
one time to travel obliquely across them in a
higher, and at another time in a lower zone,
so as at one time to have a longer course to
run, and at another a shorter ; and thus at one
time to give him a longer, and at another a
shorter day. This chauge in the elevation and
consequent length of the sun’s oblique path in
the heavens, he soon perceives to be coupled
with a change in his own perceptions of the
intensity of heat and cold; when the sun’s
path is lowest or most oblique, he is colder
than when it is highest. And not only do his
own feelings sympathize with this change,
but all nature around him. The hand, that
covered the beast of the forest with a coat of
fur, now thickens its garment. The bird,
whose path is free in the heavens, now guided
by a spark of that intelligence which called it

• This course will be succeeded by similar
ones on other subjects.

into being, becomes conscious of the existence
of a warmer sky in some remote unseen region
of the earth, and seeks it. The green herb
withers, the blossom dies, the leaf becomes
sapless, and falls to the ground. Is it pos-
sible, that he who beholds all these changes
around him, and who is thus deeply interested
in them, who cannot but see that they are all
bound together as by a chain, and made to
sympathize with one another, should not
seek to trace out still more of the mystery of
their union, to know more of its nature and
laws, and to unravel its cause.

Man is necessarily, and from the very mode
and nature of his existence, a speculative
being. And of all subjects of speculation, the
changes in the heavens are probably those
which first arrested his attention. How
earnestly must the master spirits of those
days, when the secret of the universe was un-
known, have wished and have laboured to
account for phenomena which we now so
readily explain, by means of our knowledge
of the form of the earth : how must the mys-
terious alternation of day and night, and the
march of the seasons, have distracted them,
wearied their imagination, and perplexed their
reasoning.

Quae mare compescaiit causae ; quid temperet
annum;

Stellas sponte sua,jussaBne vag'enter et erreut;
Quid premat obscuruin lunae, quid proferat
orbem ;

Quid velit et possit rerum Concordia discors*.
It was in these words that Horace described
the sublime but very unsatisfactory specula-
tions of his friend Grosphus.

The mighty changes in the heavens con-
trolling, as they do, all the phenomena of
animal and vegetable life, necessarily couple
themselves in the mind with the direct agency
of the supernatural world, and thus it was
that the astronomy of the ancients became
incorporated with their mythology. The sky
was Atlas or Uranus, — it was eternal and
unchangeable ; the fixed stars were its organs
of vision ; the planets, of which the control-
ling power was the sun, rolled eternally,
according to their notion, in concentric orbs
of crystal around the earth. These planets
they called gods, and their path was along the
milky way.

Est via sublimls, cnelo manifesta sereno ;

Lactea nomeii habet; candore notabilis ipso.
Hac iter est Superis ad magni tecta Tonantis,
Regalemque domumt.

* “ What causes set bounds to the sea, or
vary the returning seasons ? Whether the
stars move of themselves, or by the order of
a higher power ? What darkens the face of
the moon, or extends her to a full orb ? what
is the nature and power of those principles of
things, which, although always at variance,
yet always agree ?”

t “ There is a way in the exalted plain of
heaven, easy to be seen in a clear sky, and
which, distinguishable by a remarkable white-
ness, is known by the name of the milky way.
Along this the road lies open to the courts of
the nobler deities, and to the palace of the
great Thunderer.’'— Ovid.

THE PROGRESS OF THE MIND OF MAN.

351

They represented them by letters in the order
of their distances.

Moon Mercury. Venus. Sun.

A E HI

Mars. Jupiter. Saturn.

o r

Saturn, the slowest of the planets, was
taken as the symbol, and made the god of
time, and, like time, Saturn destroyed his off-
spring ; he took the wings of time and his name,
Chronos.

Jupiter, the most remarkable of the pla-
nets for his splendour, supplanted his father
Saturn, occupied the throne of the universe,
and became the king of gods.

Mars, of the colour of blood, and placed
nearer to the sun, they imagined to be endued
with the attributes of a warrior, and called
the god of battle.

Venus, whose clear bright light is some-
times to be seen even through the daylight, at
one time precedes the sunrise, and at another
follows the twilight, alternately pursuing and
pursued by the sun. They believed her to
produce the fertilizing dews of the morning
and the evening ; named her the goddess of
fecundity, of beauty, and adored her under
the names of Astarte, Astaroth, &c.

Mercury, the swiftest moving of the planets,
was taken as the symbol of speed and light-
ness ; he became the god of motion ; and, being
even seen in the immediate neighbourhood of
the sun, was designated the messenger of
Olympus.

The Sun was adored as the author of light,
order, and fecundity ; and the Moon, as des-
tined to imbibe this influen^ from the Sun,
in their conjunction, and transmit it to the
earth. All the nations of antiquity erected
altars to the Sun. In Egj'pt he was wor-
shipped as Osiris, in Phenicia as Adonis, in
Lydia as Athys, &c.

A multitude of divines were thus frequently
worshipped in the same being; a fact not to be
wondered at, since the attributes which each
nation assigned to their common object of
worship, would necessarily partake in the
errors of their knowledge of it, and the pre-
judices which they had attached to it. And
thus, until it pleased God to make a direct
revelation of his will to mankind, the history
of the development of the religious principle
among them, was little other than a history
of the wanderings and uncertainties of the
human understanding, which, placed in a
world it could not comprehend, sought,
nevertheless, with unwearied solicitude, to
develop the secret of it, which, a spectator of
the mysterious and visible prodigy of the uni-
verse imagined causes for it, supposed objects,
and raised up systems ; which, finding one
defective, destroyed it to raise another not
less faulty on its ruins ; which, abhorred the
errors that it renounced, misunderstood those
which it embraced ; repulsed the very truth
for which it sought ; conjured up chimeras
of invisible agents, and dreaming on, with-
out discretion and without happiness, was at

length utterly bewildered in a labyrinth of
illusions.

How great is the contrast 1 Since the age
in which the heathen mythology had its ori-
gin, the religion of mankind has fixed itself
upon the sure foundation of a revelation from
God, and the human understanding has ac-
quired for itself the master-secret of the uni-
verse. The wanderings of the stars on the
firmament of the heavens are at length un-
derstood. The question,

Sponte sua juss®ne vagenter et errent ?
no longer perplexes us. We find throughout
the whole of what appeared to our ancestors
the capricious motions of powerful but isola-
ted beings, evidences of one impulse, one will,
one design, one Almighty power, originating,
sustaining, and controlling the whole. These
beings then, to whom, calling them their
gods, it was natural that they should attri-
Wte a separate, independent, and capricious
existence, subject to the indecision, the error,
and the feebleness of humanity, appear to us
but as the creatures of one sovereign intelli-
gence, bound down in as passive obedience to
that intelligence, as the stone that falls from
the hand, or the apple that falls from the
tree ; v/ith no other thought, or will, or
power, than that of any particle of duct
blown about by the Summer’s wind. Thus
the whole of the sublime and gorgeous page-
antry of the heathen mythology vanishes
like the baseless fabric of a dream.

We know that this magnificent phantom
retained its shadowy control over the intellect
of man, in an age of great literary refinement,
of profound knowledge in the philosophy
of morals, and of high civilization ; and had
no revelation interposed, there could be no-
thing found in the mei-e literature, ethics, and
civilization of our day, as distinguished from
the literature, ethics, and civilization of theirs,
to overthrow it ; thus we might still, in res-
pect to these, be what we are, and yet the
worshippers of a host of gods : but combine
with these the science of our times, and the
supposition becomes impossible ; a single ray
penetrating the mystery of the universe is
sufficient to dispel the illusion of Polytheism,
and instruct us in the knowledge of the one
only and true God.

How prodigious has been the progress
which the universal mind of man has since
made, how wonderful the vantage ground on
which we stand, when we look forth upon
nature ; the human intellect now walks to and
fro in creation, as with the strength of a giant,
the growth of whose stature has been through
ages, and who but yet approaches the noon-
tide of his vigour.

The first question which suggests itself to
a mind curious to understand the phenomena
of the heavens, is probably this — are the sun,
moon, planets, and stars, really as they
seem to be, at the same distance from us,
and almost within our reach ? or are they, as
we are told, some of them infinitely more
remote from us than others ; and the near-~

352

UTILITY OF THE STUDY OF CHEMISTRY.

est of them distant more than half a million
of miles ? Our first inquiry shall then be.

What is the probable Distance of
THE FIXED Stars ?

Are they, as we are told, many millions of
miles away from us ; so far, indeed, that their
light, travelling as it does at the rate of
80,000 leagues in a second, has from the
nearest been six or eight years in reaching
us ? And if it be so, how is this known ?

Let us suppose an observer to have travel-
led about, far and wide, on the earth’s sur-
face, and accurately to have observed, as he
went on, the appearances of the heavens ; he
will at once have perceived the stars to be
bodies scattered about in that great space,
whatever it may be, which contains the earth,
and he will have remarked that they do not
alter their apparent relative positions, as he
moves about on it. Their apparent positions,
with regard to the horizon, are, indeed, con-
tinually altering; but with regard to one
another, he finds them always the same.
This will appear to him very extraordinary,
when he considers that the various objects
around him on the earth’s surface, are conti-
nually subject to apparent changes of rela-
tive position, as he moves about from one
place to another. Thus for instance — let him
be sailing along the sea-coast at night, and
let him observe two lights upon projections
of the shore. At one instant, when he is in
the line joining the lights, they will appear
to him to coincide, blending momentarily
into one light ; as he proceeds, they will ap-
pear to separate, or, in the nautical phrase,
they will open ; and this opening of the lights
will continue, until they have at length ac-
quired a certain maximum apparent distance.
They will then appear to approach one ano-
ther ; and, as he finally leaves them behind
him, they will go through all the same circum-
stances of apparent motion as attended his
approach to them. If the lights be suffi-
ciently remote, all these changes in their ap-
parent distance from one another, will be re-
ferred to, and apparently take place upon,
the circular margin of the horizon. They
will seeiu like two beads of light moving to-
wards one another on the circumference of
that circle ; coinciding, then receding, and
again approximating to one another.^ These
apparent motions are called parallactic.*

(To he continued.)

* Parallax, the angle formed by two differ-
ent lines of view drawn towards one and the
same object. Suppose a point is seen from
the two ends of a straight line, the two lines
of view towards that point form, with the first
line, a triangle, whose angle at the point seen
is the parallax, or parallactic angle. Annual
paraHaa?- the angle formed by two lines from
the ends of one of the diameters of the earth’s
orbit to a fixed star, which angle, on account of
the immense distance of the fixed star, is too
small to be observed.

CHEMISTRY.

THE WONDERFUL AND SUDDEN TRANS-
FORMATIONS WITH WHICH CHEMISTRY IS
CONVERSANT, THE VIOLENT ACTIVITY
OFTEN ASSUMED BY SUBSTANCES USUAL-
LY CONSIDERED THE MOST INERT AND
SLUGGISH, AND, ABOVE ALL, THE INSIGHT
IT GIVES INTO THE NATURE OF INNUME-
RABLE OPERATIONS WHICH WE SEE DAILY
CARRIED ON AROUND US, HAVE CONTRI-
BUTED TO RENDER IT THE MOST PO-
PULAR, AS IT IS ONE OF THE MOST EX-
TENSIVELY USEFUL, OF THE SCIENCES ;
AND WE SHALL, ACCORDINGLY, FIND NONE
WHICH HAVE SPRUNG FORWARD, DURING
THE LAST CENTURY, WITH SUCH EXTRA-
ORDINARY VIGOUR, AND HAVE HAD SUCH
EXTENSIVE INFLUENCE IN PROMOTING A
CORRESPONDING PROGRESS IN OTHERS. —
Sir John Herschel on the Study of Natural
Philosophy.

Chemistry is the art wherby compound
bodies are changed into simple ones, or simple
bodies into compounds. The former of these
processes is called Analysis or Decomposition,
and the latter Synthesis or Composition.
As a science, it is the province of Chemistry to
determine the chemical relation of simple
bodies, and the structure and chemical rela-
tions of compounds. Few of the operations of
Chemistry, which are employed for the attain-
ment of these objects, are either purely ana-
lytic or synthetic ; a combination of these
methods generally taking place in the pro-
cesses of the chemist.

Different kinds of matter, which are the ob-
jects of Chemistry, possess certain active pro-
perties, such as gravity or weight, cohesion,
elasticity, expansibility, magnetic attraction,
&c. All these properties are but so many dif-
ferent modifications of attraction and repul-
sion. Action, either attractive or repulsive,
takes place between bodies situated at vari-
ous distances from each other. Thus the at-
traction of gravitation operates at indefinite
and immense distances ; while the attraction
of cohesion affects the particles of bodies only
when placed in apparent contact. Repulsive
action also takes place at different distances.
Thus, the repulsion between bodies which
have been subjected to the influence of electri-
city or magnetism is sufficiently obvious to the
sight ; and that electric or magnetic sub-
stances, which repel each other, do not touch,
may easily be perceived. The expensive pow-
er of heat, on the other hand, probably af-
fects particles of matter nearly in contact with
each other.

The various phenomena which constitute
the objects of Chemistry, depend on the opera-
tion of those modifications of attractive and
repulsive force, which act on particles of bodies
placed at insensible distances from each other,
and are so minute as not to be cognizable by
our senses, even when assisted by the most
powerful magnifying glasses.

There are two species of attraction which
affect particles of matter when in apparent

STUDY OP THE ATTRACTION OF COMPOSITION.

m

contact: 1. The Attraction of Aggregation,
or Cohesion ; 2. The Attraction of Composi-
tion. These powers both give way to the re-
pulsive action of heat : but the former may
also be overcome by mechanical force, which
has no effect on the latter.

The Attractionf)f Aggregation operates dif-
ferently on different bodies, so as to produce
the various degrees of cohesive force or consis-
tence observable among them. The forms un-
der which bodies appear are reducible to three
classes, namely i Solids, Liquids, and Gases
or Airs. These modifications of matter are
influenced by the operation of mechanical
pressure and the expansive force of heat,
which seem to act as antagonist powers to
each other. Some kinds of matter are capa-
ble of existing either in a solid, liquid, or
gaseous state, under different degrees of at-
mospherical pressure and temperature.
Thus, water, by the abstraction of heat, be-
comes changed to ice ; by the addition of
heat, it is, on the other hand, changed to va-
pour ; and that change is facilitated or im-
peded by lessening or increasing the atmo-
spherical pressui'e. Mercury and several other
substances exhibit analogous phenomena.

Many bodies, however, commonly exist
under only one or two forms of aggregation.
Common air and other bodies, distinguished
from vapours by the designation of permanent
gases, were formerly supposed to retain the
gaseous form under all circumstances ; but
from the experiments of Dr. Faraday and Mr.
Perkins, it appears that atmospheric air, car-
buretted hydrogen, sulphuretted hydrogen,
sulphurous acid, carbonic acid, protoxide of
' chlorine, nitrous oxide, cyanogen, ammonia,
muriatic acid, and chlorine, all which, under
common temperatures and pressures, are
permanent gases, may be condensed to the
j liquid state by the joint operation of intense
cold and powerful compression. However,
oxygen, hydrogen, and some other gases
have hitherto resisted all attempts to reduce
them to the liquid state.* Several dense
: solids, as lead and glass, are readily melted
by heat ; but there are others, as wood,
which, though speedily decomposed, when
heated with access of air cannot be liquified.

I The facts already stated, and othei s which
ji might be adduced, still lead to the conclu-
l| sion that the solid, liquid, and gaseous states
; of bodies depend chiefly on their respective
t’ relations to temperature and pressure; and,

! therefore, the distinctions founded on those
states or forms of matter do not furnish suf-
ficient grounds for general arrangements of
bodies in separate classes.

Some writers have treated of the chemi-
j cal properties of gases or airs as an inde-
I pendent branch of science, under the appella-
I tion of Aerology ; but the operation of bodies
under their different forms are so intimately
! blended, and the condensation of gases is so
I commonly the effect of chemical combinations ,

I that it seems by far most convenient not to
I separate Aerology from Chemistry, but to
1 regard it as a subordinate section or subdi-
i vision of chemical science.

♦See Pneumatics, part ii. p. lO.

In solid and liquid substances, the powers
of attraction and repulsion counterbalance
each other : while the latter predominates in
gaseous bodies. Some have supposed soli-
dity to result from the preponderance of the
force of attraction over the force of repul-
sion ; but this opinion seems incompatible
with the well known fact of the expansion of
water when it becomes solid. This, and
some other phenomena of a similar descrip-
tion, clearly show that the action of a
repulsive force is not less obvious in solids
than in fluids. They probably differ more
in the arrangement of their particles, than in
the manner in which those particles are
united.

The peculiar province of Chemistry, as
might be inferred from the preeeding obser-
vations, is the study of the Attraction of
Composition, or the investigation of the
properties of bodies, not as respects their
organization, mechanical construction, form,
or consistence, but with a view to the diseo-
very of ther molecular composition, or the
nature and mode of union of their component
particles. Hence, there must necessarily be
a wide distinction between mechanical and
chemical combination. Any substances may
be mechanically combined by mere mixture,
which occasions no destruction or essential
alteration of the sensible properties of the
mixed bodies : for the compound formed by
the union of two or more substances which
have no chemical action on each other, will
always exhibit their joint properties, modi-
fied, perhaps, but not destroyed by their
commixture. The effect of chemical combi-
nation is very different, for bodies chemically
united often become completely deprived of
the peculiar properties they previously pos-
sessed, and manifest new and sometimes
very extraordinary powers, totally different
from those of their constituent parts.

“ If water be added to water, or salt, the
effect is an increase of quantity, but no
change of quality. In this case, the mu-
tual action of the particles is entirely me-
chanical. Again, if a blue powder and a
yellow one, each perfectly dry, be mixed and
well shaken together, a green powder will be
produced ; but this is a mere effect arising
in the eye, from the intimate mixture of the
yellow and blue light separately and inde-
pendently reflected from the minute parti-
cles of each ; and the proof is had by examin-
ing the mixture with a miscroscope, when
the yellow and blue grains will be seen se-
parate, and each quite unaltered. If the
same experiment be tried with coloured li-
quids, wich are siisceptible of mixing witho:ut
chemical action, a compound colour is like-
wise produced, but no examination with
magnifiers is in that case sufficient to detect
the ingredients ; the reason obviously being,
the excessive minuteness of the parts, and
their perfect intermixture, produced by agi-
tating two liquids together. From the mix-
ture of two powders, extreme patience would
enable any one, by picking out with a magni-
fier grain after grain, to separate the ingredi-
ents. But when liquids are mixed, no mecha-

354

SCIENCE OF CHEMISTRY DISPLAYED.

nical separation is any longer practicable; the
particles are so minute as to elude all search.
Yet ‘this does not hinder us from regarding
such a compound as still a mere mixture, and
its properties are accordingly intermediate
between those of the liquids mixed. But this
is far from being the case with all liquids.
When a solution of potash, for example, and
another of tartaric acid, each perfectly liquid,
are mixed together in proper proportions, a
great quantity of solid saline substance falls
to the bottom of the containing vessel,
which is quite different from potash or tar-
taric acid, and the liquid from which it sub-
sided offers no indications by its taste, or
other sensible qualities, of the ingredients
mixed, but of something totally different from
either. It is evident that this is a phenonae-
non widely different from that of mere mix-
ture : there has taken place agreatand radical
change in the intimate nature of the ingre-
dients, by which anew substance is produced
which had no existence before ; and it has
been produced by the union of the ingre-
dients presented to each other, for, when
examined, it is found that nothing has been
lost, the weight of the whole mixture being
the sum of the weights mixed. _ Yet the
potash and tartaric acid have disappeared
entirely, and the weight of the new product
is found to be exactly equal to that of the
tartaric acid and potash employed, taken
together, abating a small portion held in so-
lution in the liquid, which may be obtained,
however, by evaporation. They have, there-
fore, combined, and adhere to one another
with a cohesive force sufficient to form a
solid out of a liquid ; a force which has been
called into action by merely presenting them
to each other in a state of solution.”'*'

As it is the object of Chemistry to deter-
mine the composition of different substances,
therefore, if we could reduce all bodies to
their elementary principles, and discover
the proportions in which these principles
must be combined in order to recompose such
bodies, the science of Chemistry would be
complete. This, however, is far from being
the case, notwithstanding the extraordinai-y
discoveries that have rewarded the labours of
those philosophers who have paid attention
to this important branch of knowledge. But
though we allow that much remains to be
achieved by future experimentalists ere Che-
mistry can be said to make any near approach-
es to perfection, yet it must be admitted, that
the improvements which have taken place
in this science in our own times are of no
common importance, since its first principles
have been fixed on the firm basis of experi-
ment, and a luminous system, founded on
facts, has superseded those obscure and hy-
pothetical speculations which occur in the
writings of the older chemical authors.

Among the most important discoveries of
modern philosophers, we may reckon those
which relate to that inherent tendency wrhich
matter possesses to form new combinations.

* Herschel’g Discourse on the Study of Na-
tural Philosophy, pp. 298,

This property of matter gives rise to many
of those operations of nature which we view
■without surprise, only because they are com-
mon ; and it is not less concerned in seve-
ral of the most striking and extraordinary
phenomena of nature and art. Thus, when
we procure light or heat by burning any
combustible substance, as, for instance, wood,
chemical action takes place between the
inflammable matter contained in the wood,
and part of the air of the room in which the
wood is burned ; in consequence of which, a
new kind of air is formed, the greater part of
which flies off with the smoke. The respira-
tion of animals affords another instance of
chemical action. When air is taken into the
lungs, a part of it combines with something
which separates from the blood ; in conse-
quence of which combination, the air becomes
altered in its properties, as must be obvious
to every one who considers that the atmos-
phere of a crowded apartment, not properly
ventilated, is soon rendered so noxious as to
occasion considerable inconvenience, and even
faintness, to those whose constitutions are
delicate.

On taking a survey - of the various bodies
around us, -we may observe that some among
them, which we reckon inert, because from
the influence of habit, or other causes, they
make but a slight impression on our senses,
are yet endowed with active powers or pro-
perties, which render them capable of pro-
ducing remarkable changes in other bodies.
Thus, water, which is insipid to the tongue,
and which, in its operation on living animals
and vegetables, acts slowly and almost im-
perceptibly, will yet, if placed in contact with
a lump of salt or sugar, speedily reduce
either from the solid to the liquid state.
Atmospheric air, though it is necessary for
the support of animal and vegetable existence,
and gives rise to scarely any sensations but
such as depend on variations of temperature,
yet this widely extended gaseous body, by
its union with other substances, sometimes
produces the most striking phenomena.
Thus, the explosion of fire-damp in coal-mines
can only happen when the inflammable gas,
so called, is mixed with a certain portion of
common air.

One of the most obvious modes of distin-
guishing bodies is that which depends on
their different degrees of density ; whence the
arrangement of substances into the respec-
tive classes called solids, liquids, and gases,
already noticed. But these distinctions can-
not be advantageously employed as the basis
of a chemical classification of natural bodies,
for reasons which have been already stated.
Hence, some other mode of discrimination
and arrangement becomes requisite, and
such a one may be most properly derived
from considering the chemical relations of
different kinds of matter, and the products
derived from their action on each other.

There are some bodies which, by no known
mode of treatment without addition, can be
made to form more than one species of mat-
ter ; for, however they may be divided, or
subdivided, each particle still possesses the

355

LECTURES ON CHEMISTRY.

same chemical properties with the common
mass from which it was taken. There are
comparatively but few bodies presented to us
by nature in this isolated state ; among the
number may be mentioned, as examples,
gold and the diamond. These, together with
all other hitherto undecomposed bodies,
must, in the present state of chemical science,
be considered as elementary or simple sub-
stances. Were it practicable to procure and
exhibit all the elements of bodies in a detach-
ed form, and to trace the various compounds
resulting from their union. Chemistry would
have attained perfection, and no object of
inquiry Would remain for future experi-
mentalists. But notwithstanding the great
acquisition of knowledge derived from the
discoveries of our contemporaries, they have,
by no means, enabled us to determine the
boundaries of the field of science, but merely
■ to form some conjectural ideas concerning its
vast extent.

No correct general knowledge of the nature
and properties of different substances can be
acquired without instituting comparisons
between them, whence we may discover the
various points of similitude or contrast
among them, which will enable us to arrange
them in groups or classes, bearing certain
relations to each other.

For the purposes of chemical inquiry, the
most obviously convenient arrangement of
bodies is that in which they are classed ac-
cording to their composition, placing the
simple bodies first in order, and then the
compounds arising from the various combi-
nations of the former.

According to the ancient philosophers, the
simple bodies or elementary principles from
which all the varieties of matter are com-
posed, were but four, namely. Fire, Air,
Water, and Earth. This notion, after hav-
ing for ages formed a part of the creed of
the learned, has been completely exploded
by the light of modern science, though it is
not yet extinct among the vulgar. The al-
chemical writers of the middle ages added to
these principles some others, as Salt, Sulphur,
and Mercury ; to which terms, however, they
attached ideas very different from those that
belong to them at present, and into the na-
ture of which we shall not stop to inquire.

Some of the alleged elements of the older
chemists are now known to exist only in ima-
gination, and others are ascertained to be,
by no means, simple substances ; thus, Air
is found to consist of two different elastic
fluids or gaseous bodies, which may be sepe-
rated by various processes, and exhibited
apart from each other. Water, also, has
been ascertained to be a compound which may
be analyzed or decomposed, so as to produce
two distinct kinds of gas, which may be
separately collected ; and when again mixed
together in proper proportions, they may be
made to form water by their union.

Other bodies, formerly esteemed simple,
have yielded to the analytical processes of
modern chemistry ; but there is a certain
number of substances, which, either in the
state in which they are presented to us by

nature, or as they are procured in various
operations by art, have hitherto resisted all
attempts at farther decomposition, and
which, therefore, as before stated, must be
regarded as simple substances. Their num-
ber is not very great, amounting to about
fifty-four, and it is not unlikely that the future
researches of chemists may demonstrate
some of these bodies to be compounds ; at
the same time, it is probable that additions
may be made to the class of elementary sub-
stances in consequence of future discoveries,
several of those now admitted into this class
having become known to us but very recently.

Some of these elementary bodies are widely
and abundantly dispersed thi’oughout the
three kingdoms of nature, either alone or in
a state of composition, while others appear to
be of very rare occurrence, or, at least, they
have hitherto been met with only in small
quantities and in a few situations. The
whole of the elementary substances may be
arranged in two divisions : the first compre-
hending those which are not of a metallic
nature, the entire number of which now known
amounts to only thirteen ; the remaining
forty-one elementary bodies are all regarded
as metals, though some of them exhibit pro-
perties differing considerably from those
which characterize gold, silver, mercury, lead,
iron, and other bodies, to which the desig-
nation of metals was originally applied.

(To he Continued.)

ELECTRICAL THEORY OF THE
UNIVERSE. BY Mr. THOMAS
S. MACKINTOSH.

Continued from page 225.
Development of the Theory of the Solar
System.

1. Centre of Positive Electricity. —
The body of the sun has a powerful affinity for
electricity, and is intensely charged with
electric fluid ; and is surrounded with an at-
mospheie of electricity extending to the ut-
most limits of the planetary systern, decreas-
ing in density in a certain unknown ratio
with its distance from the sun. The sudden
appearance and disappearance of spots on the
sun’s disc affords proof, even to demonstra-
tion, that the elementary matter of the sun is,
at intervals at least, in a state of violent
commotion ; and when we consider that some
of these spots are much larger than the earth,
ho'v vast must be the effort to cause them to ap-
pear and to disappear in so short a space of
time as they have hi'en known to do 1 There
is no known agent in nature capable of pro-
ducing such vast results except electricity;
and this consideration alone almost forces the
conclusion upon us, that the sun is an im-
mense spherical conductor, highly charged
with electric fluid. “ The light obtained by
voltaic electiicity exceeds in intensity any
other that art can produce ; itisso dazzling
as to fatigue the eye even by a momentary
impression; it is a light which so nearly
emulates the sun’s rays, as to be applicable

356

MACKINTOSH’S LECTURES-THE SOLAR SYSTEM.

for the purpose of illuminating objects in a
solar microscope. All this accords with the
light of Uie sun.” We will not discuss the
point asto how the voltaic lightis evolved,
since, whatever may be the nature of the pro-
cess, it appears that the presence of electricity
is essential to its exhibition. We are,
therefore, justified in the conclusion, that as
both lights have some properties in common,
they are to a certain extent identical. If this
conclusion be correct, it might be supposed
that we should be enabled to detect electi icily
in the sun’s rays. In the Journal des Progres
des Sciences, this is said to have been effected
by Professor Salvenio Barlocci, of Rome,
who states, that when two pieces of copper,
painted black, one of them connected with
the upper part of a frog, and the other^ with
the hind feet, were placed one of them in the
red and the other in the violet ray of the solar
spectrum, and then brought in contact, that
contractions took place in the muscles of the
frog. This seems to indicate very pointedly
the existence of a certain specific modifica-
tion of electricity in the sun’s rays ; and if
in the rays proceeding from the sun, the con-
clusion that the sun is highly charged with
electricity becomes irresistible. Although
light and heat may be, to a certain extent,
connected with our subject, we will pass them
over for the present, as their consideration
would lead us into too wide a field and create
confusion. We wish to consider the sun
simply as the prime, positive, electrical con-
ductor of the solar system; and with a view
to fix this idea permanently in the mind of
the reader, we have denominated him the
“ centre of positive electricity.”

2. Region of Negative Electricity. —
That part of space which surrounds the solar
system on every side beyond the range of the
planets, we shall denominate ^he region of
negative electricity. We shall assign no
properties whatever to this region, unless va-
cuity may be considered a property, not a
perfect vacuum, but nearly so, and especially
as regards the electric fluid ; it will, therefore,
have a powerful attraction for electricity,
which however, it cannot retain, for two rea-
sons;— 1. 'I his region contains no substance
upon which the electric fluid can fix; this is
evident to the senses, for if the immense space
between the earth and the fixed stars were filled
with any substance but the most subtle ether,
it would be utterly impossible that the stars
could be seen. 2. There are strong reasons
for the assumption, that all matter issuing
from the sun becomes decomposed in this
region, or undergoes some specific change,
and returns to the sun under its new modifi-
cation. That this process must be continual-
ly going on is evident, otherwise even the
immense bulk of the sun must have been dis-
sipated long ere this time, from the vast vo-
lumes of matter continually issuing from his
surface. We consider, then, that this space
is in a state of negation as regards the electric
fluid, and, therefore, has a powerful attraction
for electricity. An objection may be raised
to this assumption, upon the ground, that as
this region is alleged to contain no matter up-

on which the electric fluid can fix, it cannot, j
therefore, be supposed to attract electi icily ;
but since we know from experiment that the
more the air is rarefied, the less resistance is
opposed to tlie passage of electricity, and that
there is a constant tendency in the fluid t©
escape from the charged body, as is evinced
by its distribution in the surface— it may be ;
conceded, that this region offers facilities to j
the ready dispersion of the electric fluid from j
the charged body, and this concession is all
that is required.

3. If we regard the sun as the prime positive
conductor of the solarsystem, very’ intensely ■
charged with electricity, it will not be difficult !■
to conceive him capable of emitting a body of I
vapour containing a much larger quantity of J
matter than any comet or planet in the
system. If we consider that the sun is more
than a million of times larger than the earth,
the emission of a comet may be regarded I
merely as aspark drawn from the prime-con- 'J
ductor : comets of great brilliancy have been 1
observed receding from the sun, whose ap- j
proach to that body had not been detected by j
diligent observers ; in the absence of direct
proof, this circumstance alone is almostsuf-
ficient to justify the inference, that that body
had just commenced its long and unwearied
journey around the solar system. We might |i
refer to volcanic eruption in the earth in sup-
port of this hypothetical proposition ; but i'
when we consider the vast concentration of I
electrical power in the sun, and refer it to the i
c imparatively feeble efforts of volcanic fire, the
illustration is too faint to convey an adequate
idea of the force of electrical action. An evi- |!
dence of violent internal commotion is furnish- |;
ed t y the immense moving spots that have been li
observed on the sun’s disc ; and we know that j|
in all the natural phenomena that come under
our immediate observation, if thereis violent I
internal action, tliereis a constant tendency in |j
the excited body to relieve or deliver itself ofa !|
portion, at least, of the exciting cause of the
commotion. There is nothing extravagant
then in tlie assumption, tliat comets are dis-
charged from the sun: the supposition is in j
perfect accordance with the known phenome- 1^
naof nature, and entirely within the range of
natural probabilities. i

4. If the sun were in a slate of rest, a comet
would be projected in a straight line, but as I
he revolves on his axis with great rapidity, it n
is projected in a curve, which is the beginning j
of a ci'cle, thatis to be desciibed Iry the comet I
in all its future revolutions around the solar \
system. If we might be permitted to use a ji
homelyillustration, thitsbonld bring this i<lea '
clearly within the conceptions ot mmds of the
humblest capacity, wesbould say, thatacomet j
is projected from the sun somewhat in the
rnarmertiiat sparks are emitted from the sur- I
face of a knife-grader’s wheel. As the pro- ||
jectile force is greater than that derived from |
the sun’s rotary motion, the elliptical form of (
the comet’s orbit is determined by the two
forces conjointly in a ratio corresponding with •
the force of each respectively. Now as the
sun and comet are both highly charged with
positive elec ricity, it follows from the esta- j

LECTURES ON ELECTRICITY.

357

blisbed law that two positive bodies repel each
other, that the comet will be repelled with a
velocity corresponding with the intensity of
the charge in each of the two bodies, and as
negative and positive bodies attract each other,
it will be attracted with an equal power into
the region of negative electricity ; but as the
attractive power of this region is equal on all
sides, the comet will not be attracted to any
given point, but will follow the original curva-
ture of its orbit first imparted upon its emission
from the sun ; as the comet penetrates into
the region of negative electricity, its charge will
be gradually withdrawn or dissipated; and as
this process proceeds, the velocity with which
it moves must necessarily decrease, and, at a
certain point, the attractive and repulsive
forces must be in equilibrio, until at length
the whole, or nearly the whole, of the charge
is withdrawn, and the comet being now ne-
gative, is attracted by the sun, and repelled
by the region of negative electricity. As
the nucleus and materiel of the comet has a
strong affinity for the electric fluid, as it ap-
proaches the denser part of the sun's electric
atmosphere, it will imbibe the fluid, and,
consequently, cannot enter into the body of
the sun, but will be again repelled in an orbit
less elliptical than that described in its first
revolution. In order to form a competent
conception of the manner in which this effect
is produced, we must refer to the electrical
phenomena exhibited by a stream ofelectricity
in its passage between the two points of a
positive and negative conductor ; here we
perceive, that “ the velocity will carry the
particles that have deviated from a direct
course somewhat beyond the point to which
they are attracted ; while the attraction to this
latter point will tend to deflect them from the
line of their path, and gradually turn them
back, so that they wall arrive at the point of
attraction by a retrograde motion.” Now as
the deflection must necessarily correspoml with
the size of the point of attraction, and as the sun
is a body of immense magnitude, it follows that
the comet will be deflected in its path in a
curve corresponding with the circle of the sun’s
electrical influence; and as the repulsion
between the sun and comet is an increasing
force at the peiiod of the latter’s perihelion ;
and as this repulsive force is exei ted equally
on all sides of the sun, a portion of this force
must press laterally on the comet in its orbit,
thereby tending to widen the ellipsis. This
part of our theory derives a support almost
amounting to demonstration, from the fact
that “ when comets first make their appear-
ance, they generally resemble a round film or
vapour, with little or no pretensions to a tail,
but they increase in brilliancy and the acquisi-
tion of a tail as they draw near to the sun ;
but it is after they have [)assed their perihelion,
when emerging from the brilliancy of the
solar light, in which they have been for a short
time obscured, that they assume their greatest
splendour the tail which, during the
approach to the perihelion, had followed the
comet, now precedesit generally with asmall
degree of curvature, probably arising from the
resistanceof the ether, which is supposed to
pervade all space.” The increased brilliancy

must be ascribed to the increased quantity of
electiic fluid that the comet has imbided in
its passage near the sun; and the tail being
projected from the sun, is plainly to be referied
to the repulsive force exerted between two
bodies both positively charged, or, perhaps,
with more strict propriety, to the inductive
influence ofelectricity, repelling and concen-
trating the electric fluid in the remotest part of
the comet’s tail. Now as tliecometcannot be
so highly charged by passing through the
electric atmosphere as when first disengaged
from the sun, it follows that the repulsive
power is weaker, and that, consequently, it
will not be projected to the same distance as in
its first revolution. From these considerations
we draw this conclusion, that in the course of
“ series of revolutions, the orbit of a comet
becomes less elliptical ; its projected distance
from, and its approximation to, the sun
becomes less in nearly an equal ratio,” VVe
must further observe, that during the come-
tary state, the materiel of the comet undergoes
certain specific changes relative to its electiic
functions; the tail is gradually absorbed by
the nucleus, and when its orbit is reduced to
the planetary form, it takes its station in the
exterior circle of the planets, a well-matured
and compacted body, a fit recipient and sup-
porter ofvegetable life.

5. VVe have laid it down as a fundamental
law in this tlieory, that the eaith and all the
planets of the solar system are maintained at
ihcir respective distances from the sun, and
each other by the relative proportions of posi-
tive and negative electricity with which each
is charged ; and we further assume, that the
positive cliarge is a continually decreasing
quantity Irom the time of a comet’s first emis-
sion fiom the sun, until it finally falls back
into that body a worn-out and exiiausted pla-
net. We have no data whatevei wluc-h would
enable us even to attempt to fix the time occu-
pied in accomplishing these vast operations of
nature, each specific change in bodies of such
immense magnitude must require i>eiiods of
vast duration ; compared with which, the
age of human records is but as one day. We
are assured by experiment, that the attractive
and repulsive forces ofelectricity follow the
same law as to its intensity, that is, the inverse
ratio of the square of the distance. Lelthishe
compared with the laws of Kepler, and
we think the conclusion cannot be resist-
ed, that the motions and distances of tlie
planets are regulated and determined by
this powerful and all-pervading agent. If
we endeavour to estimate by the operations
of sense the manner in which the planets
aresaid to be propelled in their orbits with
such amazing velocity, we feel a difficulty
in perceiving tlie cause of motion — tiie effect
is admitted, hut the cause is not discernable ,
but if we refer all motion to the agency of
electricity, the cause and effect are joined
before our eyes ; we refer it to an ev. r-active
and known power, appreciable by the senses,
pervading all known space, and whose rapid
motion corresponds with the motion of the
heavenly bodies ; and if we allow the assump-
tion, that the quantity of positive electricity
with which the earth and all the planets is

358

ELECTRICITY WITH WHICH THE EARTH IS CHARGED.

charged, is a continually decreasing quantity,
the cause of motion in their orbits becomes
plain and palpable ; they are in effect attracted
and repelled down an inclined plane by the
power of electricity.

6. Earth’s Motion on its Axis.— Hitherto
we have referred all motion to the agency of
electricity, as it is developed and exhibited by
the excitation of electrics ; but that we may
be enabled todiscern clearly the cause of the
earth’smotionon her axis, we must refer to the
galvanic circle, a clear conception of which is
necessary to a right understanding of this part
of the theory, Now we hold, that the crust of
theearlh. sea, and land, is nothing, more or
less, than a galvanic circle, or, perhaps, more
correctly, a series of circles, or rather a voltaic
battery ; but we wish to preserve the idea of
the simple circle, because it furnishes us with
a more clear and distinct explanation of the
cause of the earth’s motion on her axis than the
voltaic pile. We assume, then, that there is
a continuous stream of galvanic electricity cir-
culating throughout the earth’s external
crust, and that the main currentis round the
equator ; that the earth's inclination to her
orbit is determined by the direction of this
current, and that it has more influence in
raising the temperature of the climate within
the tropics than that exerted by the sun’s
vertical rays.. Now, it is evident, that if the
galvanic circle were undisturbed, the fluid
would continue to flow around the earth, and
the earth would remain at rest ; but the induc-
tive influence of the sun destroys the equilibrio,
and the earth revolves. So satisfied are we
of the truth of this part of our theory, that we
feel convinced that if a sphere were mounted
upon two centres, with a galvanic circle formed
round its equatorial circumference, correctly
balanced, and placed in a proper position
between a positive and negative conductor,
highly charged, the sphere would be found to
revolve so long as the galvanic action continu-
ed. And so long as the galvanic action conti-
nuesin the earth, she will revolve upon her
axis, and no longer. Upon this principle we
assume, that the galvanic action in the moon
has ceased altogether, or become so weak that
the current cannot overcome the power of the
earth’s induction; and as the planet .Tupiter
turns on his axis in ten hours, whilst Mercury
requires twenty-four hours, we infer from this
that Jupiter is a good conductor of galvanic
electricity, whilst in Mercury the fluid flows
with more difficulty.

7. We have assumed that the quantity of
positive electricity with which the earth and
other planets is charged is a continually de-
creasing quantiy. Before entering upon this
proposition we would solicit attention to tlie
following : — If there could exist a power having
t/ie property of giving continual impulse to a
fluid in one constant direction, without being
exhausted by its own action, it would differ
essentially from all the other knoton powers in
nature, all the powers and sources of motion
with the.operation of which we are acquainted
when producing their peculiar effects, are
expended in the same proportion as those effects

are produced. Now we have laid it down as a
fundamental law in this theory, that all moti-
on is effected by the agency of electricity, and
that the processes of vegetation, oxidation, and
vitrification, and other processes respectively,
are carried forward and effected by specifical-
ly distinct modifications of the electric fluid.
The effect of electricity in quickening the pro-
cess of vegetation has been repeatedly verified
by experiment, and is, therefore, to be consi-
dered as an established fact in science. If a
plant contained in a pot be subjected to the
influence of electricity, the growth will be
quickened, and the plant will arrive sooner
to a state of maturity ; on the other hand, if
the plant be secluded from the influence of
the sun’s rays, and otherwise insulated as
much as possible from the electric influence,
it is found that it cannot be brought to maturi-
ty by the most careful and elaborate processes
of art. So essential is electricity, like a quic-
kening spirit, in laborating and perfecting the
process of vegetation. The powerful effect
of voltaic electricity in eroding or oxidising
metallic substances, is evinced by its action in
the galvanic circle ; and to prove that its
power and influence extends over the whole
range of terrestrial substances, we need only
refer to the experiments made with the battery
of the Royal Institution, wherein it was seen,
that \v hen the fluid was highly concentrated,
platina melted in it as wax in the flame of a
candle ; some of the more refractory substances,
as quartz, the sapphire, magnesia, and lime,
all entered into fusion ; fragments of diamond,
points of charcoal, and plumbago, quickly
disappeared, and seemed converted into
vapour. Now, as the sources of motion are
exhausted in the same proportion as the effects
they produce, if this rule be applicable to
voltaic electricity, we are justified in the
inference, that the earth’s galvanic influence
vvill exhaust itself. We make no attempt to
limit the extent of its duration, or to fix the
number of galvanic circles that may be formed
successively, as each of the preceeding is
exhausted ; all that we mean to infer is, that
in every successive action the elements
become changed in their chemical and
electrical properties and affinities, and render-
ed incapable of being acted upon again under
the former circumstances ; and that when the
whole round of chemico-electrical processes
shall have been operated, chemical action
will cease, the galvanic circle will be incom-
plete, and the earth, like the moon, will cease
to revolve on her axis. It is further assumed,
that in proportion as the voltaic electricity
circulating within the <rust of the earth
proceeds in oxidising and vitrifying the
various conducting substances on v'hich it
operates, the earth’s affinity for electricity is
weakened ; and as the internal fluid is con-
tinually being evolved by the internal action,
whilst the capacity of the earth for attracting
and retaining the electric fluid is becoming
feeble in a corresponding degree, and conse-
quently, the earth is approximating nearer
and nearer to a negative state, and is, there-
fore, attracted nearer and nearer to the sun,
until it ultimately falls back into the sun,
a worn-out and exhausted planet. All this

VALUE OF CORROSIVE SUBLIMATE IN PRESERVING TIMBER. 359

corresponds with the natural phenomena
that comes under our immediate observa-
tion; w'herever we see oigani7,ed life, we
see that it has a birth, that it comes to maturi-
ty, and gradually decays; wherever we see
itmtion, we see that it exhausts itself in a ratio
corresponding with its intensity ; and theie-
foie, leasoning from analogy, we are justified
in the inference, that the same rule and order
may hold also in the heavenly bodies.

8. Thatthemoon is gradually approximating
towards the earth is an obvious corollary of
the foregoing theory ; and here we shall be
enabled to draw our inferences from two
sources, astronomy and geology ; and, conse-
quently, in the latter, from matters that come
more immediately under our observation, for
we hold, that at one time the earth occupied
the places now occupied by Georgiura Sidus,
Saturn, andJupiter, each respectively in the
order of their succession , that at that period
of her existence she was of much larger dia-
meter than at this present time, and was
probably attended by three, four, or more
moons', the wrecks of all of which, save one,
are now scattered upon the surface of the
earth— and in these wiecks we expect to find
further evidence of the truth of our theory.

{To be contmued.)

The Minister for the Marine and Colonies
of France applied a short time ago to the
Royal Academy for their opinion respecting
the efficacy of a solution of corrosive sub-
limate as a preservative of the timber, sails,
and cordage of ships. A commission of five
members was appointed to make the requisite
inquiries, and to draw up a report of their
proceedings. The report commences with a
rapid survey of the various means which
had been proposed and tried previous to the
introduction of the corrosive sublimate.
Among the numerous preservatives at differ-
ent times recommended, we may enumerate
various resins, animal, vegetable, and mine-
ral oils, the muriate of soda, the nitrate of
potass, quick-lime, baryta, the species
of pyrites (?), which the English call
mundic,” and which is partly composed
of arsenic. This latter substance mixed
with water was used to wash the tim-
bers of the Queen Charlotte with ; but
the shipwrights employed in the work suffer-
ed severely from swellings of the glands,
and two of them died in consequence. A
practice which has been for a great length
of time in use in many arsenals is to keep
all their store or reserve timber floating in
or sunk under sea-water : but this method
too has its disadvantages ; for the wood
thereby loses its proper density and strength,
and it cannot, but with difficulty, be after-
wards ever thoroughly dried. The saline
matter, with which it has become impregnat-
ed, is apt to dissolve whenever the atmos-

phere is damp ; and thus a vessel built of
such timber is inevitably rendered uncom-
fortable and even unhealthy. The oxidation
too of the iron and copper work is greatly
accelerated by the presence of the muriate of
soda. Lastly, it may be stated that the wood
thus seasoned is by no means exempt from
the very evil which the remedy has been
used to counteract. In order that timber
may remain sound for a length of time, it
is necessary that it be thoroughly dried.
The drying of timber is usually effected by
exposing it for a length of time (under shel-
ter if possible) to the air. But this being a
tedious process, (three years may be stated
as the average time required,) recourse has
been had to artificial wai’mth. A too high
degree of heat weakens the ligneous fibre,
and by dissipating all its humidity — a certain
degree of which is necessary to its sup-
pleness and strength — renders it friable and
disposed to split. It has been recommen-
ded to dry and to preserve timber in beds of
dried sand ; but this plan is evidently in-
applicable for large quantities of wood.

The process of that , disorganization of
w^ood, so well known by the name of the
dry-rot, has been repeatedly examined. The
following appear to be the progressive steps
of this destructive change. The wood being
more or less humid, whether from retaining
part of its natural humidity, or, in con-
sequence of the long immersion to which it
was during its seasoning subjected, commen-
ces to undergo a sort of heating or fermen-
tation, the result of some internal molecular
movement, analogous to that which takes
place during the decomposition of animal
matters. By this fermentation and dissolu-
tion of the juices of the wood, the reticular
ligneous tissue gradually softens and cracks ;
and in the cracks or fissures thus formed
various cryptogamic plants begin to vegetate.
The vegetations, which are in truth not the
primary causes of the mischief, hut are
rather the result of the preceding changes,
multiply and increase in every direction,
breaking up and disorganizing the ligneous
tissue. This development of regular organi-
zed vegetable productions succeeding to a
previous decay of the wood, may be aptly
compared to the generation of worms in
putrefying aminal matter.

Such appears to be the process of what has
been called the dry-rot, or caries of wood ;
a morbid action which commences with a sort
of intestine fermentation or decomposition
of the ligneous fibre, and terminates by the
production of various cryptogamic plants in
its tissue. It had been long well known that
the corrosive sublimate of mercury has a
powerful effect in arresting the putrid fer-
mentation and decomposition of animal mat-
ters. It had been used in preserving anti-
monial preparations, objects of natural histo-
ry, in embalming, &c. The most putrescent
structures, such as the nervous pulp, acquires
a firmness from the sublimate, which enables
it to resist decay. Botanists, too, had fre-
quently employed it in the preservation of
their herbaria. So far back as the year 1815,

ON THE PRESERVATION OF TIMBER
FROM THE DRY ROT BY THE COR-
ROSIVE SUBLIMATE OF MERCURY.

360

KYAN S EXPERIMENTS WITH CORROSIVE SUBLIMATE.

Dr. Bailli of Toulouse had suggested the ex-
pedient of immersing wood in a solution of
corrosive sublimate to preserve it from speedy
decay. But we do not propose to dispute the
claims of the Englishman, Mr. Kyan, who
has recently brought the proposal more
formally and more minutely under the atten-
tion of his own as well as of our Government.

The solution which he recomends is made
by liissolving about a pound of the salt in
about eight or ten gallons of water. The
requisite period for maceration must vary,
according to thickness and hardness of the
timber, from a week to three or more. The
sails and cordage do hot require more than a
couple of days.

Several experiments were made at Woolwich
to ascertain the preservative powers of Mr.
Kyan’s solution. Pieces of wood which had
been subjected to it, and others which had
not, were left for a twelve-month in a ditch. A
quantity of decayed and rotting timber had
been thrown in along with the sound, and the
whole had been kept rather warm, for the
purpose of encouragina; the fermentation.

When removed at the end of the twelve-
month, the prepared wood was found to be
perfectly sound throughout, while the other
pieces were all more or less rotten.

The French chemist, M. Henry, has made
numerous experiments to ascertain tlie mode,
in which the sublimate probably operates, as
a preservative of timber. He has shewn that
the salt so employed is in a great measure
speedily converted into the state of protochlo-
ride, and that, in passing to this state, it
forms a combination with the albuminous
juices of the wood. There is thus formed a
new organic compound, fixed and insoluble,
and the vegetable juices are no longer liable
to be atfected by moisture, or susceptible of
that fermentation, which we regard to be
the primary and essential stage of the dry
rot.

In reference to the question whether the
wood, &c. prepared by Mr. Kyan’s method
is likely to prove hurtful to the shipwright,
or to the crew of a ship which has been built
of it, we may allude to some observations
of Mr. Faraday. This distinguished chemist

inform us that many years ago, his great
predecessor. Sir H.91)avy, was consulted by
the late Lord Spencer, as to the propriety of
using the corrosive sublimate to preserve his
valuable library from the attack of insects.
Both Sir H. and Mr. Faraday were rather
unfriendly to its use, on the ground that it
might become volatilised, and thus impreg-
nate the atmosphere of the rooms with poi-
sonous particles. But Mr. F. has subse-
quently changed his opinion, and he is now
convinced that his fears were unnecessary.
As a matter of course there is infinitely less
risk of any such injurious consequences
from wood which has been merely saturated
in a solution of the salt, than from using the
powder of the salt itself to sprinkle on books,
or other objects. But we have already stated
that the prepared wood retains very little of
the undecoraposed poisonous salt, the greater
part of it being speedily converted into the
innocent protes-chloride. The efflorescence
which may be often observed on wood which
has been immersed in the preserving liquor,
consists chiefly of this latter compound.

Already an experiment has been made in
England on a large scale, to ascertain whe-
ther there is any truth in the objections
which have been urged against Mr. Kyan’s
proposal. A South Sea Whaling vessel was
built some time ago at Cowes, altogether
of timber which had been seasoned as Mr.
K. recommends. No accident occurred
among the workmen in the building-yard,
and the crew had lived for two months on
board of the ship before she sailed, without
experiencing any inconveniencies. It will
be interesting to know the result of the ex-
periment when she returns after a two, or
three years’ voyage.

We hear that Mr. Kyan has abandoned his
project of preparing the cordage with the
same solution ; and he has suggested in lieu
of it, a solution of caoutchouc, which, while
it protects them against moisture, may
serve to make them more elastic.

On the whole the report presented by M .
Karaudern to the Acadamy must be deemed
highly favorable to the proposal of Mr.
Kyan.

THE

SPIRIT OF THE INDIAN PRESS,

OR

MONTHLY REGISTER OF USEFUL INVENTIONS,

AND

IMPROVEMENTS, DISCOVERIES,

AND NEW FACTS IN EVERY DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE.

RELICS FROM CAUBUL.

Tlie of Bombay states that a very valuable

box of relics has reached the presidency from Ca-
hool. It appears iha' some time since this (iovern-
riieiit placed at the disposal of Mr. Masson several
thousand rupees for the purpose of excavating

some <»f those singular bnilUings called “ Topes”
in that country, the expendiinie of which has ter-
minated most Successfully. Inirinsically even, we
have been informed, the relics are of consider-
able v.'iliie, consisting of several thousand coins in
gold, silver, and copper, as well as some golden
boxes; but in a historical point of view, they will

AMOUNT OF TRADE THROUGH AFFGHANISTAN,

361

prove of the first Importance in elucidating the
history of that part of Asia, Most of the coins
are Greek— chiefly of the Bactiiau luonarchs
There are also Itoinan coins, as well as of the
native dynasties that have reigned in Caboo!.— The
tope of Manikayala (a dratving- of which may be
seen in Mr. Elphinstone's work on Cabool) opened
by Mr. Ventura, gave the fiist impetus to the ex-
anitnation of these curious buildings.

We hope, at a future time, to be able to give a
more detailed account of these curiosities which
arc, it is said, far superior in interest to any of the
same kind that have been yel brought to light,

central ASIA DY WAY OF INDIA AND
AFFGHANISTAN.

We learn from the same source the amount
of the trade in Biitish goods tlnongh Alfghaiiislan
which has recently been ascertained to he very
great. M. Massutr, who is considered unques-
tionable authority, estimates that portion of it
which passes through Caubul alone, as north no
less than £;93,O00!

, To extend this trade we understand it is propo-
sed to establish fairs on the Indus like those of
Leipsic and Novogorod, to both of which tiaders
from nearly all Europe and Asia lesoi t; and C'apt.
Buines has iieen required among other things, to
asceitain the practicability of the stlieme. Unn-
jeet Sing, it is also said, has been spoken to regard-
ing it, and iias entered into it with eagerness. We
still trust, therefore, at no disiatil peiiod,i() see a
Considerable trade on the Iitdits, and advatitage
takeit of the facilities that magitificeiii stteant is
calculated to alford. — Already, itideed, cotuiiteice
is extending in that quarter. The great obstacle
to its advaitcement has always been the want of
some staple commodity as a retitrti for iuvesiinents
made iti Europe goods, &c. This however has at
length been discovered ; attd wool fioin the liidtts
is already an important article of trade here,
though it has only been imported for two or thiee
seasons. To what extent it may Ire procured
we cannot say; but judging from the infancy of the
trade, the rapidity with which it has extended since
it was discovered that wool was a saleable cunimo-
diiy in Bombay, and lire extent of tbe flocks of
sheep in Caubul, Cnndabar and tbe adjoiiitiig coun-
tries, it is not unreasonable to suppose it willsuoa
rank high in tbe list of our exports.

The rise and progress of this branch of trade de-
serves to be nienitoned, showing as it does how
much the resources of the country may be develo-
ped by a little enterprise and encouragement.

Theexports, since the trade commenced— three
years since- have been as follows:—

IS33 .... .s. .. ....... 106 bales.

1334 439-,,-

1635 2,290-,,—

This year 3,692 bales have already been export-
ad, and the sbipmenis ate increasing daily.

The accounts too from England are becomign
more and more favourable as the wool becomes
better known to the manufacturers in that country.
THE SALT WATER LAKE OF CALCUTTA.

Draining tbe Salt Water Lake of Calcutta was
projected by Lord AVilliam Beiilinck, we learn from
a minute in the financial and revenue department.
It is believed that the lowest bed of the Salt Water
Lake is at 2, that ihedepih isftom I J to 2 feet, and
some where exceeds 2.\ feei, that the neap (ides in
the Hoogiiiey in March arc 5 feet 4 inches and the
lowest spiings in March 7 feet 5 inches below the
lowest bed of the lake, in the one casegivin/r 3 feet
4 inches, and in the oilier 5 feet 5 inches fall. It is
evident from this, tbe complete drainage of the lake
cither into the Hoogly itself, or into the Canal is
perfectly practicable.

The warping np of the lake is a still more easy
and certain operation, in as much as in the nionibs
of March, April and May, the springs in the Hoogley
are ten feel higher than tlie lowest bed of the lake,
and the highest rise of the liver in August and
September, is between 15 and l6fe.et; vide daily
register of tides in the Hoogley at Calcutta from
1803 to 1828, by J ames Kyd, Esq.

Nor can a doubt be for one moment entertained
of the great snpei ioritv of a deep canal of fixed and
even dimensions, with high hanks, set vitig as roads
and tow paths, over a navigable shallow clianitel
tlirough an open lake only to he kept open by the
use of a dredging machine, and not having the bene-
fit of a lateral embankment except it be made at a
considerable expense.

Thelake.according to Captain Prinsep’s estimate,
contains 18^ square miles, equal to 12,090 acres or

38.000 Bengal Digabs. The lowest rent of these
lands near Calcutta is 2 rupees per Bigah the lowest
amount of rent, as well as produce of the lowest
value is taken; such lattd might leasonahly he
expected to grow indigo, cotton, or sugar cane. The
yearly produce at 2 rupees per Bigah would be

72.000 or £7,200 or very nearly equal to the whole
cost of the cut, Mr. Oanipier, the commissioner of
the Similerbims, in whose jurisdiction the Salt vva-
ter Lake is situated, estimates tbe quantity of bi-
gabs at 60 000, and the rent at more than 2 rupees,
but it will be safer to take Captain Prinsep’s esti-
mate.

Lord William thought that the general salubrity of
this gieai city, aiidithe vast improvement to navi-
gation by a good canal instead of a shallow channel,
through the open lake,weie objects of such supeiior
importance that he put all gain and profit out of the
question. But it would be satisfactory at any rate,
even without any prospect of collateral advantage,
that so much good could he attained at so little cost.

It is necessary to remaik that the Salt Water Lake
has been disposed of in peipeluiiy, paying a rent
of about 4,000 rupees to Government. The profit
ihe zemindars, as he learn from the Commissioner,
from the fisheries, from reeds, and from lands, from
nliich the waters have] receded, amounts to above

16.000 rupees ; he knrut from the some resource

362 '

EXTENSION OF SUGAR CULTIVATION IN INDIA.

that the propiietors would not he unwillins to sell
their property. There is a doiiht whether the land,
as well as the water, and the right of fishery, be-
longs to the zemindar, or to the state, the right
is about to be tiied.

Lord William proposed that this miiuite with its
accompanying documents, might be submitted to
the Hoii’ble Court, with his request that the
plan may be laid before Messis. Telford, and
John and George Ilennie, for their opinion upon
• ts practicability, and for such suggestions, and
directio ns, as they are so well enabled to give for
its execution. He pioiiosed these gentlemen, lie-
cause they had been lingineers in the woiks to
which he himself was a party, and they would
therefore better undei stand his meaning.

He further proposed if the Court should feel
doubtful of the piaclicability,or being satisfied upon
that head, should be unwilling to undertake it, that
they would peimit iudividuals including their ser-
vants to embaik their money in the wotk.

11 would be fair, he thought, that one half of the
expense of the new proposed cut, should be borne
by the Company, in return for the improved navi-
gation and the greater increase of Tolls that would
accrue theiefrom* The proprietors of the Salt Water
Lake would of course continue to pay the same jum-
lua to Goveinmeut as heitofoie.

SUGAR CULTIVATION.

On this subject the Conservative of Madras
observes.

The present time is certainly favourable f«r the
extension of Sugar cultivation in India, as it ap-
pears clear beyond controversy that a falling oflT
will take place in that article in the West Indies
at the expiialion of the apprenticeship act. 1 he
West India Islands even under the present system
aie inadequately supplied with labour, and amongst
propiietors there is much apprehension that the
apprentices will notwoikat all when no longer
compelled to do so: one thing is certain that if the
West India Negro is no great political economisr,
he is at all events a practical philosopher, and his
present idea of absolute freedom and consequent
happiness is that of setting under the shade all
daylong. He is as yet insensible to the moral
stimulus of beltei ing his condition, and it is to he
feared when left to himself he will only labour to
the extent of procuring subsistence, which maybe
about a month in each year.-Nciwithsianding (his
apprehension we are far from being of the opinion
of some enthusiasts in Bengal who prognosticate
the downfall of the West Indies from the passing
of the late Act: sorry indeed should we be to see
the ruin of these “ gems set in the silver sea ;
their standing or falling is a question of vital im-
poriance to England: and sorry should we be to

see the fair Island of the Mauritius sinking again
in a comine rcial point of view into the insignifi-
cance from which it has within these last few year s
emerged.

As regards the latter Island there is little to be
apiireheiided, as its supeiioriiy <»f soil over India,
and the success of the expeiiincnt made two years
ago of importing labourers from this countiy give
advantages to its industrious and deserving colonists.
*— vVe have reason to suppose that before long Na-
tives from this country will be imported in consi-
derable numbers to our West India Islands upon
the same teims as those who have been sent to the
Mauriiins. Should their importation be attended
with equal success, we do not think the West India
Pi oprietors, have much to apprehend from any
extension of the culture of Sugar Cane which may
take place in this country — the superiority of soil
in the West Indies will compensate for the higher
price which must he paid for the labour of those
who are employed [in the cultivation of the Cane
and the manufacture of its piodncts.

EXPENSES OF THE OVEllLAND ROUTE.

The following on the above subject is import-
ant information to those who may he inclined to
pioceed home in this way, a statement of the ex-
penses attending it is of inieiest.

The economy of this mode of travelling has
long been no secret. The whole amount paid by
Major Davies for himself and Mrs. Davies be-
tween London and Bombay, enjoying by the way
a nip up the Rliine and through Italy, was only
£126 each ; and yet it would seem tliat they
mi"lii have pei formed (he jouiney for considera-
bly less, bad they arrived in the Red Sea earlier
iif the season and been freed from the extra
charges they were obliged to pay for a passage to
this poit. It will he observed, too, that they di-
verged a little from the direct route, by proceed-
ing to Brussels, which must have increased their ex
penses. — For two or three bachelor.-, therefore,
travelling in company, and who are willing to pm
up with little inconveniences, £100 each, tlieie is
reason to believe, will be sufficient for the journey.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE COURIER.

StB,— It having been suggested to me that any
Inioimation regarding the expenses incurred and
time occupied, in a journey from England to
Bombay by way of Egypt, would be iiueiesiing to
qibeis, contemplating the same, I beg leave to
tend yon a longh sketch of what it cost me toge-
ther with Mrs. Davies —The season ought to he
considered; for Sleameis weie not going in the
Red Sea.

We left England on the I9ih May.^ and ariived
ill Bombay,! 20th Seplemlier 1836. The routes
from Malta are various, and all interesting, but as
Steamers aienow constantly going from Hlalia to
Naples, that would be tlioiiglii the best by most
people; but of course every one will decide for
himself, as he gets on, what route to pursue. My
object is merely to state, in a rough sketcli, wliat
it cost me, and I may add, that with the exception
of the heat in the Red Sea at the season we came,
we accomplished the journey without the least difii-
culty, and weie most highly pleased with the
many inteiestiiig sights and scenery we thus had
an opporiniitiy of seeing-

C. Davis, Major, Bombay Army-

DR. LUSH’S VALUABLE PAPER ON COTTON.

363

PARKS and PASSAGB MONEY.

From Miles.

Actual tra-

Amount paid for

London to

Antwerp

220 t

veiling.

conveyance.

£ 8. d.

4 4 0 Steam packet 30 hrs.

and half.

Brussels

30 f

5 0 Steam caniage 1 hour

Liege

64

1 “...

2 0 Diligence.

Aix la Chapelle i

75

2 “

.. .. 2

14 6 Voiiure.

cologne S

Coblentz ...... . .

63

1

I

2 0 Steam vessel on the Rhine.

Mayence

60

1 „

.. . 1

1 6 do. do.

Manheim

Heidelberg

27 i
10$

1

0

13 0 do. do.

8 0 Voiture.

Stutgard

70

1

,. .. • i

13 0 Diligence.

Innsprtick

203

4 „ .. .

.... 6

2 6 Voiture.

Verona ..

191

4

.. . 5

3 6 do.

Modena, chang-'l
ed Voiiure&cross- 1
ed the Appeniiies

ISO

5

S 8 do.

by the Betuna 1
pass to Florence. J
Leghorn

60

1

2

3 0 do.

Malta

500

11 „

17

0 0 Brigaiitino.

Alexandria

700

13 „

.. .. 18

0 0 Schooner.

Aife Canal, joins #
the Nile %

40

1

0 0 Arab boat

Boulac, port of/
Cairo ^

lOO

3 „ ...g...

0 0 Insurance company’s

boat.

Suez, crossed the /
desert j

80

3

0 0 Camels and Donkies.

Jedda

540

17 „

6 0 Aral) boat.

Mocha

480

11

s 8 Arab ship.

Bombay

1800

20

. • ; . . 60

0 0 Surat ship.

6491 99

EXPENSES AT INNS, &C.

Expenses at Inns in Europe

Do. at Malta, supplies for Egypt,

Do. do. Beverly’s Hotel r

Do. Alexandria Mrs. Hume’s hotel and some supplies, and at Catro, Mrsi

hotel and other expenses in Egypt

Do. Suez, Tor, Yaniboo

Do.

Do. Servants from A'exandria to Jedda

Do. Hodeidaand Mocha

Seivant from Jedda to Bombay

£162 14 0

.. .. 25 0 0

.. .. 10 0 0
.. .. 797

Hall’s

. 30 0 0

.. .. 2 0 0
.... 5 0 0

.. .. 4 0 0

3 15 0

3 0 0

£89 4 7

COTTON.

Dr. Lush has communicated a valuable pa“
per., on the cultivation and preparation of
Cotton in the distritcts under the Bombay pre-
sidency.

1 he determination of the species and varieties
of Cotton, of the genus Gossypium, to speak in
correct hotatiical language is no easy problem. Dr.
T. Hamilton Buchanan, who believed he bad seen
all the kinds then grown in Itidia including four
or five generally allowed by authors to be specifically
all growing in the same field and pro-
duced from the same seed admitted only three
species. One species with white fibre and white or
green seed : — examples-common Indian cotton,
Ameiican upland, &c.

A second species with white fibre and black
seed — Bourbon, &c.

A third species with yellow fibre.— \iz. Nankin
cotton-

This simplification however startling to those
who have seen the seemingly well drilled ranks
of species in standard botanical works, is very

Total for two persons— £251 18 7

near the truth. Following nearly the same piin-
ciple. Dr. Lush would reject the Nankin as not
specifically distinct from the common Indian and
American, and acknowledge the Pernambuco or
kidney cotton as a decided species. M. De Can.
dolle?.* observes that— After giving the genetic
character of Gossypium, he adds “ n. B. species
omnes incertce ex characteribus mancis stability.
Genus monographiae accuratse et ex vivo elaboraiae
maxime egere !” True;— but if the drawings and
‘descriptions are to be made from cultivated kinds,
the existing confusion will be increased. It is
only the description of those found in an undoubt-
edly wild slate, that can be of service to the bo-
tanist, and the benefit to the cultivator could but
be small. It is remaikable that M. De Candolle
marks the Gossypium acuminatum of Boxburgh
which is no other than the kidney or Pernam-
buco cotton, as a doubtful species. Now it is not
only clearly described by Boxburgh hut is the most
distinct species and the most unvarying in charac-

• De Condo lie. Prodromus syst. naturalis regni
veget pars 1pp. 456.

364

ON THE NAVIGATION OF THE INDUS.

ter, ibal Is to be found at ibis aioinentgtowiiig In
India.

1'be Cotton imported into Bombay lias been cal
ciliated to have increased within a very few years,
from the annual value of 80 or 80 lakhs of rupees,
to the amount of near three crores. No material
Improvement can have taken place in the staple,
and the Cotton of the once despised districs of Su-
rat, &C- now fetches a price at least equal to that
of upland Georgia in 1829. The fact is, that the
rise of price has suggested new modes of separating
the impuriiies at borne, and a dirty, short-fibred
Cotton, now turns out not so bad an article’ The
cultivation even in very inferior land has greatly
increased and still Increases rapidly. In this career
are we likely to receive a check 1 In 1829, Surats,
&c. were quoted at 3d | per lb. In 1835, he find that
(before the late rise) the worst sample he could pio-
cure of Colton very inferior to Sniat (some vile
Compta) said by Company’s brokers to be “ badly
cleaned, lender staple and stained” was valued at
6|d per lb. Now Dr. Lush is convinced tliat the grow-
er and tlie merchant may yet get ample profit when
the best Indian cottons are at 5:1- per lb. As long
as there exists so little difference between very
dirty and very clean Cotton, as there is at present,
— and he knows no reason why this comparative
ratio should change,— we need not fear, he says, what
some please to term competition wiih America. Our
cotton may well afford to stand a little abuse
while so liigh a price Is paid for it. We have the
satisfaction of knowing that we can stand up
against a gieat reduction in price below the pre-
sent rates.—

REPORT ON THE STATE AND NAVI GATION

OF THE INDUS BELOW HYDERABAD.

About 50 miles from the sea the River Indus, it is
well known, divides into two grand arms the Bug-
ganr and the setta. During the dry season no
communication now exists between ilie Bogganrand
main stream, a sand liank having accumulated at
the confluence which is 6 or 6 feet above the level
of the water; in all the liranches diverging from it
the water is salt for the greater part of tiie year,
and they are then merely inlets of the sea. The
Setta or Eastern arm pursues the same course to
the ocean as the gieal river from wliicli it is sup-
plied, and is ill facta coniinuaiion of it; in every
part it preserves a similar magnitude, and for a
long a period it has been, as it is now, the princi-
pal channel of tlie Indus; in its passage tothesea
it receives many local appellations, bui is best
known near tlie coast as the Mminejab «.r wanyaiiee.
Of the foul branches it sends off, the Mull and
Moinnee are impassable ai the point wliere they
leave the parent siieain, and iioiliing is n<>w seen
of these once noble riveis but two shallow rivulets,
one of which you may step across and the other hut
a few yards wide. 1 he Hiijamree and Kedywaiee
are the only two now favoied lo any extent by the
fresh water, or which possess navigable channels
into the main river ; the latter however can scarcely
be called a branch, for it is merely a shallow cieek
with a broad entrance ilial quits the vtnnnejah near
its mouth- Above the Delta tivo more branches
are ibiownoff by the Indus, the Pinyaree and Fu-
lailee wliicb are rivers only dining the inundation :
after it has subsided they dry up for miles, and are

besides closed by bunds thiown across them above
the Seaport towns.

The Indus formerly reached the sea through
eleven large mouths, but three of them now siillice
in the dry season, to discharge its water ; of these
the Phitiee, Pyiiliaiiee, Jonah and Iticliael belong
to the Buggaur and the Hujamiee, Kedywaiee*
Kookewaree, Kalieel,aiul Mull to iiie Sena; the
Seer and Koree and entrances to the Pinyaiee and
Fiilailee branches and complete the number. Be-
sides these, there .are many small mouths, but as
it would only tend to confuse, T sli all not iiaiiio
them. At present the Kookewaree, which gives
egiess to (he waters of the Miinnejah River-, is the
grand embouchure of the Indus ; in the late iMa^is
it is called the Gota, hut eri-oiieously so, for iliat
mouth was deserted by the stream some years ago,
and its site is now occupied by an extensive
swamp.

Between the Eastern and Western mouths the
Coast of the Delta runs nearly in a strait direction
to the N. \V. about 125 miles : in the charts now
in use it is laid down above half a degree too far to
the Eastward, and tlie same error will he found in
every part that exists at the mouths of the Hiijam-
ree and Koree, where the longitutle has been ascer-
mined by numerous observations ; the foimer is in
G7d.25ii, 21s. East, and tli.; latter in 68d. £0 in.
East, rite shore is low and flat throughout, and at
high water partially overflowed to a considerable
distance inland ; witli the exception of a few spots
covered with jungle it is entirely destitute of tre- s
or sliiii'bs, and nothing is seen fur iiiaiiy miles
hut a dreary swamp: wherever this occurs tlie land
is scarcely discernible two miles from the slioie,
but at those parts where tltere are hushes, it is visi-
itle from the deck of a small vessel double tliat
distniice. Oii a coast so devoid of objects and
partly submerged at limes, it is often dilJicnlt to
distinguish the moiiiiis of the different riveis, and
l)ut few direciions can be given to assist (he navi,
gator ill finding them. The Seer is known by
6 time sand-heaps topped with bnslies on its North
point, whicli are sulliciently elevated to be visible
some distance ; tlie Cntcli Pilots call tliis point
Donppee and always stands into siglit it, before they
gteei forthe Mitnnejah bank. I licre is a similar
spot at the Riohael mouth, which also serves as a
ciiide in approacliing Hie Hujatnree River iwo miles
below it. Theoaiik every where piojecting (rom the
coast, extends from the Bay of Coiachee to the N.
W. extremity of Cutcii- In breadth it varies con-
side rably ; off the mouth of the Setta, where liroad
flats have been cast up by the greater streii^ih of
the tide, it runs out in some places 5 or 6 miles,
and at low water is <try fora distance of I 5 mile s
along the shore; at the Kotee month it is of a si-
milar breadth but only dries liereand liiere in small
patches: in othei paits the oiiieredge isonlySor
3 miles from the land, and sometimes less, and at
Ion' tide it has a depth of water on i', which fioiii
•2.^ fatiioms decreases gradually to 4 oi 6 feet, on
the liank the bottom is smooth and hard, but
outside is composed of soft mud. The tides are
extremely it tegular ; between the Seer and Mull
moutiis, 80 miles apart, the current sets constantly
to the E- S E,, and the flood or ebh can only he
distinguished by the rise or fall of water, which is
not more than 4 feet: near tlie Miinnejah bank, the
ebb runs with some strenghih directly off shore,
and the rise and fall incieases to 12 feet : in^oiher
parts where the channels are niinierotis, the tides
change their direct! on every hour, and they are
scarcely felt at a greater distance than 2 or 3
utiles from the shore.

During tlie fine season the Sinde Coast may he
navigated witliout difiicnliy ; the soundings are every
where a sulficieiit guide, and in general decrease so
gradually and with such legiilarity, that no danger
is to he apprehended in approaching it. I he only
shoal of any consequence is tiie Great Mnnnejnli
Bank, which projects beyond the line of the direct
rout to the Northern rivers. In passing it duiing

CARBONATE OF SODA FROM IMPURE MINERAL ALKALI.

365

Ihe iiisiht lari/e vessels uughi iiol to come under 7
fallioms, for it is latliei Sleep in some pans, and
from that deplli tliesonndimisdecrease veiy rapidly.
Land and sea breezes {>eiieraUy prevail witb cold
clear weaiber, but the wind sometimes Irlows very
fresh from the N. li. and the aimospbere is ob-
scured Ity clouds of dust. Tin? fine season is over
lori'i lietoie it terminates on the Malabar Coast,
and the navigation becomes very dangerous. Eaily
in February the Westeily winds set in with con-
siderable violence, and for the fust foitnight the
weather is al\va3 s very tempestuous ; strong gaies
are also someiinies encountered in this inooili, and
there is a heavy tutnulittous sev continually i mining,
which breaks acioss ibe mouths of most of the
Uivers. In 1833 the Shannon Scliooner was cauttht
in one ihai lasted 13 tiottrs, ami cause the destruc-
tion of 10 or 1 2 laige boats which weie wrecked on
diffeient pans of the coast. Slioit inteivals of fine
weaihei occur afterwards until the middle of March,
but after that dale the mouths of the Indus may be
considered closed for the season.

Besides the Munnejah or main river there is only
one branch, the Hiijamree, now available fm the
purpose of opening a communication with the up-
per part of Ihe Indus : a iriaonometiical survey of
it has heeti completed, and the former has been
caiefiilly examined from Hyderabad to its month.

The mouth of the Hiijainree opens like a funnel,
and with the exception ttf that part where tire river
lakes its course aloui; the tight bank, is occupied
hy a broad flat, paitially covered with water: Ibis
form^ a couiiuuatiou of the bank every where ex-
tending from the coast which is here rather more
than a mile in breadth. The best cbannel for cross-
ing it runs in a N N. E. direction towards the
North point of the river, and is COO yards wide:
at the entrance iheie ate heavy breakers on either
side, and at high water no greater depth is iVuind
on the bar which is about half a mile insid^, than
13 feel. Besides this channel, there is another that
crosses the bank in an liasterly line three or four
hundred yards above it, but it is extremely shal-
low, and can only be used by the smallest Ixiais in
moderate weather. About ibis mouth, which is
situated in 218’ 20) ; North Latitude, the land is
eniirely destitute of objects that could lie pointed
out as tnaiks to guide Hie navigator, and wiibout
the assistance of a Pihti a stiaiiger would have
some diiliculiy in finding it: Ihe Cutcla boatmen
never attempt to steer for it until they have seen
the Noiib point of the Ricliel, which being covered
with mangrove jungle is visible some distance,
and enaltles them lo ascertain their position coi-
lectly, I’heie is however no danger in aitproach-
iti'g it during the fine season, for the soundings
decrease witb the greatest regularity up to the
edge of the shoals, and the breakers on them are
visible when in 4 or 5 faihoms water.

(JTo be continued.)

THK CINNAMON TRADE.

The following from the Ceylon Observer is the
official Statement of the Government Stock of
Cinnamon on hand, and that of the Export for the
year ending 31st August 1836, it will be seen that
the quaiitiiy of the spice shipped during that time
was about 5,818 bales, being within about 182 bales
of vihai is said by Government to have been export,
ed annually during the monopoly. If the high
■ prices that have lately been given for all sorts of
Cinnamon, and the increased sale of the first quality
be taken into consideration, we conceive that the
state of the Tiade will soon, iiicontestibly, prove
the erroneous views once maintained by those who
would have preserved the 'peculiar monopoly of
this A I tide fiom the idea that the abolition of it
woud have luined the revenues of the Colony and

even the Trade itself. From the manner in which
the Government Sales are conducted they still*
however, approach too nearly to a monopoly. A
certsin number of bales are monthly put up to
Auction at an upset price, and however great the
demand may be no more will then be disposed of.
Government are still almost the sole producers
and proprietors of the ailicle, of which they might
biiiig a much greater quantity into the market from
their piesent stock, and continue to do so were
common attention paid lo their Gaidens. Instead
of doing this and disposing of a much larger quan-
tity at a somewhat reduced lale, with their usual
short-sighted policy they content themselves with
selling a small quantity at a high pilce upon which
they afterwards levy an exorbitant duty. How fre-
quently has it been shewn that by this conduct they
offer a bonus to foreigners to cultivate the spice,
and in support of this conclusion we have lo slate
another instance in the Dutch, who have now also
become competitors in the cultivation of Cinnamon,
of which they have grown excellent qualities at
Java.

Natural productions of India.

To the Editor of the A^ra Ukhbar.

Sir,— 1 lespectfully beg to offer for publication
Ihe following memorandum on the refining of
Carbonate of Soda from the impure inineial Alkali
found in abundance throughout the Western Pro-
vinces, and more especially in the vicinity of the
Jumna, and which I am strongly inclined to lielieve
must become a substance of great mercantile im-
poilance and value, as soon as its properties, and
extensive consumption in medicine, the arts, and
manufactutes, become more fully known and ap-
pieciated.

If this specimen of the application of practical
Chemistry merit approval, it mav be followed l>y
some others executed with the view to facilitate
I lie preparation of the indigenous productions of
the Country,

JOHN DOUGLAS, Apothecary,
Landour, 30t/i Sept. 1936.

My attention having been drawn last cold season
to the aitiindant and inexhaustible supply of impute
Caiboiiateof Soda CRae ka Muitee) found in the
state of efflovesence on the surface of the ground
throughout the vvesteru Provinces, and in particu-
lar to the practicability, of refining it in the most
advantageous and economical manner, so as to ren-
der ii most suitable as an article of commercial
speculation and export, I beg to hes)>eak an in-
dulgent coiisideiation for the following metno-
raiidum on the subject, the result of my observations
and experiments.

Regarding the natural phenomena which attend
the formation of this mineral it may be briefly
premised.—

That, on an examination of those localities where
it is found efflorescent in the greatest purity and
whiteness, a superficial stratum of Cartiouate of
Lime is almost invariably to be found in it under
Ibe shape of kunkur, and tbe water in the kucha
wells in the immediate neighbourhood is sali-ne
and bitter, in short, it is generally so strongly
impregnated with muriate of Soda as to be made
available by the native salt makers for the manu-
facture of Hie coarsest qualities of coiiniiy salt.

On a consideration of these circumstances it
may be inferred that a mutual process of decompo-
sition is continually, and imperceptibly going for-
ward between the Muiiate of Soda aiiri Carbonate
of Lime promoted, and modified more or less by
the influence of the solar heat, the Caibonate of

366

COTTON CROP IN SURAT, BROACH, POONA, &c.

sixia is separated, and perhaps ahsorhins: Carbonic
acid from lire aimospiiere, it spoiiianeonsly as-
sumes effloiescenl state in vvliic!) il appears at ali
times of the year when ilie weather is clear and
dry, hut in the ijreaiest purity and perfection dn-
tins the montlis of March, Apiii,May, and Jutie,
in shoit until the commeticement of the rtiins.

The efflorescent alkali when Katheied is mixed
with, atid deteiiorated by earthy and calcaierms
impurities, besides il is liable to he discoloured by
the veoetahle niaitei with which it is found iti coti-
lact, such as the roots of mass and tire decayed
blanches, and twit's of trin>>aid hushes — the piin-
cipal object, therefore, in rifmingii is to destroy
and separate it from such iurpeiFections.

For this purpose ditfeient plaits may he piir-
sited; 1 prefei that which follows, beiiiii grounded
ou actual e xpei intent, and the least expensive.

A few fields may he selected on which the efflores-
cence appeals most plentitul and c eun. (I'he
tvaslieimen always know where such fields are to
he found,; Let it he gathered in small heaps separa-
ting as much as possible, the grass and its roots,
the little stalks of rotten plants, the pieces ofkmi-
kiir miisi also be picked out ; this will he best down
in the baskets, in wbich it is to be taken up and
cat lied to the vicinity of the kiln wliere it is to be
collected and formed into a mound of a P5ramidal
shape. I'he ground on which it is built being
laiseda little so as to ptevenl it being injured try
the dampness.

I'he mound during its formaiioit may be tlioroirgh-
ly beat down by wooden mallets, that it may he
as solid as possible -iti the course of a lew days a
lich and beautifully wliite efflorescence will appear
on its sides, particnlaily on the side most exposed
to the rays of the sun. This effl iresceuce as it
torins, may be detached, or rather shaved off by
a common grasscutters kuipah; it ntay then be
transferred to a kiln to be calcined aird freed from
its vegetable impurities.

The common country kiln is veiy suitable
for the purpose iutended, only it may be nar-
rower and deeper in its construction, and of
a capacity proportionate to the quantity of
Alka i to be prepared. The calcination must
be continued until the vegetable matter be
completely consumed, and the carbonic acid
dissipated, in short it will become caustic, and
similar to lime after having undergone a
similar process. Dry cow dung is an excel-
lent and cheap fuel, and the calcination after
it has commenced, may be continued by
throwing in fresh efflorescent Soda by the
top, whilst the calcined Soda may be drawn
out from the air-hole at the bottom of the
kiln.

The calcined Soda may now be dissolved
in clean soft water, and lixiviated so as to
allow the insoluble matter to fall to the bot-
tom, and obtain a clear caustic ley or solution.
This solution may be further purified by pass-
ing it through a filter of clean river sand and
charcoal placed ou a wicker basket. The
basket by means of a couple of crossed sticks
may be fixed over the boiler, so that the
solution may drop into it, and the evapora-
tion may then commence which is the next
step in the iirocess. The boiling mast be con-
tinued, adding fresh ley through the filter
until it begins to appear quiescent and smooth
on the surface like oil; at this stage, a little
of the solution maybe taken out and cooled
on a bit of glass to show its strength by the
quantity of salt that will remain upon it— if
that be considerable, the fire may be with-
drawn; the solution when cool will concrete
into a mass of Soda of the most valuable and
purest quality - and after it has been exposed
to the atmosphere it will soften and become
pasty, and then by the absorption of Carbonic
acid it passes into a clean efflorescent Car-
bonate, in the most advantageous state to be

used in the numerous manufactures, for which
it is in such general demand.

If it be desirable to obtain the chrystalized
Carbonate of Soda it may be dissolved in hot
water and exposed to the night air, and if it
be cold enough chrystals will be formed, which
if slightly disco) oured will become quite jiure
and white if spread out for a day or two in
the heat of the sun.

I apprehend the refining of crude Soda
might be carried on under great advantage
in the vicinity of Agra, because the crude
mineral may be procured by the mere trouble
of gathering it - the lands on which it is found
being barren and sterile and useless for agri-
cultural purposes ; the expence of fuel is easi-
ly ascertained, as well as the attendance the
process of manufacture would require. Aboiler
such as is used for making coarse sugar, (Jag-
ree,) would evaporate about a maund of alkali
every second day, and the river is conveni-
ently available to transport it to the Calcutta
market.

Analysis of a Sample of Chry-Stalized Car-
bonate of Soda prepared in conformity to
the method described in this memorandum is
subjoined, for brevity ’s sake the results of the
application of the tests are stated.

First experiment- shewed the presence of
an Acid either Cai'bonic or Sulphuric.

Second experiment— shewed Carbonic. Acid,
no Sulphuric.

Third experiment. - The same experiment
with a different test; again the same result.

Fourth e.xperiment -indicated a small trace

of Muriatic Acid.

Fifth experiment— shewed a fixed Alkali
either free or in Combination with Carbonic
Acid.

Sixth experiment - shewed the Alkali to
be Soda in combination with Carbonic Acid.

STATE OF THE COTTON CROP.

We have published in a previous column an
abstract from the official returns, lately re-
ceived from the collectorates of Surat, Broach,
Poona and Ahmudnuggur, of the extent of the
cotton cultivation within those districts.

In consequence of the unusually heavy falls
of rain in Guzerat this season, an idea prevails
that the ensuing crop of cotton will be greatly
deficient. This, however,'seems likely to prove
erroneous ; for, though the destruction of the
early sowings in the principal cotton districts
has been quite enormous, it will be counter-
balanced in a great measure within those very
districts hy the unusual exertions made to re-
sow the lands that have suffered; while in
the Deccan no losses have occurred, and the
cultivation has more than doubled within a
twelve-month.

What the state of the crop is in Candeish,
Katty war, and the Southern Mahratta country
we cannot say, as no returns have yet been
received from them; but it is certain that,
in all these districts, the weather has been
most favorable, tind as the causes which have
led to the improvement in the Deccan have
been such as operate throughout the country,
it may be inferred that the effect has been
equally general.

The total decrease of cultivation in Broach
and Surat is stated at 53,608 beegas. Allow-
ing, therefore, 6 mauuds to the beega, those
two provinces will produce 9,572 candies less
than last .eeason. Against this, at the same
rate of computation, we have an increase of
2,945 candies from the Deccan. It will not,
therefore, supposing the yield to be as good
this year as last require a very great increase
in the produce of the other districts, to render
the extent of the present crop fully equal to
that of the last. - Bombay Courier .

THE INDIA REVIEW

OF WORKS ON SCIENCE.

AND

JOURNAL OF FOREIGN SCIENCE AND THE ARTS,

EMBRACING

MINERALOGY, GEOLOGY, NATURAL HISTORY, PHYSICS, &c.

REVIEW.

Sugar, as to the probability of an im-
provement in the cultivation and quality
of, either through Europeans or Natives,
in case of an increased demand: From the
report from the select committees of the
Houses of Lords and Commons, appoint-
ed to enquire into the present state of the
affairs of the East India Company.
1830-31.

BelVs Comparative View of the External
Commerce of Bengal, during the years
1834-35 and 1835-36, pp. 106.

A Treatise on the Cultivation of Sugar _
canes, and the manufacture of Sugar,
comprehending instructions for planting ,
and saving the cane, expressing the
juice, 8fc. 8fc. By W. Fitzmaurice,
many years a planter in the island of
Jamaica, pp. 69, 1830.

The nature and properties of the Sugar-
cane, with practical directions for the
improvement of its culture and the
manufacture of its products. By
George Richardson, Porter
Philadelphia, pp> 354-, 1831.

From a remote period the natives of this
country possessed the art of making sugar
on the exact principles of manufacture pur-
sued with so much success in the West
Indies, and we learn from the work by Mr.
Fitzmaurice that, on this account, the Court

of Directors ordered, in 1792, a report to
be drawn up on the subject, which was
printed in that year by Debrett. From this
report we find, that sugar, ever since the
accession of the British to the territorial
jurisdiction of Bengal, was a capital staple
commodity, and drew annually into these
provinces specie to a very considerable
amount, which was wholly expended here in
the purchase of that commodity for expor-
tation, principally to the ports of aliens on
both sides of India . We should have sup-
posed that, under such favorable results, the
sugar trade of this country never would have
declined, but its history shows that the
trade had been lost at a late period, the
current totally reversed, and immense trea-
sures exported hence, for the purchase of
the same article in foreign ports. On refer-
ring to the Bengal Consultations, Revenue
Department, 5th of June, 1776, it will be
found that the sugar trade had so alarmingly
declined, that an address on the subject
was presented to the Government of that
period, by persons evidently conversant on
the subject. The export had then ceased,
a neglect of the proper system of manu-
facture was the result ; for the peasant or
ryot had few wants, and the raw cane, or a vis-
cous juice expressed from it, supplied all his
wants for temporary aliment or indulgence ;
the juice being boiled into a syrup, and of a
quality adapted for making the coarse kind of
sweetmeats, supplied the demand. This
syrup, called Gour or Jaggery, was how-
ever plentifully exported to Europe. Now

368

SUGAR IMPORTED INTO ENGLAND IN 1792.

can it be credited that the British policy
in India led to the neglect of so im-
portant an article of trade, of such essential
importance to the public revenue, and not
merely for use in the state in which it was ex-
ported hence, but as a material for the great,
opulent, and valuable body of sugar refiners,
with reference to whose interests it ought to
have been chiefly viewed. The quantities
of sugar imported into England for a
series of years previous to 1792, the period
to which we are now adverting, prcv'e that
nearly two hundred and seven millions of
pounds weight passed through the hands of
the British sugar dealers yearly ; and it was
demonstrated that, on an average, one third
of the whole of that quantity has been con-
sumed within the British islands, one half
of the ether two thirds, exported to depend-
encies, and the other third, after undergoing
the expensive operations of refining, wholly
exported. So that, supposing no more to have
been refined than the complete one third, ex-
ported in that state, how necessary was it for
the administration here, and particularly the
merchant, to have known that the sugar of
India was not of sufficient strength through
the defective manufacture, and that it opened
the markets for the direct and circuitous
introduction of the more rich and yielding
sugars of the French and the Americans.

But this was not all ; the Chinese and the
Dutch took advantage of this want of fore-
sight in the Indian Government. The in-
dustry and ingenuity of the former especial-
ly, brought the manufacture of sugar to a
state of the highest perfection and supplied
the deficiency. Without occupying much
space, we have endeavoured to prove
that the Government of this country
shut its eyes to a means within its power of
enlarging its own resources, and of giving
occupation and wealth to its peasantry, by
a profitable exportation at a moment when
a concurrence of unusual events in the West
Indies and in Europe threw open the British
markets with considerable and unprecedent-
ed advantages to the East India speculation j
when, in fact, the failure of the French sugar

colonies, the abatement of the produce in the
British, together with the popular prejudices
raised by the numerous advocates for the
■abolition of slave ti’ade, had caused East
India sugar of a very inferior quality to
meet a reception and sale.

But a new era has now dawned on India.
Mr. Bell has already shewn that England
will be under the necessity of drawing upon
India for new supplies of sugar. The poli-
tical aspect of our West India colonies tends
to strengthen this impression. The ship-
ments, during the last year, of nearly nine
thousand maunds of sugar from Calcutta to
North America, is evidence of deficiency
somewhere; and, as Mr. Bell justly says, it is
obvious that free labour in the West Indies,
without taking into account the immense
sacrifice already made to rescue it from the
stigma of slavery, can never be brought low
enough to compete with that of the Hindoo.
Hitherto the people of England have been
made to pay an enormous sum, to indemnify
the West India planters for the loss of their
slaves, and in return for this boon the people
have been compelled to purchase the produce
of the East at a much higher rate.

The monstrous injustice, however, to
which Mr. Bell alluded when his work was
published, of bolstering up the interests of
one country at the expense of another ; the
maintenance of the unnatural price of sugar,
by means of unfair restriction, now no longer
exists ; and the day has arrived when England
must look to this country for her only
source of supply.

We shall now proceed to examine the
various reports before us to prove that
the quality and manufacture of sugar may
be brought to a state of the highest perfec-
tion in this country. Mr. Bell shews satisTac-
torily that the Otaheite or Mauritius cane
does not degenerate in India under common
care, the produce of which is quadruple that
of the indigenous. He states that, under
the direction of the Agricultural Society,
it is expected that within four years the

369

CULTIVATION OF SUGAR CANE IN INDIA.

country cane will be completely displaced —
a prospect the most encouraging to our com -
mercial community here. We shall there-
fore, with the ample materials in our posses-
sion, proceed to consider the cultivation of
sugar cane in India. Mr. Fitzmaurice, who
was many years a planter in the island of
Jamaica previous to his coming to the East,
observes that the groundintended for the cul-
tivation of sugar cane must first be cleared
of all shrubbery and grass, the roots carefully
stocked up with hand-hoes, ploughed over
once or twice, and levelled for laying out the
whole into pieces of thirty, fifty, and seventy
biggahs ; along these pieces it will be re-
quisite, for the purpose of draining, to form a
strait commodious trench on each side, at
least four feet wide at top,

“ Four feet deep, and proportionably narrow
at bottom, that the banks may be sloped so as
to prevent injury to the sides of the trenches
in the heavy rains, which would, if the sides
were du^ perpendicular, occasion the banks
to fall in, thereby obstruct the passage of the
water, and require continual labor in repair-
ing them.

The mold dug from the trenches will help to
ra’se the internals, and make paths which
should be formed, for ease, convenience, and
dispatch, in carrying the cane to the wmrks.

The main trenches must be eight hundred
yards from each other, and thro’ the centre
of the plantation, accoi'ding to its extent, there
should be cross trenches of the same dimen-
sions as those on the sides of the pieces, into
which the latter should lead ; and as the
water will find its own level, its direction
should govern the line of the main trenches,
to -which the inclination would be easily
found or made by the same means.

When the ground is thus prepared, it
shouhi be laid out in beds of twenty feet
wide ; or, if it is high ground, thirty feet beds
will be preferable ; from a trench of two feet
in width and depth between each bed, the
mold of the trenches will raise the cane beds
in the middle, and the rubbish collected in
them taken out from time to time in hoeing
and weeding the cane, will contribute to ma-
nure and raise the beds, so that they will be
found sufficient to convey all the superabun-
dant water to the main trenches, as will be
required when the rainy seasons are severe.

The soil of Bengal being low, it is very
requisite that the ground should be carefully
drained, some time before it is planted ; for
that purpose, therefore, a gang of sixty
laborers ought to be hired to do this ; they
may in a fortnight, dig and lay out all the
trenches and intervals of a plantation of five
hundred biggahs ; but this should be com-
pleted some considerable time before the
heavy rains set in, or the commencement of

the regular planting season, in order that
the trenches may be strengthened, harden-
ed, and durable ; if this is done in time, the
drains will afterwards continue in good
repair, by cleaning out as often as the plan-
tations are weeded ; and at the sarne time
the manure acquired in the drains will raise
the beds in the centre, nourish the'cane roots,
and render the soil productive to a degree
that cannot be withoixt expei'ience easily
conceived or credited.

When the plantation is thus far prepared,
have it ploughed, the trenches cleaned, and
the pieces marked olf, from one end to the
other in the following manner prepare a
line of a sufficientdength, and affix thereto,
at every seven or eight feet distance, a piece
of colored cloth, like a surveyor’s line ;
stretch this across the beds as strait as pos -
sible, so as to square with the sides, and
ends of the beds ; be prepared with a number
of pegs of about two feet long, place one in
the earth at each of the cloth marks on the
line ; this work may be performed by hoys,
and girls ; when the first row is lined out,
let the liners retreat about three and half
feet, and line and mark another row, like the
first ; still retiring three and half feet, till
they have lined the whole piece ; when the
liners have marked olf the first-row, the
laborers may commence the digging of that
row; four smart boys or girls may line,
without fatigue, three biggahs per day ; with
two or three more to collect the pegs, as fast
as the holes and hanks are formed by the
laborers.

Much care and some pains are required, on
the first laying out the ground, for trenching
and holeing ; it ought to be carefully drain-
ed, the beds shaped, and planted in such a
manner, as that the superabundant rain
water may drain from the cane beds, into the
trenches, so that the canes may not be chilled,
or injured by stagnant water, or too great a
quantity of it, as it will contribute to the
excellence and quantity of the crop, if the
ground retains only an equal share of mois-
ture throughout, to promote the spreading of
the plants in vegetation ; each stock planted
in this manner properly managed, will give
twenty or more canes ; a single cane alone is
produced from the root pianted ^ after the
careless and improvident method of culture in
Bengal.

Should the land be high, let the liners be-
gin at the top, and line it in an oblique or
winding direction, gradually to the base ; the
farmer who feels the spirit of cultivation, who
will see his ground carefully prepared and
planted, in his yielding, will find himself am-
ply compensated for his trouble ; three big-
gahs will contain about three thousand five
hundred holes, three feet and half wide, the
canes from which will yield on a fair average
properly manufactured a ton and half of su-
gar ; but it cannot be too much attended to in
this branch, that the ground must be well
ploughed, the earth pulverised, and carefully
planted; fifty coolies can with ease, even in
their mode of working, turn up three biggahs

370 ON PREPARING THE LAND FOR THE CULTIVATION OF SUGAR.

per day, and half that number will prepare an
equal quantity, when familiarized to the use
of a mold plough, wherewith they can form
the cane furrows and afterwards it will re-
quire only a few hands to shape the banks,
clean out the furrows, and preserve the
whole in an orderly condition.

When forming the banks, and furrows for
planting, the earth must be dug in rows about
six or eight inches deep, until they each
shew an even pretty bank from one end to
the other; then let the laborers fall back to
the second row of pags, and so on till the
whole piece is dug into narrow ridges, and
strait and even trenches, which will appear, if
properly attended to, square, parallel, and
regular.

It is recommended with the foregoing me-
thod to have the laborers employed by daily
task-work ; the employer, or a steady well
tempered servant as overseer, or steward, to
visit them often, and the owner as frequently
as he can, to see that the work in every de-
partment is well, neatly, and exactly per-
formed.

The soil, if newly turned up for cultivation,
will require no manure, but if in any degree
impoverished by repeated tillage, it will be
found more productive if slightly manured
for the growth of the sugar cane ; this part
ot the planting business in Bengal will be
found very easy, on account of cheapness of
stock, and of labor; and as that best and
most productive method of enriching a soil,
\yill be so easily effected here, the construc-
tion and use of moveable penns are worthy of
adoption ; — with bamboo posts and rails
form a number of light frames, which may be
bound to each other as a fence, sufficient to
enclose about two biggahs of ground at a
time ; by removing the penns at the end of
one week, one side of the penn to stand, and
the two sides and the other end to be carried
forward, and forming the penn on the outer
or opposite ground of the standing part of
the fence : thus the planter can go gradually
thro’ his whole estate feeding, manuring,
exercising his cattle, and following all up
with turning up his soil for tillage.

The stock should be fed every night with
grass, or vines, and in crop time with cane
tops, which are then plentiful, an hundred
head of cattle will amply manure, with their
dung and urine, be the soil ever so impover-
ished, an estate of five hundred biggahs.

The plantation should be divided into three
separate parts, the first to be in manure and
preparing for the/aZZjp/an^; by ploughing up
the penns as they are so manured, the earth
will be duly pulverised and in proper order,
against the rainy season in time for planting ;
the second division should be under cane to
cut for the succeeding crop ; and the third
division under rattoons, or roots of canes,
which if moulded up, and hoe-ploughed be-
tween the roots when young, will produce
nearly as much sugar as the plants ; but
should the soil be too poor to support rat-
toons, let one-third lay over as fallow, and the
other two-thirds under fall and spring plants

for the ensuing crop ; if the rattoons are |i
moulded up, and manured with rich earth I
from tanks and ditches, as they spring up ,
after cutting, they certainly will be found de- !j
serving the attention and care of the culti-
vator ; the juices of rattoons are much richer
than the juices of luxuriant plants, and on
that account, both are mixed in crop in order ji
to improve the sugar. j

IVl oveable cattle penns afford the most easy, ;
and certain mode of enriching, and nourish- ji
ing the soil for the growth and culture of
sugar ; repeated experience in Jamaica has I
proved it ; and the farmers of Wiltshire who
manure their fields by forming sheep-walks
before ploughing in that manner, which they ;
call flying penns, improve their crops very i
considerably ; but whether the soil is poor or i
not, it is recommended to the Bengal farmer [
to collect all the cleaning of his tanks, as well
as all the manure about his yard, and heap it i
up at or near the centre of the plantation, so |
thatitmaybe convenient whenever it is re- |
quired ; the manure heaped up should be
covered from the sun with rich mold, to pre-
vent the exhalation of its richness, and to
keep the salts with which it is charged alive, '
the ricks or heaps should be at times mixed ’
and chopped up wdth hoes.

As the seasons are usually regular in
Bengal, the ryots may begin to put the
canes in the ground a w'eek or ten days before
the time the rains usually fall, and they will
experience and derive from this practice con-
siderable advantage, as the young plants will
immediatly shoot up with the first showers.

The part of the canes that ought to be pre-
served for plants, and indeed the only part
fit to plant, is the green watery cane top,
with a few joints, which is unfit for manxxfac-
turing ; if the ground is in want of manure,
which the farmer will be the most competent
judge of, from the appearance and stunted
growth of his canes, or if his land is exhaust-
ed from frequent cultivation, recourse must be
had to his'heaps of manure; laying it slightly in
small quantities in the holes as he plants the
cane, or round the cane roots as they come up ;
about twenty weight or about two Bengal
bullock loads dung to every hundred feet of
rich mold taken out of ditches or tanks wdll
be found a salutary and nourishing manure.

Should any white ants be observed in the
ground under preparation for planting, or
should they make their appearance after the
canes have begun to vegetate, the most effec-
tual mode of destroying them will be by poi-
son,— in this manner, take a small quantity
of arsenic, and mix it up with a few ounces
of burned and pulverized ship bread, oatmeal,
flour, or ripe plaintain, let this be mellowed
with a little molasses, avoiding cautiously
while handling it the noxious effects by breath-
ing too near it when mixing ; or lest the
wind should blow it into the eyes ; place the
size of a turkey egg of this composition up-
on a flat board, covered with a wooden bowd,
and place several of those bowls with the
mixture in different parts of the plantation ;
the ants will soon take possession of the

PROBABILITY OF THE RUSSIANS INVADING INDIA.

371

wooden vessels, and the poison will have a
general effect, for those ants that die, being
always eaten by the others, the whole estate
will be effectually cleared of white ants ; this
mode never failed of destroying white ants,
during sixteen years in the West Indies ;
rats will likewise be destroyed by similar
means, mixing a little arsenic with ripe plan-
tain or parched corn, ground and tied up in
plantain leaves will be effectual; rats are ve-
ry destructive to a field of cane, but when
the poison is once taken, it is as effectual as
if the animals were destroyed, for vermin of
every kind will afterward shun the planta-
tion.

Chunam, where white ants are few, will
help to destroy them, a small quantity of it
thrown over or under the canes, when plant-
ing, will preserve them from these insects.”

{To he continued.)

Art. II. — Notes on Persia, Tartary, and
Afghanistan. By Lieut. Col. Mon-
TEITH, K. L. S. of the Madras
Engineers. — Madras Journal of Li-
terature and Science.

Defence of British India from Rus-
sian Invasion.

By Captain C. F. Head, Qt<eew’s Royal
Regt.

We promised in our last to notice
the opinion of Col. Monteith on the much
agitated question of Russian invasion of
India, and at the same time we may con-
sider the opinion of Capt. Head, on the de-
fence of British India against Russian inva-
sion, as being subjects at this moment of
commanding interest. We must confess that
we have long watched with alarm the appar-
ent indifference of the British Government in
India to the insecurity of our position, and
to the numerous federal native powers that
are ready to rise against us at the call of
any invader who may raise his standard and
invite them to combat. The British policy
of India has been directed during the time of
peace more to paltry reductions and to mi-
serable systems of false economy, tending
to diffuse a spirit of discontent among the
very persons whose affections and devo-
tion to her rule should have been con-
ciliated and secured. The proper policy
was to have strengthened her frontier, to
have increased her internal resources, and
to have brought these magnificent domi-

nions by steam navigation nearer to Great
Britain, to derive her assistance by rapid
communication when one might most re-
quire it. But our forces are crippled, our
arsenals imperfect ; and if a sudden rise was
proclaimed, we question whether we should
be ready within six months to shew a
proper front to repel our assailants.
But the day has arrived when we must be
on the defence of our vast territorial weal -
thy possessions. Russian ambition threa-
tens, internal disaffection prevails : and
now is the time for the supreme Govern-
ment to assume another and more masterly
policy, and buckle on its armour ; — to con -
ciliate the affections of the brave men who
have fought and won the country. In-
stead of sowing disaffection among its
civil officers, by the reduction of salaries to
which, by long established usage, they are
legally entitled, let good faith and unity of
heart and good-will pass from the governing
to the governed, let our frontier show a
strong line of defence, war materiel be sup-
plied, steam communication be establish-
ed, and the Indus and Sutlege navigated.
Then let all Russia, Caubul, Nipai, and
Burmah advance if they dare I Col.
Monteith observes that a great state will
continue to gain on the savage tribes on its
frontier, is but the usual course of things,
and one which, our author is of opinion,
nothing can long prevent.

“ On once passing her present limits, she
must fix her new frontier line either on the
Sir Derria, or on the Oxus, as on the banks
of these rivers only can she find lands, or even
water, for the support of the frontier posts.
The Oxus presents so many advantages over
the other, that I cannot suppose there will
be much hesitation on the subject. This
river is navigable for boats from the moun-
tains of Baduckshau to the sea of Aral ; the
power commanding its banks must exercise a
great influence over both Persia and Afgha-
nistan. For trade alone this would be a great
object, and probably the one now really aimed
at; and, in the first instance, Khiva will be
occupied, and probably colonized with Cos-
sacks or Tartars from Russia. Some ad-
vantage in point of territory will be, at the
same time, offered to Persia and Bokhara.
Under no circumstances can Khiva expect
aid from the surrounding states ; she has
too deeply injured every one, to expect any
thing but enmity from her neighbours, and
her own powder is totally unequal to any effec-
tual resistance. With Bokhara a good un-
derstanding will, if possible, be established.

372

ROUTE OF THE RUSSIANS TO INDIA.

From this position, in the event of a quarrel
with England, by demanding a passage for
troops, assembling soldiers, and making a
a shew of invasion, Russia would threaten
our possessions, and oblige us to make pre-
parations against her, besides keeping em-
bassies in the neighbouring states.”

Col. Monteith, however, does not think
that Russia for some years would be able to
make any serious attempt or permanent
impression, “ except through our own
negligence Most true ; but where is the
political observer in India who would say
that British policy has been anything else
than downright negligence ?

“The aid of Russia would without doubt be
eagerly courted by the different families now
disputing the possession of Afghanistan, and
repelling the Seiks ; or Persia would be happy
to avail herself of their aid to recover Herat,
and her former possessions in Khorasan.
But it is useless speculating on the probable
conduct of a state, which has every chance
of falling into anarchy, and being incapable
of any efficient external exertion. Civil war
may bring forward some bold and able chief,
like Nadir Shah, who will soon change the
political state of his country.”

The present state of affairs in Persia
will now induce our readers to look
upon the foregoing as a striking illus-
tration of the position we have taken
up ; and we will venture to say that Col.
Monteith himself will look upon the state
of affairs in that country as most inimical
to British security. With respect, however,
to any enterprize of Russia, either actually
to invade or to threaten our possessions, Col.
Monteith observes that

“ The route by Tartary is, in my opinion,
preferable. The line of her operations can be
secured, from Orenburg to the banks of the
Oxus, by her own Tartar subjects ; she can
convey the necessary stores and supplies the
greatest part of the way by water, with the
same facility we ascend the Ganges, or great-
er, as the current in the former river is less
rapid than in the latter. Her army will be
perfectly free from all fears regarding the
conduct of Persia, where the most trifling-
circumstance might bring on a rupture with
the tribes who care but little for the royal
authority, and which no precaution can al-
ways prevent. The length of the march
would most materially be diminished, and
the extent of desert to pass not much increas-
ed. One flank of the army will be covered
by the double barrier of a great river and
considerable desert ; and the force which un-
der all circumstances she must leave at Khiva
wmuld suffciently protect her against any
attempts of Persia, even if she M’ere inclined
to oppose the enterprise ; in fact she could

have nothing whatever to do with that king-
dom.

On ascending the Amoo, or Oxus, to the point
nearest Balk, a considerable corps must be
established in an entrenched position, and the
real land journey commenced, entirely through
the countries subject to the Afghans. Their
own vast empire, and the parts of Tartary
through which they will have passed, abound
in camels, horses, and other cattle, so no
difficulty need be anticipated regarding car-
riage. Balk is a considerable province where
provisions would be obtained, and the coun-
try between it and Cabul, with the exception
of the Hindu Cush, is partially cultivated,
and generally travelled by caravans and nu-
merous bodies of people.”

Here commence difficulties, but our
author proves them to be imaginary. He
acknowledges that they might have been
deemed insurmountable, had we not seen
Nadir Shah overcome them with the great-
est ease, and in a short space of time, even
when the Afghan monarchy was in its pow-
er. The actual state of the country, there-
fore, in our author’s opinion, favors the en-
terprize.

“ Herat, and the principal part of the great
tribe of Dooraney, still adhere to Kamraun
Mirza, or any other member of the Soddozye
branch, whilst Candahar, and the principal of
the other provinces, are held by Boost Mo-
hamed Khan, chief of the Baurikzyes divi-
sion of the same tribe (Dooraney). He again,
is pressedon his eastern frontier by the Seiks.
It appears to me, negotiation could hardly fail
to gain the assistance of one or other of these
chiefs. By the aid of her army the Afghans
would probable soon recover all they have
lost by their internal dissensions, and it
woufd be equally certain of crushing the oppo-
site faction. So supported their march to
the Indus appears to me, though difficult, not
doubtful.”

Let then those, who sleep in their suppos-
ed secure permanent Indian possessions,
w-eigh well the opinion of one whose long
residence in Persia and familiar acquaint-
ance with the principal authorities in that
country entitle it to respect ; and say
whether the present system of government
is calculated at this moment to meet the
incursion of such a powerful enemy.

“In forming an opinion of the probable
result of the approach of an army, by the
route I have mentioned, it is necessary to
take into particular consideration, not only
the political relations which exist between
the Afghans and their neighbours, but also
the peculiar formation of their government,
which materially differs from that of the
surrounding countries. The great tribes of
Afghanistan more resemble an alliance of

373

ON THE DISSENSIONS IN PERSIA.

separate independent states, and those of a
most democratic form, than the despotic
kingdom of an Asiatic sovereign. This kin
dora has not been sufficiently long established,
to allow the sovereign to divide, and brealj
into different clans, these formidable bodies,
who have, in the space of one hundred and
thirty years, three times changed the dynasty.

The Ghilegies, in the early part of the last
century, under Mir Veis, revolted from Per-
sia, conquered it, and held possession, till
expelled by Nadir Shah, who again fully re-
venged the injuries indicted on his country.
After his death Mahmood Shah and Zernau
Shah both reigned in Afghanistan, from the
Soddozye branch of the Dooraney, and Boost
Moharaed Khan, chief of the Baurikzyes,
now promises to join the same station. The
power is too equally balanced, for any chief
ever to exercise more than a nominal autho-
rity over any but bis own tribe. The towns,
and some lesser tribes, who have not powder

to resist the particular one of which the king
may be the head, are all he can really com-
mand. So full and admirable an account of
these divisions has been given by Mr. Elphin-
stone in his journey, that any thing I could
say would only be a repetition of his observa-
tions, with far less pretensions to correctness.
My information was chiefly derived from
some of the exiled chiefs, who were at the
Persian court, and resided there nearly from
the time Mr. Elphinstone had been in their
country, and I only give the following list to
shew the strength of the leading tribes. Be-
sides there are many smaller ones, who alto-
gether amount to a considerable number, and
generally follow the fortunes of the ruling
party, being equally oppressed by all, with
little attachment or fidelity to any. Such a
state can muster a most formidable power
for foreign invasion, and the conquest of the
neighbouring countries is much easier than
the establishment of a firm government at
home.

Of

Tartar
origin.

Eusofzyes
Dooranies
Deduct Baurikzyes
Ghilgies

Turcolanies 20,000

Upper Momunds 10,000

Kyberies 25,000

Peshour tribes about,... 350,000

There are a great number of smaller tribes,
particularly on the mountains, whom it would
be needless to mention. I was entirely
guided in my enquiries by the Honorable
Mr. Elphinstone’s account of the country,
and found a perfect confirmation of his state-
ments. The fixed inhabitants even become
subject, within the limits of the tribes, to
their chiefs, so but a small portion of the
actual revenue reaches the royal treasury.

The Afghans have been only known, as an
independent state, since the beginning of the
last century, and their empire then was form-
ed by several provinces severed from India
and Persia. They were again subdued by
Nadir Shah, who, had he lived, would certain-
ly have broken the union of the tribes. He
had marehed some large bodies into Persia,
and intended planting them on the Turkish
frontiers, filling up their places wdth Persians.
Assad Khan he had actually taken to Erivan,
and orders had been issued for 100,000 families
to be removed to Kurdistan, and the Kurds,
and other ill.affected subjects of the Turkish
frontier, to go to Afghanistan. On his death
Assad Khan quitted Erivan, and forced his
way, with great talent and courage, to his
own country ; he had about 5,000 men.

1,000,000

750.000 r Shah Kamran Mohamed Shah,

650.000 L Sha Shudjah.

250.000 Dost Mohamed Khan’s.

500.000 Tribe of Meer Vois and the

conquerors of Persia.

100.000

50,000

125,000

1,750,000 But divided into a great number
of small tribes, therefore subject
to the government.

The tribes of Persia have been for ages
under a despotic government, and at times
one of great power. The chiefs have been
obliged to frequent the court, enter into its
intrigues, and expend in the capital the funds
which enabled them to preserve their ascen-
dancy, and make the men under them effi-
cient.

The King also fomented the dissensions
among the sons and relations of any very
powerful chief, whose tribe has thus been
divided into several branches, and the first
opportunity taken of removing them to dis-
tant parts of the country.”

It is these internal dissensions which are
in favor of the Russians ; in whatever country
they may exist, that country is weakened
by them. It was these arising from con-
flicting interests and different castes, that in-
vited a foreign power to conquer India, and
which brought the people finally under our
rule. This state of things in Persia favors the
ambitious projects of Russia.

” Regarding the invasion of India through
Persia, I will only say a very few words — the

Great Tribes of Afghanistan.

Eimuks Families 80,000 about 400,000 souls.

Hazarahs 70,000 350,000

Usbecks tribes of.

Balk 200,000

150.000

130.000
50,000

100.000

374

INTERESTING WORK ON THE ISLE OF FRANCE.

subject having already occupied the attention
of Government and the diplomatic agents, for
these last thirty years, and the fullest details,
in consequence, having been furnished.

From all the experience I have had, in eigh-
teen years’ residence in Persia, I am perfectly
persuaded that, if the government of that
country were sincerely to aid a Russian army,
there is no obstacle to its advancing as far
as Herat or the Afghan dominions. In fact
this space has been passed many times dur-
ing that period, by larger bodies of men than
the army oiight to be composed of ; under
the circumstances above mentioned, it is sup-
posed that Persia will be in alliance with, and
aiding, Russia. All the troops it would be
advisable to have as her contingent, ought to,
and might, be collected in the province of
Khorasan. To reach this, the best and short-
est route, for the heavy part of the force, is
from Astrabad up the Goorgan, and, through
the country of the Khorasan Kurds, to Me-
shed. The next point to be gained is Herat,
which will not be a very difficult task. As
far as this place the population is favourable,
being old subjects of Persia. From this they
must fight their way to the Indus, for it can-
not be supposed that any thing they can offer
will induce the Afghans to part with their
western provinces, the possession of which
alone can be a supposed inducement for Persia
to enter heartily into such a war. The enter-
prise is practicable, but difficult ; armies have
passed three times by this route in the lasthun-
dred years. Persia is not, at the present mo-
ment, in a condition for any power to put con-
fidence in her political relations. Though the
present king has certainly gained the throne
with less difficulty, and in a shorter period,
than could have been expected, he cannot
be said to be firmly established, and in the
event of any reverse, the people generally,
who are far from being attached to the Kadgar
dynasty, would probably revolt. He has be-
sides killed Mirza Abul Kassim, his able
prime minister, to whom he chiefly owed his
success, who, with all his faults, and they
were both numerous and great, was, without
doubt, the ablest man in his court or in that
of his father. The Azerdbijan troops, by
their conduct in the civil war, and in Khorasan,
have shewn of what excellent materials the
Persian soldier is really made, and that the
trouble taken by the English in their organi-
zation, has not been thrown away. If they
failed in the war with Russia, it was from no
fault of theirs, but what I’esults from all irre-
gular government, when no fixed system of
war or policy can be depended on.”

Such is Col. Monteith’s opinion on this
important question : we now proceed to no-
tice that of Capt. Head’s.

(To be continued.)

Art. III. — Cursory notes on the Isle of
France, made in 1827 with a map of
the Island: by E. Stirling, Esq.»
Member of the Asiatic Society, J833.
Calcutta. Thacker & Co. 8yo. pp. 50-

(Continued from page 321.^

Mr. Stirling proceeds to give some inter-
esting and important remarks on the popula-
tion of the Isle of France. In a colony of such
small dimensions, the population consisted
principally of slaves, many of whom had,
however, been emancipated by grateful mas-
ters. In 1776, Abb^ Raynal estimated the
population, the military force inclusive, as
follows: — whites, 6,386 — free negroes, 1,199,
and slaves, 25,154, or total, 32,739. In
1799, Baron Grant estimated the population
at 10,000 whites and mulattoes, and 55,000
slaves, from which it is to be inferred that

they had doubled in the twenty- three years
preceding. A third estimate was made by the
author of the Voyages des Orientals, who

found, in the year 1818, that the inhabitants

amounted to 80,000 slaves, and 15,000

whites. Our author found the following
calculation correct at the period of his
enquiries.

1. 500 Houses, Planters, at per house

7 individuals 3,500

2. CO ,, Merchants, Agents, &c .

&c. at 6 ditto, .... 360

3. 350 „ Shop-keeiers, retail

dealeis, 1,550

4. 50 ,, Artificers, Mechanics,

at 5, 250

5. 100 ,, Dancing-masters, play.

ers, music masters,
and instructors of
all kinds, at per

house 4,

400

6. 100

,, Carpenters and indivi-
duals employed at

the Haibour, at 5,
,, Mulattoes employed in
various ways, beside

500

7. 500

tlie above, atC, ....

3,000

8. 1,000

,, Free Negroes, at3, ..

3,000

9. 160

,. Malabars and Indians,

at, 5

, The Police, Govern-

750

10, 350

ment Establishment,
and otficeis ; the Ju-
dicial Courts and
the Servants of Go-
vernment at 5, .. 1,750
Temporary Sojourners, 800

POPULATION, AND LAWS OF MARRIAGE.

875

Children not included

in above, 1,500

Registered Slaves 58,000

3,160 ,, 75,360

'I'o which may be add-
ed, the Troops and

dependents, 2,500

Indian Prisoners, 300,
and (jovernment
Slaves, 400, 700 3.200

78.460

The population may be divided into the
several obvious classes, for the sake of having a
distinct view ; and the following may be con-
sidered as shewing, as nearly as possible, the
different portions of it, according to their nu-

merical strength ;

Slaves, 58,000

Mulattoes, 10,640

Whites, 3,670

Children, 1,500

Sojourners, 800

Free Indians, 750

75,360

I have been obliged to calculate the number
of individuals in one house variously, as I
thought would be most agreeable to the actual
state of the case. As the women are very
prolific, and, generally speaking, rear large
families, I am not sure that I have been
sufficiently large in my estimate. The chil-
dren are, moreover, very healthy, and' few die
early. After some deliberation, I have assign-
ed seven individuals to houses possessed by
planters, as they live in comfortable circum-
stances, and their families are almost always
very considerable. On the other hand, 1 have
only allowed three individuals to one house
inhabited by free gNegroes, as I believe the
produce ofblack parents is not generally such
as to warrant a higher rate.

J'he encouragements to population are by
no means small ; many circumstances tend
indeed to promote it to the last degree, al-
though it must be confessed, sometimes by
means which are in opposition to good morals.”

Our author, on the subject of laws of
marriage, considers their moral and physi-
cal effect, with reference to the influence of
the climate on the inhabitants and their
offspring, — a subject, it must be confessed, of
great importance, and one which will, no
doubt, excite the interest of our readers in
this country. It appears that the laws of the
Isle of France are particularly tenacious and
positive on this subject. Europeans are pro-
hibited marrying those who are born on the
island, of slave extraction.

“The former can only be allied to people
born »n Europe, while the latter can only mar-

ry those born in the country. The object of
these laws is to preserve that distinction which
exists between European and African blood.
The nature of these laws gives rise to certain
connexions between the Europeans and the
Mulattoes, from which spring a race which,
although not. legitimate, still possess all the
benefits of a legal issue, whence it occurs that
illegitimate children are not subject to that de-
gradation to which they w'ould be under simi-
lar circumstances in Europe, and connexions
of ibis nature .are not beheld with similar
severity, but are even acknowledged in pub-
lic without incurring extreme censure. Con-
sequently, illegitimacy offers no bar to a
young man’s prospects in life, and does not
prevent his associating in society ; therefore, the
feelings of society not being outraged, chil-
dren of .such an origin are well brought up,
and receive all the advantages of education
which it may be in the power of the parents
to bestow.

Children born of European parents appear
to thrive wonderfully well till a certain age.

All the children I saw in the island appeared
wonderfully healthy and strong, of excellent
shapes, and every attention appeared to have
been bestowed on their being kept clean and
well dressed. The mothers seem to perform
every office ofkindness towards children, and
none perhaps in any country can be more
wrapt up in their welfare. The climate of
the colony being extremely temperate, and
not subject to an excessive continuance of heat,
and only enjoying an agreeable degree of cool-
ness in the winter season, is to a considerable
degree favourable to the longevity of the inha-
bitants, and no where in a climate in the
torrid zone, are such a number of elderly
people met with. I have frequently met the
grand-children dining at the same table with
their grand-mother and grand-father.”

We have on a former occasion alluded to
warm climate being congenial to infancy : we
learn from Mr. Stirling that it is the case
in a remarkable degree at the Isle of France.

“ They as well as the children of Mulattoes
have very precocious talents, and receive
their learning w'ith a degree of comprehension
and quickness unknown in Europe,”

This is precisely the case here ; but we
fear that the impression from education is
not so permanent as it is in Europe. This,
probably, may be owing to a want of that
conversation among literary and scientific
men, with whom civilized Europe abounds.
Alluding to the females, our author says, —

“They possess a degree of vivacity, and excel-
lency, and beauty of shape, not often exceeded .

I heir features, however, it must be confessed,
are not so engaging as their forms, as the
muscular necks and peculiar heads, if not
large features, often intimate the stock from
which they have sprung ; however, in some

376

THE LAW, LAWYERS, RELIGION, AND SHOPS.

cases, where several generations have interven-
ed, these marks of their ancestorial blood have
nearly become obliterated, by a considerable
regularity of features, and by a most lively
and pleasing expression of face, in wliich no
one is inclined to search for objections. Sub-
sistence appears to be sufficient for the purpose
of encouraging the progress of population,
and the demand for labourers, and the high
wages, call forth every individual to some cer-
tain employment, with the full assurance of an
ample leimbuisement.”

As a cause of the increase of population,
Mr. Stirling is of opinion that the price of
labour tends to propel the increase of in-
habitants : while all European articles are
sold at a moderate price, the common ne-
cessaries of life are extremely high. The
effects of the French revolution, the subse-
quent war and inadequate subsistence aris-
ing therefrom ; the emigration on the intro-
duction of the British rule ; a dreadful fire
which happened in 1816, and burnt down
the wholeof the town, andahurricane which
happened in 1818, have however been checks
which the population has received. Mr. Stir-
ling says that for muscular or physical capa-
bilities the slaves are not to be excelled ; they
possess limbs remarkable for their sinewy
appearance. Four orfive of them draw a cart,
which could not be moved by less than two
pair of bullocks. They are in the habit of
dragging these carts about the town of Port
Louis, with all sorts of merchandise. The
following are our author’s remarks on the
Creole progeny.

“ The Creoles are often wealthy, engaged
in beneficial occupations, moderate in their
desires, and are viewed with indulgence ; and,
wheie ties of affection exist, enjoy the hap-
piness of relationship and preference. 'I'hey
are andable anil agreeable in their manners,
unassuming in their intercourse, and in their
education, both the mien and women have op-
poitunities of becoming useful and pleasing
members of society. The former have a college
opened to them, vvliere English. Latin, French,
Mathematics, &c. &c. are taught by excellent
masters ; and the latter are taught to pei fect
their natural taste for music and dancing,
of which they are passionately fond, to the
fullest development. They likewise become
good mothers and respectable iionsewives,
are remarkably fond of their children, and
their domestic arrangements are regulated
with the greatest economy, combined with
much liberality in theirliving, and hospitality.
The Mulaitoe population is much greater
than the European portion, and on actual
inquiry, 1 have no doubt their numbers would
be found very considerable, 'l lrey form the
centre, the slaves the base, and the Flurope-

ans the summit of the pyramid of the popula-
tion of the Isle of Fi ance.” '

Mr. Stirling observes, on the subject of I
law and police, that the former is that ’
prescribed by the French. The Code of Na- i
poleon, in Mr. Stirling’s opinion, furnishes
a clear, precise, and easily-understood set of
regulations for the civil government of the
colony, and seems well adapted to the cus-
toms, manners, and sentiments of the in-
habitants in general. The public duties are i
well conducted, the subsidiary arrangements i
being formed and managed with considera-
ble judgment and energy. I

“ 'J'here are two civil courts, or what amounts |
to two; that is, there is a court which is I
denominated the court of the First Instance, \
and a Court of Appeal; to these may be add- li
ed the Admiralty Couit. Tliere are a num- !!i
her of Lawyers and Attorneys, who attend i|
and labour in these courts. I am both i
ignorant as regards their character in respect |
to their learning, ability, and integrity, and j
as regards the nature of the suits that are ||
brought up for decision. Litigation, although I
not unknown, is not, I feel persuaded, of so !j
vindictive and harassing a character as in |
most other countries.” I

Popery is the religion generally adopted ; ;
but there is an English protestant church, at
which, however, the English protestants alone
attend on the day appointed for divine wor- j
ship. Attached to the catholics, — I

•‘There is a Bishop with some other high
officers of that Church resident at Port Louis. ,
'riie Church is perhaps the finest edifice there,
and serviceis performed in it every morning ;
and on Sundays the Grand Mass is gone |
through twice. The churchmen are attentive I
to their duties, and the people appear to at- j
tend very regularly to hear and to join in the
service. The Slaves are frequently, if not
always, instructed to pay their devotions in
this religion. All the Creoles learn the duties
and ceremonies likewise of this Church; but
what is somewhat singular, is, that the Mala-
bars have become Christians, and, in the ab-
sence of their original Hindoo ceremonies,
have become the adopted children of Catho-
licism. Such of them as are descended fiom
Mahommedan ancestors, have forsaken the
faith of the prophet for that of Christianity.”

There are a number of excellent shops,
furnished exactly in the European style,
which are kept by Frenchmen from Europe,
but more generally by Creoles born on the
island: the shops of apothecaries are most
conspicuous. The shop-keepers live in com-
fort; their dealings are for ready money only,
which ensures realization of profit. The high
profits are out of proportion to the risk

ON THE PRICE OF LABOUR AT THE ISLE OF FRANCE.

377

incurred. In reference to this subject our
I, author observes, —

“The price of labour mu?t be considered
! as high. Slaves who vveie sold for less tiian
I two luindred dollars a head, at the period we

i came into possession of the Isl .nd, are now
risen to thiee times, and even in paiticular
cases, to lour times that amount, i his may
be deemed to ari-e either fiom their scarcity,
or the greater demand for them. 'J he latter
1 consider as the true cause, and this at the
present momeiit is owing to the pei mission
granted a few years ago, to import into Eng-
land the sugars of the Isle ot France. 'J’his
I admission of the product of the Island, has
I given a vehement stimulus to the cultivation,
jj of this article, and has augmented the value
of land very considerably. Owing to the
extreme healthiness of the climate, slaves
may be estimated at the value of iiom 20 to
25 years purchase, fiom the time they reach
a mature age for labour. If I am right in
this supposition, the annual expense of a slave
may be stated at about 25 or 30 dolla'S a
year, exclusive of interest, besides the ex-
pense of his food, which, as far as I can ascer-
tain, may have cost from tliree to four dollars
per mensem, therefore,

Dollars.

Annual expense of the purchase of a
.slave, taking into consideration the

outlay and interest, say, 125

Actual expense for food and clothing, at
3§ dollars per mensem, 42

Dollars, 167

Now the average monthly estimated value
of a slave, may lie stated at fifteen dollars.
'J'his is however higher than what I actually
found for slaves hired out, as domestic servants
could t e had from eight to ten dollars a liead ;
but then 1 believe the care and expense of
feeding tliein, fell upon the gentlemen who
took them into theii service : if so, the above
calculation may be considered as approxi-
mating nearly to the proper estimate of the
charge and expense of a single individual
slave. Common labour being therefore so
high, other necessaries and conveniences which
depend on it, must likewise be augmented in
price, to defray the average rate of labour
employed, as, without such le imbursement,
such labour would not coiitinue to lie sup-
plied. But if the labour of slaves bear such
high premium, the labour of free men must
necessarily be much higher, and more valua-
ble. Labour here appeals the principal
source of wealth, and the man who can com-
mand a portion of it ensures himself a certain
degree of independence and comfort.

The high price of labour, therefore, is one
of the great causes which influence the high
price of necessaiies and articles generally.
But there is also another cause " hich tends to
augment prices, and this is that the greatest
partofthe food, and all clothing, of both the
free inimbitants and the slaves, are imported
from distant countries ; thus, for instance, the

Isle of France depends on India for its sup-
ply office, arjdon Madagascar for nearly all
its animal food. There is undoubtedly a small
portion ofManioc, [the Jatrofiha hianiliot.]
Hogs too are bred and fowls rearerl, but not
sufficient for the consumption of the inhabi-
t.ants, and the supply of the shipping of Poit
Louis.

As profits must be sufficiently large toena-
bie shop-keepers, &cc. to sul'sist, and as
subsi.stence, from the above detail, appears
to be procured with difficulty, and attended
with expense, it does not appear that they
aie larger, peihaps, than they ought to be to
afford a remunerating price.

It may li.kewise be remarked that the inter-
e.st of money is high, and in common transac-
tions cannot be quoted at less than ten per
cent, per annum; consequently the high
pi ices of necessaries at the Isle of France,
may be satisfactorily ex[)lained, with releience
to the high rate of the wages of lal our, of
subsistence, and of the interest of money.”

There are one or two establishments for
casting and forming different parts of the
machinery, used principally in the extraction
of the juice of the sugar cane : the late intro-
duction of steam engines applied to sugar
mills, will tend to increase the employment
of mechanics. Such is Mr. Stirling’s account
of the Isle of France, full of interest, and
highly creditable to him, as evincing a talent
for observation of men and manners, and a
desire to communicate their result in a pleas-
ing, satisfactory, and perspicuous manner.

Art. IV. — On the culture of Indigo in
Bengal, communicated by G. Ballard,
Esq.

On the culture of Indigo in Tirhoot.

On the culture of Indigo in Oiide.

On the manufacture of Indigo, by H.

PlDDINGTON, Esq.

On the cultivation of Indigo, by N.
Alexander, Esq. — Trans. Hort.
Society, Calcutta, 1836.

The cultivation and manufacture of indi„
go, as now practised in Bengal, have been
owing entirely to the enterprize of British
merchants. The cultivation covers 12,00,000
acres, andgives subsistence to about 5,00,000
families ; the annual outlay for which
amounts to £ 16,00,000. Besides this ex-
tent and value of its cultivation, it has tended
largely to promote the salubrity of the coun-
try, from the large tracts of land it occupies,
which were lying within the influence of the

378

SAFE INVESTMENT OF MERCANTILE CAPITAL IN INDIGO.

annual inundations of the Ganges, unfit for
any native cultivation ; but so adapted for the
growth of this plant, as to have raised the
value of such land at least 100 per cent.
Mr. Alexander states that opinions differ as
to the value of the speculation in this.

There are many who consider it the
safest investment of mercantile capital ; while
others have contended that we are fast ap-
proaching the point where production will
exceed consumption. Mr. Alexander dis-
cusses this question.

“ How far the inci-eased production is met
by an increased consumption ; for it is obvi-
ous, that if causes exist, which restrain the
cultivation of indigo, and that the average
increase of production is equalled by a like
increase of consumption, the speculation is in
an equally flourishing state, whether the
average crop be one hundred, or five hun-
dred thousand maunds.

The opinion, that we are yearly extending
our indigo cultivation in Bengal, careless of
the consequences, has gained considerable
credit in England, and is founded on two pro -
positions ; first, that the high prices of indi-
go, for the last six or seven years, have so
enriched the indigo planters, that they are no
longer under the controul of the houses of
agency, and that, in consequence, each indi-
vidual of that body will extend his own cul-
tivation for his own advantage, without tak-
ing a general view of the effect such an in-
crease of cultivation will have on the crop ;
the second proposition is, that any quantity
of land, applicable for the cultivation of in-
digo, is procurable in Bengal, and, therefore,
putting these together, they deduce, that no
limits can be assigned to the quantity of
indigo which will be produced.

The first of these propositions takes for
granted, that we have the same indigo plan-
ters in India that we had seven years ago;
all now become wealthy and independent men
from the large profits on the trade during
that period ; this, to commence with, is erro-
neous ; we are all aware, that, during the
last seven years, numbers have annually re-
tired with their savings, and without continu-
ing interested in the concerns they have left.
This annual secession of the wealthy leaves
the body of the planters little changed ; they
have better prospects of realizing fortunes,
but cannot be said, as far as this country is
concerned, to be increasing in wealth ; and
most of them are still dependent on the hous-
es of agency for support. But, even suppos-
ing this proposition to be true, and that the
indigo planters are wealthy, and not to be
controlled by the houses of agency, nor like-
ly to listen to their advice ; still their own
interests would soon hinder them from in-
creasing the cultivation of indigo, unless
they found it profitable to do so on an ex-
tended scale ; they must find land equally
Wfll suited with that which is already culti-
vated ; for, if they cannot, and are obliged to

have recourse to poorer soils, the extent of
cultivation must be regulated by high and
low prices. If high prices tempt the planter
to increase his cultivation on land not so pro-
ductive as that occupied by his former moije
limited cultivation, low prices will again
force him back within his own boundary. It
is, however, taken for granted, by those who
contend for the powder we possess of unlimited
cultivation in Bengal, that all parts of the
country are equally adapted for the production
of indigo. Mr. Wilkinson, who takes this view
of the speculation, in a paper published in
London last year, states, “ There is no ques-
tion, that the means of producing indigo in
India are unlimited ; quite as regards any ratio
to the means of consumption in this quarter
of the globe, or the whole world, as things
now are. The neio lands, and these are in
abundance, are more productive than those
in used’

Now the foregoing assertion is made on
grounds indisputably just, and adds to the
opinion we have given all along as to the
resources of this country. Indigo planters, ge-
nerally speaking, have hitherto had little capi-
tal of their own, and have therefore laboured
for others ; for all their profits have gone to
pay off their debts. This is not so much the
case now ; and we have no doubt the culti-
vation will be profitable to almost all en-
gaged in it, excepting where the situation
may be against the cultivation. Mr. Alex-
ander considers the cultivation of indigo in
this country analogous to the cultivation of
corn in England during the time that prices
have been so high. In both countries, says
our author, high prices have tempted the
cultivators to raise produce in poorer soils,
and at a higher cost of production.

“ Here, however, we have no law to keep
up the price of indigo to a certain standard ;
and when prices fall, the planter must give
up his poor soil, as the farmer in England
would do, were the corn laws repealed*. The
question of the greatest importance in this
investigation is, whether Mr. Wilkinson is

* Many also consider that the ryot, who
cultivates indigo, receives’a very unequal share
of its value, and give this as a furrher argu-
ment of our power of extending cultivation, by
being more liberal in our advances to the ryot;
but those who think so, only look to the large
profits of particular factories, at particular
seasons ; if we take any average of years since
the extended cultivation has taken ])lace, and
consider the certainty with which the ryot is
paid, and the uncertainty of the returns to the
planter, we will find that the ryot gets his fair
share in most factories ; indeed the fact of so
many factories being unsuccessful, is of itself
proof, that the competition arising from in-
creased production has, in many parts of the
country, increased the advance to the point
which renders the speculation a bad one.

ON THE CULTIVATION OF INDIGO.

379

correct in his assumption, that “ The new
lands, and these are in abundance, are more
productive than those in use ?” Now, if
we consider this extended cultivation to have
commenced in 1823, we shall find the contrary
to have been the case ; and that the land oc-
cupied since that period, is not so {Productive
as the land previously in cultivation, which
■consists of the churs in the river and its low
banks, rendered fertile by annual deposit —
the further we recede from the influence of
the inundation, the less adapted is the soil
for the cultivation of indigo.”

In support of Mr. Alexander’s reasoning,
the analysis of the fertilizing principles of the
Ganges’ inundations, by Mr. Piddington,goes
to prove that vegetable decomposition, in
various stages, is not the chief fertilizing
principle of the great tropical rivers. Mr.
Piddington observes —

“ It is well known, that, while the tracts
within reach of the inundation preserve their
original fertility, the higher soils are general-
ly and rapidly impoverishing, and this to a
degree of which few, who have not made the
subject one of attention, are aware. There
are some crops which cannot be repeated on
high soils, unless at intervals of three or
four years ; while, on the low lands, these are
the only ones which are, and have been, taken
for a period beyond the memory of man. In-
digo is a striking instance, and the most fami-
liar one, of what is here advanced ; and it
was w;ith a view to some improvement in the
cultivation of this plant, that the following
analysis was instituted. Portions of the silt,
or mud, deposited by the inundations, were
procured from Bansberria, near Sooksaugor,
and from Mohutpore, near Kishnagur ; the
analysis of each gaye, in two hundred parts.

Silt from Bansberria. Silt from Mohutpore.

Water, 2 2

‘‘Vegetable mat-"]

ter, destructible > 0..

by heat,

Saline matter,
mostly Muriate
of Potass, ....

“ Cai’bonate of

Lime,

” Phosphate of

Lime,

“ Oxide of Iron,. . 12 12

“ Silex, 156 139

“ Alumina, . . . . 6| 14|

Total, 193| 19li

“ Loss, 8|

200 200

The very unlooked for circumstance of
only 2§ per cent, of vegetable matter being
found in these specimens, appears to exclude
the idea, that this is the fertilizing principle,
or, at least, that it should be exclusively so ;

j 0| o§

} 12| I6i

} ^

while, on the other hand, from 6 to 8 per cent,
of calcareous matter appearing in them, (when
in an extensive series of experiments, on high-
er soils, this was always found remarkably
deficient, seldom more than 0-75 to 1 per cent.)
points to the conclusion that the calcareous
matter was, perhaps, the great agent, and, in
as far as regards indigo, this was found, by
experiment, to be the fact,; for a minute por-
tion of lime was found to increase the pro-
duce upwards of 50 per cent.”

Mr. Alexander argues that the lands
within the influence of the inundation, long
since occupied for the cultivation of indigo,
are annually richly manured by a process
which impoverishes the higher lands. As the
cultivation of indigo is advanced from the
banks of the rivers, land is occupied which
will not yield a produce equal to that obtain-
ed in the soil renewed by annual deposits
from inundation, unless the fertilizing matter
washed away be replaced by manure. Our
author deems it to be carbonic acid gas that
acts as a powerful productive agent on the
cMrs of the Ganges, and operates with the
new soil annually deposited, in producing
such fine indigo. The manure, when neces-
sary, is therefore lime. The following
shows the amount of crops for ten years.

“ The crop of 1819, was 1.05,000

1820, „ 72,000

— 1821, „ 90,000

1822, ,, 1,13,000

— 1823, ,, 80,000

1824, „ 1,10,000

1825, ,, 1,43,000

■ 1826, ,, 90,000

1827, ,, 1.47,000

1828, ,, 96,000

I divide these 10 seasons into two periods,
of 5 years each; as it is generally considered,
that in the season 1823-24 the spur to increas-
ed cultivation was given ; and I may add,
that, if over production of indigo was ever
likely to take place, the last 5 years w^as the
period for it. In the first period of 5 years,
the difiPerence of crops annually w’ere as fol-
lows : —

maunds,

1820 the crop was less than in 1829, 33,000

1821 ditto greater than in 1820,. . 18,000

1822 ditto ditto 1821,. . 23,000

1823 ditto less than in 1822,. . 33,000

This gives the greatest difference between
any two years, 33,000 maunds, and the average
difference 27,000 maunds, in round numbers.

For the next period of five years, the dif-
ference of the crops annually were.

380

CULTIVATION OF INDIGO IN VARIOUS PARTS OF INDIA.

maun (la

the crop was g^reater than in 1823, 30.000
182S ditto ditto l82t, 33,000

ditto was less than in 1S25, 53,0:i0
l“27 ditto was greater than in 1826, .07,000

1828 ditto was less than in 1827, 53,000

The greatest difFerence between any two
years in this period is 57,000 maunds, and the
average difFerence, 45,000 maunds. By this
comparison it would appear, that the uncer-
tainty of production is increasing faster than
the increase of production ; for, if we take the
average of the crops from 1819 to 1823 to be
95,000 maunds, and the average difFerence of
good and bad seasons to be 27,000 maunds,
the average difFerence between good and bad
seasons should be 33,000 maunds, thus :

95,000: 27,000: : 1,22,000 : 33,000
instead of 45,000, as already shown:— this
increase may be considered to have arisen
wholly from the lands occupied for the
extended production of indigo. Whilst the
cultivation was restricted to the lands most
applicable for that purpose, the difFerence
between good and bad seasons did not amount
to much more than one-fourth of the average
crop : when the increase of production took
place, the difFerence between good and bad
seasons, on the annual average increase,
amounts to nearly one-half of the crop: the
difFerence being 45,000 instead of 33,000,
leaves an excess of 12,000 maunds against
the average increase of the annual crop,
which is 27,000 maunds, or nearly one-half.”

Mr. Alexander is of opinion, from this
view of our situation here, that we are not
likely to extend the cultivation of indigo
much beyond the demand. Since 1829, the
average consumption is estimated at 95,000
maunds : during the last four years the con-
sumption has greatly increased, keeping up
with the increase of the crops. Mr. Alexander
is of opinion that no factory can be called
a really good one, which does not yield a
profit when its produce is selling at 63. per
pound in London ; and all factories not pro-
ducing within this limit, will depend upon
high prices for their existence. When good
indigo comes down to 7s. or 8s. per pound,
the increase in deliveries takes off the accu-
mulations of the annual surplus. Our author
says that the very inferior indigos have dis-

GENERAL

CATALOGUE OF PLANTS COLLECT-
ED A r BOMBAY.

By John Graham, Esq.

We believe this to be the first attempt at
communicating any information with regard to

appeared, and that the planters are generally
turning their attention to the quality of
their manufacture. He apprehends no
injury to the trade from the great increase
in the production of indigo in Madras, Java,
Manilla, and South America ; this country,
possessing the greatest advantages in the
cheapness of manufacture and excellence of
quality of its indigo. With respect to its
Cultivation in Bengal, Mr. Ballard states that
it is confined principally to low alluvial tracts
without regard to soil ; probably nine-tenths
of the land bearing the crop is more or less
under water by the end of July. The crop is
therefore very precarious from the low sites
which it mostly occupies, and is liable to be
destroyed by annual inundations. Where such
accidents do not occur, the crop becomes as
profitable as any other. This uncertainty
and the ordinary grain engagements lead the
ryot to consider the indigo as quite a secon-
dary product. The culture by the regular
manufacturers is found expensive, and only
profitable when the dye is at its highest rate.
InTirhoot the soil selected is high and light,
being less exposed to the risk of rain or river
inundations. The next situation preferred
is where the soil is a mixture of light earth
and clay, — a soil more retentive of moisture
in a dry season than any other ; heavy clay
soils are generally avoided. Great care is
taken to guard against soils which abound in
saltpetre : light soil, with a substratum of
sand, from 6 to 12 inches below the surface,
is also to be avoided. There is scarcely any
real alluvial soil in the district, with the
exception of those factories situated on the
banks of the Ganges and the great Gunduck.
Throughout Oude the soil is light and sandy,
inferior in general, for the culture of indigo,
to that of Bengal, and particularly to its
strong, dark, clayey laud.

(To he continued.)

_SCIENCE.

the botanical productions of this beautiful
part of the western peninsula of Hiu'lostan.
Tlie catalogue constitutes tliegleaningsof a few
occasional minutes snatched by our excellent
friend (with whom we have spent many a
pleasant liour in botanizing amid the sylvan

BOTANICAL PRODUCTIONS OF BOMBAY.

381

recesses of India) from the ingrossing avoca-
tions of Ills official duties. He has set an
example which those who possess more spare
time would do well lo imitate. —Ecf/f.

1. A1 pinia nutans.

2. Achyranthes nspera. A common weed.

3. Asclepias ^i^ardea. Very common
thtougiiout India. The natives apply the milky
acrid juice to sores.

4. Asclepias acidn. 'I'his is a rare plant ; I
found it last August (1834) on the plains to
the south of Aurungabad; also in the neigh-
bourhood of Poona.

5. Asclepias annulare.

6. Asclepias formossisnma. I have only
seen this species in gardens, but, I believe, it
is a native of India.

7. Asclepias odoratissimn. This too I have
only seen in gardens, and very rare.

8. Amaryllis Zeylonica. A very beautiful
plant ; I do not think it is to be found within
this neighbourhood.

9. Asparagus fulcutus. Large bushes of
this shrubby species are common in the Dec-
can ; it requiies support and is generally found
overtopping some other shrub; it is rather a
pretty plant.

10. Aloe Uttoralis. The fibres of its long
leaves are extremely tough and might be used
in making cord, if not cloth ; however, I am
not aware of its being applied to any econo-
mical uses.

11. Anacardium occidentale. Cashew' nut ;
common in Salsette and on the island of
Bombay, &c. The apples are seldom used,
indeed they are not worth eating.

12. Adenanthera pavonia.*

Id. Adenanthera uculeata,

14. Averhoa bilimbi.

15. Averhoa carambola. Both species are
common in gardens, and the fruit is used for
making tarts. The fruit of bilimbi grows from
the thick branches and often from the stem of
the tree in a singular manner, like the jack
fruit. The carambola is called kutrmd by the
natives, a word which signifies sour or sharp
tasted.

16. Argemone Mexicana. A common weed,
if not a native, it is, at least, completely
naturalized.

17. Alangium 6-petalum, Grows on Ele*
plianta.

18. Anona squamom. Custard apple, very
common throughout India. Tlie fi uit is used
as an article of food by the natives in times of
scarcity ; it is produced in great abundance
with the .slightest care ; the tree seems to grow
indifferently on all soils and situations.

\9. Anonz. reticulata. Bullock’s heart, so
named from the shape of the fruit, wiiich is
also eaten, though it is inferior to the custaid
apple. The flowers ha ve a very sw'eet smell,
something like the finest flavoured pears. This

• This elegant flower (termed the peacock
^oicerj forms a prominent part of the bouquet
with which the Musselmans present Euro-
peans on Sundays. - Edit,

species is not nearly so common as the other.
It is generally to be found planted near tem-
ples along with the other species. I'hey call
them ram vhool and ceta vhool, in honour of a
heathen god and goddess; vhool means flower.*

20. Adansonia diirUrirti. This tree appears
to be naturalized. Several of them grow on
Bombay Island, throughout tlie Concan and
in Guzurat. I do not think any use is made
of the fruit ; the tree assumes a very fantastic
shape, the trunk very short and rapidly taper-
ing ; it attains a great size-i'

21. Abr us precatoriits. A dimi er common
in the hedges and jungles ; when the pods open
and display its red bead like fruit, it looks very
pretty. Tlie natives use the seeds for weights,
and call them Gooneh.

22. Artemisia Indica.

23. Aiistolochia ladica. Tins is a rare
plant, with dingy looking flowers and leaves.
I liave found it on Malabar hill and Cross
Island in tiie harbour. Humboldt telbs us, the
South Americans use the flowers of some of
their gigantic species for hats.

24. Aiitocarpus incisa. Bread fruit tree. I
only know one tree on the island, it grows well
and produces fruit, of some of whicii I have
eaten. In times of scarcity it would bean
invaluable tree, and as the soil and climate
appear to suit it well, it is a pity tliat it has
not been commonly planted. Its congener
the jack fruit (A. integrifolia) is in common
use among the natives, who call it Flamus^
and the wood of the tree is more used than
any other for making household furniture,
'i'he tree attains a large size in Malabar;!
have seen a single fruit larger than the largest
turnip at home. When growing on the stem
of the tree it has something the appearance of
a hedgehog stuck to it.

25. Amaranthus tricolor tristis, oleraceits,
varieties, I suspect; hajee is the native name,
red, green, and variegated. TIrey are exten-
sively cultivated and eaten like spinage.

26. Arum campannlatnm. Native name soo-
ruu. The root somewhat resembles a pine apple,
but it is globular. It is used by the natives in-
stead of yams ; I have tasted it ; it is rather
coarse.

27. Arum esculentum. Much cultivated
by the natives who make use of the tubers in
their curries, &c,

28. Arum •polyphyllum. Very common,
springing up on waste land during the rains.

29. Acalypha ladica.

30. Areca Catechu. A very graceful look-
ing tree, extensively cultivated for the nuU
(betel) which are chewed by the natives.

31. Andropogon schoenanthus. Sweet lemon
grass, grown in flower pots.

32. A. hchuemum.

33. A. Nurd us.

* The author states in a letter to me that
“ the properties of Indian plants are little
known, and no dependence whatever can be
placed on native names. In fact vtTy few have
any place in their nomenclature. They are
jungle ka vhool, i.e. wild flowers,”- Edit.

t There is a fiiie specimen of this tree in
Caranja Island. See Records, vol. i., 335.—
Edxt,

IMPORTANT EXPERIMENTS BY DR. THOMSON.

382

34. Adiantum lu/rulutitm. A fern covering
oil) walls during ihe rains.

35. Avidcnnnia tomento-^a. Very common
in salt maisiies. 1 have seen it as large as a
middle sized tree; it adorns the banks of
creeks and rivers, gi owing in the water as well
as out of it.

36. Acanthus Sea holly, Looks

pretty when in flower (dark blue colour) ;
grows common among the Avidcennia plants.

37. Artahotrys oHorotissimuH. I have only
seen it inggardens ; it is a pretty scandent ever-
green plant, with very sweet smelling but
insignificant looking flowers, as all the Anno-
naceae have. Decandolle calls it Unona
tincinntu.

3d. Aegiceras mr/;r;.s or can del. Found com-
mon in salt marshes ; it has pretty dark green
leaves with while flowers.

39. Argyreia cuneata Sprengel. A shrub
with very beautilul blue bell looking flowers.
When near any support it is scandent and
sends out long slender branches. Roxbugh
refers it to genus Lettsomia. I have only
found it on a range of hills about 24 miles west
of Poona near Wurgaum. It is grown as an
ornamental shrub in tlie gardens at Poona,
but I have never met wiili it here.

40. Agave Amerxca. 1 have only seen it in
gardens at Seroor and Aurangabad.

41. Agrostis linearis. A common grass.

42. Anthericum tuberosum. Springs up
during the rains on rocky waste land.

43. Boerhaavia diffusa.

44. Boerhaavia erccta. Found about 30
miles N. E. from Poona. Stems woody, as
thick as a man’s finger.

45. Basella «//)n! and rt/6rn. Varieties cul-
tivated as root lierbs ; the leaves are thick and
succulent, and afford an excellent subsliiule
for cabbage.

46. Bromelia naurtas. Pineapple.

47. Bambnsa ciruudinacea. Common and
well known Bamboo.

48. Bryophyllum calj/cinvm. Growing in
(.ocoa-nut groves; rather pretty when in
^Qwer ; grown in flower pots as an orna-
mental plant.

49. B. uhiniaspecmsr)'

•50. B. ,, Candida

51. B. ,, varieaata

52. B. ,, pnrviflora

53. Bergera AoufyO. Cultivated for its
leaves wdiicluhe natives use in curries. The
native doctors use the bark and roots as a
stimulant.

54. B. integerrima. Found near Panwell
on the main land.

55. Bassia long i/o/m. A common tree. The
intoxicating spirit called mowra is distilled
from the flower. Oil is also expressed from
the seeds. It is a very common and
useful tree. The oil obtained from the seeds

is extensively used for adulterating glue.

66. Bignonia 4-locularis. Common in the
jungles, and somewhat resembling the ash.
The white flowers rising from the ends of the
branches look showy at a distance, but cannot
bear inspection.

67. Bignonia spotkacea. , r ,

58. Bignonia radicans. I have only found

these two in gardens ; both have pretty flowers,
paiticularly the latter; it is a shrub of very
slow growth, and was brought fiom China,
I believe.

(To be continued.)

SUGAR FROM URINE.

It has long been ascertained that the urine
of persons afflicted with diabetes, contained
pure sugar. '1 he following account of a loaf
ot sugar from such a source shows that the
manufacture has increased. Indeed the sugar
vyotild, for cheapness of the raw material^
rival that either fiom the best cane or Indian
corn ; but, unfortunately, diabetes is a disease
ofraie occurrence, ami, with the exception
of a few local instances, we are convinced
that the supply from this source may.be
considered as absolutely nothing. “ M.
Peligot has presented to the Societe^^Philoma-
thique, a loaf of sugar which he had extracted
from the urine of a patient now in the hospital
of La Charit^, afflicted with the saccharine
diabetes, ibis man voids about twenty quarts
of urine a day, of which five parts in every
hundred is sugar.” n

EXPERIMENTS ON THE HEAT OR!
COLD PRODUCED BY DISSOLV-
ING SALTS IN WATER.

By ThOxUas Thomson, M. D., F, R. S. L.
& E., &c., Reo'ius Professor of Chemistry in
the University of Glasgow.

1. 300 grains of crystallized carbonate of
soda in povvder, were thrown into 1000 grains
of water of the temperature 59° in a tumbler,
and the mixture was stirred till the salt was.
dissolved ; the thermometer sunk to 43« or 16
degrees.

'I he water of crystallization in 300 grains of
carbonate of soda is 187§ grains ; which is
one-seventh of l300 grains, the whole of the
liquid and salt included. Now, the water of
crystallization becoming liquid would absorb
140^ of heat. Hence the temperature oiivht
to have sunk one-seventh of 140 or 20°.
But the fall w'as only 16^; the difference
is owing to the quantity of heat given out by
the glass tumbler, wdiich of course would
prevent the temperature fiom sinking so low
as it otlierwise would have done.

300 grains of anhydrous carbonate of soda
in powder, were thrown into 1000 grains of
water of the temperature 57°'5, and stirred'
with a thermometer till the temperature
ceased to rise. The thermometer rose from
57°'5 to 79*^'5 or 22®' In another experiment
from 6l® to 82®*5 or 2l®‘5* There remained
undissolved 7-7 grains of salt. 'I he water of
crystallization seems to be absorbed by ibis
salt in the first place ; hence the reason of the
rise of temperature. This water amounts
to 182^ grains or about one-seventhc of
the salt and water. Hence, the rise of
temperature should be one-seventh of 140

j Trees with pretty
^ flowers, particu-
larly the itar/cguta.

S83

A TRONOMICAL OBSERVATIONS OF THE ANCIENTS.

or 20°. It exceeds this quantity a very little ;
the reason ot wliich may be, tliat ihe bulb
of (lie ihei mometer being at the bottom of
the vessel wheie the Siili actually (liss^olyed,
probably the lemneratuie in that spot inight
iiave been lather higher than at the sutlace ol
the liquid.

The specific gravity of anhydrous carbonate
of soda is 2'640.

Tlie S| ecific gravity of a saturated solution
of carbonate of soda at 80® is r2291.

It is composed of water 1000

Anhydious salt 292’3

1292*3

The mean specific gravity of such a mixture
is 1*1647. But the specific giavity of the so*
iuiion i.s 1*2291. It is, tlieietoie, a good deal
tlensei than tlie means. 'J’hiswill explain in
paittlie reason why the temperature isgieater
than it ought to be from iheory.

2. 300 grains of ciystallized sulphate of
soda in powder, were thiown into ICOO grains
of water ot the teui[)erature 57®*5, and the
liquid was stifled about w ith a thermometer
till the whole salt was dissolved. A longer
time elapsed leiore the sulpiiate dissolved
than was itquisite for the solution of tiie car*
boiiate of soda. The thermometer sunk to
45° 5 or 12°.

300 giaiiis of anhydious sulphate of soda in
fine [)Ou<lef, weie ihiown into )000 grains of
Water ot me tempeiaiure 61®*5, tlie mixture
was stirred about with a tliei mometer. 1 he
tempeiature rose to 65°*5. or 4°. 1 his lein-
perature continued unalleied fur nearly half
ail hour, showing that the salt \\ as giving out
heat during the whole of that time.

The quantity of salt di^solved was 165*8
grains. The quantity remaining solid was
therefore 134*2 grains.

'i he specific giavity of anhydrous sulphate
of soda IS 2*640.

'I'iie Sj ecific gravity of a saturated solution
ofsul| haieol soda at 6l°'5 is 1*1549.

Now the mean specific gravity ofa mixture
of 1000 giainsof waier oi 6i°*fj and 165*8 giains
of anhydrous sulphate ot soda is 1*0959. The
solution, iheiefore, is a good deal denser than
the mean.

3. 300 grains of crystallized sulphate of
magnesia in powder were thrown into 1000
grains of water of the temperature 56° 5, and
stirred with a thermometer ; the solution was
rapid but incomplete. The thermometer sunk
from 56°*5 to 51° or 5°2.

4. 300 grains of crystallized proto-sulphate
of iron in pow'der, were thi own into lOOO
giains of water of the temperature 58°, and
Ihe mixture was stirred till the salt dissolved.
'J he thermometer sunk Irom 58° to 53°'5 or
6°§. So that the cold evolved by the solution
of sulpiiate of magnesia and proto-sulphate
of iron is sensibly the same.

The quantities of water of crystallization in
300 grams of each of these salts ate as follows :

giains.

Carbonate of soda 187*50

Su Iphate of soda 166 66

Sulphate of magnesia 153 65

PiOto*sulphate of iron 135 95

Now, Ihe ratios of these numbers to each
other aie very nearly as the numbers 37§,
33 30|, 27^.

While the cold produced by the solution
of eadi salt was 16°, 12°, 5°j, 5°f.

We see t!iattiie«e two ratios are not the
same or even analogous to each other. It is
obvious from this that the mere knowledge of
the water of cry-tailization, and the solubility
of a salt, is not suffirdent to enable us to
foreiell the degree of cold that will he induced
by its solution in water. A great deal
depends upon the rapidity of the solution.
Hence, it hapfiens that more cold is produced
hy dissolving sn Its in dilute acids; because
by this method tlie rapidity of the solution is
veiy much increased. — Records of Science.

ON SOME ASTRONOMICAL ME-
THODS OF OBSERVAITON.

By William GALunAirii, A. IM.,

Teacher of Mathematics, Edinburgh.

ON THE OBLIQUITY Of THE ECLIPTIC.

To trace the various methods of astronomi-
cal observation used by the ancients, would
be a task too laborious ami iiksome for our
present purpose. It vvouM not, however, he
uninteresting to notice a few of their pioces-
ses and instruments which they most generally
employed. Among the latter tiie g/moroo con-
structed in various ways appearetl to be that
in w'hich mo.-t confidence was placed.

The rudest example of the gnomon was an
upright pole, placed perpemliculai ly to the
lioiizoiilal plane by means ofa plumb line,
though there aie instances of some of them
constructed of masonry of considerable
heights, but these could not propeily be cal-
led instruments. The altitudes ot liie heavenly
liodies were fiom these calculated hy com-
paiing the length of their shadows with their
height*. In modern mathematical language,
the height of the gnomon divided by the
length of its shadow, gives tlie natural tan-
gent of the allilmle of the celestial body, such
as the sun, whence hy means of a ubie of
natural tangents tlie angular measure of that
altitude I ecomesknown in some conventional
measnie, such as degrees. 'I hus let the
height of the gnomon be 5 feet, and tiie length
of its slradow 10 feet, then or 0*5 being

found in a lalrle of natural tangents will give
the angle equal to about 26® 30', the aliituda
of the sun at that time.

'1 his method was found to be inconvenient,
because the lengili of the shadow w'as required
to be mea'ured each lime an observation was
made. It, therefore, occm red to the ancient
asiionomers to foi m a n insfi ument of moderate
dimensions on similar principles, like the
artizin’s square, having the horizontal side
divided into equal parts as it was at first, and
afterwards into the natural tangents called by
the Arabians .s/rrtdows, to the radius, ami by
this means the angle of elevation hecatno
known in degrees and parts ofa degiee by
iuspection, though not to any great accuracy.

8S4

THE MOST POWERFUL LOADSTONE EVER KNOWN.

Tin's gave place in its turn to the quadrant,
divided into degrees and parts of a degree by
means ofa radius turning round its centre, in
wlticb were placed fine pins or sight vanes.
It wa« with such in«trnitients as these that
Eratosthenes and Ptolemy attempted the
measurement of the figure and magnitude of
the earth, and the determination of the olrli-
quity of tiie ecliptic. Ptolemy states that the
distance between the tropics in his time was
found by such an instiument to be J_.l of the
whole circumference, tliatis l.iof3C08=47®42
40 ', and the lialfof this or 23*^ 5l' 20 ' con-
stitutes what is called the obliquity of the
ecliptic.

'J’he accuracy of observations made with the
qnadiant could not Ire great till the invention
of the telescope and the vernier or reading
microscope, 'i'he quadrant, though a good
instiument with these appendage', and was
long so n-ed, has, at last, given place almost
universally to the circle which hy means of
verniers reading loniid the whole circum-
ference de-troy by mechanical means, pio-
balrly, the small incident.il enois inseparable
fiom mateiials and worlcmanship, iiowever
excellent Irotli may Ire. “ With all the care
that could be empioyeil, eriors to the amount
of 20 or 30 were kmowii to exist in the
observations ot some of tire continental obser-
vatories, and even to the amount of fiom 5 '
to 10" in those of (Jieenwicli.” Indeed,
Tiougbton has been beard to affirm that
a wcdl divided circle of a single foot in
diameter is imrre to be depended upon than a
fixed quadrant of the largest construction. In
aseiies of four olr^ei vations made with tlie six
inch ciiclesof Kaier ns consti ucted by Robin-
son, I have never found, under favourable
circumstances, the eriors to exceed ten or
fifteen seconds. Now, in the preface to the
first volume <rf the (jieenwicdi observations,
published by Maskelynein 1776, be makes the
following lemarks; 'I'be sun and moon and
some of the piincipal fixed stars are con-
stantly observed on the meridian everyday
when the weather will permit ; and t he exact-
ness of ihe insiiuments is so gieat, and their
rectifications so nice, that the place ofany
lieavenly I ody may always 1 e found by them
within ten secondsof a degree both in longitude
anil laiituile, and geneially much nearer.”
lie then possessed a gie.-.t mural quadiant of
eight feeliadiui, by Hiid, and we, tlieiefoie,
see that onr small ciicles of few inches in
diameter are neaily as accurate as the old
quadrants ofas many feet, and they approach
much nearer to perfection than we had any
reason to anticipate. Such small portable
circles are consequently very valuable to the
amateur astronomer, as well as the scierriific
traveller, since, in the hands of a skilful
observer, they furnish results highly useiul
for the improvement ofgeogiaphy, astronomy,
and iravigalion, while at the same lime llieir
moderate price enables many to become
pu I chasers.

In a letter from Captain Katerof the 2.5lh
of February, 1831, he remarks: “ the size I
recommend, and which I use is only 3 inches
in diameter, and in the latest construction

has only a vertical circle which can, how-
ever, be placed in the plane of any two ob-
jects so as to take the angle between them,
the whole contained in a box 7 inclir s lomr,
4| tnclies wide, and 3 deep, so that it really
deserves the name I originally gave, that of a
pocket a/imuth and altiiude circle. With
this little circle I can vet, in one evening,
my latitude to within 5" of the tMiib by the
pole star.” Such are liteially the eXfrres-
sions of the late Capiain Karer, the inventor
of this insti ument, and the advantages of it to
scientific travellers are very obvious.

(To he continued.)

ON A VERY POWERFUL NATURAL
MAGNET.

By Mn. J. Crichton, Gi.asgow.

To the Editor of the Records of General
Science,

Sir,— T he extremely small loadstone which
belonged to my deceased father, and of which
you desiie to leceive some details, is perhaps
the mo't powerful of its kind ever known.
By the scientific reader it will probably I e
regarded as a veiy curious and laie piuduc-
tion of nature, while by some oUiei’s it may bo
thought to (.'O'sess interest of a (l:ff,-rent
description. Since no otbei person, now alive,
knows any tiring of its history, 1 sliall.froiu
my own immediate knowledge and ciicu.m-
stanlial recollection, give the best account of
its origin, which at this lime it is possible to
put on record.

In 1772, or the succeeding year, when
Benjamin Franklin was in Glasgow, he calletl
on the late Prolesmr Andeison. .Much of
the conversation which too c place between
them was on electiicity ; botli were eniliu-
siasis in this branch of science. Ami, at tlieir
joint representation, the tliunder-rod, still on
the ( ollege .steeple here, was erected with a
view to its protection from the effects of light-
ning.

Magneti-m also became the subject of dis-
cussion, in the cuui'se of wbicli, tim Piofessor
desired my father, who at that time lived in
tile Professor’s house as bis mecliani-t, to ex-
hibit some artificial magnets be bad iu'l finish-
ed. On this occasion Franklin merit ioned,
on the anlliorily of his friend Washington,
thatsome place in Virginia afforded very fine
loadstones, and added, that on his return to
Ainetica, he would endeavour to procure a
specimen and send it to the Professor.

'J’his was not neglected, for, in 177G. the Pro-
fessor received the promised mineral, v\hich
was probat ly brought to France by Dr.
Fiankliri, '.whence he transmitted it to Glasgow
as a piesent from Washington himself. 'I'he
most promising pot lion of the mass was select-
ed, and my father, then working on his own
account, was employed toarmit in the most
appioved manner; but, though this w’as care-
fully performed, its power was in no way
remarkable. Several smaller portions of the

ON THE PHENOMENA OF CRYSTALLIZATION.

285

mass were similarly fitted up ; these, however,
like the princij)al one, proving: almost value-
ie'S. the Professor declined making further
trials, and finally laid aside all thouglits of the
matter.

Some years afterwards, I think in 1781, my
father, casually rummaging a Uimher-hox
which stood under his woih-bench, perceived
some small fragments of ihe almost foigotten
loadstone surrounded by iion filings and other
ferruginous dust, and remarking that one of
tliese fragments carried a huger heard of filings
than the others, he was thereby induced, at
his fir.'t leisure, to bestow, what he then
thought, a little hopeless labour in grinding
it to a proper shape with due regaid to its
poles. J he diminutive iron arms were attach-
ed in a temporary manner hy means of a
thiead, wlien, to his great surprise, its first
load, though liasiily applied and supposed to
be in excess, required sensible force for its
reiiioval.

It now seemed woithy of some additional
labour; the form in legard to polarity was
re-ex unineil, and when finished in this res-
pect, the stone, af'er being weighed, was with
its arming enclosed in a thin case of goid,
having a ring at top for suspending it. Its
load, a pyramidal sliaped friece of soft iron,
was now made of what was judged a weiedit
rather undei' its maximum power, that is, 783
grains; the stone itself weighs precisely tw o
and a half grains; it cariies, therefore, 313
times its own weight.

It is now aliout 55 years since this little
spark of the mine was fi:st enclosed ; upwards
of 30 years ago the case was Opened, in oi der
to apply arms of perhaps a better shape ; the
old ones, however, appealing'' in all respect.s
fau’tless, the whole was immediately put
togeiher in its original slate.

Scient'fic indviduals have frequently sug-
gested the pi'opiiety of keeping it with the
load constantly attached, as a mean, they al-
lege, of increasing its strength. This, I ap-
prehend, is lathet a gialuit'ons assumption;
besides, constant adhei-ion could n t be main-
tained owing tu the liemors incessantly taking
[lace in eveiy dwelling house. '1 hong hit is
not doubted, that, by careful application, the
load could he increased to considerahly more
than 800 grains ; still, as there is re'ason for
thinking that violent separation of the load,
under such circumstances, might prove
irijnrions, the trial has never been matle.

'J'he same mass of iron has been used as its
load from the leginnitig, and is placed merely
in contact with tiie arms. The power of
adhesion seems to be the same as it has ever
been.

James Crichton.

Glasgow, ls< March, 1836.

PHENOMENA OF CRYSTALLIZA-
TION.

When the formation of crystals are ob-
served under the microscope according to
Ehrenberg, the first thing which attracts at-
tention is a rapid action going on about the

crystal ; suddenly a solid point forms in the
transparent liquid, appreciable by its opales-
cence, and increases with astonisliing ra-
pidity, shewing that this point concentrates
and condenses the saline particles previously
dispersed and suspended in the water. This
concentration supposes a motion towards the
centre, and one is apt to think that the
aggregation of the atoms is of such a nature
that the density will increase towards the
edge. In this view it is rather surprising
that there should be no motion nor agita-
tion in the neighbourhood of the crystal. In
order to investigate the subject more ac-
curately, Ehrenberg examined strongly
coloured crystals. He dissolved bichro-
mate of potash and sulphate of copper
in water : he could not discover in either
case any visible current resulting from the
concentration of the coloured particles, nor
an aggregation around the crystal, while it
increased with great rapidity ; yet even by
sprinkling a fine powder over the liquid
which crystallized, uo currents could be
detected. Hence, crystallization is analo-
gous to the phenomena which, it is generally
supposed, take place when masses aggregate
in space. A nebulous appearance first
occurs, the matter of wliich gradually
condenses in the centre, then a kernel is
formed with an areola, and lastly a properly
formed world is completed.

Ehrenberg has carefully studied some
drops of a solution of common salt, and has
observed that hexagonal tables are formed
at the limit of evaporation often very regular
but frequently deposited one upon the other.
In the middle of these very delicate hexago-
nal tables a point was suddenly formed
which attracted to it the mass of tables.
Immediately the observer noticed there a
small tube increasing with immense rapidity
and enlarging as the tables diminished.
The waters of the Baltic and N. Sea are par-
ticularly fitted for these observations. Con-
ceiving that the phenomena might be owing
to the presence of two different salts, he
made an experiment upon common salt,
chemically pure and dissolved in distilled
water. In this case he observed the same,
only not so frequently ; the cubes being
generally formed immediately. Mitscher-
lich has shown that common salt forms
hexagonal plates at very low temperatures.
But in the present case the temperature
was that of the atmosphere. Did the cold
produced by the evaporation influence it ? — ■
Poggendorff^s Ann. No. x., 1835.

PRESERVATION OF ANIMAL SUB-
STANCES BY CARBONIZATION.

[A short notice of this new discovery ap-
peared in our 667th Number. The following

386 WHEN IRON LOSES ITS MAGNiETiG POWER.

additional particulars are from the American
Journal of Science and Arts. — Ed. M.M.]

The following are some of the objects that
have been subjected to the petrifying pro-
cess. One of Sig. Segato’s first experiments
was performed upon a Canary bird. It is
Still preserved unaltered, although it is now
ten years since the experiment was per-
formed ; and it has been submitted to the
action of water and of insects. A parrot re-
tains its original brilliancy of plumage,
unimpaired. Eggs of the land turtle, turtles,
various tarantulae, a water-snake, a toad,
various kinds of fish, snails and insects, are
in a perfect state of preservation. To these
are added various parts of the human body.
A hand of a lady, who died of consumption,
preserves the emaciation of the disease and
of death. Another of a man is flexible in the
different phalangic articulations, and yet
unalterable; afoot with the nails perfectly
fast; a collection of all the intestines of a
child, in their natural colours and forms,
with the fecal matters unremoved ; the liver
of a man who died from intemperance, dark
and lustrous like ebony ; an entire human
brain with its convolutions, of extreme
hardness ; the skin of a woman’s breast
naturally configured ; a pate of a girl pefect-
ly flexible, from which the hair hangs in
curls ; the head of an infant partly destroy-
ed, and discoloured by putrefaction. There
is also in the cabinet of Sig. Segato a table
constructed as follows. A spheroidal sur-
face of wood contains a parallelogram, com-
posed of two hundred and fourteen pieces,
regularly arranged. These to the eye ap-
pear like the most beautiful pietre dure that
have been produced by nature. Their vari-
ous colours, polish, and splendour, and their
surprising hardness, would leave no doubt of
their stony character. The sharpest file,
with difficulty, makes an impression on any
of them ; some it does not attack at all.
These pieces are all portions of the human
body, hardened by this new process ; as the
heart, liver, pancreas, spleen, tongue, brain,
arteries, &c. &c., all resembling the most
highly-polished precious marbles. An entire
body has not yet been tried, principally on
account of the limited resources of Sig.
Segato, although the expense would be but
about one tenth of that of embalming by the
ordinary process.

Great advantages to science, especially to
aatural history and human anatomy, are
expected to result from this discovery ; and
it is even confidently believed that the re-
mains of friends, of men of science and of
worth, may be preserved for ages in the exact
form and appearance, in which the hand of
death found them, wuth nothing offensive or
revolting about them.

As vouchers for the accuracy of the state-
ments contained in the pamphlet, the cer-
tificates of many of the distinguished phy-
sicians, professors, and men of science in
Florence, where Sig. Segato resides, are
appended. Among them, it is sufficient to
mention the names of Sig. Betti, Pro-

fessor of Physiology; Sig. Zannetti,: Pro-
fessor of Human Anatomy ; and Dr. Gaz-
2eri, Professor of Chemistry.

MAGNETIC CHARACTERS OF THE
METALS.

The opinion of Dr. Faraday, as stated
at the Royal Institution in reference to the
metals, is, that they are all magnetic, just
as they are all capable of being solidified,
but that a proper temperature is the desi-
deratum, as with mercury, for the solidifica-
tion of which alow temperature is required.
The analogy is principally derived from the
case of iron which loses its magnetic power
at an orange heat, and when cooled down
regains its attractive power. Nickel exhibits
similar properties. When heated and cooled,
it retains its negative state long after it has
ceased to be visible in the dark. Even
when immersed in hot almond oil it loses its
magnetic power. This point appears to be
between fi.'iO® and 640«. Cobalt and chromium
are stated in chemical works to be magnetic.
Dr. Faraday found that specimens of
these metals, which were said to be magnetic,
derived that property from the presence of
iron or nickel. The result of his experience
in res})ect to chromium is similar to that of
Dr. Thomson, who long ago determined
that it was not magnetic. Dr. Faraday
endeavoured to excite the magnetic power
in a number of metals by sinking their
temperatures to 60“ and 70«, but could not
succeed; nevertheless, he is convinced that
the only desideratum, in reference to the
development of magnetism in all metals, ii
the particular magnetic temperature.

NOTICE OF SOME RECENT IiM-
PKUVEMENiS IN SCIENCE.

CIlEMISTUY.

I. SOLpIFICA ITON OF CARBONIC
ACID. — Tliiloiiet lias succeeiled in reducing
tliis gas to a .solid state, by exposing it to a
tempeiatuie of l48*^ F. (?) Even when
exposed to ilie air, it remains in tliis.-tate for a
slion lime. Its elastic force appears tp bo
deteiiorated by being solidifieil, as in this
state it trradnally dissipates. It m.ayt4re also
rendered solid by suddenly raising it fiom a
liquid 10 a gaseon.s stste. VVlien a stream of '
the acid is direcled inio a small glass pliial,
the latter is filled wiili a white powder. If a ,
small poition o( the solid acid is placed in a i
stopiiered vessel, it soon fi L the flask vviih a i
thick vapour, and ilie stopper is foiciuly
expelled.— Medicate, Oct., 1835.

II. NAPHTHALINE AND IIS COM. '
POUN US.'~ Na-phthaline was procured by I
Laurent, by boiling coal-tar in the open air |
until it was depiived of its water, arid’ then :
distilling it in a retort with a copper beak and |i

NAPHTHALINE ANP ITS COMPOUNDS. m

% t;tas3 receiver. The first product is a yellow
substance which turns black in the air, and
deposits much naphthaline. The second
contains more naphthaline; the third is viscid,
orangu colouied, and contains much para-
Baptithanne. 'I'he last contains a substance
with the colour of realgar, which ha"; not been
examined. Tlte first oils |>roduce tlie napli-
thaline. 'I'hese are distilled and puiified by
crysfallir.ation by means of alcohol. The
specific gravity of its vapour is 4'528 by
: experiment.

Hence, we may consider its composition,
lO alomsCarbon, .. 4*166= *75 10 atoms
5,, Hydrogen,.. *347 = -625 5,,

451 1 8 125

His, therefore, a bi-pcnta-carbydrogen or
C10H5.

. 1. CHLORIDE OF NAPHTHALINE*

, of Laurent is obtained by combining chlo-
, rine with naphthaline without heat. It is a
. white powder, hut may be obtained in rhorn-
buidal plates by solution in edter. Smell
strong. Melts at 284f*. When distilled, it is
decomposed, but it may be volatilized in an
open lube. Insoluble in water ; little solu-
ble in alcohol ; more soluble in ether. Boil-
• ing sulphuric and nitric acids decompose it.

; Potash takes up m'lri.itic acid from it. Potas-
; sium destroys it. It consists of caibon 45,
hydiogen 2.9, chlorine 521.

; 2.CHLORO-NAPHTHALASE.--When
chlorine begins to act upon naphthaline, an
V oil is formed which it is difficult to separate
from the pieceding chloride and napluhaline.
By dissolving it in ether, and allowing it to
Stan 1 for some hours, the latter sepaiates.
Lastly, by dissolving it in alcohol and allow-
ing it to settle, we observe that the solid chlo-
ride precipitates fii't, then the oilv chloride,
and la-t of all, the naphthaline. In this way
it may be i'olaied. It contains ci ibon 60 9,
hydrogen 3 9. chlorine 35*2.

. S.CHLORO.NAPHTHALESE.— When

naphthaline is treated with chlorine; aft r
being liquified, the matter becomes solid. A
product is obtained whicli affords chloro-nao’i-
•thalese by the simple action of potash. The
product is placer! in a letori along with a strong
solution of potash in alcohol. Heat is applied
ami the alcohol collected. Pour a little water
on the residue, the excess of potash and some
chloiirle of potassium will be separated. An
oil is deposited which is treated again withal-

• Laurent employs .a new nomenclature to
designate this numerous class of compounds.
- It consists in changing the vowel of the final
syllable of the name of the .substance in jiro-
portiouasthe h.vdrogen is replaced by com-
bining bodies. (Uiloro-naphlhatase will con-
V tain ‘i atoms of hyilrogeii less than naphtha-
line^ and will have gained 3 atoms of chlorine.
Chloro-naphlh rlese will contain -4 atoms of
-hydrogen less than naphthaline, and will
> have gained 2 atoms of chlorine. Chloro-naph-
thalise is not known. Chloro-naphthalosc
jj , contains 8 atoms of hydrogen less than naph-
thaliae.

cohol and potash. It is then precipitated by
water. In a few hours it becomes a pearly
mass crystallizing by sublimation. Tliis Is
cliloio-naplitlialese. It consists of carbon,
Cl‘4, livdrogfMi 3', chlorine 35’6.

4 . P 1-: R Cl I LO R 0 - N A P H i ’ H ALES E .~I f,
itisteail of treating the preceding f>ody with
potash, we di-nil it, it is partly decomposed,
and a portion passes over with an oil. By
expressing the product between paper we ob-
tain a pure substance which crystallizes by
means of alcohol in needles w ith a rhorrjbpi-
dal base. It is isomorplious with the preced-
ing.

If this pyrogenoiis compound is treated with
a current of dry chlorine at the usual tempera-
ture, the gas comi)ines witli it and forms- a
solid, wiiich, when dissolved in ether, crystal-
lizes in small prisms. It is colourless, insoluble
in water, little solultle in alcohol, more so in
ether. It may be di-^tilled. It consists of car-
bon 25*4, hydrogen 1*2, chlorine 73*4.

5. CHLORO-NAPH rilALOSE. When
napthaline is submitted to the action of chlo-
rine it li |uifies, and muriatic gas is evolved.
The matter becomes solid. By applying h.eat
and continuing the action, a crystalline mass
is olrtained, which may be |;urified by dissolv-
ing it several times in alcohol or ether. 'I'he
crystals are oblique pri-ms. Chloro-naplitiia-
lose is white and insipid. It distils wdiliout
change. Burns with a green flame. At a red
beat, lime converts it into ciiloride ofcalcrnm
and carbon. It consists of carbon ‘45*6, hy-
drogen 1 *5, chlorine 52*9.

6. HYDRO-CHLORATE OF CIILO-
RO-NAPHTH ALAS E.— This compound is
piodnced by first pas-^ing a current of chlorine
over naphthaline; this process should he
stopped when the only product, wliich was
healed dur ng the re-action, begins to deposit a
while matter. This oil is a mixtuie of naph-
tlialine, oily chloride, and solid chloride.
When exposed to a tempeiaiure between 122“
and 140“ in a small capsule, then dissolved in
ether and exfmsed to a cold of 14“, the greater
part of the solid chloride is deposited. The
efheieal solution wheji mixed with alcdliol
and exposed to the air deposits ^ths of -oil.
'i'he remainder, when exposed to a heat , suf-
ficient to expel ilie ether and alcohol, is frure
hydroclilorale of chloro-naphthalase. It is
only, slightly yellow, soluble in alcohol and
ether. Chlorine converts it into hydio-chlorate
of chloro-naphihalese. It is decomposed by
potassium, and partially by distillation. Itscon-
.stituents ate carbon 61*435, hydiogen 3;^25,
chloiine 35*040.

7. 1 1 YD RO-C II LO R ATE 0 F C H LQ RO-
NAPH rilALESE or solid cbloiide is ob-
tained by the process just described, , Af-
ter the action of the cliloiioe has ceased, it ia
necessary to take up the oily matter wLib the
ether, and to dissolve theresiduein this liquid
with beat in a closed flask, anti to crystallize
by cooling. Boiling sulpliuiic acid converts it,
1st, into a matter in‘-olubIe in water,, and
soluble in ether. When this solution is
evaporated a transparent varnish is left.
2d. Anotlier substance which remains in 'solu-
tion and gives, with barjTes, anincrystallizabl©

388

THE RANK ASSIGNED TO SOME SPECIES OF FERNS,

salt soluble in alcohol, whicli is probably a sul-
{•ho--'a!t analogous tn tlie su ! plio-iiaplitlialales,
Hydio-clilorate o! chioio-na()luliale?e coo'ists
ot'carbon ,44'79. livdioaen 2'70 ehloiine 52‘51.

8. lUlO.MO-NAPli niALASE.— W lien

a few drops of bi oinine aie poured upon napli-
tlialine a lively action ensue-, lieai and liydio-
broniic acid are diseni;a"ed, and aii oily pio-
duct is formed. This consists of cai lain 50 9.
hydrogen 2 9. 1 roinine 46’2. 1 liis oil is evi-

dently a mixture of two substances, the first
of which has not been separated, but the se-
cond.

9. BROMO-NAPH l’HALESE may be
obtained by distilling a mi.Ktuie ofbiomine
and naplilhaline. Id ydrobiomic acid, a bro-
mine oil, and charcoal come over, and towards
the end oflhe process crystals of hromo-napli-
thalese apjieai . d hese are formed most com-
pletely when the bromine has been addeil in
excess to the naphthaline. In dissolving this
pioduct in alcohol and evaporating, we obtain
six-sided prismatic neetlles. Tney are white,
insoluble in water, volatile, very soluble in
alcohol and ether. '1 hey consist ofcaibon
42'9, liydiosren 2'1 , bromine 55,

10. JiHOMIUE OF CHLOllO-NAPfl-
TllAEliiSE is formed by irouring biomine
upon chloro-naphthalese in a close flask. 'J'he
latter dissolves and solidifies into a crystalline
mass. When purified by alcohol iiie-ei-nbles
the chloride of cliloro-naplithalese, and con-
si.>ts of carbon 2l’5, hydrogen 1*05, chloiine
and biomine 74‘45.

11. N1 1 KO-NArUTIIALASE i.s form-
ed by the action of boiling nitric acid upon
najdithaline. A new oil is obtained fir-t,
which so’idifies very slowly by cooling, foim-
ing a crystalline mass of large needles. It
Consists of two bodies very soluble in alcohol
and ether, the one is solid or niti o-na plithalase,
tile othei IS li([uid. 'I'he foimer is expressed
between folds of laper. It is then dissolved
in alcolioi. On cooling, drops subside to the
bottom of tlie vessel, containing much nitio-
iiaphthalase, which is sepaiaitd by solution
in alcohol. 'i he alcohol lets fbU cry.sials.
1 iiey aie fmir-sided piisn.s leiininaitd by
acute pyramids. Colour sulphui-yellow.
Volatile. Insoluble in water ; very soluble
ia alcohol and ether, Auaiysis gave catbon
69 86, hydiogen 4 07, azole 8'53, oxygen
17-54.

(To be continued .)

THE TRANSACTIONS OF THE LIN-
NEAN SOCIETY OF LONDON.

V^. XVII, part 3rd, 1836“.

The number of communications in this
portion of the transactions amounts to 12,
most of which are important.

BOTANY.

REMARKS ON SOME BRITISH
FERNS.

By Mr. David Don, Lib. L. S.

The object of this paper is to determine
how far some species of ferns recently added

to the British Flora, merit the rank which
has been assigned to them.

Aspidium dumetorum, of Smith he has
ascertained to be merely a diseased state of
A. dilatatum, which is shown by the sudden
termination of the costae, and by the partial
decay of the other segments.

Nephrodium rigidum turns out to be
the same with the plant of Swartz. It dif-
fers from N. dilatatum and N. spinulo •
sum, in having larger and more crowded sori,
and a broader and more depressed indusium.
The fronds are lanceolate and both the
stipes and rachis are copiously clothed with
long narrow ramentaceous scales, as in as-
pidium aculeatum. In dilatatum and spi-
nulosum the rachis is nearly naked, and the
stipes is furnished with fewer and broader
scales. From N. felix mas it is distin-
guished by its more delicate fronds, having
the pinulae pinnatified and a more scaly
rachis.

Asplenium filix foemina is observed in
the shape of two different varieties, but
neither of them are entitled to be regarded
as a distinct form.

Cgstea dentata or Polypodium dentatum
of Dickson, who first distinguished it from
fragilis, inhabits Clova, and appears pecu-
liar to the Scottish Alps.

Cgstea regia. Contrary to the opinion of
Hooker, Mr. Don considers this plant dis-
tinct from a/joma, being characterised by its
more compact frond, by its shorter, broader
and cuneiform segments, by the still more
important characters of its more copious sori,
and of its narrower and tapering indusium.
In the Alpina the segments are linear and
the sori much fewer, being mostly solitary
on the lobes, and the indusium broader,
truncate, and not taper pointed. No Bri-
tish station now exists for this plant.

DESCRIPTION OF FIVE NEW SPECIES
OF THE GENUS PINUS, DISCOVER.
ED BY DR. COULTER IN CAUFOR-
NIA.

By Mr. David Don, Lib. L. S.

Notwithstanding the addition of seven new
species to this genus, by Mr. Douglas, wdth-
in the space of a very few years, we have in
this paper a detail of the character of five
additional species discovered by Dr. Coulter,
in California ; especially on the western flanks
of the northera Andes, and the extensive
parallel ranges of mountains which extend
from south to north through that country.

1. THE P. COULTERI rises to the
height of 8o or 100 feet at an elevation of
from 3000 to 4000 feet above the level of the
sea ; growing intermingled with the P. Lam-
bertiana on the mountains of St. Lucia,
near the Mission of San Antonio, in latitude

GALLS AND MUSTARD PLANT OF THE HOLY LAND.

36®. 2. P. mMncafa attains a height of 40 feet.
It was found at San Luis Obispo in latitude
35°. at an elevation of 3000 feet. 3. P. radi~
ata found about Monterey in latitude
36°, near the level of the sea, and growing
almost close to the beach. It affords excel-
lent timber, which is very tough and admira-
bly adapted for building boats. 4. P.
tuberculata, resembling in position and ap-
pearance the preceding. 5. P. hracteata
was found growing on the sea side of
the mountain range of St. Lucia, about
1000 feet lower than P. Coulteri. The trunk
rises to the height of 120 feet, not exceeding
2 feet in circumference and as straignt as.au
arrow.

SOME ACCOUNT OP THE GA.LLS
FOUND ON A SPECIES OF OAK,
FROM THE SHORES OF THE DEAD
SEA.

By AYLMER Bourke Lambert, Esq.,
F. R. S., V. P. L. S.

This paper contains a description with
figures of some galls brought from the Holy
Land by the Hon. R. Curzen, and which the
author considers to be the “ mala insana,”
or apples of Sodom of history. They
grow on the Q vercus infectoria, a tree
which grows abundantly in Syria, i he insect
which tbrms them has been named by Olivier
J)iplolepis. When on the tree the galls
are of a rich purple, and are varnished over
with a light substance of the consistence of
honey, shining with a most brilliant lustre in
the sun, which makes them look like a most
delicious and tempting fruit.

NOTE ON THE MUSTARD PLANT OF
THE SCRIPTURE.

By Mu. Lambert.

The author considers this plant to be the
same as that daily used among us. He con-
ceives that the expression “ less than all the
seeds that be in the earth,” used in Scripture
was used comparatively and meant nothing
more than a small seed. Captains Irby and
Mangles have informed the author that our
mustard plant, the sinapis nigra, grows in
the Holy Land as high as their horses heads,
and other travellers have seen it growing to
the height of 10 feet.

ON SEVERAL NEW OR IMPERFECTLY

UNDERSTOOD BRITISH AND EURO-
PEAN PLANTS.

By C. C. Babington, F. L. S., &c.

1. HERNIARIA HIRSUTA, has been
fouhd only at Colney Hatch Barnet, by
Hudson, and Milne, and Gordon, but not
since 1793.

2. H. GLABRA. — Near Newmiarket, Rev.
Mr. Herosted. The description • under this
title in Hooker’s Flora applies to H. ciliaia.

3. H. CILIATA. — Lizard point, Ray and
Borrer.

S89

4. CREPIb VIRENS. — Common on walls,

&c. This plant has usually been confounded
with C, tectorum, which does not appear to
be a native of this country. It is distin-
guished from by its ” very long fruit,

equalling the pappus : attenuated above, its
ribs rough ; the margin also of the upper
leaves is revolute, that not being the case in
C. virens.'”

5. C. BIENNIS. — Tnvolucrura, ovate, ob-
long, both when in flower and seed, not be-
coming ventricose as in C. virens.

6. ERICA TEI'RALlX. Seems branch-
ed only towards the base. Leaves and sepals
linear, lanceolate, downy, their margins
secured so as almost to meet behind.

7. E. MACKAIANA, N. S. — Fol qua,tern.

ovat. ciliat. supra glabris, floribus capitat.
pedicellatis, sepalis ovat. ciliat. glabris, pe-
dicellis piles, et comentosis, corolla oblong,
ovatis, antheris anstat. inclusis, stylo exser-
to.— Distinguished from E. Teiralix by
the form and structure of its leaves and
sepals, the glabrous upper surface of the
former, and its total difference in habit. It
agrees with E. ciliuris in the character
ot its foliage, but differs from that plant by
haying anthers awned. Gathered by the
author on Craigha Moira, Connamara, Ire-
land, in August, 1835. Mr. McCalla, of
Roundstoae, directed his attention to it, as
beim;, perhaps, a new British heath. It is
nameu utcer iMr. M > ckay, of Dublin. Some
botanists consider it as a variety of E.
Tetralix. '

8. POLYGONUM MARITIMUM.—
Christchurchhead, towards Muddiford Bor-
r°r ; Keime Bay, Jersey. Mr. W. C.
Trevelyan.

9. IL RATI. — Intermediate between P.
Maritimum and aviculare. The P. aviculare
of Hook. Brit. Flora.

10. B. DUMETORUM— Wood at Wimble-
don : Mr. .) . A. I laukev.

11. P. CONVOLVULUS.— Improved de-
scription by the author.

12. EUPHORBIA PILOSA.— E. pilosa Q

of Hooker. ^

13. EUPHORBIA CORALLOXIDES —
E pilosa a of Plooker : naturalized at Hen-
fold, Sussex.

14. HA BEN ART A CHLORANTMA-
Orchis bifolia a of Smith.

15. H. BlPt/LIA. — 0. bifolia ^ of
Smith.

16. H. FORNICA PA— . A distinct species,
having its anther rounded at the tip and
hooded, and the cells parallel; plant smaller
than H. bifolm.

OBSERVATIONS ON THE SPECIES
OF FEDIA.

By Joseph Woods, Esq., F. L. S.

This genus was originally made from the
varieties of the Linnean species, Valeriana
locusta, being separated from Valeriana by
habit as well as by the want of a feathery
crown to the seed. The name comes from
Hoedus, or Foedus, a kid, and was introduced

^90

INSECTS OF BRAZIL AND VALPARAISO.

by Adanson, although not applied by him to
this genus. Decandolle divides it into four
divisions. 1. Locusta: with one or two empty
cells and a gibbous corky or spongy mass at
the back of the fertile one. 2. Psilocoelue:
the two empty cells, each reduced to a hollow
nerve. 3. Plaiycoelae : two empty cells, near y
as large as the fertile ones. 4. Selenocoelat :
section of the fruit, crescent shaped, with
two empty cells.

Mr. Woods suggests that the European
species may be divided as follows : A. Flow-
ers ringent. 1. F. Cornucopioe : B. flowers
nearly regular; A. fruit with a corky mass
at the back of the seed. 2. F. oliioria. 3.
F. (jibhosa b. section of the fruit crescent
shaped, two barren cells, a. F. iurgida. 5.
F. carinafa. 6. F. platiiloba : C. barren
cells two, hardly touching in the middle ; di-
vi'-ions of the calyxhooked; flowers in glo-
bular heads ; upper leaves generally pinnati-
fied at the base. 7- F. Hamata. 8. F. Coro-
nata. 9. F. Ciliata: d barren cells two, hard-
ly touching in the middle ; prolonged in to
teeth or horns, but not forming a membra-
nous calyx. 10. F. echinata, 11. F. frigo-
nocarpa. 12. F. Sphaerocarpa. 13. F. pu-
mila : e barren cells two contiguous ; crown
erect. 14. F auricula : / barren cells four
15. F. vesicaria : g barren cells wanting, or
reduced to a mere nerve ; panicle nearly fas-
tigiate ; the lower flowers solitary. 16. F.
lasiocephala. 17. F. eriocarpa. 18. F. den-
taia 19. F. puberula. 20. F. microcarpa. 21.
F. fruncata. 'J he paper isj illustrated by
drawings.

DE MERCH.\NT1 E 1 S AuctoreThoma.&c.
Taylor, M. D., F. L. S.

The species of this order of plants, although
limited in nun bn-, are widely spread over
the world, as \\e find from the Baltic sea to
the Mediterranean in Europe, over all America
and even the mountains of iXepaul. The
author treats of sujh in this paper as have
come under his notice, under the genera
Marchanfia, FegaieUa, Fimbraria, Lunularia,
Hygropgla. Those who are fond of the study
of this beautiful order of plants, we cannot
direct to a more distinct source for the
solution of any difficulties which they may
happen to meet with, although it would have
more congenial to the acquirements of most
botanists if the concluding remarks on each
species had been couched in English instead
of Latin. We approve of the use of the latter
language for stating the specific characters,
but to carry the use of a dead language any
further is an abuse.

ON THE ERIOGONEAE, A TRIBE OF
THE ORDER POLYGOA'ACEAE.

By G. Bentham, Esq., F. L S.

The genus Eriogomm was first established
“by Michaux in his Flora Borealu Americana'
The number of plants now known which
approach nearly to this genus amount to 40

species. In this paper Mr. Benthatn
proposes to divide these into three genera. |'
All the species are equally distinguished by
their involucrate inflorescence and absence of '
stipulae, at least to thelower or cauline leaves.
But a considerable difference of habit has
induced him, at the suggestion of Mr.
Brown, not only to separate generically 5
species with uniflorous involucres ; b\xt among
these to isolate one (Mucronea) which has a !
compressed and bidentate involucre formed of
two leaves instead of a triangular sexdentate 1
one formed of six leaves as in the four species
{Chorizanthe). The latter genus is further
confirmed and augmented by seven species
collected in Chili by Macrae, Cuming,
Bridges, &c.

OBSERVATIONS ON I HE GENUS HO-
SACKIA AND THE AMERICAN LOTI.

By George Bentham, Esq., F.L.S.

The author modifying his views expressed
in the Botanical Register (vol. xv. tab. 1257,)
in reference to these two genera, is now
induced to confine the circumscription of
Hosackia to the umbellate species, and propo.
ses to consider the uniflorous ones as belong-
ing to Lotus of which they would form a sepa-
rate section, which, with reference to the
size of the flowers, might be called Microlotus. !!
The two genera would then be characterized i’
by the form of the flower ; and the peculiar!- 1;
ties observable in the organs of vegetation '
would again be reduced to their proper level, j
thatof subsidiary, not essential characters. In i
the true Hosackiae the claw of the vexillum isr ;!
always at some distance from those of the other j

petals ; the alae adhere by their margins to |
the Carina, and usually (if not always) spread
at right angles from it ; the carina is usually j

less rostrate than in Lotus and the stigma ;

more distinctly capitate. In Microlotus the j
flower does not present any essential differ-
ences from that of our European Loti. The
author describes 1 1 species of Hosackia, and i
5 species of Microlotus. j

ENTOMOLOGY. |

Descriptions, ^c., of the Insects collected

Captain P. P. King, R. N., F. R. S. in the j:
Survey of the Straits of Magellan. By John i
Curtis, Esq., F. L. S. ; A. H. Haliday, Esq,^

M. A., and Francis Walker, Esq., F. L. S.

The collection was formed along the coast :

from St. Paul’s in Brazil to Valparaiso. It |

is interesting to trace the similarity which ![
exists between the corresponding parallels of i
the southern and northern hemispheres such ;
as is afforded by the present collection. Thus i
the genus Carabus appears unknown in S.
America, excepting about lat. 50® where a j
species of that group with a narrow thorax j
has been found ; the genus culex also occurs, J
The insects of S. America bear little resem-
blance to those of S. Africa. Descriptions
are given of species belonging to 55 genera !
of Hymenopfera, and of 78 genera of Diptera.
•^Records of Science. |

DR. O’SHAUGHNESSY’S EXPERIMENTS A T THE GOVERNMENT HOUSE. S91

CHARACTERS OF EMBI A, A GENUS OF
INSECTS ALLIED TO THE WHITE
ANTS (TERMITES), WITH DESCRIP-
TIONS OF THE SPECIES OF WHICH
IT IS COMPOSED.

By J. O. Westwood, Esq., F. L. S.

This genus is remarkable at present not
only because it consists of species nearly
allied to the white ants, but because it is com-
posed of 3 exotic species, each from a dif-
ferent quarter of the globe, wdiile a single
specimen only of each has hitherto come under
the observation of entomologists ; each pos-
sesses also characters of a higher rank than
mere specific distinction, whence he has been
under the necessity of considering each as a
distinct subi^enus ; these are Ernbia Savignii,
Oligotoma Saundersii, anil Olynthia Brazi-
liensis. Mr. Westwood has also observed
two species imbedded in Gum Copal or Anime,
which he has not been able sufficiently to iden-
tify.

ON A NEW ARACHNIDE UNITING
THE GENERA GONYLEPTES AND
PHALANGIUM.

By THE Rev. F. W. Hope, M. A.,

, F. R. S., F. L. S.

This remarkable insect with disproportion-
ally long hinder legs, so long that it is dif-
ficult to conceive of what utility they can be»
was collected in Brazil by the late Mr. Ha-
worth, a zealous promoter of entomology in
all its branches. Mr. Hope terms it Dolichos-
eelis Haworthii.

ZOOLOGY.

DESCRIPTION OF A NEW SPECIES OF
THE GENUS CHAMELEON.

By Mr. Samuel Stutchburg, A. L. S.. &c.

CHAMELEON CRISTATUS. C. Super-
ciliari occipitalique carina elevata et crenulatfi>
caudae anteriori parte dorsique anophysibas
elongatis cristam dorsalem constituentibus :
squamis fere rotundis subsequalibus. The
striking peculiarity of this animal consists in
its having a dorsal crest, supported by the
spinous processes of the vertebrae, by which
character it approaches the basilisks. It was
brought from the banks of the river Gaboon
in Western Equinoctial Africa, and was pre-
sented to the Museum of the Bristol Institu-
tion, by Messrs. King and Sons of that city.

THE PRACTICAL MECHANIC’S POC-
KET GUIDE, &c.

By Robert Wallace, a. M., Glasgow,
1836. p. 120.

This is a very neat and useful little com-
pendium of the most important rules for the
practical mechanic, arranged under the heads
of 1. Prime movers of machinery; 1st. Ani-
mal power. — ^2d. Wind power. — 3rd. Water
power. — 4th. Steam power. II. Weighty
strength, and strain of materials. III. Prac-
tical tables : let. Weight of metals.-~-2jxd.

Specific gravity and weight of materials.—
3r(l. Steam and steam engines. — 4th. Spe-
cific cohesion and strength of materials. — 5th.
Mechanical powers. The section upon steam
is illustrated by a good plate of the steam
engine, and . a plan is appended to the work
of the land which has been drained behind
the town of Greenock, and of the great reser-
voir which is supplied by these numerous
drains. We have no doubt that Mr. Wallace’s
book will be duly appreciated by those for
whom it is intended, and we recommend it to
the attention not of mechanics alone, but of
all who are interested in this importaot
branch of philosophy.

THE INDIA REVIEW.

Calcutta : December 15, 1836.

LORD AUCKLAND’S SCIENTIFIC
PARTY.

Dr. O’ Shaughnessy demonstrated by ex-
periments the nature and properties of
oxygen and hydrogen gases, and the com-
position of water, by introducing them in
aclose glass vessel, theinside of which, though
clean and dry before the experiment, became
dewy. This was done with Cavendish’s ap-
paratus, by exploding the mixture with an
electrical spark. Dr. O’ Shaughnessy took
that opportunity of bringing to the notice of
his hearers that, within a week past, he had
received information of a new experiment,
by which it was shown that hydrogen gas
was a complete test for arsenic, which Dr.
O’ Shaughnessy considered an invaluable
discovery*

He placed a few drops of Fowler’s solution
in a vessel with water, and obtained hydrogen
by solution of zinc in sulphuric acid. The
hydrogen being ignited was allowed to
play in a small jet in a glass tube; where
Dr. O’ Shaughnessy supposed it deposited
the arsenic.

Fresh lime water, added to a fluid con-
taining arsenic, is said to have precipitated
l-30th of a grain of the metal. But Dr.
O’ Shaughnessy thought that hydrogen gas
would detect the 500th part of a grain.
We suppose this experiment has originated "
from the well known test of water saturated
xritii sulphurretted hydrogen gas, formedi by
the actio n of diluted muriatic acid on sulphu-

CONFLICTING OPINIONS AMONG CHEMISTS.

retted iron, which has been considered a dedi-
cate test, producing an orange-yellow precipi-
tate or the hydro-sulphuret of arsenic. We
prefer this to the experiment brought forward
on this occasion, because 2inc sometimes
contains arsenic. Dilute sulphuric acid
dissolves zinc : at the same time that the
temperature of the solvent is increased, and
much hydrogen escapes, an undissolved resi-
due is left which, Proust says, is a mixture
of arsenic, lead, and copper.

But Dr. Christison has maintained that
the liquid tests have been found liable to
many fallacies, and their details have seldom
carried conviction to the Judge or Jury ; it
was therefore desirable in his opinion to
obtain evidence from reduction and sublima-
tion. He endeavoured to show that the fourSi
part of a grain might be presented in its
metallic form, although it had been dissolv-
ed in eight thousand parts of the most com-
plicated vegetable and animal fluids. The
experiments that he performed led to the
conclusion, that the proof of the existence
of arsenic becomes conclusive ; for no other
known substance, says he, can yield with
sulphuretted hydrogen a yellow precipitate
from which a metallic crust can be sub-
limed. Professor Silliman says that ** the
reduction of the arsenic is perfectly deci-
sive.” After this we might well ask, what
need is there of other tests ?

But professor Michell has performed nu-
merous experiments ; and, having closely
examined those made by Christison, come to
the conclusion that the more he examined the
subject the more he became convinced that,
” for the ascertainment of the presence of
arsenic, no single experiment was sufficient,"
and that the appearances, of even the best
marked and most characterestic ct'ust, arena t
an infallible, or alone even a good test of the
presence of the potent poison.” Rose de-
clares that the free sulphur is always depo-
sited along with the sulphurets precipitated
from arsenical solutions by sul phuretted
hydrogen, and which accounts for the yel-
low or yellowish red ring occasionally sur-
mounting the metallic crust obtained by the
reduction of the sulphuret of arsenic. Dr.

A. Murray of Edinburgh is not satisfied
with Christison’s conclusions, and shows
experiments by which, he says, it is easy to
detect a quantity of arsenic, much less than i
the most skilful chemist can reduce to the |i
metallic state. Few persons, says he, can I
depend upon reducing l-20th or even 1-lOth
of a grain of arsenic ; but he felt con-
vinced that it is easy, by his method, to de-
tect 1-lOOOth part of a grain ; as a proof of
which he took one grain of white arsenic, I
and spread it out as much as possible upon f
common writing paper ; and, by means of the 1
ammoniacal nitrate of silver, with great ease !|
and even in a hasty manner, made upwards r
of 400 separate and distinct yellow spots. ^
Dr. Paris recommends the suspected fluid i
to be dropped on a piece of white paper,
making with it a broad line ; along this line
a stick of lunar caustic is to be slowly I;
drawn several times successively, when a
streak is produced of a colour resembling I;
that known by Indian yellow. Dr. Murray {
denies that nitrate of silver produces change |
of colour with arsenic ; but with a phosphate |
it readily occasions a beautiful yellow. Orfila
is in the habit of testing by concentrated i
liquid hydro -sulphuric acid. He obtains the i
metallic arsenic, and specifies its physical j

properties.

Now, considering the importance of the ’
question we have been examining, these con- |
flictingopinions induce us to implore those who I
are likely to sit on British juries and gentle- |
men of the Bar, seriously to consider this !
difference of opinion ; while we solemnly j
protest against any bold assurance of our |
chemical physicians lest they peril the j
life of a fellow creature on the uncertainty
of an experiment.

Many of our profession, says Dr. Wm.
Hunter, are a little disposed to grasp at
authority on a public examination, by giving
a quick and decided opinion, whereit should
have been guarded with a doubt, — acharacter
which no man should be ambitious to ac-
quire, v/ho in his profession is presumed
every day to be deciding nire questions on
which the life of a patient juay depend.

At)VlCE TO JUDGE AND JURY.

39S

The Jurist should remember the words of
Shakespeare —

“ I have seen,

When, after execution, Judgment hath
Repented o’er his doom.”

We are aware that archdeacon Paley ob-
jects to the maxim that we ought to bear
in our minds, that it is better that many
guilty escape than one innocent man suffer.
But Male, the able author of Juridical and
Forensic Medicine, quoting the work entitled
Considerations on the Criminal Proceed-
ings of this Country,” still maintains that
the maxim is a good one.

On the conclusion of Dr. O’Shaughnessy’s
experiments, Mr. James Prinsep proceeded
to show the intense heat produced and
directed on different metals, by a jet of flame
consisting of hydrogen and oxygen gases.
The gases were discharged from separate
gasometers, and brought in contact at
the orifices of small diameters. The Drum,
mond light,already described in our Journal,
was exhibited. Dr. Wallich attended with a
most perfect Ross’s microscope, through
which was distinctly seen the circulation or
living principle of plants. The skeleton of an
ox, prepared and set up by Mr. Pearson ; nu-
merous fossils ; varieties of the Assam silk
moth; Dr. MacClelland’s collection of birds ;
very valuable specimens of Bactrian and
other coins, collected by Mr. Prinsep, Col.
Stacy, and Capt. Cunningham, and several
plants, among which was the tea plant of
Assam, were also exhibited. The whole party
appeared much delighted, with the interest-
ing and instructive entertainments.

LAW OF PATENT, TO USE NEW
MANUFACTURES REQUIRED FOR
INDIA,

So long as such a law is not mischievous,
by raising prices of commodities, or hurtful
to trade, we consider that it is essentially
necessary for the protection of the property
of individuals in this country. We should be
glad to see a legislative enactment in favor of
inventors, that those who labour with the in-
tellect may be entitled to as effectual a pro-

tection as those who labour with the body.
We are led to the foregoing observations
from having observed, in the London Jour-
nal and Repertory of Arts, &c. for May last,
a patent granted to Mr. Newton in M arch
1835, for a method of preparing animal milk,
and bringing it into such a state as to allow
of its being preserved for a certain length of
time. We republish the article, in order to
show our readers, that this, with very little
alteration, is the mode by which Mr. Previte,
now about to embark for England, has pre-
pared his pulverized milk. We have ob-
tained from Mr. Previte some information
as to the cause of his not obtaining the
patent to which he was so justly entitled,,
for his important discovery, which, being of
interest to the British community in India,
we do not hesitate to lay before them.

Mr. Previte’s discovery being sub-
jected to the examination of several eminent
medical men was, after many experiments,
pronounced to be pure milk in a dry
state, retaining the flavor of milk in full per-
fection, imparting it to tea and coffee, as
well as all culinary preparations where milk
is required ; and being, from its nutritious
properties and freedom from acidity, well
adapted for children and invalids.

As much attention, labour, and expense
had been bestowed in prosecuting the ex-
periments which led to the discovery, he
applied, in a letter dated 14th May, 1834,
to the Government, through the Secretary in
the General Department, for a patent. The
reply was thatno law existed under which pa^
tents could be given by the Government of In-
dia to secure to the projectors or inventors of
new machinery, or preparations of any kind,
the property and exclusive benefit of their
inventions. The propriety of eventually
passing such a law, to give to the Govern-
ment such a power, was to be considered by
the Right Hon’ble the Governor Gene-
ral of India in Council. Two years and seven
months have passed away, however, and the
result is that the patent has been obtained
by another person in Europe, — one who is
not the inventor ; for he acknowledges that it
was a communication from a foreigner rg-
siding abroad. And thus it is, that unless the

394

LAW OF PATKx\TS REQUIRED FOR INDIA.

law be granted in favor of Mn Previte, the ori..
ginal inventor, his labour and expense must be
lost. We consider this an exceedingly hard
case, and we trust that it will induce the
Government in India, without delay, to apply
for a legislative enactment, for the protection
of the right of inventors, &c.

The following is the patent which we
copy from the London Journal.

To William Newton, of Chancery -lane, in
the county of Middlesex, civil engineer, for a
method of preparing animal milk, and bringing
it into such a state as shall allow of its being pre-
served for any length of time, toith its nutritive
properties, and capable of being transported
to any climate, for domestic or medicinal uses;
being a communication from a foreigner resid
ing abroad. — [Sealed 11th March, 1835.]

The method of preparing animal milk, and
bringing it into such a stale as shall allow of
its being preserved for any length of time
with its nutritive properties, and capable of
being transported to any climate for domes-
tic or medicinal purposes, consists in simply
evaporatiuR the aqueous parts from the liquid
milk, and leaving the other constituent parts
of the milk in a concentrated state, unaltered
by any chemical change, which 1 effect in
the following manner : — Taking the milk in
n fresh state as drawn from the animal, hav-
ing first strained it, if necessary, to get rid
of any dirt or other improper matter w’hich
may have accidentally fallen into the pail or
other vessel while milking ; I introduce into
the milk a small quantity of pulverised loaf
sugar, say from one-fiftieth to one-hundredth
part in weight of the whole quantity of the
milk, which quantity may how'everbe greater,
dependant upon the desix-ed sweetness of the
preparation when completed. On the sugar
becoming perfectly dissolved, I subject the
milk to tolerably rapid evaporation, either
by blowing through the milk warm or cold air,
by means of suitable apparatxis of any conve-
nient form, such, for instance, as those at
present in use for evaporating syrups, or by
means of external warmth in connexion with
a vacuum above the surface, produced in any
of the ordinary ways as applied to evaporation.
By whatever process, however, the evapora-
tion is carried on, the milk may, with advan-
tage, be subjected to a gentle warmth to quick-
en the operation ; but that warmth Avill be
best obtained from hot water, or from steam
or heated air, applied to the outside of the
vessel which contains the milk, as the direct
action of fire upon the vessel may tend to
injury the properties of the milk, and perhaps
give it an unpleasant flavour. By evaporat-
ing the aqueous parts of the milk in this
way, its nutritive or essential parts may be
concentrated, and its substance reduced to
the consistency of cream, honey, or soft
paste, or even into dry cakes or powder ; and
may in the latter states be kept exposed to
the air for a length of time without being
impaired, the sugar tending to preserve it.

By dissolving the milk so prepared in a
proportionate quantity of warm or cold

water, the original milk is reproduced, with
all its properties, original flavour, and salu-
tary qualities.

It is desirable to dilute the concentrated
milk at first in a small portion of water, and
to add afterwards the necessary quantity to
bring it into the liquid state ; otherwise it
would be difficult to dissolve the milk com-
pletely.

This process of preparing milk, affords the
means of conveying it without injury to any
distance in any climate, and of retaining by
concentration the delicious flavour of the
milk peculiar to one country, and reproduc-
ing it in another with its original qualities.

When evaporated to the consistency of
paste, it may be taken as food by pei'sons
who, on account of the weakness of their
digestive organs, cannot take milk in its liquid
state.

It is obvious that every kind of animal
milk may be prepared in the same manner,
whether it comes from the cow, the goat,
the ass, or even from the human breast.

When evaporated to the consistency of
a syrup, it may be put in bottles or phials ;
when concentrated to the consistence of
honey, in suitable pots ; when brought to
that of a thick paste, it may be shaped into
lozenges, or dried and reduced to powder. Milk
so prepared may,without losing any of its pro-
perties, be afterwards combined w ith any me-
dicinal, aromatic, or nutritious substance.

When reduced into powder, milk may b«
advantageously mixed with cocoa, and dried
into cakes ; and by diluting it with warm
water, will give excellent chocolate.

When brought to the consistence of honey,
it may be mixed with a strong infusion of
coffee, or of tea ; and being further evaporat-
ed, will keep, and afterwards yield, when
dissolved with warm water, coffee, or tea, of
the usual strength and flavour.

This improved method of preparing milk is
essentially different from all preparations of
milk heretofore known ; and is particularly
unlike the prepaiation described by Mr.
Braconneau, inasmuch as milk prepared upon
his plan is decomposed ; while by my pro
cess it is only concentrated, without being
chemically changed.

The process of Mr. Braconneau consists
in separating, by means of an acid, che serum
from the other constituents of milk, and
adding to the residuum (viz. the caseum and
the buty^-ous substance) a sufficient quantity
of carbonate of soda, to render it soluble in
liquid. The milk so prepared must be re-
composed for use, but it never can be
brought to the perfect flavour and condition
of real good milk, as many of its original
properties are necessarily destroyed or modi-
fied, how^ever exact the analysis, and how-
ever great the skill of the operator : on the
contrary, the milk thus prepared by me un-
dergoes no chemical change, but concentrat-
ea by its constituent substances are merely
di’iving off or evaporating the aqueous parts ;
and the milk, with all its original flavour and
nutritious qualities, will be again restored
by the addition of simple water. — \Jnrotledin
the Rolls Chapel OJfice.]

( 395 )

PROGRESS OF SCIENCES,

AS APPLICABLE TO THE ARTS AND MANUFACTURES; TO COMMERCE
AND TO AGRICULTURE.

PALMER’S PATENT EXCAVATING AND
SELF-LOADING CART.

In this railway age an invention which isre-
presented to be capable of etfectinga saving of
no less than “ 500 percent.” in the time and
labour attending those fundamental railway
operations, cutting and embanking, will be
readily allowed to be one deserving of all
possible attention. Whether so prodigious a
saving could be actually realized by the
apparatus we are about to describe, practice
only can determine; and, for the present, we
are inclined to think that to expect so
much from it, is to take rather a sangxxine
view of its capabilities. But we are sure every
mechanical reader will join with us, at ail
events, in admiring the ingenuity and skill
with which it has been constructed.

Fig. I is aside elevation of Mr. Palmer’s
excavating and self-loading cart ; fig. 2, an
end-view ; and fig. 3, a sectional view through
the axle.

The cart, it will be seen, is of the ordinary
size ; it maybe drawn by one or two horses,
and will hold half a ton. A A (fig. 2.) are
the wheels, the rims of which are hollow,
open on the inside, and divided by the pro-
jecting partitions B B into as many separate
chambers as there are spokes ; C C are iron
cutters or excavators, resembling plough-
shares, one to each wheel, which scoop out
the earth and throw it upon the projecting
partitions B B, which, as the wheels revolve,
discharge the earth into the body of the cart
H ; D is a beam, to xvhich each excavator is
secured by two strong bolts ; and E, a lever,
with a hooked termination, to which a chain
G, proceeding from the excavator D, is at-
tached, so that by the turning of this lever
the excavator may be adjusted to any depth
required, or raised altogether when the cart
has completed its load. The means provided
for emptying the cart are shown in fig. 2.
The bottom is divided into two parts II,
which are connected by the bars K K to a
chain L, which passes round a projecting
iron rod or pulley N. M is a winch-handle,
which, being applied to the rod N, opens or
shuts the bottom leaves of the cart at plea
sure. P P are strong horizontal bars, made
fast to the body of the cart, both in front and
at back ; R R, diagonal braces, which con-
nect the upper and lower bars P P ; and S S,
braces , proceeding from the nave of the wheel
to the bars P P. On the uppermost of these
bars, immediately above the letter O, there
is a stopper to retain the winch handle
when necessary.

The cart is stated to have been “ seen at
work by many engineers, who have all given
their most decided- approbation of it.”^ A
model of it maybe seen at Mr. Hendries’,
in Oxford-street.

ON THE .CONSTRUCTION OP STEAM PLOUGHS.

Mr. George Vaughan Palmer, the inven-
tor, is now, we regret to say, numbered with
the dead. In a slight biographical notice of
him, with which we have been favoured by a
friend, it is stated that he was a native of
Worcester, where he was born, June, 1786;
and a descendant of the ancient family of the
Vaughans of Trebaried, county Brecon, and
Hargest Court, Herefordshire. From early
infancy he evinced a strong taste for mechani-
cal pursuits; and, had he been longer spared
to the world, would probably have risen to
eminence as an inventor. Great part of his
time was devoted, for some year previous to
his death, to the construction of his excavat-
ing-cart ; and he had but just completed, and
secured his right to it by a patent, when he
was seized with a rapid decay, of which he
died in Jxiue, 1834, leaving a widow and four
children, for whose benefit the patent is now
to be sold. — Mechanics' Magazine.

STEAM-PLOUGHS.

The adaptation of inanimate power to the
tillage of the soil must evidentiy liave been
coiisideied by piaciical men lo piesent almost
itisupeiable difficulties, or steam would, pro-
bably, long since have been substituted for
hoi'tsand oxen, a? the moving power of agri-
cultuial implements. Certain light opera-
tions of the farm, sucn as thrashing, churning,
chafF-muiing, &r., which could be performed
by bxed power, have partially occupied the
attention of mechanics, and suitable machi-
nery (Iriveii by water, wind, or small steam-
engines. lias to some extent been advanta-
geou.-ly used for such puiposes. But the idea of
a “steam farm,” of a farm to be altogether
cultivated by steam, in lieu of animal power,
has hitlierto been treated as visionary and
absurd, except by a lew individuals, and one
or two agricultural societies, who have en-
forced, in tiieir publications, the practica-
bility and impoilance of applying sieam to
effect the more laborious opeiationsoi agri-
culture.

This desideratum is at length accomplished.
Mr. Heathcoat, M.P, for 'J'lvei ton, the inge-
nious and well-known inventor of the lace ma-
chinery, has the merit of having conceived
and planned this additional and remarkable
contribution to science, and to the w'ealth of
his country. The invention, after years of

costly expeiiment, has been rnatuied and
pei/ecfed Ibrough tine enieipiisitig liberality of
Ml. Meaihcoat, assisted by the mechaniial
ingenuity and » fcistveii^nce ot Mr. Josiah
Paikes, civil engineei, whom he selecteii lo
cany lus designs into effeci, i ne bisi ma-
cl. me has been cousnucttd explcs.^ly loi the
cuiiivut.oti of bogs, and has, foi some months,
bt ell pi tical iy and suci eNsfully worked in
Lancashiie, on Red Moss, near Bolion-
le-Moors.

Duiing the Whitsuntide recess ofParlia-
n.ent, a nunu-ruus assemf.lage of gentlenieii
liurn diffennt pans of the country aiiended lo
wiiness an exliibition oi this novel and iniei-
esting invention; amoiign whom were Mi. M,
L. Chapman, M. P., Mr. T. Cbapman, Mi.
H. Handley, M. P., Mr. J. Featlieisione, of
Griffinstownhouse, Westmeath (an enterpii-
sing and successful bog reclaimer), Mr. F.
Brown, ot VVelboui n,Lincolnsliire, Mr. James
Sniitli, ot Deaiistoiie, near Stiiliug (well
known to the mechanical woild by his inge-
nious iriveniions, applied both lo agiiculiuie,
and manufactures), Mr. B. Hick, and Mi. P.
Rotbweli, engineeis, with oiiiei experienced
judges ol mechanical contrivances. These
gentlemen v\eie unanimous in pronouncing
Hie invention to be the geim of great imprcve-
ment.s intbe scienceand j<raetii e ot agriculture,
as wellas eminently fitted tor the paiticular
puipose to which it has, in the first instance,
been applied. I wo ploughs of diffeitni ton-
stiuction were putin action, to the adiniiation
of the spectators; particularly the one last
invented, which is double-acting, or made
W!iti two sliaies in the same plane, so
that it leturns at the end of a “ bout,”
taking a new lunow without loss of lime.
Ti.e perfect mechanism ot this plough- tha
action of the working coulters and uiidei-
culting knives, wliich divide eveiy opposing
fibre of the moss— the bieadth and depth of
the luiiovv tuiued over— the application of a
new and admirable means of tiaciion, instead
ol chain- or ropes— together with the facility
with v'hicli the machine is managed, and the
power applied to the plough, especially inter-
esied and suiprised ail present. The speed
at wtiich the plough tiavelled was 2§ miles
pei hour, luiniug fuiiows 18 inches broad by
y inches in depth, and completely leveising
the suilace. Each furiow of 220 yards in
length was pei formed in somewhat less than
three minutes, so that in a working day of
twelve hours, this single machine would with
two [iloughs turn over ten acres ol bog land !

I'lie machine which bears the steam-engines
is iiselt locomotive ; but as ibe ploughs are
moved at right angles to its line of progress,
not dragged after It, the machine has to ad-
vance only Hie wioHi ot a furrovv, viz.
eigliteen inches, whilst the ploughs have
ti d veiled a quai ter of a mile ; in other words,
the machine has to be nioved only eleven
yaids, in the time that the ploughs have
travelled fiveand-a-half miles, and turned
over a statute acie of land. This is, in tmth,
the piime disiinguiishing featuie of Hie inven-
tion ; it is the contrivance on which the
genius of its author is moie parliculaily stamp-

THE GREAT VALUE OF SLATE MANUFACTURE.

ed, and which seems to be essential to the
economical application ot steam to husbandly;
tor 11 IS evident, that weie i requisite to impel
the rnaciiine with a velocity equal to that
01 the ploughs, by dragging them witli it, a
great proportion ot the power of ttie engines
would be uselessly expended.

Another valuable properly appertaining to
the machine, and wiiich conduces greatly to
its economy as a bog culiivaior is, that it re-
quires no previous outlay in tne lormalion ot
roads, no prepaiaiion ot any hind lurihei than
a di am on each side 01 it. i hat a tocoiuotive
machine oi sucn great dimensions and p-ower
could be so cunsii ucted as to navel on meie
law tog, was an excellence the moie appie-
Ciated Us It was unexpected by ttiuse peisons
who ale conveisaiil willi ihe soil, un^latde
nature ot bog. J iieliisn gentlemen piesent
also pionouuced lied Aioss to t e a tan speci-
men ut the great mass ot the tlai, led, hhious
bogsot lielano, ana that neiliiei the machine
nor ilie ploughs would liave any ditticuliies to
encounlei in that country widen had not been
already oveicome on Red Mo^s, ilie neiu of
expeiiment. ihe engines are capable of
working up to fitly horses power, buiibe oper-
ations suiisequent to ploughing will require a
small foice compared witn that necessaiy lor
urea^mg up the suiiace ot the nogs, to ilie
riepih and at liie speed efiecied oy these
ploughs. The powei consumed by each
plough Is estimated at about twelve iiorses, and
ihe weight ot the sod operated upon by ihe
plough, itoin point to heel, is not less man
nnee huuditd pounds. The boiler is oi un-
usually laige dimensions for locomotive en-
gines, being suited to the use ot peal as tuel, so
mat the endure of a bog will oe etfecled by
me prouuce ot its diains. At Red [Moss,
however, coals are so cheap, being tound
coniiguous to and even under it, that they are
used in pieteieuce to turf. Eight men aie
required loi the management ol ihe machine
and ihe two ploughs, oi at the rate, neaily, ot
one man per acre , but it must be uadei§tood
mat ihio number of men will only be required
loi me first lieavy process, and has no relation
to any suosequeni operations in ihe cultivation
ut bogs, uoi to tlie application ot the invention
to Uie culture of hard laud.

After passing a sufficient time on the Moss
to Witness the exlilbilion of the ploughs, and
The various other functions and properties of
the machine, the party expressed to Mr.
Heathcoat the extreme pRasiite they had
received, and their eai nest hope that he would
extend the sphere of lus exeriions by applying
the invention to the culture of stiff clay soils ;
and more especially to cjrry into effect those
iinpoilant operations of sub-soil ploughing and
impioved drainage recently introduced to the
agricultural world by iMr. Smith, of Deanslon.
J o efteci these processes, great power is es-
sential, and It was evident that Mr, Heath-
coat’s invention was equally well adapiea to
them, and would be attended with results no
less important than those which will arise
fiom Its application to the reclamation and
cuiiuie ol bogs, — Mo/ niug Chronicle.

39 7

THE SILICA SOAP, AND WASHING
WITH PIPE-CLAY.

Sii, — I have just, observed in your Maga-
zine tor lastrronih an aitir lefioin Dumiee,
rel.itive to the use of pipe day as an auxiiiaiy
to soap. In coi loboration of the tails staled
iheiein, 1 beg leave to say , that 1 and some of
my friends have for many years been in the,
habit of using a silicious clay or species of
soap'tone. both in solution with water and
in combination with soap, and have found ii to
possess such valualle deleigenl quaiiiies, as
to effect a considerable saving in laataitice.

lam not aware whether pipe-ciav, oi a
clay such as mine, be the better maleual, ti e
former you know IS highly aluminous, winie
the piincipal constituent of that on my land
iftsihx.aiuJ diffeiing, 1 should tliinb,veiy
little, if at all, Irom the pulp of flint ; for the
use of which, in the nianufactuie oi soap, you
noticed in a late Number mat a patent iiad
been obtained.

1 am, Sir,

Youi obedient servant,

i. S.

Dublin, June 20, 1836.

ORNAMENTAL SLATE MANUFAC-
TURE.

Slate has of late years become exten.siveiy
useful, and its application to new purj O'C'- is
of every-day occurrence. A Mr. Stilling has
for some time been labouiing to bring it into
use as a material tor the manufacture ot various
ai iicies of fui niiuie, and, fiom the specimens
whii ti we have seen, we iliinb it likely that he
will meet with complete success. 1 ables of
all kinds, sideboards, wash-hand stands, other
articles ot a similar nature, and which do not
requite to be often moved (as.slate is.ofcour-e,
heavy), n. ay be niade ot it, deco: ated in the
most elaborate style. The naiuiai texture of
the slate, it has been tound, is peculiariy ap-
plicable as a giound for the reception of
colouis; and Mr. Stirling has some spe-
cimens of tables with a vvieath of floweis
round tiie edge, and group in the centre,
most beautifully executed - the nentiai tint of
the slate forming an appiopriate back-ground.
A very beautiful and appropriate application
ot the article has been made in the formation
of doot-panels. J’he General Sieam Naviga-
tion Company has. we understand, given
orders for the fitting up of the saloon ol one
of its new steair -vcssels with tiiese panels,
painted with groups of fruit, flow'eis, and
designs of a like nature. Amongst the nu-
merous other articles of slate manufactuied
by Mr. fetirling, we shall merely pairicu-
larise his door finger-plates and inkstan ls,
which are extremely beautiful.

WOOD-POLISHJNG.

The Persians have introduced an entirely
new mode of polishing, which is to wood pre-
cisely wiiat pjating IS to metal. Water may
fie spilled on it'witfioui staining, and it resists

393

CARS DRIVEN BY CONDENSED AIR.

scratchincf as well as marble. Tbe reenipt is
as follows: — I'o one pmi of spirits of wine,
ad'l half an ounee of pum slultack, tialf an
ounce of gnm lack, lialf an onn'-e of gum
sundrick; olacing it over a gentle heat, fre-
quently agitating it until the gums are dissolv-
ed, when it is fit tor use. iN'Jake a roller of
list, put a litile of tlie polish upon it, and co-
vet that with a soft linen rag, wdiudi must be
sdgh'ly touched with cold-drawn linseed-oil.
Ruh the wood in a circular direction, not
covering too laige a space ai a time, till ihe
pores of the wood aie sntficienily filleil u:>.
After this, ruh in the same manner -pints of
wine, with a small portion of the polisli adrl-
ed to it. and a most hiiiliant polish will be
produced. If the outside has been previously
polished with wax, it will he necess-jrv to
clear It off' with glass paper. — Amer}C in Rnil-
road Jouniul.

SLAl'E TOP FOR WASH HAND
Sl’ANDS.

Sir, — The Caernarvon ulue slate, like India-
ruhiier, is used for vmious purposes. Could
it not he used for the table part of wash-hand
Blands {* Not that il would he as beautiful as
white marble, but that it wouLl be handsomer
than painted wood, with the paint hall washed
off, which is too oiten the case wn/i tli.it arti-
cle of furniture. After polishing tlie slate,
were figures cut in it, possibly it might be
made to retain paint; or a kind of mosaic
work might lie made of it f y inserting pieces
of white mande in it ; or other means might
be useii to ornament il.

Yours, &c.

An Amateur Mechanic.

OBTAINING A POWER FOR PROPEL-
LING CARS, BOATS, &c.

Alexander M’Grew, Cincinnati, Ohio.
— My improvement does not consist in the
employment of any newly-invented machine-
ry, but in the using of such power from falls,
or currents of water, or other natural or ar-
tificial sources of power, as has heretofore
been allowed to run to waste, and employing
the same for the purpose of condensing of
air into suitable receivers ; the elastic force
of which condensed air is to be subsequently
applied to the purposes herein designated.
In numerous situations in the courses of
canals and railroads, and of other roads and
water courses, there are falls of water, waste
weirs, dams, sluices, &c., the power from
which, if economised, would be ample for
the attainment of all the ends proposed by
me ; I bring this into use by taking the
waste power from wheels, or other machine-
ry already erected, or by erecting others
where they do not already exist, using any

• Tbis •ripplicalion of slate has alieady been made
by Mr. fctiiliiig- See Hlech Mag. p. 231.

of the known constructions of such wheels,
or other machinery, as may be best adopted
for the particular situations in which they are
to be employed ; these 1 connect in the ordi-
nary way with the piston, or pistons, of con-
densing engines, constructed for the condens-
ing of air, and force air thereby into suitable
receptacles, or reservoirs, furnished with the
requisite tubes, valves, or other appendages,
by which they are adapted to the containing
of the air thus condensed, and the supplying
of the same in measured quantities, so as to
Operate upon a piston for driving and propel-
ing machinery, as high steam is now made
to operate. The means of doing this does
not require any description, being perfectly
familiar to competent engineers. The air is
to be condensed into one large stationary
reservoir, and, by means of a connecting-tube
and stop cock, transferred therefrom into
other reservoirs connected with the vehicle
to be propelled. What 1 claim as my im-
provement in the art of propeding cars, boats,
or other vehicles for transportations, is the
employment of the waste power of water,
wind, or other natural or artificial sources of
power, to the condensation of air, in the man-
ner, and for the purposes, hereinbefore set
forth.

REMARKS BY DR. JONES.

It has been repeatedly proposed to drive
railroad -cars, &c,, by means of condensed
air, instead of by steam, and to erect station-
ary engines for the purpose of filling the
requisite reservoirs, and we believe that the
thing was attempted in England. Were
there not serious practical objections to the
plan, it would certainly present many advan-
tages, but these are so weighty, that they
are not likely to be removed. Among them
is the perpetually diminishing power of the
condensed air, as every stroke of a piston
must lessen its elastic force ; to graduate
the quantity emitted from the reservoir, in
proportion to this diminished force, would be
very difficult ; and, besides this, there ought,
when the reservoir is renewed, to be apressui’e
of several atmospheres above what is requir-
ed in a steam-boiler, or it will soon be so far
exhausted as to be inadequate to the produc-
tion of the intended effect, as they would
have to be exchanged whilst under a pressure
of two or three atmospheres.

The present patentee does not propose to
remove the foregoing, or any other objection
to the use of condensed air, excepting it be
the necessity of erecting stationary engines
to effect the condensation , and to accom-
plish this, he depends upon the employment
of means which would generally be more
difficult, precarious, and expensive ; in many
places, the means of condensation proposed
to be used would not be found within many
miles of the stations where the reservoirs
would be wanted, and there are, in fact, but
few situations where the means of applying
waste power would not be a costly under-
taking.

ROTARY PRINTING MACHINE,

399

ON THE USE OF PIPE-CLAY IN
WASHING.

Sir, — I take this opportunity of observing,
in respect to the use of pipe- clay in washing,
as noticed in the extract from a Dundee pa-
per, at p. 80 in your 665th Number, that the
discovery is by no means a new one.

The detergent properties of pipe-clay, ful-
lers-earth, and other saponaceous clays, have
been long known and taken advantage of
both in domestic economy and in various
manufacturing processes. In the army, and
in the navy in particular, pipe-clay has been
long and extensively employed in washing
and whitening of wearing apparel and is
well known to increase the effect, and reduce
the quantity of soap and labour necessary to
produce the effect required ; although the
actual saving of both is somewhat overrated
in the article quoted as above.

There is no question but that a more ex-
tensive diffusion of a correct knowledge of the
real properties of these substances, which
are in many places exceedingly abundant,
will tend to produce increased economy in
the application of two costly mateidals — soap
and labour.

1 remain, yours respectfully,

W. Baddeley.

Birmingham, June 27, 1836.

ELECTRIC CURRENTS.

At a late meeting of the Royal Society a
paper was read “ On the reciprocal attrac-
tions of positive and negative Electric Cur-
rents whereby the motion of each is alter-
nately accelerated and retarded,” by P. Cun-
ningham, Esq. Surgeon, R. N., communi-
cated by Alexander Copland Hutchison, Esq.
The following abstract of which we quote
from the Athenmum. —

“ The author found that a square plate
of copper, six inches in diameter, placed ver-
tically in the plane of the magnetic meri-
dian, and connected with a voltaic battery by
means of wires soldered to the middle of two
opposite sides of the plate, exhibited magne-
tic polarities on its two surfaces, indicative of
the passage of transverse and spiral electrical
currents, at right angles to the straight lines
joining the ends of the wires. The polari-
ties were of opposite kinds on each side of
this middle line, in each surface ; and were
reversed on the other surface of the plate.
The intensities of these polarities at every
point of the surface were greatest the greater
its distance from the middle line, where the
plate exhibited no magnetic action. The au-
thor infers from this and other experiments
of a similar kind, that each electric current is
subject, during its transverse motion, to al-
terations of acceleration and retardation, the
positive current on one side of the plate, and
the negative on the other, by their reciprocal
attractions, progressively accelerating each
other’s motions, as they approach, in oppo-
site directions, the edge round which they
have to turn. After turning round the edge

their motion will, he conceives, be checked,
by coming in contact with the accelerated
portions of the opposing currents to which
they respectively owed their former increase
of velocity ; so that the one current will be
retarded at the part of the plate where the
other is accelerated. To these alternate
accelerations and retardations of electric
currents during their progressive motion, the
author is disposed to refer the alternate dark
and luminous divisions in a platina wire heat-
ed by electricity, as was observed by Dr.
Barker.”

PATENT ROTARY PRINTING-APPA-
RATUS.

A patent has recently been taken out by
Mr. Rowland Hill for a rotary printing-
machine. The types are imposed* upon cy-
linders, to which they are firmly attached, and
of which, except the marginal spaces, they
occupy the whole surface. The pressure is
given by blanket-covered cylinders of the or-
dinary construction.

The most important advantages of this ar-
rangment are stated to be, first, That as the
revolving type cylinder is constantly receiving
its ink in one part of its revolution, and con-
stantly impressing the paper in another part,
the action of the machineis unceasing; where-
by a saving of time of about three parts out
of four is obtained in comparison with the
ordinary printing machines, when moving at
the same velocity ; because in those machines
the backward motion of the form,* and the
laying on of the ink, suspend for the time the
process of printing. Further, as the motion
of the type in this machine is continuous
instead of reciprocating, the speed has been
increased without difficulty or danger ; and
by this additional velocity, combined with
the saving of time just described, the rate of
printing is brought to about ten times that
of the ordinary perfecting machines, i. e.
those vffiich print the sheet on both sides be-
foi*e it leaves the machine. Secondly, the
reciprocating motion of the heavy form, ink-
ing table, and inking rollers of the ordinary
machine entails such a loss of power and time,
in comparison of the rotatory motion which
is here substituted for it, that it is believed,
from careful observation, that, notwithstand-
ing the great increase in speed, any given
quantity of work will be executed at the
expense of about one-eighth of the power
required in the ordinary machine.

The facilities provided for fixing the type,
detaching parts for correction, apppiying the
ink, and regulating its supply, are said to be
fully equal, if not superior, to those of other
machines.

Compared with the rapid machines used for
printing the daily newspapers, the rotatory
machine will print two sheets on both sides
with accurate register*, while they print one
sheet on one side with defective register.

• These words are used technically.

400

A MINIATURE STEAM ENGINE.

ELECTRICAL EXPERIMENT.

A salad, consisting of mustard and cress,
may be produced in a few minutes by an elec-
tric experiment. The process is to immerse
the seed for a few days previously in diluted
oxymuriatic acid, then sow it in a very light
soil, letting it be covered with a metallic
cover, and next bring it in contact with the
electric machine. By the same agents em-
ployed in this process, eggs which require
from nineteen to twenty-one days’ application
of animal heat to hatch them, maybe hatch-
ed in a few hours. Rain water, apparently
free from any noxious animalcula, in an hour
can be rendered full of living insects. Water,
in a short period, decomposed of its two com-
ponent parts, oxygen and hydrogen, and by
the same power restored to its former state ;
and platina, the most difficult of all metals to
melt, in a moment can be fused and calcined
by the discharge of an electric battery. An
iron bar, by the discharge of a sufficient ac-
cumulation of the electric fluid, will become
magnetic to such a degree as to lift more
than its owm weight ; and if a pound of red
lead and a pound of sulphur be mixed toge-
ther into a mass, which no human ingenuity
can separate, a stream of the electric fluid
will do it at once. — Cambrian,

INGENIOUS PIECE OF MECHANISM.

A very ingenious piece of mechanism,
a miniaUrre steam-engine, has been con-
structed by Mr. Richard Corfield, a young
man in the employment of Messrs. Gittins and
Cartwright, at the Eagle Foundery, Shrews-
bury. It consists of an engine not exceeding
an half inch cylinder, for the purpose of pro-
pelling a steam-boat, working its propelling
shaft at the enormous speed of five hundred
and fifty revolutions per minute — travelling a
distance of thirty miles in one hour. The
boiler is so constructed as to admit a spirit-
lamp in the centre of the w'ater, which affords
sufficient fuel and steam for one hour. We
should add, that the above is only one of many
extraordinary specimens of useful, though
miniature and elaboi’ate, works of art made
by Mr. Corfield. — Ibid.

BERLIN IRON ORNAMENTS.

Some of these are so fine, consisting of
rosettes, medallions, &c., that nearly ten
thousand go to the pound. In the coarse
fabrics the value of the mateidal is increased by
manufacturing eleven hundred times, and in
the finer nearly ten thousand times. — Arcana
of Science.

THE QUADRANT.

In 1734 it was said, “ as soon as the com-
mon prejudice against new things is worn off,
and the instrument is well known, 1 do not
believe any ship will go on a long voyage
without one of these excellent quadrants.”

THE RAILWAY SYSTEM. [i

A railway between Liverpool and Man-
chester, two towns of imuien.se population, at
a distance of little more than 30 miles, one the
commercial, and the other the manufacturing I
capital of tlie great “ northern line” of Kng- i-
land,— has succeeded to such an extent, that I
(aided by the attraction of its novelty, which j*
draws pa-sengers to it not only fiom all parts
of Great Britain, but of the Continent,) it pays |
the shareholders between 9 and 10 per cent,
on their capital.* |

.And this amazing result has been sufficient
to transform us all into a nation of specula- !
tors! Encouraged by this dazzlingly brilliant
success, having this proof positive before us that
a line of railway, in perhaps the most advanta-
geous situation that could possibly be selected,
vill actually yield a something over and above
its expenses, we are ready at t!ie first blush to !
yield assent to the very reasonable proposition, 1;
that every peddling market-town ought forth- \
with to be accommodated with a road, costing li
the trifling sum of 30,000/, a mile If If the li
Liverpool and Manchester has paid 100 per jj
cent., instead of 10, the rage for railways could
hardly have been greater than it is at present. |!
” Can these things be, and overcome us like i
a summer cloud, without our special won- 1
der?” |l

*■ * * * * # !|
In point of cheapness, steaming by land \
can hardly ever equal steaming by water. |i
We cannot expect, either on common road or i
railway, to be conveyed to Hull for two shil- |
lings — the presetit fare by sea (a distance of i
at least 300 miles ;) nor, even if the suspen-
sion-bridge across the British Channel were
fairly erected, could the journey to Boulogne
well be effected for less than five shillings,
the present rate per steamer. Notwithstand-
ing this. I believe it seldom happens that a
railway projector does not calculate upon
securing every particle of traffic on his line.

♦ We do not think this is by any means a
fair view of the case. The Liverpool and
Manchester Railway is by no means the only
one which has furnished an example of great
success to stimulate and justify the jirevailing
fondness for railway speculations. The Stock
ton and L arlington has paid still better than
the Liverpool and Manchester, and is the older
line of the two, (can it be that our intelligent
correspondent has never heard of it?, the
Edinburgh and Dalkeith, and the Publin and
Kingstown, are also yielding handsome re-
turns to their respective proprietors. It de-
serves further to be observed, that the divi-
dends of the Liverpool and Manchester Rail-
way Company are limited by their Act of Par-
liament to 10 per cent, (a limitation intro-
duced through the influence, and for the pro-
tection, of certain canal-owners) : and that
but for this circumstance, they might be a
great deal higher than they are. Thelimita- I
tion of the dividends has the natural effect of
keeping up the rates of conveyance, and these j
again of restricting the amount of traffic.— Ed.

M M.

+ This is the maximum rate. In many cases
the expense does not amount to IO,OOOZ. a mile ;
in some it is as low as 6,000/. and 7,000/ —
Ed.M. M.

CANDLES MANUFACTURED FROM CAOUTCHOUC.

401

to the exclusion of every other mode of transit.
1’he possibility of competition as an element,
that never enters into the composition of a
railway prospectus; the fortunate shareholders
of the concern whose glorious prospects are
being held out to view', are always to engross
the whole trade, not only of their own line,
but of all the neighbouring country, although
perhaps at the same time half-a-dozen other
rail-roads are projected in the immediate
vicinity.

NEW POWER.

We learn from Frankfort that there has
been communicated to the Society of Natural
Sciences of that city a discovery of a new mo-
tive power, created by means of a galvanic
battery, the action of which will supersede
the use of steam, be more powerful, much less
expensive, and less dangerous. — Morning
Herald.

A NEW LIGHT OF THE AGE.

In the course of a recent lecture on the
properties of caoutchouc. Dr. Birckbeck
introduced to public notice a pair of candles
made of that material, at his own suggestion.
After many unsuccessful attempts, they were
at length fairly lighted ; and it is only justice
to the worthy Doctor to say, that his invention
is likely to prove of greatimportance, whenever
it shall come to pass that candles which are
very difficult to light, which burn badly and
gutter immensely when they are lighted, and
which pretty soon go out of their own accord,
are considered a desideratum. Until then,
those less expensive, but more appropriate
articles — tallow and wax — are likely to remain
in general use for the purposes of domestic
illumination.— F. H.

CHEAP LOCOMOTION.

Such is the march of competition abioad,
that (if we may put faith in coach- proprietors’
advertisements) the whole fare by diligence
from Boulogne to Paiis is only nine shillings.
If this were quite true, the journey from Lon-
don to Paris throughout might be performed
for no more than fourteen shillings, the fare
per steamer to Boulogne being only five ! The
fact however is, we believe, that what with the
regular fee of the French conducteur, and
other extras, the trip can hardly be expected
to cost much less than a sovereign, or fully
three farthings a miteI~F. H.

A HINT.

Mr. Alderman Wood, by his recent acces-
sion of fortune, under the will of his name-
sake Gloucester, enjoys a rare opportunity of
immortalising his name. It is well known
that the Alderman, some short time back,
promulgated a plan for the general improve-
ment of London, among other things, by throw-
ing open Waterloo and Southwark Bridges
toll-free to the public; erecting anew street

froin the Mansion House to Southwark Bridge ;
straightening the upper end of Holborn,so as to
effect a direct junction with Oxford-street ; and
executing divers other plans of unquestiona-
ble utility. And all this, and more, the Aider-
man calculated (it is not known by what ela-
borate ptocess) might be done at an outlay of
only 800,000/. ! By a turn ofFortune’s wheel,
the projector of these mighty alterations has
this sum at his own disposal ; and how could
he more gloriously display his civic patriotism
than by carrying into effect his magnificent
ideas for changing the whole aspect of the
metropolis over which he twice presided as
Lord Mayor? It is to be feaied, however,
maugre his own estimate, that he would ar-
rive at the t)ottom of his purse, some time
before be had got to the end of his trifling
undertaking.— F. H.

FRENCH THEORY AND ENGLISH-
PRACTICE.

It is not a little singular, that, while Eng-
land is making so great a progress in the actual
establishment of railways, the French have
published a much larger number of works on
their mathematical theory ; although this is,
perhaps, not by any means the first instance
in which the same state of thingshas occurred.
A Colonel de Pambour has just added to the
rather long list of publications by his coun-
trymen on the subject, a very elaborate book
of calculations on railway theorems, in which
he lays down his positions rather mq^e dog-
matically than his little experience (all appa-
rently gained in England) seems to warrant.
He has not, however, much to fear from his
English competitors in the line, the principal
of whom are Mr. Macneil, of “canal navi-
gation” celebrity, and— John Herapath,
Esq.!-F. H.

TRUTH STRONGER THAN FICTION.

It is a well-ascertained, but rather unac-
countable fact, that, notwithstanding the
amazing increase of late years in the manufac-
ture of steel pens, there has not been the
slightest falling off in the extent of the quill
trade. —E. H.

APPLICATION OF THE RISING AND
FALLING OF THE TIDE TO THE
PROPELLING OF MACHINERY,
HENRY B. FERNALD, PORTS-
MOUTH, MAINE.

A buoy of sufficient strength and dimen-
sions, connected by a rope or chain passing
from the buoy under a pulley at the bottom of
the water, with a wheel which moves the
rnachinery. In the falling of the tide, or water,
the weight of the buoy, filled with water by
means of a stop-cock, or otherwise, operates
as a propelling- power, being so connected
by another rope or chain to another wheel,
as to operate alternately with the wheel above-
mentioned.

402

NEW MODE OF TEACHING INFANTS TO READ.

“ What I specifically claim as my iaven-
tion or discovery, is the principle of applying
the rising and falling of the tide, and other
water, to the propelling machinery.”

A patent was granted on the 23rd of De-
cember, 1829, to Henry M. Webster, for a
“ tide power,” in which it is said that “ the
object which the subscriber proposes to effect
is to bring into value and use the rise and fail
of the tide on the seaboard, and particularly
in the principal cities of the Union, to be em-
ployed in manufacturing and other purposes.”

The two plans, it will be seen, are identical ;
in the first patent it is proposed to use “ ves-
sels or floats of great weight and buoyancy,”
” a condemned or other hulk of a ship of re-
quired size,” being mentioned as suitable for
the purpose.*

LITERAL SPELLING.

Sir,— It is an old maxim, to begin when you
can with the egg ; and in this age of many
beneficial and some Utopian reformations,
I am of opinion it would be beneficial to re-
form the mode by which our infants are first
taught to read, and that would be effected by
the abolition of absurd literal spelling. The
words of our Language are made up of the
sou7ids of its syllables, and 7iot of the soimds
of its letters; and if so, why are the sounds
of those letters taught 1 Several attempts have
been made by Berthaud, Mr. Williams, and
Anti-spelling, to accommodate the sounds of
the letters to their sounds in words; but I
would r'#l'orm it altogether, and abolish them.
This may be thought too sweeping a measure,
but if your readers will take the trouble of
examining, they will find that literal spelling
is altogether time lost and worse. Let them
try the word leg — l,e,g. What are these
sounds, leg or elegy?

This foolish system is not followed in teach-
ing music or French. A French master teaches
his pupils the sounds of the French let-
ters separately, as aw, bay, say, &cc. ; but he
does not go on with this system, and say,
“Now, my pupil, vay~o-oo-ace — tJoo (vous) :

tay-o-oo-tay—too (tout).” It is too absurd
and round about. He says at once, ” Look
at that vous, it is voo ; at that tout, it is too ;
don’t forget, they are voo and too in sound,
and vous and tout in sight ;” and he remem-
bers accordingly.

There is a strong and prominent feature in
most ( perhaps all) languages, and that is, the
abundance of short vowels ; they suit the ear-
ly state of speech, whether in infants, as ha,
ma, pa, mam, pap, dad — or in low-cultivated
nation, as the Eskimaux, in Ikmal-lik, Tus~ \
sarkit, Tennharpin, &c. These short sounds |
far outnumber all the other vowel sounds put
together ; and if all others were expunged
from our tongue, they would still form a lan-
guage capable of conveying an extensive range
of ideas. 1 would only have to do with si//- |

tables, as distinct sounds, at first. A child can j
tell this : — ” is and, and why not this, and 1
this is g, and why not this, jee 1 this z, why !
not this, zed V’ Let any one dissect an Eng- j
lish word as it is now first taught, and divide
it into the simple sounds of which it is com- I
posed, and he will immediately find out that a j
child ( poor thing) is instructed first to utter I
a number of simple sounds, and then expect-
ed to combine them into a compound sound,
of which they do not form the elements or
component parts. The child is first taught
that this letter a sounds like hay ; but pei haps
the first syllable which it sees the letter in {ab) j
falsifies its previous instructions, for the letter
a does not sound like /uiy, but somewhat like
hah — and if it meet with the letter in the word
all, it sounds neither like hay nor hah, but
like haw.

I think the most judicious beginning would
1 e to teach these first short vowel sounds un-
mixed. I intended publishing a first book on
this plan, and had two sheets of it printed,
but as 1 may not do so, T beg room for these
remarks in your very useful work, and shall
be glad of any comments upon them. My
lessons are all of the following kind, reserving
other vowel sounds for a higher grade or
second book : —

ab, ad, ak, al, pa, ra, sa, ta, dad, dan, fan.

ed, ef, ek, en, beg, bed, bet, peg, pen, jet.

ib, id, ik, in. it, ix, fit, pil, din, nit.

ob, od, of, on, op, ox, bob, rob, pon, top.

ub, uf, us, ut, urn, up, nup, rub, sud, sun.

on it, an ox, it is, if it is, is it up, or at it.

in a cap, it is a bat, mix it up, dad or mam,

run not in mud, pin her cap on, Tom cut his pen.

It cannot fit him, it is a bad job, it is as big as an ox.

It is a bad peg lor his job, but Bob can lop it a bit for him.
Put it in ajar, ora cup, in his gig, but let him not sit on it.
Her bonnet is formal, but it is velvet.

Benjamin cannot get it into his cabinet, &c.

* The application of the tides as a motive
power was suggested and discussed in the Me-
chanics* Magazine, vol. xvi. pp. 3:5 and43o, and
vol. xix. p, 167. The first mode proposed by
our then correspondent differed altogether

from either of these which have been patented
in America. Dr. Gregory, too, in his “ Ma-
thematics for Practical Men,” mentions that
tidal power has been applied to pulling out
old piles from rivers.— Ed- M. M.

BIRDS TRAINED FOR AEROSTATION.

403

In these first lessons, all long, or other than
short, vowels are excluded, so tlia,t when a
child has once learned the sound ot' a vowel
or letter; it continues the same (a very few
anomalies excepted) through the book.

1 remain. Sir,

Your most obedient servant,

Saxula.

AERIAL LOCOMOTION.

Sir, — I was amused with an idea of one of
your correspondents, that birds might be
trained for aerostation; and as 1 have since
1826 had various thoughts on locomotion by
mechanical means, 1 beg leave to lay before
your readers my ideas on locomotive-balloons,
in the first place, ihe form of body should
resemble that of a fish ofgreat velocity— salmon
or boneita. Next, I would have in the cen-
tre of the body a fan-blast, or bellows, the vent
being at the tail ; and beneath the belly a
stage should be hung by copper rods, on
which the winch to act on the fan-blast should
be fixed. At the tail end 1 would have a
large fan, to act as a rudder ; and on each
side of the body a sort of fi'n, to regulate the
rising and falling, acted on by strings or cords
held by the person at the tail-fan. It is not
necessary to go to great altitudes ; therefore
1 propose that the gas to fill the body should
be only in sufficient quantity to render the
whole mass of the same specific weight as the
atmosphere, or a trifle less — then by working
the fan, moliotj would result. To progress, a
nearly fair wind should be blowing, as this
mode of transit can only resemble the com-
pound forces of a river and a boat crossing,
which produce diagonal motion ; hence I con-
sider the solution of the problem more curious
than useful.

I had an idea of propelling vessels in a near-
ly similar manner, but have given it up for
one more original, and perhaps better, as it
will not require any sort of direct action of
machinery on the water. The result will
have all the appearance of a common sailer ;
and fora vessel of war, all will be entirely out
of the reach of shot; steam or other power
will, of course, be required as usual.

I am, &c.

Kenans.

April 30,1836.

BRITISH IRON TRADE.
[Extract of a letter from Mr. Gerard Ralston
to the Editor of the American Railroad
Journal.^

In my last letter you will recollect I men-
tioned that the following advances in price
had taken place in common (Welch) bars,
viz.

On 25th August the price at
New port and Cardiff was

per ton 5/. lOs.

On that day the manufacturers

advanced the price lOs.

September l2th they advanced
it again lOs,

October 2d 10s.

December 1st I2s. 6d.

21. 2s. 6d.

71. I2s.6d.

I'hus you see there has been a further ad-
vance of 12s.6d. per toii since my letter lo you.
But the price of 71. 12-^. 6d., as fixed by the
meeting of Welch iron-masters at Romney,
on the Istinst., is not observed bysorne of the
leading houses, who refuse to sell under 8/.
per too, and others decline oiders at all, for
the present, alleging that their engagements
are already so heavy, and the prospects of the
trade are such, that they prefer to confine them-
selves to the execution ot orders on hand, and
thus enable them to take advantage of in-
creased prices in the spring. The meeting
at Romney adjourned to assemble again on the
l2th January next, when it is confidently ex-
pected the price of 8f. will not only be gene-
rally confirmed, but that a further advance of
10s.* 1 he iron market is in a most extraordi-

nary state; the demand is fargi-eater than the
supply, which it is impossible to increase
immediately, owing to the inability to obtain
competent workmen to mine the coal, iron-
stone, and limestone, and to manufacture
them into iron when procured. Aid cannot
be expected from the lead, copper, tin, and
other manufacturers of metals, which would
be practicable if these branches were in a
depressed state ; but so far from this being the
case, these trades are in nearly asflourishing
a condition as the iron trade. Hiijierto the
iron masters always considered themselves
fortunate, ifthey could getthrough the winter
without a decline in prices. Now, in the month
of December, the effoit of the most judicious
among them is to prevent too frequent and too
great advances of price, which they deprecate,
lest consumption should be checked; and
also, what they fear more than any thingelse,
the workmen should combine, and ‘ strike’ for
higher wages,

You may inquii’e what effect has been
produced on railway iron. 1 can answer,
by quoting my own experience. I have with-
in a week received an order for a very large
quantity (so large that I have not revealed it
to any one lest it should affect the market,) of
railway iron from America. I have issued
my circulars to all the houses in this line, and
I find a most wonderful alteration in the tone
of their communications ; formerly they were
all eagerness to give an answer by return of
mail, and they manifested the greatest an-
xiety to secure the whole order, or as much
ofit as possible. Now, some of them decline
making tenders altogether, owing to t he magni-
tude of engagements on hand ; others, rather
than break off connexions, mention such
high prices for very small parts of the total
quantity wanted, that they think they will
not be accepted. A decided indisposition is
manifested to come under any further engage-

* The present price (June 6thJ of British
bar-iron is 12^. per ton. -Ed. M. M.

404

A STOVE FOR HEATING CARRIAGES.

ment«, unless at exlioibitant prices, until it is
ascertained wliat will be the result of the ad-
jouined nieetinn at Romney on the 12th
January. 1 very much fear tliat the same
pattern of rail, wliich 1 put out in the middle
of September last at 81. per ton, wall not now
be contracted for under lo/. per ton, but I
will do my best to screw them down to the
lowest price. Notwithstanding the present
high price, I have every reason to believe
that prices will be still higher in the spring ;
for since 1 wrote to you, 1 have traversed the
whole iron region, visiting every establish-
ment of any importance, and every where I
found an activity and bustle which 1 never
before witnessed during my long experience
in this businf'ss. Every establishment is full,
to excess, of orders, and the greatest exertions
are makinir, day and night, to execute them.
The Pacha of Egypt’s order for about 5,000
tons for the railway across the Isthmus of
Suez, is about one-halfcompleted ; but others
pour in from France, (there are two recently
from that country lor about 6,000 tons,) from
Germany, Belgium, America, and every part
of this country, in a way to astonish even the
most enthusiastic friends of the railway system.
Besides this demand for railway iron, the con-
sumption of other kinds of iron fully keeps
pace with it. This country being in a more
prosperous condition, and every branch of
trade, cotton, silk, wool, flax, hemp, tin, lead,
copper, &c., being more flourishing, than at
any period since the termination of the
Napoleon wars ; it is reasonable to suppose,
and such is the fact, that iron, which is the
foundation upon which the arts of civilized
life rests, should be in great demand, when all
other branches of industry flourish. Hence
the demand for domestic consumption for
ordinary purposes is very great, which, when
added to the demand for foreign countries,
and railway purposes, you may easily imagine
will readily account for the present prices,
and the prospect of still higher in the spring,
unless war or some other calamity should
ensue to check the brilliant progress of civi-
lization arising from the long continuance of
peace.

POTATOE BEER.

A professor of chemistry at Prague has suc-
ceeded in producing a very excellent kind of
beer from potatoes, dear as wine, pleasant to
the taste, and strong.

A WALKING-STICK.

A walking-stick, recently presented to Mr.
Sopwith, surveyor, of this town, contains, in
the dimensions of an ordinary cane, the fol-
lowing materials .'—Two inkstands, pens,
penknife, ivory folder, Lucifer-matches, sealing
wax, and wafers, a wafer-stamp, wax-taper,
several sheets of post letter-paper and card -
paper, a complete and highly-finished set of
drawing-instruments, ivory rule and scales,
lead and hair pencils, Indian-rubber, Indian-
ink, a thermometer, and a beautiful and well-
poised magnetic compass; the whole so

arranged as to admit any instrument being
used with facility. — Newcastle Paper.

NEW CARIlIAGE-WARMEIl.

Ur. M'Williams, of this city, has taken
out a patent for a stove for heating carriages
of all kinds, which is one of the most valua-
ble inventions which has ever been made.
It is remarkable in its structure, and may be
sold for 6 or 8 dollars; and it consumes the
most inconsiderable quantity of coal. The
advantages of such a stove are almost too obvi-
ous to be mentioned. Faking up very little
room, they may be fitted to the tioitom of
gigs or chaises, and of every variety of car-
riage, and are particularly well adapted to
railroad-cars. 'I'he expense of fuel is not
above Scents for 100 miles travelling, at the
ordinary rate. It is only necessary to make
this invention known, to secure its introduc-
tion very generally. For a trifling expense,
a stage-driver may novv be as comfortably
situated on his box, as by the by-room fire
and the pleasure of sleigh-riding may be en-
hanced a hundredfold. This stove is now
used in the cars of the Baltimore and Wash-
ington Railroad, and gives entire satisfaction.
The passengers are kept warm during the
whole journey, and are never annoyed by
smoke, the stove being air-tight. - Washing-
ton Mirror.

PLOUGH BY STEAM.

Some experiments were lately tried at Red
Moss, near Bolton, in the presence of Mr.
Handley, M. P. for Lincolnshire, Mr. Chap-
man, M. P. for Westmeath, and other gentle-
men interested in agriculture, with a new and
very powerful steam-plough, constructed by
Mr. Heathcote, M. P. Tiverton. About 6
acres of raw moss were turned up in a few
hours, in the most extraordinary style, — sods
18 inches in breadth, and 9 inches in thick-
ness, being cut from the furrow, and com-
pletely reversed in position, the upper surface
of the sod being placed exactly where the
lower surface had been before. * * * The
plough of Mr. Heathcote, though a very pow-
erful machine, appears to us to be rnuch too
complex and costly for common agricultural
purposes; though we have little doubt that
it might be used not only with efl'ect, but with
advantage, in reclaiming large portions of moss
land, such, for instance, as the bogs of Ire-
land. Indeed, it is the opinion of Mr. Heath-
cote himself, that it would not at present an-
swer to employ it in reclaiming a smaller por-
tion of bog than 1,500 or 2,000 acres, though
it may probably be cheapened and simplified
so as to make it ultimately useful on a smaller
scale.— Literpoo/ Paper.

RAILROADS IN THE UNITED
STATES.

It is estimated, on good authority, that at
this time the railroads in the United States,
either actually under contract or in progress
of being surveyed, amount to more than 3000

I

CONSTRUCTION OF A BOAT WITH DOUBLE CONES.

405

miles. Kach yard of the highest iion rails,
fit for a railroad, weighs 6*2§lhs. As there are
1,760 yards in a mile, each mile of railroad,
with a double track, will require 238 tons of
rails, besides chains, screws, and bolts —
amounting, in the whole, to at least 250 tons
for iron per mile— 250, njrdtipiied by 3,000, is
750,000 tons of iron, th^^ill shortly be used
in the United States in the construction of
railroads. Such is the demand for railroad
iron in England for the American market,
tiiat common bar-iron, which one year ago
was worth only 6/. 10.>. sterling in Wales, is
now worth 9<. lO.s. at the Welsh works, as
appears by the Biitish Prices Current. It is
stated in the New York [)apers, that at this
time contracts have been actually made in
England, by American houses, for 400,000
tons of railroad iion to be shipped to this coun-
try.— 9/. lOv. sterling is about 45 dollars of
our money ; but railroad -iron costs more than
common bar-iron, and is at this time worth at
least 50 dollars per ton, at the works in W ales
or Staffordshire. Four hundred thousand tons
of iron, at 50 dollars per ton,\s twenty millions
of dollars, Xhai the people of the United States
are bound to pay to the English by their
present contiacts for railroad-iion. If all
the projected railroads of this country shall
be laid down with British iion rails, we shall
pay to the English nation, within the next seven
years, at least fifty millions of dollars for
railroad-iron. Ami yet we have in our moun-
tains both iron ore and coal, of the best qua-
lity, and in quantities sufficient to yield iron
for the whole world. — American Railroad
Journal.

INTRODUCTION OF BURDEN’S
BOAT INTO FRANCE.

Baron Seguier, Member of the Institute, has
constructed a boat after the plan of Burden’s,
of two double cones lOO feet long, with the
engine between them, which, with the boil-
er, presents some improvements. M. Cave,
a mechanical engineer, has also constructed a
double boat, for the navigation of the canal of
Somme. It differs from the preceding in
being open at the surface, covered with a
flooring, and has two keels and two helms.
A similar boat has been constructed for the
navigation of the Loire, between Nantes and
Angers. — BuL Soc. Enc» i*Ind. Nat.

SPECIFICATION OF THE PATENT
GRANTED TO JAMES FERGUSON
SAUNDERS, OF TENTERDEN
STREET, HANOVER SQUARE, IN
THE COUNTY OF MIDDLESEX,
GENTLEMAN, FOR CERTAIN IM-
PROVEMENTS IN CLARIFYING
RAW CANE, AND OTHER VEGE-
TABLE AND SACCHARINE JUI-
CES, AND IN BLEACHING SUCH
RAW JUICES.— Sealed September 1,
1835.

To all to whom these presents shall come,
&c. &c. — Now know yc, that in compliance

with the said proviso, I, the said James
Ferguson Saunders, do hereby declare the
nature of the invention and the manner in
which the same is to be performed, are fully
described and ascertained in and by the fol-
lowing description thereof (that is to say) : —
The invention relates to submitting the
juice of the sugar cane, and other juices
containing saccharine matter, to a process
hereafter described, whereby the oily, muci-
laginous, and other matters prejudicial to
crystallization, are separated and precipita-
ted, previously to applying heat to such
juices in the pi’ocess of manufacturing sugar.
According to the ordinary practice of pro-
ducing sugar, particularly from cane juice,
the same is, as quickly as possible, submitted
to the application of heat, which, together
with the admixture of alkalies, or other
materials, cause the mucilaginous and other
impurities to rise to the surface, in the form
of scum, which is removed by the scummer.
This is not only a troublesome process,
and expensive, hut, at the same time, is not
fully effectual in clarifying the juice, and,
owing to the necessary application of heat,
in order to conduct this part of the process,
much of the impurities or matters prejudi-
cial to crystallization, are so embodied with
the saccharine properties of the juices, that
they cannot be separated the one from the
other previously to crystallization, by any
subsequent process ; but by the invention,
as communicated to me from abroad, these
matters are more entirely separated previ-
ously to the application of heat, and, at the
same time, the fm'ther process of bleaching
such juices may be effected more advanta-
geously than heretofore by the application
of animal or other charcoal. The invention
consists in mixing, in a suitable vessel,
earth with raw cane, or other juices contain-
ing saccharine matter, stirring the same re-
gularly in one direction as the earth is ap-
plied; by this means the earth and muci-
laginous and oily and other matters, preju-
dicial to crystallization, take to each other,
and, when left, will quickly subside and
leave the pure or clarified juice at the top,
which is to be drawn off and submitted to
the ordinary process of evaporation, in or-
der to concentrate it for crystallization. It
may be here desirable to remark, that, on
an extensive practical inquiry, and applica-
tion of this invention, it has not been dis-
covered that one description of earth has a
materially different effect to others, but all
have a like property of taking to the muci-
laginous, oily, and other impurities, and
precipitating them, thereby separating the
same from the pure saccharine matter con-
tained in the juice. As juices, even from
the same vegetable substance, vary in qua-
lity, no definite proportions of earth can

406

INFORMATION IMPORTANT '] O SUGAR MANUFACTURERS.

be given ; but a little attention and prac-
tice will soon enable an individual to per-
form the operation in process, with the
fullest effect, and in order to facilitate
this operation being fully understood, it
should be stated that the earth is preferred
to be taken sufficiently below the surface, to
prevent any vegetable substance being in-
troduced with it into the juice. The earth
being first sifted, in order to remove stones,
and by water is made wet, to about the con-
sistency of thick mud ; it is to be gradually
stirred into the juice, observing that when
small streams of clarified juice follow the
course of the stirring instrument or stick,
no further earth will be required, nor will
further stirring be necessary, and the quan-
tity of earth will generally be found to be
about one by measure to ten of juice. It is
not desirable to continue the addition of
earth during the whole time of stirring ; but,
on the contrary, it is better to add the
earth from time to time, watching the ef-
fect of the stiri’ing, and judging whether a
further application of earth is necessary:
though the whole quantity of earth would
be better if applied at once, if the operator,
from experience, has obtained a knowledge
of the proper quantity.

Having thus far explained the nature of
the invention, I would have it understood
that the result depending on a porous pro-
perty or affinity which the earth has for the
oily, mucilaginous, and other impurities,
and its being of a greater specific gravity
than the juice which causes such impurities
to be precipitated with earth that clarify the
juice, it will be evident that those matters
having similar properties, such for instance
as pulverized pumice stone, will have a
like effect. I do not thei’efore confine
myself to any particular earth or material ;
though, so far as experience goes, common
earth is not only the cheapest but most ef-
fective. The invention in respect of clari-
fying the juices, it should be understood,
relates to the process of precipitating the
oily, mucilaginous, and other impurities, by
means of the matei’ials described previously
to the application of heat : having performed
the operation of stirring and mixing, as
above-mentioned, the whole is to stand quiet
till the earth or other suitable material
has precipitated with the impurities. The
clarified juice may then be drawn off by
suitable plugs or taps placed in the vessel,
and it will be found that the earth and im-
purities will retain but a very small portion
of juice, the same drawing off very freely.

It now only remains to explain the manner
of bleaching the juice, in conjunction with
the clarifying process. This consists in in-
troducing into the receiver, previous to the
juice running into it, a quantity varying a

little according to the quantity of colour
contained in the juice of animal or other
charcoal, having known bleaching proper-
ties reduced to fine impalpable powder, and
saturated with water. This charcoal having
been stirred up ten or fifteen minutes with
the juice, earth ^ust be added, as in the
former process, to precipitate the whole.
The approximate proportion requisite will
be a quarter of a pound of animal charcoal
to a gallon of juice ; of other charcoal half
a pound ; using in each case a double quan-
tity in the first instance of either charcoal
will insure it being sufficient for three oper-
ations.

Having now described the nature of the
invention, as communicated to me from
abroad, I would have it understood that I
am aware that alkaline and other earthy
substances, as well also as animal and other
charcoal, have been used in various ways in
the manufacture of sugar ; I do not therefore
lay claim to the application of the same ge-
nerally, but do confine the claim of inven-
tion, secured by the present letters patent, I
to the process herein described for clarifying
and bleaching cane and other juices by pre- ,
cipitation, by means of the materials herein
set forth, when such process is performed i
previous to such juices undergoing the ap- j
plication of heat, as above described. — In
witness whereof, &c. j

Enrolled September 1, 1835. i

PERSPECTIVE MADE EASY.

{Continued from page 243.)

10. If, in the ground plan, or the elevation,
one part keeps another out of sight, the part
hid must be drawn, before its perspective can
be made. The dotted lines in the ground
plan, showing the small moulding on the top
of the pillar, and the dotted lines in the same
plan, that show the round panels in the cube
that is close to the picture-sheet, illustrate
this remark.

11. If a picture is wmnted, in which the
transparent plane does not stand perpendi-
cular, the easiest way to make it, is to consi-
der the picture-sheet perpendicular, and draw
the figures, corresponding to the ground
plan and elevation, as if the objects were put
off the perpendicular, by elevating one side
of the horizontal surface passing through the
lowest point in them.

12. Sometimes after the ground plan of
any object, or number of objects, is drawn,
it may be considered better not to have the
picture-sheet in this plan parallel to the top
or bottom edges of this drawing-board, but
in a direction such as the line b c, in fig. 4, is
drawn. When this happens, draw, as in fig.
1, lines from all the paints in the ground
plan to d, the point of sight ; then let fall

COLLECTION OF OBJECTS OF NATURAL HISTORY.

407

perpendicular lines from the same points to
the picture-sheet, b c ; after this, draw from
a point c, (which is beyond the lines drawn
from the place of the points in the ground
plan to the picture-sheet,) the line ce, parallel
to the top or bottom edge of the drawing-
board. Then from the point c, where the
lines b c and e c meet, with a pair of pencil
bows draw circles to ec, from all points in
h e, where the perpendicular lines, and the
lines drawn to the eye from the points in the
ground plan, meet it; also the point where a
perpendicular let fall from the point d, to the
picture-sheet meets it, must be transferred
by means of the pencil bows to the line ec/
and perpendicular to e c, from this last point
transferred, mark off the point/, at the same
distance from e c, that d is from h c. It will
now be evident, that transferring the points
be to ee, and setting the point /, in the
position mentioned above, produces the same
effect, as if be, with all the points on it,
together with d, the point of sight, moved
with the same angular motion round the
point c, as a centre, till » c came to the posi-
tion e c. The point d would then coincide with

/, and e c would be the picture-sheet with all
its points upon it, brought into a position
parallel to the bottom of the drawing-board.
When the operation is thus far gone, through,
the rest of the process is conducted, as if the
ground plan had been drawm to suit the pic-
ture-sheet in the position e c. In order that
fig. 4 may be fully understood, I need only
add, that h is an elevation of the object a in
the ground plan, and k is the perspective
view of it : g in the perspective view being
the position of the eye, or the vanishing point
of the lines running perpendicular to the pic-
ture-sheet. Rather than draw a perspective
view with the position of the picture-sheet in
the ground plan inclined to the sides of the
drawing-board, as in fig. 4, it will be better
to shift the blade of the drawing square, so as
to draw the ground plan of the objects at the
required angle to the picture-sheet, when it
is in a position as in fig. 1.

13. When a figure in the objects to be re-
presented is parallel to the transparent plane
theperspective of the figures is similar to the
original one, but less in magnitude according
to its discance. J W.

THE

S T U J) OF S C I E N C E,

A FAMILIAR INTRODUCTION

TO THE

PRINCIPLES OF NATURAL PHILOSOPHY.

As, among our readers, there may he some who have not had opportuniile.s of heroming
acquainted with the recent elaborate researches and ingenious speculations of learned men
In the several departments of Natural Philosophy, we have determined to devote a certain
number of pages monthly, to form a series of le tures in the several branches of science, by
way of a familiar introducttou to the study of Naturtil Philosophy with inoderu discoveries.

THE TAXIDEHMIST;

OR THE

ART OF COLLECTING,
PREPARING, AND PRESERVING
OBJECTS

OF

NATURAL HISTORY.

The advantages to be derived ‘from a col-
lection of objects of Natural History, are too
apparent to require any illustration ; and
their beauty and variety of their forms have,
in a preserved state, ever attracted the ad-
miration of mankind, as being next in point
of interest to the living animals. Although

<408 A KNOWLEDGE OF CHEMISTRY ESSENTIAL TO THE TAXIDERMIST.

good drawings and engravings will give us a
perfect knowledge of the general appearance
of animals, still they are deficient in many
particulars ; for by them we cannot be
made acquainted with the texture of the skin,
nor the structure of the hair or feathers.

The naturalist, on all occasions, prefers a
reference to the stuffed animal to that of a
pictorial representation, as by this means he
is enabled to trace, compare, and decide, on
the creature in its several characters and
relations.

In museums and cabinets are brought to-
gether natural objects of all kinds, from the
most extreme points of the globe ; and pre-
sented in a form that enables us, as it w^ere,
to look upon the mighty field of nature at one
view ; with the additional advantage of hav-
ing the various Classes and Genera placed in
systematic order, to investigate which, in
their native wilds, would be the business of
several lifetimes. Besides, wre can here con-
template, without dread, the most destructive
and furious quadrupeds, and the most noxi-
ous reptiles. Here we can muse upon and
study the animals which have created in us
the highest of sentiments w^hile reading the
tale of the traveller, or the singularity of
organization, pointed out by the naturalist.

He who has attended to any branch of
Natural History, will best know how difficult
it is to collect even the animals, plants, or
minerals of Britain ; because some of the
individuals are extremely' local in their
habitats.

To instruct in the manner of Collecting,
Cleaning, Prepar-ing, and Preserving these,
is the object of the following Treatise. This
ai't has been practised in a certain degree from
very early times, but it was not till after the
middle of the last century, that Taxidermy,
or the art of preserving objects of Natural
History, had reached any degree of perfection,
and it is still susceptible of much improve-
ment.

We have seen that attempts at the preser-
vation of animal substances were practised
by the Egyptians in the instance of Mummies
and the Ibis, which they always preserved
along with their chiefs. But these were pre-
pared in such a manner as to produce no
leasurable sensations in examining them;
eing remarkable only for their great anti-
quity.

It is to be lamented, that even to the pre-
sent day chemists have not discovered means
of elFectually resisting the universal law of
decay, which, by certain fixed operations,
reduces every kind of organised matter to its
original elements. Methods have been devised
of arresting for a time the progress of decay,
but these seem gradually to lose their effect,
and ultimately become mutilated and decom-
posed. Animal substances are subject to the
ravages of thousands of minute animals. This
is probably brought about by the varied
changes and penetrating powers of the at-
mosphere, caused by its gases, heat, and mois-
ture. We do not mean by this that the
atmosphere creates minute beings, only its
influence is favourable and indispensable to

their reproduction. On uiiorgfuiised sub-
stances, these are found to be ever acting
and destructive agents.

To devise the means of preventing these
effects is the business of the 'I'axidermist, and
upon his success the excellence of his art will
depend. It will, therefore, easily be imagined
how important and indeed indispensable to
his art is a thorough knowledge of chemical
science, for by experimenting on preservatives
on established chemical principles, he may
discover the best method of averting the
progress of Time’s destroying hand.

Although considerable advances have been
made of late years in the art of Taxidermy,
it is still far ft'om pei'fection. This is to be
attributed, in a great measure, to the edu-
cation of the persons who practise this art ;
for among all I have met with employed in
the presevation of animals, none have had the
advantage of anatomical study, which is
quite indispensable to the perfection of stuf-
fing. One or two individuals, it is true, have
attended to the structure of the skeleton of
Man, and a few of the more common ani-
mals, but this is far from the information
which they ought to possess ; for nothing
short of a general and extensive knowledge
of comparative anatomy can qualify them
sufficiently for an art which is so comprehen-
sive and varied in its application.

These obsei’vations are particularly appli-
cable to Uuadrupeds and Reptiles ; for what
are even the best stuffed specimens of the
first museums in the world compared to the
living svibject ? Nothing better than deformed
and glaringly artificial productions, devoid of
all the grace and beautifully turned points of
living nature. A knowledge of drawing and
modelling arealsoindispensable qualifications,
to enable the stuffer to place his subject in a
position both natural and stx'iking. It is the
too frequent practice for the stuft’er to set
about preserving the animal without having
determined in what attitude he is to place it,
so that it will appear to most advantage, and
be in character with the ordinary habits of
the creature This he leaves to the last efforts
of finishing his work, and, consequently, its
proportions and character are likely to be
devoid of all appearance of animation.

The first thing, therefore, to be attended
to in all great national natural history esta-
blishments, is to choose young persons
who are yet in their boyhood, to be instruct-
ed in this art, most important to science*
Their studies should be commenced by deep
attention to drawing, modelling, anatomy,
and chemistry, while they, at the same time,
proceed with the practical part of their art.
Every opportunity of examining the habits
and actions of the living subject should be em-
braced, and its attitudes and general aspect
carefully noted. Without strict attention
to these points, so manifestly obvious, the art
of preserving animals never will attain that
degree of perfection which its importance
demands. On the other hand, if this art is
pursued in the manner here recommended,
artists may be produced who will fulfil the ob-

409

ON THE PRESERVATION OF MAMMALIA.

jects of their profession with honour to them-
selves and advantage to their country. Would
any person expect to arrive at eminence as a
sculptor if he were unacquainted with the
established preliminaries of his art, namely,
drawing and anatomy? The thing is so
self-evident, that I am only surprised it has
not long ago been acted upon. Upwards of
twelve years have elapsed since I pointed out
these facts to the Professor of Natural His-
tory in the University of Edinburgh, but
things continue as they were before that time.

Although these observations apply with
their full force to the preservation of the
Mammalia, or Quadrupeds, they are equally
applicable to Birds and Fishes. It is quite
true, that defects in ill -stuffed birds are not
80 obvious as in quadrupeds, because the
feathers assist in a great measure to conceal
such deformities ; and in Sshes, imperfections
are also less observable, owing to the smooth
and unmarked appearance of their external
surface, from the circumstance of their bones
being principally small towards their outside,
and the larger bones being deeply concealed
under the muscles.

I am happy to find that the ingenious Mr.
Waterton agrees with me on this important
subject. “Were you,” says he, “ to pay as
much attentiou to birds as the sculptor does
to the human frame, you would immediately
see, on entering a museum, that the spe-
cimens are not well done.

“ This remark will not be thought severe,
w'hen you reflect, that that which was once
alive, has probably been stretched, stuffed,
stiffened, and wired, by the hand of a common
clown. Consider, likewise, how the i lu-
mage must have been disordered by too much
stretching or drying, and, perhaps, sullied, or
at least deranged, by the pressure of a coarse
and heavy hand.' — plumage which, ere life
had iied within it. was accustomeil to be
touched by nothing rougher than the dew of
heaven, and the pure and gentle breath of
air.

“ In dissecting, three thin'jjs are necessary
to insure success, viz., a penknife, a hand not
coarse or clumsy, and practice- The first
will furnish you with the means and the se-
cond will enable you to dissect, and the third
will cause you to dissect well. These may
be called the mere mechanical requisites.

“ In stuffing you require cotton, a needle
and thread, a little stick the size of a com-
mon knitting needle, glass -eyes, a solution of
corrosive sublimate, and any kind of a com-
mon temporary box to hold the specimen.
These also may go under the denomination of
the former. But if you wish to excel in the
art, if you wish to be in Ornithology, what
Angelo was in sculpture, you must apply to
profound study and your own genius to assist
you. And these may be called the scientific
requisites.

•* You must have a complete knowledge of
Ornithological anatomy. You must pay close
attention to the form and attitude of the bird,
and know exactly the proportion each curve
or extension, or contraction, or expansion of

any particular part bears to the rest of the
body. In a word, you must possess Prome-
thean boldness, and bring down fire and
animation as it were into your preserved
specimen.

“ Repair to the haunts of birds on plains
and mountains, forests, swamps, and lakes,
and give up your time to examine the economy
of the different orders of birds.

“ Then you will place your Eagle, in at-
titude commanding, the same as Nelson
stood in, in the day of battle, on the Victory’s
quarter deck. Your Pie will seem crafty,
and just ready to take flight, as though fear-
ful of being surprised in some mischievous
plunder. Your Sparrow will retain its wont-
ed pertness, by means of placing his tail a
little elevated, and giving a moderate arch to
the neck. Your Vulture will show his slu;?-
gish habits by having his body nearly parallel
to the earth ; his wings somewhat drooping,
and their extremities under the tail instead
of above it, — expressive of ignoble indo-
lence.

“ Your Dove will be in airless, fearless in-
nocence. looking mildly at you, with its neck
not too much stretched, as if uneasy in its
situation, or drawn too close into the should-
ers, like one wishing to avoid discovery ; but
in mo derate . perpendicular lengths, support-
ing the head horizontally, which will set off
the breast to the best advantage.”'*

To the traveller who wanders in search of
knowledge, but without the means of con-
veying skins of quadrupeds or birds, we would
say a word or two. When he has killed and
examined an animal or bird, which apuears
new to him, after having noted down all its
characters, he ought to attempt a drawiiig of
the object, as the next best substitute for the
skin.

The indefatigable Wilson, whose unbound-
ed zeal led him to explore the mighty wilds of
America, in search of information regarding
the feathered tribes, but who, without either
money or patronage, could not transport their
skin.3 across these nearly boundless wilder-
nesses, was compelled to adopt these, the
only means he ha 1, and to delineate their
for. us and features, in their native colours,
as fiithfully as he could, as records at least
of their existence.

Audubon adopted this method. He pinned
the bird to a tree in some natural position,
held out by wires, &c., then made a drawing
while the animal was yet warm. By this
means he could imitate those beautiful tints
which are alone to be found in living nature ;
and the forms being still those of the real
subject, were likely to surpass those of stuffed
specimens.

* Wanderings iu South America, &c. by
Charles Waterton, Esq , a work that cannot
be too highly commended, from the many
remarkable incidents contained in it, and the
highly poetic and zealous warmth of its dic-
tion.

410

PKtPARATORY STEP FOR STUFF1^G QUADRUPEDS.

OF SKINNING, PREPARING, AND

MOUNTING THE MAMMALIA, OR

QUADRUPEDS.

OF SKINNING.

When a quadruped is killed, and its skin
intended for stuffing, the preparatory steps
are to lay the animal on its back, and
plug up its nostrils, mouth, and any
wounds it may have received, with cotton or
tow, to prevent the blood from disfiguring
the skin. A longitudinal incision is then
made in the lower part of the belly, in front
of the pubis, and extended from thence to the
stomach, or higher if necessary, keeping in
as straight a line as possible, and taking care
not to penetrate so deep as to cut into the
abdominal muscles. In some instances, the
incision is made as high as the collar bone.
In this operation the hairs must he carefully
separated to the right and left, and none of
them cut, if possible. The skin is also turned
hack to the right and left, putting pads of
cotton or tow between it and the muscles, as
the skinning is proceeded with. If any fatty
or oily substance should be noticed, it must
be carefully wiped awa5^ The skin being
removed as far in every direction as the extent
of the incision will admit of, eacVi of the
thighs must be separated at its junction with
the pelvis, that is, by the head or ball of the
Osfemoris,* or thigh bone. The intestinal
canal is then cut across, a little way above
the anus, and then the tail is separated, as
close to the animal as possible. After this
the pelvis is pulled out of the skin, and the
skin separated from the back by inserting
the handle of the scalpel cutting-knife be-
tween it and the carcase. It is pulled gradu-
ally upwards until the operator reaches the
shoulders. The wdiole hinder parts and
trunk of the body being thus out of the skin,
the next operation is to remove the fore-
legs, by separating them from the body
at the shoulder-joint, or the base of the Os
humeri. When the joint of one shoulder has
been separated from the body, the leg is again
put into the skin, and the animal then turned
in order to repeat the same with the other
side, the limb of which is also returned. The
skin is then removed from the neck. The
next thing is to separate the skin from the
head by the assistance of the scalpel. It is
taken olf as far as the point of the nose ;
while great care must be taken not to injure
the eyelids, and to cut the ears as close
to the skull as possible ; and also to avoid
cutting the lips too close.

All this having been performed, the head
and trunk of the animal are completely sepa-
rated from the skin. The next operation is
to remove the head of the animal from the
trunk, at the upper bone of the vertebrae.
The external muscles of the head and face are
then carefully cut off with a scalpel, and the

* Those who are unacquainted with the
names of the difiFerent bones of the skeleton,
will find a full detail of those of both Quadru-
peds and Birds in our description of Plate I.

bones left as free from flesh as possible.
The occipital bones are next enlarged by
means of a strong knife, or other instru-
ment; and the brain all carefully removed.
The fore legs are now pulled out of the skin,
by drawing the legs one way, and the skin
another, as far as the claws of the foot. All
the muscles are then cut off the bones, while
care is taken not to injure the ligaments and
tendons. They should be left adhering to
the knee. They are then returned into the
skin again. The hind legs are treated in the
same manner. The tail is the last part
which is skinned, and this is a more difficult
task than the other parts of the body. Two
or three of the first joints or vertebrae are
first laid bare by pulling the skin back ; they
are then tied firmly with a strong cord,
which must be attached to a strong nail or
hook on the wall. A cleft stick is introduced
between the vertebrae and the skin, the stick
is then forced to the extremity, and the tail-
bones come out of their enveloping skin or
sheath.

The skeleton head, having been divested
of all its fleshy matter, tongue, palate, exter-
nal muscle, and brain, is now returned to
its place in the skin, which is in a condition
for commencing the operation of stuffing. —
Brown.

EXPLANATION OF THE PLATES.
PLATE I.

Fig. I. exhibks the skeleton of the Falco P<t~
lumbarius, or Goshawk, and shows the man-
ner in which it is supported by a small iron
rod ; and also the names of the bones.

a. Bail of the Ulna.

b, b, ii. The vertebrae of the neck, or cer-
vical vertebra.

^ The Sternum

e, e.. The Tarsus.

f, f. -The Fibula.

g, The Tibia.

h, h. -The metacarpal bones.

i, j The Ulna,
in. - The Pelvis.
n.-The Os Coccygis.
q The Clavicle-

s. -Vertebrae of the back.

t. The Os Humeri.

Fig 2 Skeleton of a Horse, showing the
manner in which it is supported ; and also
the names of the bones.

A. The head.

a. — The posterior maxillary or jaw bone.

b. The superior maxillary, orupper jaw.

c. The orbit of the eye.

d. The nasal bones, or bones of the nose.

e. The suture, dividing the parietal bones
below from the occipital bones above.

f. — The inferior maxillary bone, containing
the upjier incisors, or cutting teeth.

B. The seven Cervical Vertebras, or bones
of the neck.

C. The eighteen Dorsal Vertebrae, or
bones of the back.

D. The six Lumbar Vertebras, or bones of
the loins.

E. — The five Sacral Vertebrae, or bones of
the haunch.

F. - The Caudal Vertebrae, or bones of the
tail, the usual number being fifteen ; some-
times, however, they vary.

G. — The Scapula, or shoulder blade.

FIRE-HEAT OR CALORIC.

H The Sternum, fore part of the chest or
breast-bone.

I. The Costae, or ribs, seven or eight of
which articulating with the Sti-rnum, are
called the trueyibs, and the remaining ten,
or eleven, which are united together by
cartilage, are called t\\e false rib .

3 , - The Humerus, or bone of the arm.

K, The Radius, or bone of the fore arm.

L, The Ulna, or elbow, with its process,
the olecranon.

M, M. The Carpus, or knee, consisting of
seven bones.

N, N. The Metacarpal, or shank bones.
The large Metacarpal, or cannon, or shank
in front; and the smaller Metacarpal, or
splent bone behind.

g. The fore pastern and foot, consisting of
the Os Suffraginis, or the upper and longer
pastern tione, with the sesamoid tones
behind, articulating with tlie cannon and
greater pastern ; the Os Coronae, or less-
er pastern; the Os Pedis, or coffin
hone; and the Os Naviculae, or navicular
shuttle bone, not seen, and articulating
with the smaller pastern and coffin bones.

h. - The corresponding bones of the hind
feet.

O, O. -Thesmall metacarpal, orsplent-bones.

p|_The pelvis; or haunch, consisting of

three portions, the ilium, the ischium,
and the pubis.

Q —The femur, or thigh- ones.

R, R.— The patella placed on the stifle joint.

S S. -The tibia and fihula ; the latter is a
’small none i ehind. These are also called
the ham bones.

T, T. - The nones of the tarsus, or hock, six

in numi.er. ....

U, U- The metatarsals of the hind leg,
called shank, or cannon bones.

y\f w.— Tne os calcis, or point of the hock-

X,*X, X, X. - The sesamoid, or fetlock bones.

OF THE UMIVERSE.

Of Attraction — Repulsion — Elements
— Heat— Air.

(Compiled from the Works of Buffon, Gold-
smith, Cuvier, tSfC.)

The known powers of nature may be re-
duced to two primitive forces, attraction and
repulsion. The first is the cause of gravity ;
in other words, it is by the attraction which
exists between the mass of earth, and all
bodies near its surface, that every thing has
a natural tendency downward, that ail mat-
ters fall to the ground, &c. The second
principle is the cause of elasticity, and by
counteracting the effects of attraction, pre-
vents the matter of the universe from be-
coming a solid mass.

Ihe most ancient authors have agreed m
supposing, and mankind in general still
imagine, that there are only lour distinct
species of elementary or original matter, viz.
fire, air, water, and earth. Modern science
has however discovered that none of these are
entitled to be considered as elements, or
primary substances ; while, on the other
hand, it has increased the number of ele-
mentary principles to fifty two. But as the
popular arrangement is sufficient for our
present purpose, we will not depart from it.

There is reason to believe that fire, heat,
or caloric, is the only permanently elastic
substance in nature. We see that when it

4H

penetrates the pores of any body it uniformly
expands it. A bar of iron is lengthened by
being heated, metals and other substances
are melted by it, and water is converted into
vapour. There is therefore ample ground
for believing that all fluidity is the effect of
heat. The natural state of water is ice ;
and air itself, were there any means of pro-
ducing a sufficient degree of cold, might pro-
bably be reduced to a solid mass.

As all fluidity has heat for its cause, we find,
by comparing certain substances together,
that much more heat is requisite to keep iron
infusion than gold, much more to keep gold
in that state than tin, much less to keep wax,
much less to keep water, much less for spirit
of wine, and at last exceedingly less for mer-
cury (quicksilver), since it only becomes solid
at 187 degrees below that point at which
watm* freezes ; this matter, mercury, would
be therefore the most fluid of all bodies, if air
were not still more so. Now, what does this
fluidity, greater in air than in any other mat-
ter, indicate ? It appears to indicate the least
degree of adherence that can be conceived
between its constituting parts, by supposing
them of such a figure as only to touch each
other at one point. The greater or less degree
of fluidity does not, however, indicate that
the parts of the fluid are more or less weighty,
but only that their adherence is so much the
less, their union so much the less intimate,
and their separation so much the easier. If
a thousand degrees of heat are required to keep
water fluid, it perhaps will only require one
to preserve the fluidity of air.

It is doubtful whether light consists of the
same matter with elementary fire or not. The
great source of light is found to be the sun,
from whose body it is projected in the space
of neaidy eight minutes ; and as the sun is
computed to be distant ninety-five millions of
miles, the light must of consequence travel
at the rate of about two hundred thousand
miles in one second of time.

Light may be reflected as well as projected.
The light which we receive from the moon
is only reflected as from a mirror. The light
of the sun is three hundred thousand times
stronger than the light of the moon. Whether
the solar rays themselves evolve the caloric
of bodies or act by conveying heat, has not
yet been determined.

The air we inhale is composed of 21 of
oxygen to 79 of nitrogen gas, which are mixed
with vapour and small quantities of other
gases.

It is vulgarly supposed that flame is the
hottest part of fire ; yet nothing is worse
founded than this opinion ; for the contrary
may be demonstrated by the easiest and most
familiar experiments. Offer to straw fire, or
even to the flame of a lighted faggot, a cloth
to dry or heat, double and treble the time will
be required to give it the degree of dryness or
heat that would be given to it by exposing it
to a brazier without flame, or even to a very
small heat. Flame has been characterised by
Newton as a burning smoke ; and this smoke,
or vapour, which burns, has never the same

12 DISORDERS INCIDENT TO THE BODY THE OFFSPRING OF HEAT.

quantity, the same intensity of heat, as the
combustible body from which it escapes. Only
by being carried upwards, and extending it-
self, it has the property of communicating
fire, and of carrying it further than the heat
of the brazier does, which alone might not
be sufficient to communicate it when even
very near. This idea, though partially true,
has been proved by expeiuraent to be subject
to several contradictions. The flame of a
spirit-lamp will render an iron wire white-hot,
nor is it even in this state of so fierce a tem-
perature as the source from whence its heat
was obtained.

The effects of heat in producing a noxious
quality in the air, are well known. J'hose tor-
rid regions under the line are always unwhole-
some. At Senegal, the natives consider forty
as a very advanced time of life, and generally
die of old age at fifty. At Carthagena, m
America, where the heat of the hottest day
ever known in Europe is continual ; where,
during their winter season, these dreadful
heats are united with a continual succession
of thunder, rain, and tempests, arising from
their intenseness, the wan and livid com-
plexions of the inhabitants might make
strangers suspect that they were just reco-
vered from some dreadful distemper : the ac-
tions of the natives are conformable to their
colour and in all their motions there is some-
what relaxed and languid ; the heat of the
climate even affects their speech, which is soft
andslowr, and their words generally broken,
t ravellers from Europe retain their strength
and ruddy colour in that climate, possibly for
three or four months, but afterwards suffer
such decays in both, that they are no longer to
be distinguished from the inhabitants by their
complexiiin. However, this languid and
spiritless existence is frequently drawled on
sometimes even to eighty. Young persons
are generally most a&cted by the heat of the
climate, which spares the more aged ; but all,
upon their arrival on the coasts, are subject
to the same train of fatal disorders. Few
nations have experienced the mortality of
these coasts so much as our own : in our
unsuccessful attack upon Carthagena, more
than three parts of our army were destroyed
by the climate alone ; and those that returned
from that fatal expedition found their former
vigour irretrievably gone. In our more for-
tunate expedition, which gave us the Havan-
nah, we had little reason to boast of our suc-
cess ; instead of a third, not a fifth part of the
army were left survivors of their victory, the
climate being an enemy that even heroes can-
not conquer.

I’he distempers that thus proceed from the
cruel malignity of those climates are many :
that, for instance, called the Chapotonadas
carries off a multitude of people, and ex-
tremely thins the crews of European ships,
whom gain tempts into those inhospitable
regions. The nature of this distemper is but
little known, being caused in some persons
by cold, in others by indigestion. But its
effects are far from being obscure ; it is ge-
nerally fatal in three or four days : upon its
seizing the patient it brings on what is there

called the black vomit, which is the sad
symptom after which none are ever found to
recover. Some, when the vomit attacks
them, are seized with a delirium that, were
they not tied down they would tear themselves
to pieces, and thus expire in the midst of this
furious paroxysm. 1 his disorder, in milder
climates, takes the name of the bilious fever,
and is attended with gentler symptoms, but
very dangerous in all.

1 here are many other disorders incident to
the human body thatseem the offspring ofheat:
but to mention no other, that very lassitude,
which prevails in all the tropical climates,
may be considered as a disease The inhabi-
tants of India, says a modern philosopher,
sustain an unceasing languor from the heats
of their climate, and are tor [dd in the midst
of profusion. For this reason, the Great
Disposer of nature has clothed their country
with trees of an amazing height, whose shade
might defend them from the beams of the sun ,
and whose continual freshness might, in some
measure, temperate their fierceness. From
these shades, therefore, the air receives re-
freshing moisture, and animals a cooling pro-
tection. The whole race of savage animals
retire, in the midst of the day, to the very
centre of the forest, not so much to avoid
their enemy, man, as to find a defence against
the raging heats of the season. This ad-
vantage, which arises from shade in torrid
climates. may probably afford a solution for
that extraordinary circumstance related by
Boyle, which he imputes to a different cause.
In the island of 'J ernate, belonging to the
Dutch, a place that had been long celebrated
for its beauty and healthfulness, the clove
trees grew in such plenty that they in some
measure lessened their own value : for this
reason the Dutch resolved to cut down the
forests, and thus to raise the price of the
commodity ; but they soon had reason to
repent of their avarice ; for such a change
ensued by cutting down the trees, that the
whole island, from being healthy and delight-
ful, having lost its charming shades, became
extremely sickly, and has actually continued
so to this day. Boerhaave considered heat so
prejudicial to health, that he was never seen
to go near a fire.

An opposite set of calamities are the con-
sequence in climates where the air is con-
densed by cold. In such places all that train
of distempers which are known to arise from
obstructed perspiration, are very common —
eruptions, boils, scurvy, and a loathsome
leprosy, that covers the whole body with a
scurf and white putrid ulcers. 'I hese disor-
ders also are infectious ; and while they thus
banish the patient from society, they gene-
rally accompany him to the grave. '1 he men
of those climates seldom attain to the age of
fifty ; but the women, who do not lead such
laborious lives, are found to live longer.

One of the first things that our senses in-
form us of is, that although the air is too fine
for our sight it is very obvious to our touch.
Although we cannot see the wind contained
in a bladder, we can very readily feel its re-

KIDD’S VIKW OF THE PHYSICAL CON DITION OF MAN.

413

jistance ; an.l though the hurricane may want
colour, we often fatally experience that it does
not want force. We have equal experience
of the air’s spring or elasticity ; the bladder,
when pressed, returns again, upon the pres-
sure being taken away ; a bottle, when filled,
often bursts, from the spring of air which is
included.

So far the slightest experience reaches ;
but, by carrying experiment a little further, we
learn that air also is heavy; a round glass
vessel being emptied of its air, and accurate-
ly weighed, has been found lighter than when
it was weighed with the air in it. Upon
computing the superior weight of the full ves-
sel, a cubic foot of air is found to weigh 527
grains, while the same quantity of hydrogen
weighs no more than 40 grains.

From this experiment, therefore, wm learn,
that the earth, and all things upon its surface,
are every way covered with a ponderous
fluid, which, rising very high over our heads,
must be proportionally heavy. For instance,
as in the sea a man at the depth of twenty feet
sustains a greater weight of water than a man
at the depth of but ten feet, so will a man at
the bottom of a valley have a greater weight
of air over him than a man on the top of a
mountain.

If by any means we contrive to take away
the pressure of the air from any one part of
our bodies, we are soon made sensible of the
weight upon the other parts, d hus, if we
clap our hand upon the mouth of a vessel from
whence the air has been taken away, there
will be air on one side and none on the other ;
upon which we shall instantly feel as if the
hand were violently sucked inwards, which is
nothing more than the weight of the air upon
the back of the hand that forces it into the
space which is empty below.

As by this experiment we perceive that the
air presses with great weight upon every
thing on the surface of the earth, so by other
experiments we learn the exact weight with
which it presses. First, if the air be exhaust-
ed out of any vessel, and this vessel be set
with the mouth downwards in water, the wa-
ter will rise up into the empty space, and fill
the inverted glass — for the external air will,
in this case, press up the water where there
is no weight to resist, as one part of a bed
being pressed makes the other parts that have
no weight upon them rise. In this case, as
we said, the water being pressed without, will
rise in the glass, and would continue to rise
thirty-two feet high. From this therefore
we learn, that the weight of the air which
presses up the water is equal to a pillar or
column of water which is thirty-two feet
high, as it is just able to raise such a column,
and no more. In other words, the surface
of the earth is everywhere covered with a
weight of air, which is equivalent to a cover
ing of thirty two feet deep of water, or to a
weight of twenty-nine inches and a half of
quicksilver, which is known to be just as
heavy as the former.

It is easily found, by computation, that to
raise water thirty- two feet will require a

weight of fifteen pounds upon every square
inch. Now, if we are food of computations,
we have only to calculate how many square
inches are in the surface of an ordinary, human
body, and allowing every inch to sustain fif-
teen pounds, we may amaze ourselves at the
wmight of air we sustain. It has been com-
puted, and found, that our ox’dinary load of air
amounts to within a little of forty thousand
pounds !

The elasticity of the air is one of its most
amazing properties, and to which it should
seem nothing can set bounds. A body of air,
that may be contained in a nut shell, may
easily, with heat, be dilated into a sphere of
unknown dimensions. On the contrary, the
air contained in a house may be compi’essed
into a cavity not lai’ger than the eye of a
needle. In short, no bounds can be set to
its confinement or expansion, at least experi-
ment has hitherto found its attempts indefi-
nite. In every situation it retains its elasticity,
and the more closely we compress it, the more
strongly does it resist the pressure. If to
the increasing the elasticity on one side by
compression, we increase it on the other
side by heat, the force of both soon becomes
irresistible ; and Monsieur Amontons sup-
posed that air, thus confined and expanding
was sufficient for the explosion of a woidd.

ON THE

ADAPTATION OF EXTERNAL NATURE

TO THE

PHYSICAL CONDITION OF MAN.

When Hamlet, in contemplating the
grandeur of creation, breaks forth into that
sublime apostrophe on man : “How noble
in reason 1 how infinite in faculties ! in form
and moving, how express and admirable I in
action, how^ like an angel I in apprehension,
how like a God! the beauty of the world! the
pai’agon of animals !” who does not feel ela-
ted by the description ? who does not feel
conscious of its truth ?

Nor is its truth the less admissible, be-
cause the poet, in concenti’ating the powers
of his imagination on the excellences of that
work of creation which bears the stamp of
the Creator’s image, has omitted to pi'e-
sent to our view the reverse of the impres-
sion, the frailty namely of our fallen nature ;
for although, on moral and religious consi-
deration, each individual is bound habitu-
ally to take the one view in conjunction with
the other; in a simply philosophical con-
templation of human nature, we are not pre-
cluded by any reasonable bai'rier, from tak-
ing such a partial view of the subject as the
occasion may suggest.

In the present instance, indeed, I am
strictly called upon to consider, not the
moral, but the physical condition of man :

414

ESTIM vTE OF THE PHYSICAL CONDITION OF MAN.

and to examine how far the state of external
nature is adapted to that condition ; whe-
ther we regard the provisions made for the
supply of man's wants either natural or ac-
quired; or those which are made for the
exercise of his intellectual faculties. The
following treatise naturally, therefore, divides
itself into two parts ; in the first of which it
is intended to investigate and describe the
physical condition of man ; in the second,
the adaptation of external nature to that
condition.

But a wide field here opens to our view :
for man cannot, under any circumstances, be
considered as an insulated being ; or un-
connected vt'ith the rest of animated nature.
He is indeed but one link in the great chain
of animal creation ; and not only does the
contemplation of his condition lose half its
interest, if separated from the contempla-
tion of the condition of other animals ; but
it cannot be satisfactorily investigated with-
out that aid. And, again, animal life itself
is but one among many modes of existence,
by which the Creator has manifested his
omnipotence, and which it is necessary to
contemplate in connexion with the general
phenomena of nature, in order to show the
superiority of that province, at the head of
which human beings have been placed.

In attempting, however, to form a just
estimate of the physical condition of man,
we must not regard him merely under the
aspect of savage or uncivilized life, and con-
sider this as his natural state : for it may be
presumed that, at the present day, such a
puerile view of the question is not for a
moment entertained by any one capable of
philosophical reflection. In fact, in as many
different states as man does actually exist,
civilized or savage, so many are his natural
states. If any indeed could be pre-emi-
nently called his natural state, it would be
that of civilization : for not only does ex-
perience show that his natural tendency is
towards such a state ; but we know, from
the highest authority, that the existence of
man is connected with a moral end \ (with
more indeed than a moral end ; since
morals have immediately a relation to this
life only, while man is destined for a fu-
ture ;) and a moral end is hardly attainable
in an uncivilized state of society.

THE GENERAL CONSTITUTION OF

external nature.

The more familiar objects of that external
world by which man is surrounded are usu-
ally distributed into three kingdoms,as they
are called; the animal, vegetable, dinA mineral:
but for the purpose of this treatise it will be
necessary to take into our account the phe-
nomena of the atmosphere also.

The atmosphere principally consists of
the air which we respire : (a form of mat-
ter so subtle, in all its states, as to be invi-
sible ; ) together with a variable proportion
of water, of which a part is always retained
in close combination with the air ; and, like
the air itself, exists always in an invisible
state. There are also diffused through the
atmosphere those still more subtle agents,
heat and electricity. But all these, though
of so subtle a substance, are in their occa-
sional effects the most powerful agents of
nature. For, omitting the consideration of
their silent but wonderful operation, as ex-
hibited in the process of vegetation, and in
many other processes less open to observa-
tion, let us consider the occasional effects of
air in the violence of a tornado ; or of
water, in the inundation of a rapid river :
or let us contemplate the effect of either an
indefinite diminution or increase of heat ;
on the one hand, the natural process of
animal decomposition arrested by its abstrac-
tion, so that the imbedded mammoth re-
mains at this moment in the same state that
it was four thousand years ago ; and in
which, under the same circumstances, it
undoubtedly would be, four thousand or
four millions years hence ; on the other
hand, the possibility of the dissipation of
all the constituent parts of matter, or their
fixation in the state of glass, resulting from
the agency of indefinitely increased heat :
or, lastly, let us consider the tremendous
effects of condensed electricity in the form
of lightning: — and we shall necessarily ac-
knowledge that though in their usual state
the constituents of the atmosphere are
among the most tranquil agents of nature,
yet, when their power is concentrated, they
are the most awfully energetic.

In the mineral kingdom the most cha-
racteristic property of the several species
appears to be a disposition to a peculiar
mode of mutual attraction among the parti-
cles composing the individuals belonging to
them ; from which attraction, when exerted
under the most favourable circumstances,
result that symmetry and regularity of form,
to which the term crystal has been applied.
The transparency and degree of hardness
of crystals are various, and depend much
upon external circumstances. The form is
fundamentally the same for each species,
though capable of being modified according
to known laws ;• and the substance is che-
mically the same throughout its whole ex-
tent. Every atom of a crystallized mass
of gypsum consists of water, lime, and sul-
phuric acid, united in the same proportions
as are found to exist in the whole mass, or in
any given part of it.

The individuals of the vegetable kingdom
differ very remarkably from those of the

SUGAR CANE OF CENTRAL INDIA.

41

mineral, both in form and substance. In
their form we see nothin'? like the mathema-
tical precision of crystallization ; and in
their substance they difcr vv^idely, according
to the part of the vegetable which is exa-
mined ; so that, independently of previous
knowledge of the species, w^e conhl liardly
discover any natural relation between tlm
several constituent parts of the individual.
What is there in the insulated leaf of a rose
or of a peach tree, that would lead us to ex-
pect the fruit of the one or the flower of the
other ? But the most remarkable line of
distinction between vegetables and the indi-
viduals of the preceding kingdom consists in
their mode of increase and reproduction.
Minerals can only increase, as such, by ap-
position of particles Sj)ecifically similar to
themselves ; and can only be originally
produced by tlie immediate combination of
their constituent elements. But vegetables
have an apparatus within them, by means of
W’hich they can assimilate the heterogene-
ous particles of the surrounding soil to their
own nature ; and they have also the power
of producing individuals specifically the
same as themselves : in common language,
they are cai)able of contributing to their
own growth, and to tlie continuation of
their species. And as ihey produce these
effects by means of internal organs adapted
to the purpose, they are hence denominated
organized bodies.

The individuals of the animal Jdngdom
very closely resemble those of the vegetable
in the two properties just described. The
respective organs differ, as we might ex-
pect, in their form and position : but in
their functions or mode of action, there is a
strong analogy, and even similarity, througli-
out. But animals difl’er from vegetables
more remarkably than these do from every
unorganized form of matter, in being en-
dued with sensation and volition ; proper-
ties which extend the. sphere of their rela-
tions to such a degree, as to raise them im-

measurably above all other forms of matter
in the scale of existence.

In distributing the individuals of tlis
material world among these four kingdoms
,of nature, there occasionally prevails consi-
deixible obscurity, not only with respect to
the true place v^^hich an individual ought to
occupy ill the scale of a particular kingdom ;
but even with resjiect to the question, under
which of the four kingdoms it ought to be
arranged ; tliis obscurity arising of course
from the points of resemblance apparently
balancing, or more than balancing, the
points of difference. Let us, for instance,
in the atmospherical kingdom, take a frag-
ment of a perfectly transparent crystal of
pure ice ; and, under ordinary circum-
stances, it would be difficult, either by the
sight or the touch, to distinguish it from a
fragment of transparent quartz, or rode
crystal : indeed tlie transfer of the original
term krustallos from the one to the other,
shows the doss resemblance of the two.
Some minerals again so nearly resemble
vegetables in form, as to have given rise to
specific terms of appellation, derived from
the vegetable kingdom ; as flos ferri,
mineral agaric, &c. And, lastly, many of
the animals called sea-anemones so far re-
semble the flower called by the same name,
that their real diaracter is at first very
doubtful to those who are unacquainted
with the animals of that genus. But, omit-
ting these rare and equivocal instances, and
avoiding the confinement of abstract defini-
tions, we may safely affirm that, of all tho
kingdoms of nature, the individuals of the
animal kingdom have the most extensive
and important relations to the surrounding
universe. And I need not here insist on
the obvious inference, that if among the
kingdoms of nature animals hold the first
rank, in consequence of the importance of
these relations, among animals themselves
the first rank must be assigned to man.—
Kidd,

THE

SPIRIT OF THE INDIAN PRESS,

OR

MONTHLY REGISTER OF USEFUL INVENTIONS,

AND

IMPROVEMENTS, DISCOVERIES,

AND NEW FACTS IN EVERY DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE.

PLANTING and MODE OF REMOVING
SUGAR CANE FIIOM ONE SPOT OF I\DIA
TO ANOi MEl’v.

It appears tliat Captain Sleeman has a sugarpinn-
lailoit at Jubbulpore in Central India ; and, with

a zeal, liberality, and spirit, Iiiglily creditable to
liim, liasotTeied to supply the plant giaiis to all
applicants.* the follnwiiiii is liis desciiptiiui of

* Applicaiinii to be made to Captain RejDoldft,
or^ Lieut, C. Brown, Jubbuipore.

416'

THE NAVIGATION OF THE NERBUDDAH,

the period for plnnting the cane and mode of con-
veying fiuin one spot to another. We take the
account fioin anotlier nhty conducted Mofussil
paj»er — ihe Delhi Gazette.

The canes may he t>lnnted at any time during
the monihs of Diceiiilier, Jannaiv, or Febiuaiy,
andilteyoill lipeii in Noveiiibei , December, and
Januaiy of (lie iollowiii^ season.

The canes iiia) he safely taken entire on wheel-
ed cari ia«es 1 1 any distante u hich such convey-
ance can ii avt l in a moutli. l oaiiy ui>:iier distance
they bad heiiei lie taken eiilier on camels, <ii cut
ttp and iilanied in boxes If on camels, they :iie
packed up cnliie in stifiw, wiiich is kept m< ist on
the loail, while the camels slmnhl he ie«iniied to
travel by Ions' suiges- <>i a cane is put eniiie into
the split ti (iiik of a |>lanlain tree, the piili of i\ liich
will iitf'oid it snilieieni nioistme. All these modes
of seixiing the cones iire well nndei stood at the
plantaiion, and will he explained to the people
Who aie sent for the cane.

If cut lip and planted in boxes, the cnliin!:s con-
tain eai li live or six joiins. and aie iiiseiied into
the e:ii ill diagotiallv, so that the upper ends ot ilie
cntiines ni:i) he above the eaitli, white the lowev
ends ate about a fool below ilic sniiaee. lliiee
or font of these cnltini;s are inseiled at each end
ofibeliox, so that they cCmSs each other in the
eaitli. 'I lie ea ih mnst he kept moist, hni not
wei.dniino the joni iiey ; and an aw niiis: should he
Used to delend them fiom tlie sno, hill lioi so close
its to keep ilie ait fioiii the plan s, or to mb aeaiiist
the ends that lise to the top oi, oi above the top
of, the boxes riie best soil i.s what the natives
call Voomuteeu : and the ticsi mannie is covv-
dniiii. Ti-.'iil clay or veiy moist soils aieb.nl;
llioiigh the cane may ihrive in them, the Juice
will never he of good qnaliiy.

The soil should lie prepared for ihe reception of
the cane in ilie laiws; but, for itiese i xperimeiiis,
evciv person has a small paicli cf l.ind in his gar-
den, snilicieniiy j>repaied for the purpose at any
lime, tile cams should he planted in cntiiiigs
of ihree < r four Jiiinis cncli, and so placed ihai
the upper end may lie at oi neai ii e sniiace.and
the lowei end Some six inclies, oi moie htlowii;
and that the shoots mi') he at the sides, and not
up and down I he holes, in which the cntiines
ate plaiiK-d, should lie ahoui a fool wide, and two
feet Iona ; and they should he in rows fom feet
asnudi-r. In each lovv the holes should inn Iciiutli-
wi-e, and he two feet si paiaie fiom ifwli oilier at
the I lids. Alter the g ton mi has hei ii iiiaiiii' ed in ihe
Usual maniii I all ovei ilie space In he pliiined, it w ill
he well lo have a little mannie pui into each hole
and mixed tip wnli ilie caitii, to foiiii a licli lied
for the cams to lie iipom. In caeli hole ilieie
ehonid lie l<mi cniliiias ('"'<> from cadi end), whirl)
ciosi each oilier iimiei the eaiih us above dcsciibed
for tlie boxes.

The lanes should he watered every eight dais,
as Wi ll lo seem e I belli against w hiie anis ami other
inseitsaslo nomisli iliem, bnl to water ibeiii of-
lenci is, 1 believe, in jni ions. Tlie water iiiiisi he
made to inn along beivvieii the row-, so dial it
may irrigate the canes wiiboni lin g ih on iln iii
ill pools ; nml toiiscqiieiii ly the gr iiml hciwr eii
the rows must, tioin me lifsi, he a veiy liiile lower
tliaii that I poll ihe canes, and heiweeii ihe ends
of the seveial holes. Dmii.g ihe season of the
rains ilie gioniid iiinst beiiiqmiiilv weeded, and
kei t veiy clean, so that noiliiiig inay lieahoni the
roots, or impede Ihe flee (iicniati' ii ol air. Any
iaieial shoois miisi he removed (lom ilie canes :i.s
soon as ihey aie discoveted ; but ibe leaves should
he left uiiu/iithe.i, unless they are oead and
jolting.

I iiave found rats to he great depredators on the
cane planiaiioii, and Ihe most etrectnal mode of
keeping iliein out, that 1 have fumid, was laugh i

to me hy a native planter. It Is strewing along he«
tween the rows of cane some of the leafless
hiaiiclies of a kind of coih tree, wiriel) the natives,
I believe, call Huhee. 'Ihese biaiiches, when
they lie on the ground, have much the appeniaiice
of siiaki 9, from the ti.-snies in, iind consequent
vaiied color of, their haikj amt they ceiiainly
have had the effect of scat ing away the latsfroin
my plantation. 1 need not say that each bianctl
must lie singly on the giomid.

W. It. SLEEMAN.

DISCOVERY OF COAL IV THE VALLEY OF
THE NEIlBUDDAll.

We learn from the Agra Uklihar that this mineral |
has heeii found by Captain Onseley, lying for 109
yards by 30 to £0 wide, and as far as excavated by the
water, wliicli Captain Onseley dug 3 lo 4 yards iliitk. ji
lie is of o|iiiiioM tlr, It very little expense would ho
inclined in uoiking it. li is also sitnaled in the |

pliiiii alioiit fiom I to 5 a mile fiom ilie liills to ihe |i

soiiili, tile roa.l from lloslitiiigabail to Nuisiiigpoor 'i

and Jubiinlp.ire bein' iieifectly level. ;

2.— 'I’lie expense < f working it rests entirely on |j
Hie scale diieeteil, woikiiieii aie (iiocniable in aliiin* j
(lance for 2 annas, Nag|iooiee bnllocKs 3 lo 4 annas,
backeiies 0 annas pel diem. Ilefore a just estimate '

can lie made, I should desiie after Hie mills, to gO '

lo the iilace atui sink a shall or moie to asceriaitl
Ihe leal thickness and exieiii of the coal downwards, 1

Ihe coneci dip of it and qiialily’ in the siiaia deeper.

(hat I sent fur tiie liun bteameis, tu be tiled, ‘
gave in !

0 iiimi 3 11)11!! of ashes, i

b iiiii'i Biirchvan coal mmi of ashes. 1

Sbevving liiis lo he the belter- aiibongli laken from !

Hie .sill face - w liich has been acted on bi air ami |

waier foi yeais; below, I d luni noiilie quality will
piove as good as thni of Engiisli coal.

'Ilie most impoiiant pait of this discovery is,
ibat it may lend tnwaids making a tail road lo
Nuisiiigpoie, conlinned via Boorliaiipore to Bom-
bay, when loioiiioiive engines would supersede
Hie picsent slow vlak estahlishiueiit, the aliolitiun of
wiiic!) would

Create a Jnslifialile saving; iranspoit of public
Eioi( s, guns, and piivaie pro|>ei ly , such as giain,
salt . ami ol her weigluy a liii les of coinmei ce he-
come easy ; as also iravelling ; coals would cf
conise he sent foi the sieaiii iiaviyaiioii on Hie
(ianges fi oiii hence, for depots in the Upper Pro-
Vinces, and to Bombay for the Steameis to Eng-
land .

'I he foiegoiiig siiggesiinn is, in onr own opinion,
perfectly practicable, ami if the govemment were
alive to its own interest , ami that of the people,
it would lie instantly earned into excemion.

Bat another highly iiiipoitnnt commnnication is
made on this subject, fioin the intelligent source
to which we have alluded.

THE NAVIGATION OF THE NERBUDDAH.
It appeals liiat the Government allowed Cupt,
Onseley to survey the Net hiidd.ili,

'File survey of the Neibiiddali proved that
foi the whole length of its conise it is now
unlit for navigation ol any kind; iliai means of
transpoitis iina vailnble. 'i be mines of iron ore
are inexbansiiiile ; adjacent to the coni, foiests
siinoniid it to supply cliaic< at, and limestone is
abiimlant; it leqniies but the oiders of Govern*
meiit to aiithoiize adequate outlay to cany into
effect lhatj which would tend more to the improve-

AN IMPORTANT COMMUNICATION OF SIR JOHN MALCOLM’S.

«7.

tnent of this cotintiy tliaii nny other means I am
awaie of. 'I'o snperinieiul and coiiiiiict tucli a
work, the (Jovei iiiiieiii (If) not want for scieiiiilic
nicn.riiiU oiiis is ilieoiily treat |)f)\vei wliicli lias
not liiilKMto rcsoiied to such icsomces for tiie iin-
ptovenieiit of tlie country. The road from Miiza-
poor to JIfaiisy Gl)atii, tlie Itoider of tiie Niiisiiiu-
p. Df (list) ict, is alieady toinplete, aloii!; uhich the
rails iniuiit 1)6 laid ; stone qaariit's ate nnnieroiis
alo))i» the whole line of road, fi« m n hich sleepers
foi la\ ill” the r.ii's in could he tot ; the tains would
have no etfect whatever in injuiios; the utad, and
Wells alieady sunk or other sii()plies of water at
Convenient distances for tlie einaines- 'I’o work the
foal, wiilioni sncit means for the removal, would he
of no advantage, even sn()|)osin‘' that the exnense
of seitditi!' coal to the Upper Piovinces from Cal-
cnlia hetriken into consideration, land caniage so
far (.itheiwise than byiail-ioad catiiage) would be
too ex pensive-

The folloivini; extract from a letter fiom Ma-
jor Geneial Sir I. Malcolm, G c H. will show
his opinion as to the iia\i”:dion of the Kei hnddah.

I'lom a memoiandnm of Mr. Wehlie, lie-
venue Sniveyor, in the office of Major Williams,
and a well iiifoimed man, it ap|)e:iis, that for seven
or eifjht months in the year, la. ge Innits navigate
the Net htnidah, as high as 'l elekwarrai), without
any inconvenience, and though they might go ten
01 twelve milts higher up the i iver, dti) iiig a few
months when it is at the highest, I see no advantage
ill llxingtlie depot of dehai kation for stores above
this town, which, from its size, healtliincss, and
the well cntiivateil country in its vicinity, is every
way calculated for such a purpose.

I have q')iie esiahlished by the surveys of Liienle-
nants tlansaid aitd Mathias, that the Neil)nddah
fioiti the Huinti I’ahc.l or Deei’s leap (as it is locally
termed irojn the narrowness of the channel), wheie
it enters the broken li Iges of the Santpoorali range,
to below the fall of Mnkiee, a shot t distance above
Telekwarrali, is, frutn the nigged nature of its bed.
Its coniiacied sticams, immerons lapids, tind the
formalioii of its haulms, iiicapalrle of ever being leii-
deied navigable ihrongliont that spate. 'I liis f.ict
makes i t i)idispensal)le to proceed front land by
Telekwa) tall to some point at)ove the Hiiinti Pa-
ha!, and 1 should fix the place for leceivin-g and
proieciiiig such stores and goods at or near Clii-
ciildali, from whence they could be le embaikcd
and co)iveyed to Moheysii , of with a shot t passage
of a few hnmlred \ards at Sahasni diintih (oi the
thousand tails) to M niidle) sir, from w hence they
can go with case foiiy or lilty miles higiier.

A memo) adnm ft um Lien enant Mathias, shews,
that even in At)iil, when the river was at its
lowest, lie was able to go fiom Mnndletsir to
the iiutnn Palial in small ctafi,an(l that he went
to Bioach fiom Telekwariah in a boat of lolei-
able size, as late as the month of May. 'the
infoi mtitioii received by this officer fully con-
lirms that given by Mr. ehh, hoili as to the size of
the boats (as large as 12 ) caitdies or *2,400 mannds
hnrthen) employed in the trade between Uioach and
Telekwa i nih-

Of the piaciicability of the navigation of the
Nerhnddah hetweim Chicnldali and Mnndleysir
.(with the easy pos age nuliced), 1 could have no
doubt fiom Licnlenant Mathias’ ohsei vaiions, and
I was also acquainted with the fact, that a liade
between Cliicnidah and Mohej sir has always been
carried on in small boats. But being anxious to
establish this point, beyond the possil)iliiy of doubt,
1 leqnesicd Majoi Wilson accompanied by Capiaiii
Stewart of the 1st Cavalry to pioceed to the Unrun
I’alial, in tiie end of last month, when the small
quantity of tain iliat liad fallen lendeied the river
uncommonly low for tlie reason- 'I he result of the
examination of this pail of tlie river was, that
with tlie exception of the postages of SahasnrdU)iah
near Moheysir, where tne river from the falls or
rather ia|)ids is always very diffictili and soine-
liines dangerous, the, navigation between Mm;,
dleysir and Chiculdah was practicable for ligh^

craft nine or ten months in the year, and Major
^Yi!son fill titer informs me (hat fiom his inquiries,
and from llie meteorological ohsei vaiions he has
made since he went to Mnndleysir, the wind
blows tliionghout this period almost alw'ays from
the wesiwaid, increasing with the monsoon, and
etiiihliiig boats, wiieii the cm lent is at its height of
violence, to stein it and to come in iwo and three,
and sometimes in one (lay from Chiculdah to Mu*
hey sir. The laige and rather heavy passage boat
in which he went down came tip lioiii Dherl
(near the Hnrnn Palial) passing the lapids at Saha-
snrdunah in lour dais. But the liver helweeii
tiie Ilnrmi Pahal and Mnndleysir is almost jii^
stiaight line, which is a great advantage to the flat
bottomed crti ft, as they have never to shift a sail in
coming tip, while in going down they ate aided by
the cm rent, and where that is slow and the water
ghallow, they are punted.

These facts w ill satisfy Government, there are no
charges of any consequence likely to atise out of
the execution of this plan, and the following may
he eiinmeiated among the advantages with. which li
will be attended.

This Toicenow receives its arms, stores, and
all Emopeaii at tides of piihltc supply from Cal-
cutta, by the way of Agra, w hich may be calculated
as a watei carriage of neaily four inmiihs, while
the distance by land (which is 469 miles) may be
computed as a march of two months.

By the line prop. )sed, arms, stores, and stippltea
of all desci iptions would come lioin Boinhay to
Bioach, which is the Depot of that Presidency foi the
ti()(>|)S employed ill its westei'ii ten iioiies, in four
or five days, in an equal time, there would be
landed at 'i'elekwai r:ih, and the journey of one
butidred miles over good roads to the entrepot at
Chiculdah would easily he accomplished in eiglii
or ten days and the lemaining dislance by water to
Mondieysii would not occii|)y more tbaii four or flve
(lays, At Mitiitlleysir all that cottlil he conveyed on
elephants, camels and liullotks would he w’iihin
one (lays, marcli of the De|)ot Jam, and I wo of
Mhow, while what required wheel cai i iage heiiijfv
conveyed sixteen miles highei np the liver (and
the iiiivigiitiuii is wiilioiit ohsti nciioii), would go
in tliice days, march to Mhnw by the Sutiiiole
Ghaut.

From the above statement it appears that arms,
stores, and all articles «f militaiy supply might be
bi ought tiom Bombay in a foitiiighi t)y water, and
a foitni'ihi by land caniage. The saving of money
fiom this chang-e of ihe (.htinnel of supply must lie
very great, and tlie dirteieiice of time between one
and six months is also impoitant. But this even
is not so essential as tlie coinpaiaiive siiength of
the two lines. From Broach to Mnndleysir with
the posts proposed at 'l elekwanah and Cliicnidah,
1 could piotertihe commnnicalion, iindei almost
any circumstances, with a lew companies of infaii*
liy, wheieas that with Agia is esjiosed in a degree
tliiit would make it incapable of being kept open
except by large bodies of men. This latter con-
siil( ration may icfer to an impiohahle stale of
ali'tiiis, hat sncli talcnlations man be made in the
esiablisbmeni of all militaiy lines, and paiticular-
ly those by wiiicli troops receive tlieir arms, am-
innnilion, and sioies.

M) iiti( niioii bas lieen directed to Die oltject of
eveiitii.illy opening tlie foi met direct inteiconise
between, Sniat and Malwa, by Tikiee and Snlian-
poor, but this lo.id has been abandoned for near a
ceiiiniy ami the greater part of it is completely over-
grown. 'Lite conniry also is desolate, and the few
scattered inlia'>iiants at e plnndereis yet to lie re-
cliiimt d. Some yeais, therefore, must elapse be-
fore this can be (lone. 'I iie late successful elforts
of Ca)>t;iin Bi iggs in settling Ihe districts of Sn I tan-
poor, and tlie disposition vvliich the Blieels have,
recently sliewn to reform will no donlu accelerate,
its accomplishment, hot that cannot affect the
utility of the line now proposed, as the dislance h|r
land from Suiat to Mundleysii by ibis direct route

418

EDITOR OF THE AGRA UKBAR ON IMPROVEMENTS IN INDIA.

is not less than two Inindied and tliirty miles,
wliicli is only ahont fifteen miles shorter than the
road hy Sindwa atid Nnnderhiir, which has been
the comaiun line of coniinniiication heiween Sniat
and Malwadniing the peiiod the Mniiiatla (iovt'tii*
nietu has lieen established over the latter pto*
viiices.

Now it remains to be seen whetlier theGovern-
ment will Open its eyes to the immense advantage®
to be (leiived hy these valuable discovei ies, for
which we are jmlch'ed- to its faliMited and eiiter-
piizing public servants. We cannot conclnde the
•ubjeci witlmtit requestin': pai'iicnlar attention to the
Bound lo<:ic atid able opinion of the Editor of the
Agra Ulih.ir on the foreioing snhjecls.

Oiir readers will recollect that we recently an*
noniiced the iliscoveiy of :i bed of coal near (iima-
tvarti which we urged should be made tivailaiile for
the navi.:ation of the (Jaiiues hy the cotisii nciion of
a lail-ioad nmler ilie Vindluna Hills to Mirzapoor,
a piojeci which a citizen of New Yoik or a memher
of the Stock Exchange would at a glance snltsci iUe
his money to, hut wliicit the Goveinment «jf India
rrgaid as tiie sng'gestion of a heated imai:inaiioti or
the inipiaclicahle sclieme of an ill-directed mind.
1 he pieseiice of ilie cotil thus discoveied, lemovis
one at eat objection to ilieiniiodnclion of steam power
oil the- Neiiindda, and ilins ilie piinctpal means of
inaintaining a coii.>iaut commimicaiiiui open on two
of the largest arteries of ilic coiniiiy, if we may so
Use Ilie wokI, liie Gaiuies and Nei Imdda. at e pla-
ced in oiii hands, and we only itqniie a little of that
labour which iiaiuie wisely leqnii es of man, to fa-
shion them to onr purposes. We need not dilate on
Ilie elfecl tile full woiking out of this design would
produce, oi coiisidei wiiai a change had hten bioii;:ht
about in the state ol ilie conntiy, had it and ilie oilier
projects we liave seen proposed of late yeais, hceii
accotnplislied. 'I he mere mention of iheiii would
Indeed atfoid a melancholy coiiltast between Iheai-
doiir and activity of individuals, :md the apathy, not
to siiy opposition, of (>oveinment. I he most pitmii-
nent of liiese plans had for their object the lonna-
tion ofaii iinintei I npied comniiinicaiioa. whicli would
have enclicled the wliole of Central liiilia rioin
Calcutta to Agiathe (Jaiiges and Jumna olfeieii an
open anil easy passage, the juiiciioii of the latter liver
with the Snilege, hy iiu tins of a canal, would have
lenileied the line of comninn ication niihroKen to
the most noithein part of onr (loniinions ; the
opening of the Snilege and the Indus would have
brought ns to Bomhay, and tli;' coiislmctioii of a
go.odj'oad (;uid why noi a i ail-i oad), Iiom ilie latter
to Calcutta, would have completed a loitte, wliicli
would ciicnmsc rihe the best portion of India, while
the opening ot tile Neibndda, and the foi mai ion of
a road to Agia, would oll'ei an opening lliiomili the
centre of the ciicle we liave desciiiied. All these
projects have however been either Hied and ahaii-
doned or totally neglected. Tlie esiahlishmeni of
steam coiiiinunicaiioii heltveen Calcutta and Agia
was tiled, piovfed successful, and then given up — a
canal to join tiie Jumna and Snilege, fiiniished a
few eOitoiials to the useful papers and was then
foigotten ; Ihe opening of ilie Sntlege and Indus w'as
as every one knows a pei feci farce, and might be
likened to the opening of a liade iiiidet iiisnpporia-
ble duties. Botli of these livers have been amt will
remain closeil to ns. until men » f greater ability
and cupalite of ihinkiiig moie lioldy and taking moie
extended views, than either Capt. Wade or Coi.
Potiinger, are eniplojed as the agents of onr
Goveiiimeni in tiiese (iiiarters. The coiisii nciion of
roads fiom llointiay to Calcutta and Agia, and tlie
navigation of the Nerhndtla aie measures whicli have
scarcely yet had time to be forgotten, recently as they
Uave been proposed, though we can scarcely hope a
belter fate for them taaa the oilieis.

PROSPECTS OF STEAM NAVIGATION.

The following is a tiuly valnalile communication,
which we extract from the Bomliay Coniier.

The llfst point to he adverted to, and hitherto
aiiiiiist luiiveisally admitted in the discnssioii of litis
quest ion, is I he iifcessity of liaving laige and ex-
pensive ves?<'ls with lieavy poweis, ill ordcrloen-
8111 e ilKM'ei tain completion nfilie passage; for it is
believed to he only in siu li, ili.il a Millicii'iu supply
of fuel can hecaiiiedto i nti long disfatices. The
lensoii of ihi.s is, that as the size of a \ essel i- eti-
bifgetl, Ihe power may lie mnile lelaiivcl) less with
Ilie same degi ee of speed ; and inns an increased
tinmbei (»f days consumption of fuel can liecariied
wiiiiiMit. iiKiking tiie vessel draw too much water.
Foi iiist nice, lakitig Mr. Field’s tahie, put in he-
Ibre the committee of tiir- II mse oi' C ••imiions. it
leqiiirrs a hiindied hotse nowei to piopel a vessel
of gi'.) Ions,:'.! ilieiia'.e of 10 milcspei honi ; while
a two hundred and foitv hoise power is siinicieul
topiopci a Vessel oflOOllions at tiie same rnie.
The small vessel will only cany 5 days’ coal, while
tlie laiger vessel will cany enough for 18 dajs’ cou-
siimpiioii .

So long as the correctness of this piiiiciple was
aiimilied, and large extieiisiv e vessels vveie deemed
iiecessaiy, it w:is cletiilv impossitde that any leiiirn
wliieii steam communication con'd he expected to
yield in this conntiy could he nt all proponionate
to ilie outlay wliicli it was neca ssaiy to make, in
Older to estaltlisli sticli commnniciiiioii, and its es-
liihlisiiliH lit thus teemed tiltogellier a liopeless mill*
let , unless goVei nmeiii took the thing u[)a.sapul)-
lic measnie :md defrayed the deliciciicy of rciuni-
fioiii the pnhiic tieasui > •

roiiunaiely, how'evei, for Ilie cause, ciicnmslau.
ces have tiecun eil of late veaist i show tin, it if tucli
pidpoi lions at e necessaiy with paddle wheels of
Ilie common foim, tliey aiehy no means so u lib
paddle wlieels on Mr, Morgan’s principle, hut tliat
ill vessels so filled Ihe (uopoition of power to ton-
nage may he made the same in both large and small
vessels, and that tlie small vessel will make her
votage w iili uiie as much cirtainty as Uie laige
one —Vice A(iiiiii:il Sir I’nlteiiy Malcolm, in his
evidence heiore the committee of Ihe House of
Coiiiiiions, w,is tile ftist who i ecommeiided inode,
lale sized vessels with small poweis and .Motgan’s
wlieels, as the l»esl adiipied for steam commiinica-
lion hciweeii Ihimhay and Suez.— Ife lecommeiidy
vessels of 43,5 ions with eiigiue.s of 100 Imise pow.
Cl ; and liiis lecoiiimendaiion was in deatie> many
yeai s’’ex pci ieiice ot w litii could he eifccteil In ves-
sels of a'l sizes and power, fiom Ihe bieiiin Fiigitle
Ihe P-Iedea, wiili 120 horse power, down lo ilie
Columbia of SOt) tons and lOO ho.'se power, which
Jailer vessel, h} -; !ie-hye, was fust (itled wiili en-
gines of 1‘20 lioise power ; hut these weie laken out
from li:i\ ing heeii found loo lieiivi and replaced by
ilie present engines, and the vestels’ siieed in every
respect impi oved.

I he following leliers w ill, however, hear out this
principle slill fnilliei, by fully simwing that even
llie vetsels of 4^5 tons piopnsed by Sit Pniteny Mal-
coJm, m;iy without disiidvaiitage, be still funlier re-
duced,[wit li propoi itoiiaie dimiiiniioii of the cost of
outlay, and w-jiii equal ceitainly of cnVcling’ liie
passage in the same time ; for they sliow that the
Transit, n vessel <if;i00 tons ami t'O horsepower
w ilh .iiory.in’s paddle wheels, made the passage
from Falmoniii to Lisbon in Apiil last, in four days,
against strong contiaiy winds and a heavy htad sea,
heating the steamer of 40J tons iind 200

hoise power hy 4u hours, both having left Fiihiinuth
loge.lier.

Minerva Cottage, Tuesday, May.

“ Dear .Sir,— 1 take ihe liheiiy ofenclusing for
your perusal, tlie copy of a letter my hiolliei has
this (lay received from Mr. Miller, of thefnmof
Miller, lUvenhill, and Co. conveying their engine*

A VALUABLE ARTICLE ON STEAM NAVIGATION.

410

worker's report of i\\t Transit's voyage from Fal-
mouth to Lisbon against heavy iveatlier.”

“ The Transit and Glasgoto left ralntoulh to-
gether, and jon will peiceive ihe Transit heatihe
Glasgow Uy forty hours." “—the Trnniit 'x&'A
vessel liiiilt on SDnicihing of my hrolhei’s plan ,
about SOI) tons, with a pair of 40 horse power and
our wheels."

•' The Glasgow may be 100 tons larger, fat bot-
tomed, and a pair of 101) horse yower^ wiiii the
Common wheels.”

In this iiisiance Ihe admirers of modeiatc sized
vessels and large power will tind they aie beaien
holl«>w by a inodeiate sized vessel with modeiatc
power and onr wheels.”

Very respecifully, Sir, sour’s obliged,
ItICHD iVloilGAN.
“The Transit was built for the vediteinniean
and Levant Company, and was called the Otho.’*
Glass House Fields, May 2d, ISao.

“ Dba R s I Bj— i send you at foot, an exiiact of a
leltei just received from our Lngine woiker on
board ihe Transit, which will infuim }ou how very
saiislaciorily she is going on.” Yom’s tmly,

Jos. E. M iLciiB.

“ Gentlkmkn,— 1 wiiie to infotm )ou that Ihe
an iveil at this port (Lisbon) on Eiiday
evening, in four days from Falnioiiih, against stiong
contraiy winds, with a heavy sea. Ihe Engines
peifoiiii very beautifully. 1 have not had any tiou-
ble with Ihein at <11 The cojiper pipes answer the
purpose veiy well, and we are now quite conifoita-
ble in the En<giiie decarinient. We beat the Glas-
gow Steainer 40 hoiiis ironi i'altnouth; both vessels
left Falmouth.”

“ The distance from Falmouth to Lisbon is 728
nautical miles, being 46.j lo cape Fiuisire, 254 mote
to the month of the I agiis, and Lisbon is siiuaied 9
miles inside ilie entiance of the river. 1 he Tran,
sit tlieiefoie made good, under ilie cii ciitiislances
detailed in the letters quoted above, knots in 4
days, being 162 miles per diem, or "^-12 knots per
hour for the wliole dist ance. I liis would have been
a very good aveiage spied, even with fine weather
and fan winds, hot when it is stated to have lieen
against a heavy sea and strong contrary wind, it is
indeed excellent.

With this example before ns, 1 think no reasona-
ble man, can doniii the pel ft-ct fiiness of vessels of
the same <lescii|ilioii as ilie Transit for keeping up
a steam communication between Uoinbay and 6mz •
for it is Cel lain ibat a vessel sufficiently poweifnl to’
cioss the Bay of Biscay against a conliaiy wind and
heavy sea, at the late of ?JL.knots pei hour, could
always average alleast ihe^ame speed with any
vveailiei she is likely lo eiic<juuier in the Indian seas
lot 9 months in the year.

It ha\ iiig been thus ascertained that a vessel of
such modeialesize and power is fully sufficient for
keeping up steam cotninunicaiion, it now onl\ re-
mains to estimate the cost and circonisiaiices* un-
der which ihiee vessels of this desciiplioii could he
placed ill Boniltay baiboiir, ready for use, and
wiwl Would be iheii expeiices in luniiing inonthly
Irips fur 9 mouths in the year.

The first point is to asceriain what would be the
ptiine cost of three such vessels, and to do this Sir
Piilieny Malcolm’s and Mr. ftlorgan’s evidence be
fore ibe commiiiee of ihe House of Commons
aff.iid the necessary data upon which tiie following
estimate has Iteeii fiaiued, and to which, in order
to tnsuie its being tiiliy sullicient to cover every
possible outlay, I have added 10 per leiit. foi coii-
tiugeiicies, after eveiy item, including one spate set
of copper boilers, has been provided for.

Outline Estimate of expence of procuring from
England three Steam Vessels, each 300 tons
burden atid fitted with a pair o/’40 horse pow

er engines, copper boilers, and Morgan's Pa-
tent Puddles.

L. s. d.

A vessel of 300 tons river-built in the

best manner, at £2o per ton 6,000 0 00

A pair 40 hoise maiiiie engines, wiih-
P'‘ont boilers, at ^45 per lioise power 3,600 0 00
C >ppei Boileis at jg’43 per horse power 3,440 0 00
Duplicate pans i^goo 0 00

1 no more vessels at the same rale.. .. 88,480 0 OO

One set duplicate boilers 3 4411 0 00

Lathes, tools and forges.... 1,500 0 00

47,660 0 00

Expence of sailing out 2,o0o 0 00

60,1(50 0 00

10 per cent, contingencies 6,018 0 Co

N. B. — Sir Pulteny MalcoLn estimates ihe total
cost ol 3 vessels of 433 tons each, and lOo horse
power with duplicate (laits &c. built in England
and sailed out lu Bo.iibay only at £6 1,600, so that
the above estimate must be amply sufiicieni to cover
every item of piime cost.

The next point for consideration is theexpenc®
ofinniiiiig such vessel; and on this point also
there is much valuable iiifoiitialioii in the evitleiice
of Sir I’lilteiiy Malcolm and Mi . Morgan ; and in
Ollier lespccis where their estimates are too low,
I have foniiiiately by me Hie immibly expeiiceof
Ihe Hon’hle Company’s Sleaiuer//rfli/r;«r/y, a vessel
of the same size and power as lltose now proposed j
and this I have assumed as a settle for ineusuiiii" the
expence of wages to the establislimeut.

The next item is the quantity of coal which would
be coiisunied and its cost.— In 01 dei to asceiiain this
it is necessary to estimate Hie number of hoiiis dur-
ing which each vessel must be under steam in each
passage.- It would in every respect be most desira-
ble, in Older lo economise in liiis respect, to divide
the distance mote equally than is effecied by the
present arrangt-iiient of dep6ts, and this from iafoi-
III nion which 1 liave lately received seems exceed"
iiigly feasible. Hi<lainea-ihe largest of the Ciiria-
Muiia islands — has safe aiichoiage dtiiiiig both
iiioiisootis, and is only about 950 miles from Bom.
bay. — Cainaiaii, ail island a shoit distance wiihiu ihe
siiaits of Bahelmamlel, has an exceedingly good
harbour and plenty of water. It is about 970 miles
fioiii Hiilaiiiea.-Fidin caniarau island to Suez is
about 1000 miles, and might form the thiid stage,
coal being deposited at .Suez from Alexandria for
the reiiiiu nip. — Ktckoiiing an average of only 7
knots per lioiii , each of these stages would be com-
pleted in (5 days at the veiy utmost, or each vessel
would make the trip to Suez in 18 day sunder steam-
and reckoning by Hie passage of the Transit, would
no douhi, under favorable circiinistances, compiete
Ihe Hip wiihiii 16 days steaming. -Tivo days slop,
page at each depot would complete Hie passa>e in
23 and 20 day s fioni Bomhav.— lleckoiiii,<» 18 day#
under steam, each vessel with an 80 hoise power
would consume 84 tons of coal per diem, or about
150 tons for a single passage, being for 18 passa-ea
2,;00 tons, and allowing 10 per cent for waMe
It would require about 3t>00 tons coal per anniini
to make 9 moiiHily double trips with vessels iich
as those in question. -Supposing coal to cost in
Bombay 13 Hiipees per ton, and I have reason to
believe that it coyld beliad, under proper arraii»a-
nients, at 12 Rupees, and supposing the cost in tlie
Bed Sea lo be 23 per too, it give an aveia-e
Ihroiighoiit, of Hiipees 20 per ton as Hie priccof
coal, at which cost 1 have reckoned in the annexert
estimate.

The items, charge of engine room, repairs of ma-
chinery and boilers, and maintenance of vessel ate
extracted from Mr. Morgan’s estimate for a vessel

420

MORE PROPOSITIONS FOR STEAM NAVIGATION.

■of 400 tons aiitl lOo isorse power. Witli (liese re.
marks pi erpised, I may aiitiex ilie ftiilowiu^ esti-
iiiaie of ilie [irol)iible aiiuual cost of tnainiaiiiin^
Uiree vessels ? —

Efitimate of the anmial expence of three vessels-

Waues of one vessel, as per appeiniix No. 1.

ai 2 300 per montli 27,600

Two more al the same rale ,'55,200

S,00o tons of coal, ui 11s. 20 pei ton CO.OOO

Aiimial cliarge for euoine room tupplies

lor one vessel 2.505

Repairs of inacliinery, ditto SjtOO

Hepairs and replacing boilers, ditto ... 3,800
Mainteiiuiice of vessel, diUo, 2,800

11,100

Three vessels 33,300

176 mo

Interest on outlay at 5 per cent...... 27,585

203, C83

.4.5 it may be doubtful wbeiher coal caiiiioi be
deposited at a more iiiodeiaie rate via tlio Red Sea
at Cossier, than via Alexaiidtia at Suez, it is sl-

ed that ill tliis case tlie avliaale of the supply leqiiir-
ed for the leiiii n iri() miulit in the fn st instance be
deposited by ships iiami England at Camar:m is-
land, from whence it mi^llt he conveyed to Cosseir
iiicotinliy ciaft. The steamer mi<>lii halt six liouas
at (’osseir on lier way lioili np and doavn,drop pas-
lemrers wisliin!{ to land there, and in tier wav down
pickino lip those waiiine for a passage. She coiild
at ilie same time fill in stifficient coal in •’oing tap to
take laei to Saaez aiad haack , aaad in qoiiig ilowia to
take her loCamaian. whieli tvoaild thus becamaeilae
principal depot iaa the Red Sea.

If my i.ate for coal be reckoiaed too low at 20 Itn-
pees per aoii, the kaiowledoe of iiaercaniile meai in
Bombay can easily correct this item.

The last poiaat for consideration, and the one of
most iaiapoataiice is, whaltctnrii caanld be expected
to meet the expenses of all this outlay , and the snt)
joined estimate is liazaided as a loaieh approxima-
tioia, on a scale by no iiaeans cxiiavagaiat :-500 Its.
Is assaiaiied as ilie value a)f a passage to the ship,
ieavihg passeiiiiers I* make their onii ai taiiuements
wiili the Captain for their livinsj ; or the vaiions
Bteaiiiers miuht have a siewaid or pm vey or who
ni.ii-lit mniisli any liiimi called for, as well as hieak-
fiist and (linnet , at fixed r<ile.s ticketed on ahoanl.
Sailing \ essels to the Red Sea chaige fiom3io600
R-iipees for a passage, and ,500 cannot theielore tie
reckoned an extiavagaiu charge for the expedition
and coinfoi l of a steam vessel. U itli regard to ihe
iinmiier of passengeis assumed, and tlie icliini of
6000 Rupees for each single iii|» for h tiers an t par.
Cels, 1 can merely s.iy, that if snclt a iinmher did not
take advantage of tile estalilishmeiit of steam ccmii-
niniiication, and if tlie iinmher of letters, &c. isio
f ill siioit. of the Slim above stated, then it is idle to
talk of steam coiinnnnicaiion to India, for llie coun-
try, that cniinot or will not riiniisli so iiiodi'raie a
return, i.s not worthy of the boon. I fancy, however,
(he general opinion will In-, tlial the reiuins will la-
Iher exceed ihaii fall slioit of the annexed —

Estimate of letnriis from three vessels performing
S flips per annum.

12 liomenaid and six outward passenger?,
per inonili, or 162 per annum, at per each,

Rupees .500 81,000

Leiiers, yiarcels, treasme, deck passet'gets,

&c. say per trip Rupees, 12,000- 6,000 tn-
waids England and the same towards India t,()?,OOo

Iletuiiis.. 1,89,010
I'.xpcnces 2,03,686

Deduct, Apparent deficiency 14,638

Interest on the steam funds of the three pre-
sidencies, £25.000 sterling, wliico i-s to he
giveu as a -bonus at 5 per cent I2,.50o

Apparent net deficiency of returns to meet

♦;^l>ences linpees. 2,188

N. R. If Govctnnient (as it is not iiiijU'oIntble they
might,) would come foiwuid with a homis of anoilier
lakh, oi lakh and a iialf of Itiipees, to assist the steam
fluids in the first oiulay in pnichasing vessels and
niaciiiiieiy, tliere is little douht that the returns
would fully cover the cnireiit expenses, and even
leave a profit : blit wliethei t his is done ornoi,ii is
tiiMlei siiKid iliai government would pay fo'rilie nans,
mission of ilieii dispatches at lliestmie rale as iiidi«
vidnals, and that tlie Bi iiisli consul should see to
^lie tiansport of the mails tliiougli Egypt.

APPENDIX-

Stntement of the establishment of the fJon’ble
Company's steam vessel h raivaddy, 'iW tons
burthen, and 80 horse potver.

New scale

Crew-

Old scale.

from 1st

Nov. 1820

I Commands

'l ablo alUnvaiite for

Iiimsirlf 1

603 0 0

1 Chief oliiccr

251 0 0

200 0 0

I Enigiiiecr at 25) per im nth.

41. 10 S payable in Eiiglaiul 208 5 4
Tahle allow aiice to diuo, at

2 rupees per diem 60 0 0

1 Assistant Engineer 2i)0 0 0

I Carp enter 3.5 0 0

I Butler 20 0 0

• Cook |2 0 0

1 .Sei \aiit 8 0 0

4 Sea cnmiies, at 16 e.ycli per

month 610 0

1 Syrang .. .. ... — 2o 0 0

2 I indalsat 15 eaciiper moiiiii 3.) 00

21 Lascars, at 9‘‘ do.. 216 (i 0

2 Idpasses, at 7 “ do.. 14 () 0

10 Slokeis, at 16 “ do.. leO 0 0

Victualling 47 men, at 4 per

inoniU eacli 188 0 0

Sicca Bs .2,285 5 4

STEAM COMMUNIC \ TIO.V WITH INDIA VI.A
SWAN ItlVEU.

A correspondent of the Renga! Hiiikarii, mett-
tions, a \Vesiein Ansli alian C ompany , or Assocl-
a ion, b-iirg about tone formed , wliat say nauti-
cal men to the inaclicabiliiy of Steam Navit;ation j
between England and Bengal, via Swan Itiver Co- 1
tony ? Coals can be si-nt 10 the depots from Eng- '
land and New South Wales- !

England, Azores, or Wesleiii Isles, Madeiia, I
.Santa Ciuz in TeiiiM iffe, St. Vi nceiils , Cape de, !
V'eid, or Salt, Islands, Eeriiando I’o, Cape of
Good Hope, Isles of s. I’anl and Amsieidam. !

Days IO5 Swan Rivet, Western Australia. L5 j
Keelini;, or ffoco, Isles, ti Ceylon, 2 iviadias, i
7 Calcutta, (ReiigaU 32 Days, Total 13? by .T. sail- j
mg vessel, or by Steam 68 or -.6 days.

TO CORRESPONDENTS.

The works by Col. Sykes, and Proceedings |
of the Statistical Society and other works tor !
Review will be noticed next month. The ji
extent of important foreign Scientific intelli- j:
gence in our present number has limited the I
number of articles under Review. I

THE INDIA REVIEW

OF WORKS ON SCIENCE,

AND

JOURNAL OF FOREIGN SCIENCE AND THE ARTS,

EMBRACING

MINERALOGY. GEOLOGY, NATURAL HISTORY, PHYSICS, &c.

REVIEW.

Sugary as to the probability of an im-
provement in the cultivation and quality
ofy either through Europeans or Natives,
in case of an increased demand From
the report of the select commitees of
the Houses of Lords and Commmons,
appointed to enquire into the present
state of the affairs of the East India
Company, 1830-31.

BelVs Comparative View of the External
Commerce of Bengal, during the years
1834-35 awe? 1835-36, lC6.

A Treatise on the Cultivation of Sugar
canes, and the manufacture of Sugar,
comprehending instructions for plant-
ing, and saving the cane, expressing
the juice, ^c. Sfc. By W. Fitzmau-
RiCE, many yearsa planter in the island
of Jamaica, pp. 69, 1830.

The nature and properties of the Sugar-
cane, with practical directions for the
improvement of its culture and the ma-
nufacture of its products. By George
Richardson Porter, Philadelphia,
pp. 354, 1831.

A Dictionary, Practical, Theoretical, and
Historical, of Commerce and Commer >
cial Navigation ; illustrated with Maps
and Plans. By J. R. McCulloch,
Esq. Second Edition, / Corrected
throughout, and greatly enlarged :

with a Supplement, supplying the
deficiencies and bringing down the in-
formation contained in the work to
October, Suo. jop. 1327. Long-

man, Rees,Orme, Brown, Greene,
AND Longman, London, 1835.

(Continued from page 371.^

In our last we alluded to the views of
Mr, Fitzmaurice on the cultivation of sugar
in India. Before we revert to the evidence
given before the Committee appointed by
Parliament to enquire into the subject,
by way of relief to ploughing, digging, and
planting, we turn to the history of the
sugar cane, in order to prefer the claims of
this country to its discovery. Such informa-
tion is at this moment of vital importance
to the commercial community of British In-
dia ; for, considered with reference to the
vast amount of capital the sugar trade is
likely to employ, and the extent of public
revenue it will as a consequence yield,
the trade will open an ample employment
for our shipping, by commencing a steady
and extensive market with all parts of the
world, and such will be its increase that, by
giving occupation to British sojourners in
this country, distress, nay indigence, now too
common among them, will disappear. Re-
spectability and intelligence will result
from the industry thus effected, and the
mercantile interest of this country will pro -

422

THE HISTORY OF THE SUGAR CANE.

bably be raised ere long above that of any
other country in the world. In tracing the
history of sugar, we naturally refer to the
most ancient writings in Sacred Writ. The
first passage in which it is mentioned, is
Exodus, XXX. 23, wherein Moses is commanded
to make an ointmentwith myrrh, cinnamon,
kend,and cassia. Comparing this passage with
that in Jeremiah, vi. 20, we findkene men-
tioned as comingfrom a distant country. * ‘To
what purpose cometh there to me incense
from Sheba, and the sweet cane from a far
country.” If any credit bedue to etymology,
the word kend denotes the sugar cane,
from the Latin word cana and the English
word cane. This sugar cane must have
come therefore from the East Indies. Strabo
relates that Nearchus found it in the East
Indies in the year before Christ 325. Dios-
corides says that there is a kind of honey
called saccharine which is found in India.
Pliny alludes to its being produced in India.
Arrian, in his Periplus of the Red Sea, men-
tions sacchar as an article of commerce
from India to the Red Sea. Thunberg
found it in Japan; Marco Polo found it in
abundance in Bengal. Porter, the author of
one of the works under review, says that the
Persians, Egyptians, Phoenicians, and Greci-
ans, who went through the greater part of
Asia, make no mention of the sugar cane
before the period when merchants first began
to trade to India. The merchants among
the Jews, Christians, Romans,and Mahome-
dans, learnt from the Indians, who carried
sugar to Mustino Ormus, that it was obtained
from a reed: upon this tradition it is stated
that the inhabitants of Asia sought among
their reeds for that one which yielded so
precious a product, and found it in a kind
of bamboo called mambu, the young suckers
of which are filled with an agreeable juice
alluded to by Lucian, ^^quique bibunt tene-
rddulces ah arundine succos.-’ It is de-
scribed to be a kind of honey which formed
itself without the assistance of bees, (Strabo.)
That it was a shower from heaven which
fell upon the leaves of the reed (Seneca), and
that it was a concretion of the reed in the

manner of gum, (commentators on Pliny.) I
The first correct account of traffic in sugar j!
is given by Marco Polo: the merchants, ij
who had before his time gone to Ormus !
for the purpose of traffic, with the Indians, '
brought away the sugar cane and silk j
worm from thence ; thus the sugar cane
was introduced into Egypt and Arabia. I
Our authority for this fact is the works j
of Bartheraa, Giovanni, Lioni,^&c. It is
stated that, at the end of the fourteenth cen- !
tury, the cultivation of the sugar cane and [
the manufacture of its juice were known ;
generally throughout Arabia, Egypt, and
several other parts of Africa. According to |
Giovanni, in the sixteenth century an ex ten- '
sive trade in sugar was carried on in Arabia
Felix, Nubia, Egypt, Morocco, and Ethiopia. ,
We are ignorant as to the date of itsimporta- 1
tion into Europe. We find William the Se-
cond, king of Sicily, giving to the monks of |
St. Bennett a mill for grinding sugar canes. ,
In 1420, Don Henry introduced the sugar I
cane in the island of Madeira from Sicily,
where it was successfully cultivated, as
well as in the Canaries. The Portuguese
began the cultivation of the cane in the
island of St. Thomas in 1820: this colony
had more than 60 sugar manufactories
(Racueil des Voyages). It was attempted to
plant it in Provence, but the cold of winter
destroyed it; it was, however, introduced in
Spain, where sugar manufactories are at the
present period. It was after Columbus
discovered the new world, that Pierre
d’Etienne took the sugarcane to Hispaniola,
since called St. Domingo, and now Hayti.

A Catalonian, named Michel Ballestro, was
the first who expressed juice from it ; and
Gonzalves deVelosa was the first who concen-
trated this into sugar. At St. Domingo it grew
to the size of a man’s waist, where in 1518
there were 28 manufactories. On the
authority of MacLeod it is stated that its
cultivation extended with such prodigious
rapidity,and its produce was so considerable,
that the cost of the magnificent palaces of Ma-
drid and Toledo, which were erected in the
reign of Charles the Fifth, was entirely de-
frayed by the proceeds of the port duties on

PRESENT STATE OF THE SUGAR TRADE.

423

the sugar imported from Hispaniola. The
establishment of sugar plantations in Ame-
rica took place at the end of 1580. Sugar was
made by the English in the island of St.
Christopher, in 1643 ; by the French at Gua-
daloupe, in 1657. In 1466, however, the use
of sugar was confined to medicine and feasts.
What is very remarkable on looking back into
the history of the sugar cane, we find that per-
fection had been attained by the Indians in
crystallizing sugar, according to the soundest
principles of chemistry. The Venetians intro-
duced sugar refining into Europe at the end
of the fifteenth century. At first they imitat-
ed the Indians, and sold the sugar which they
purified in the shape of candy, clearing and
refining the coarse sugar of Egypt three or
four times over. They afterwards adopted
the use of cones, and sold refined sugar in
loaf. Sugar refineries were soon established
in all the commercial cities in Europe, and
were multiplied in the same ratio with the
trade of America in sugar.

With the foregoing outline we arrive to
the sugar trade, and we are able, by the latest
addition of McCulloch’s work now before us,
to put our readers in possession of the most
correct intelligence on this subject.

SOURCE WHENCE THE SUPPLY
OF SUGAR IS DERIVED, -The West
Indies, Brazil, Surinam, Java, Mauritius,
Bengal, Siam, the Isle de Bourbon, and the
Philippines, are the principal sources whence
the supplies required for the European and
American markets are derived. The average
quantities exported from these countries during

each of the 3 years ending with 1833 were
nearly as follows : —

British West Indies, including Demerara and

Berbice •• 190, OOO tons,

Mauritius 30,000

Bengal, Isle de Bourbon
Java, Siam, Philippines,

&c 60,0o0

Cuba and Porto Rico.. 110,000
French, Dutch, and
Danish West Indies 95,000

Brazil 75,000

— 560,000 tons.

Loaf or 1 ump sugar is unknown in the East,"'®
sugar candy being the only species of refined
sugar that is made use of in India, China, &c.
The manufacture of sugar candy is carried on
in Hindostan, but the process is extremely
rude and impel feet. In China, however, it
is manufactured in a very superior manner
and large quantities are exported. When of
the best description, it is in large white crys-
tals, and is a very beautiful article. Two
sorts of sugar candy are met with at Canton,
viz. Chinchew and Canton ; the former being
the produce of the province of Fokien, and
the latter, as its name implies, of that of
Canton. The chinchew is by far the best,
and is abou 1 50 per cent, dearer than the other,
Chinese sugar candy is consumed, to the al-
most total exclusion of any other species of
sugar, by the Europeans at the different set-
tlements throughout the East. There were
exported from Canton, in 1831-32, by British
ships, 32,279 piculs (38,427 cwt. ) of sugar
candy, valued at 242,000 dollars ; and 60,627
piculs (72,173 cwt.) of clayed sugar, valued at
3l8, 256 dollars ; and during the previous year
the exports were about 50 per cent, greater.
'I he exports by the Americans are also con-
siderable. At an average, the exports of sugar
from Canton may be taken at from 6,000 to
10,000 tons; but of this only a small quantity
finds its way to Europe. The exports from
Siam and Cochin-China are estimated at
about 12,500 tons.

CONSUMPTION OF SUGAR IN EU-
ROPE, &c.— Mr. Cook gives the following
Table of the imports of sugar into France and
the principal Continental ports in 1831, 1882,
and 1833, and of the stocks on hand on the
31st of December of each of these years : —

Imports.

Slocks, 3l8i of December.

1831.

1832.

1833.

1831.

1832.

1833.

Tons.

Tons.

Tons.

Tons

Tons

Tons

France.. .. ..

97,450

82,000

79.600

25,870

9,350

10,450 1

Trieste.. .. .. ..

17,950

22,400

13,800

6,000

11,900

6.840 j

Genoa.. ....

9,500

10,500

6,800

1 5o0

2,200

2,180

Antwerp.. ....

6,240

8,780

12,80 1

2,000

2 OOO

5,100

Hotterdarn.. .. .. ....

10,700

11,600

8,650

1,800

3,900

3,350

. Amsterdam.. ..

18,370

22,380

20,100

2,200

3.400

6,300

Hatnburgli.. ..

38,800

37,930

S0,('00

9,O00

13,400

9,820

Bremen.. .. .. ....

12,380

12 500

7,350

3,230

6,800

3,550

Copenhagen . .. .. ....

s.sso

6.850

5,560

800

2,370

1,830

Petersburgh . ..

11,170

23,100

18,600

8,440

11,660

16.600

293,910

237,040

203 060

61,740

65,980

64,020

This Table does not, however, give the im- But the consumption of Spain, only, has been
ports into any of the ports of the Peninsula. estimated, apparently on good grounds, by

^ Loaf sugar is iiiaiiufactuitU in great perfecuou in Bengal. Edit. India lievieu\

424 IMMENSE CONSUMPTION OF SUGAR.

M. Montveran (Essai de Stotistique sur les
Colonies, p. 92,), at 45,000,000 kilog. (4l,05o,
tons). This may appear large for a country
in the situation of Spain ; but the quantity is
deduced from comparing the imports with the
exports; and it is explained partly by the
moderation of the duties, and partly by the
large consumption of cocoa, and other articles
that require a corresponding consumption of
sugar. Mr. Cook’s Table also omits the
imports into Leghorn, Naples, Palermo, and
other Italian ports. Neither does it give those
into Stettin, Kdnigsberg, Riga, Stockholm,
Gottenburgh, &c. It is, besides, very diffi-

cult, owing to transhipments fiom one place
to another, accurately to estimate the real I
amount of the imports. On the whole, how- j
ever, we believe that we shall be within
the mark, if we estimate those for the whole )
Continent at from 285,000 to 310,000 tons,
including what is sent from England.

The following Table, compiled from the best
authorities, exhibits the total consumption of
colonial and foreign sugars in France at differ-
ent periods since 1788, with the population,
and the average consumption of each indivi-
dual.— (See Ddoniveran, Essai de Statitisque, \
p. 96., and the authorities there referred to.) j

years.

Consumplion.

Population.

Individual Constirnpiion.

1788

Kilo ft-
21,300,000

23,600,000

Kilu^.

•906

1901

23,200,000

31,000,000

•813

8l2

16,000 OOo

43.000 000

•v72*

1816 in 1319 average

36,000,000

S0,00.>,0l)0

1-200

1819 — 1823 — .

47,000,000

30,833,000

1-666

1822 — 1824 — ..

47,260,000

31,103,000

1 513

1824 — 1826 — ..

66,750,000

81,280,000

1 •79-2

18-26 — 1827 — . .

62 500.000

31,625,000

1-976

1830 —

67 250,000

3l,84.3,OoO

2-126

This, however, is independent of the con-
sumption of indigenous sugar— (see post), and
of the sugar introduced by the contiaband
trade, — both of which are very considerable.
I’he entire consumption of all sorts of sugar
in France in 1832, including from 8, 000, 000
to 9,000, 000 kilog. of beet-root sugar, and
allowing for the quantity fraudulently intro-
duced, may be estimated at about P8, 000, 000
kilog, or 193,000, 000 lbs. , which, taking the
population at 32,000,000, gives an average
consumption of Gibs, to each individual, being
about fth part of the consumption of each
individual in Great Britain! This extraor-
dinary discrepancy is no doubt ascribable to
various causes ; — partly to the greater poverty
of the mass of the French people; partly to
their smaller consumption of tea, coffee,
punch, and other articles that occasion a large
consumption of sugar; and partly and prin-
cipally, perhaps, to the oppressive duties with
which foreign sugars are loaded on their being
taken into France for home consumption.

The United States consume from 70,000 to

80.000 tons ; but of these, from 30,000 to

40.000 tons are produced in Louisiana.

About 170,000 tons of sugar are retained for
home consumption in Great Britain, and

17.000 tons in Ireland; exclusive of about

12.000 tons of bastards, or inferior sugar, ob-
tained by the boiling of molasses, and exclusive
also of the refuse sugar and treacle remaining
after the process of refining.

On the whole, therefore, we believe we may
estimate the aggregate consumption of the
Continent and of the British islands at about

600.000 tons a year ; to which if we add the
consumption of the United States, Turkey,
&c., the aggregate will be nearly equivalent
to the supply. The demand is rapidly in-
creasing in most countries ; but as the power

to produce sugar is almost illimitable, no per- i
manent rise of prices need be looked for.

Taking the price of sugar at the low rate of
1/. 4.i. a cwt., or 24/. a ton, the prime cost of
the article to the people of Europe will be

12.000. 000/. sterling; to which adding 75 per
cent, for duty, its total cost will be 21,000,000/. I
This is sufficient to prove the paramount im-
portance of the trade in this article. Exclu-
sive, however, of sugar, the other productsof '
the cane, as I um, molasses, treacle, &c.,are '
of very great value. The revenue derived by I
the British treasury from rum, only, amounts

to nearly 1,600,000/. a year.

PROGRESSIVE CONSUMPTION OF i
SUGAR IN GREAT BRITAIN.— We are |

not aware that there are any authentic ac- I
counts with respect to the precise period
when sugar first began to be used in England, j
It was, however, imported in small quantities '
by the Venetians and Genoese in the l4th and i
15th centuriest ; but honey was then, and
long after, the principal ingredient employed |i
in sweetening liquors and dishes. Even in i
the early part of the l7th century, the quan- j
tity of sugar imported was very inconsider- j
able ; and it was made use of only in the I
houses of the rich and great. It was not till ||
the latter part of the century, when coffee
and tea began to be introduced, that sugar ll
came into general demand. In I70O, the j
quantity consumed was about 10,000 tons, or !

22.000. 000 lbs. ; at this moment, the con-
sumption has increased (bastards inclu- |j
ded) to above 180,000 tons, or more than

* Continental .system and empire.

+ In Marin’s Storia del Commercio de' Venesiani '■
(vol V. p. 306^, there is an account ofashipment
made at Venice for England in 1319, of 100,000 l!
1 s. of sugar, and lO.OOo lbs. of sugar candy. j

The sugar is said to have been brought from I

the Levant. i

EFFECTS OF DUTY ON SUGAR.

425

400.000. 000 lbs. ; so that sugar forms not ou'y
one of the principal articles of importation
and sources of revenue, but an important
necessary of life.

Great, however, as the increase in the use
of sugar has certainly been, it may, we thinlr,
be easily shown that the demand tor it is stil I
very far below its natural limit ; and that were
the existing duties on this article reduced, and
the tiade placed on a proper footing, its con-
sumption, and the revenue derived from ii>
would be greatly increased.

During the first half of last century, the
consumption of sugar increased five-fold. It
amounted, as already stated —

In I700, to lP,000 tons or 22 OOO.OOO lbs.
1710, 14,000 — 31,860,000 —

1734. 42,000 - 94,080,000 —

1754, 63,270 — 119,320,000 -

1770— 1776 72,500 (average) 162,600,000 —

1786—1790 8|,00o — 181,500,000 —

In the reign of Queen Anne, the duty on
sugar amounted to 3s. 5d, per cwt. Small
additions were made to it in the reign of
George II.; but in 1780 it was only 6s 8d.
In 1781, a considerable addition was made to
the previous duty ; and in 1787 it was as high
as 12s. 4d. In 1791 it was raised to 15s. ; and
while its extensive and increasing consump-
tion pointed it out as an article well fitted to
augment the public revenue, the pressure on
the public finances, caused by the French
war, occasioned its being loaded with duties,
which, though they yielded a large return,
would, there is good reason to think, have
been more productive had they been lower.
In 1797, the duty was raised to l7s. 6d. ; 2
years after, it was raised to 20s. ; and, by suc-
cessive augmentations in 1803, 1804, and

1806, it was raised to 30s ; but in the last-
mentioned year it was enacted, that, in the
event of the market price of sugar in bond, or
exclusive of the duty, being, for the 4 months
previous to the 5th of January, the 5th of May,
or the 5th of September, below 49s. a cwt.,
the Lords of the Treasury might remit Is. a
cwl. of the duty ; that if the prices were below

485., they might remit 2s. ; and if below 47s.,
they might remit 3s., which was the greatest re-
duction that could be made. In 1826, the duty
was declared to be constant at 27s., without
regard to price ;but it was reduced, in 1830,
to 24s. on West India sugar, and to 32s. on
East India sugar.

The duty on foreign sugars is a prohibitory
one of 63s. a cwt. Sugar from the Mauritius
is however, by a special provision, allowed
to be imported at the same duty as West In-
dia sugar.

Art. IL— Notes on Persia, Tartary, and
Afghanistan. By Lieut. Col. Mon-
TEiTH, K. L. S. of the Madras
Engineers. — Madras Journal of Lu
terature and Science.

Defence of British India from Russian
Invasion. By Captain C. F, Head,
Queen’s Royal Regiment.

(Continued from page 374.J
The author of this paper is well known for
having drawn attention to steam navigation
as being of public advantage and private
accommodation in facilitating communication
between India and Europe; but, above all, as
an auxiliary either in maritime or territo-
rial defence, should any European enemy at-
tempt to approach the borders of Hindustan,
Capt. Head thought, with many others who
were capable of judging, that a political
crisis may arise sooner than is expected,
when the strength of western nations will
be put forth, and a struggle take place, in
which each vulnerable portion of the British
empire will become appoint of assault. Our
author does not hesitate to avow that
Russia will endeavour to close with England
in this country, and that success will de-
pend on the development of her great mili-
tary prowess, and where the co-operation of
a maritime force is least required. The
war between Russia and Persia demon-
strated the strength and resources of the
northern autocrat, but its result exposed the
weak and compromising character of Asia-
tics ; while it proved the alacrity with which
the inhabitants of provinces contiguous to
Russia will join in any expedition that
promises a fair reward. In considering the
question, says Capt. Head,

“ It will be necessary to bear in mind,
throughout the enquiry, that an invading
army, of however crude and opposite materi-
als it may be composed, will take the field
with great odds in its favour, from the cir-
cumstance of its object being defined, and the
duty of every man being made apparent.
Whereas, an army acting on the defensive
can hope for no reward even after a hard-
earned victory ; at the same time that they are
liable to the harassing duty of continually
watching the movements of their enemy. If
the patriotic feeling which causes men to
defend their soil, and feel a hatred towards
the invaders, could be imparted to the natives
of India, then would the territory of Hin-
doostan be comparatively safe. But how
little is this to be expected in the case we are
contemplating, where the people of the coun-
try have at the best of times so little perse-
verance and energy, and where an army that

426

THE ROUTE FOR RUSSIAN INVASION.

would be collected to defend any frontier
must be composed of a variety of nations,
differing in language and religion, strangers to
the region they are fighting in, and assembled
from provinces as little known to each other
as are the various states of Europe. We
must also consider the inherent desire in kings
and in subjects for aggrandisement. Russia,
which is now in direct collision with nations
that are to be as easily overcome as were those
of British India, will, no doubt, pursue her
advantage and extend her boundary towards
the East, and Great Britain will, in all pro-
bability, ere long, have to contest her right of
sovereignty over three-fourths of her subjects,
included in the population of Hindoostan.

When it is remembered that the colossal
power of Russia has attained its present
eminence in three half centuries, or since the
master-spirit of Peter the Great brought his
people to rank with civilized nations, and
caused the empire, of which he laid the foun-
dation, to increase in population from sixteen to
sixty millions, a moment’s reflection willsuggest
the prudence of speculating with regard to its
future progress. At present the disciplined
legions of Russia are rated at 900,000, and
they have tried their strength with success
against most of their neighbours. The nations
towards the east and south have felt and ad-
mitted the superiority of their discipline, and
will hereafter prefer an amicable alliance to
another useless struggle, 'i he territory of
Russia has had a proportionable increase with
her subjects, and has extended so much in
Asia as to leave but a fiail barrier between
the armed giant of the north, and the com-
mercial Colossus of Hindoostan.’’

We do not consider the foregoing picture in
the least over drawn. The opinion entertained
by our author is that, of all men thoroughly
acquainted with the subject, the Indian
Government alone seem to regard it least.
Our author proceeds to take a general view
of the diflferent routes by which a Russian
force may invade India. The widely extend-
ed southern frontier of the Russian empire,
which in longitude sweeps over nearly
one half of the whole globe, admits of a
military force advancing from that territory
towards India from four distinct points. By
the most westerly route the line of operations
is the longest, and the subjugation of Persia
would become necessary. These would re-
quire a second campaign before Russia
could reach India. The south shores of the
Black Sea would be the basis for a first
series of movements,and Herat, a city on the
eastern boundary of the Persian empire,
would be the station whence arrangements
for a second campaign would emanate,

and from which the invaders would advance
towards our possessions. Another plan
the enemy would adopt is, to pass from
Russia to the Indus, by establishing a depot,
by means of the Volga river at a station on
the shore of the Caspian Sea. Our autho**
is of opinion that by this route, the line
of march would be considerably reduced,
and a demonstration only towards Per-
sia would be made on the south of the
Black Sea. In effecting an invasion by
this route, the co-operation of Persia, and
not its subjugation, would be necessary
— an auxiliary the most feasible and
likely to be attempted. The third line of ad-
vance is from the east shore of the Caspian
Sea across a desert to Khiva, on the Oxus or
Amu river, thence to Balkh, and by a caravan
route to the Indus. These routes being more
to the eastward are shorter, and an advance
by them could be executed with rapidity.
Captain Head is of opinion that the success
of the enterprize would be more precarious
than by the western routes, and might be
looked upon in the light of a coup -de-main.
All these routes have engaged the attention
of the Government of St. Petersburg!!. We
have ample information regarding these
routes, furnished from statistical details col-
lected by embassies which have proceeded
from Russia to the cities of Kokhhand, Bo-
khara, and Khiva, with a view of opening a
communication with these places ; and
opinions on the subject are freely circulated
in the Russian capital. Captain Head is of
opinion that, for a European power to un-
dertake the invasion of Persia or India,
there is no spot east of Constantinople
better calculated for assembling a large
force than the plains of Erzeroom ; horses
and cattle are cheap, and abundant forage is
every where to be procured in the spring
and summer, and a considerable stock of
corn may be collected from the neighbour-
ing provinces. Erzeroom is but a short dis-
tance from the port of Trebizond on the
Black Sea, through which all requisite stores
could be readily supplied. Erzeroom is,iu like
manner, an advantageous position for an
advance into Persia. As at the present mo-
ment the public mind is directed towards

INLAND NAVIGATION OF ASTRACAN.

427

Herat, and the apprehension being that it
is the policy of Russia to occupy Persia be-
fore a force is pushed forward to invade
India, the campaign will be opened by hav-
ing the eastern frontier of Persia or the city
of Herat as the basis of operations. Those
of our readers, who belong to the profession
of arms,will be glad to have a description of
the place. Herat is described as standing in
a fertile plain, watered by a river, crowded
with villages, and covered with fields of corn.

The town contains 100,000 inhabitants.

“ It holds a central position, at almost
an equal distance from the cities of Rsr-
man, Yezd, lubbus, Toorsheez, Mushed,

Bokhara, Balkh, and Candahar. It is one of
the greatest emporiums of the commerce or
Asia, and could draw supplies from all the
places we have enumerated, and from many
more of minor importance- The city itseli is
placed in a fertile and well watered valley,
and is surrounded by extensive gardens and
pastures. It enjoys a fine climate, it is amply
stored with provisions at all times ; it could, as
we have stated, draw supplies from all the
countries around it, and it is capable of fur-
nishing every article which these coutitnes

afford. If any place is worthy to be designa- by vessels drawing from 9 to 10 feet water,
ted, ‘ the key to India,’ it certainly is Herat." There are extensive fisheries on it, which

interfere should be shewn by the Tartar tribes
on the banks of the Oxus. The Persians have
an hereditary and inveterate hatred towards
the people of that country, and would readily
accept the assistance of Russia, to be enabled
to revenge themselves for former insult.
Supposing, then, it became the policy of
Russia to forego the conquest of Persia, and
to purchase her co-operation by promises of
future rewards, an army destined to invade
India would proceed to the occupation of
Herat by this last named route passing
through the province of Khorassan.

By means of the Volga, the Caspian Sea
communicates with the heart of Russia, the
inland navigation from Astracan, which lies
at the mouth of that river, goes over a tract
of 1434 miles, and passes through the most
fertile regions of the empire. There is also
a water communication between Astracan
and St. Petersburgh, by means of the cele-
brated.canal of Vishnei Voloshok.* Astracan
is the great staple of the Caspian commerce,
and is readily supplied with European mer-
chandise from the ports of the Baltic. In the
fourteenth century Europe was supplied with
the produce of India, through the Caspian
Sea and Astracan, and a direct communica-
tion with India has continued by the same
route, which is that we are about to inquire
into. The Caspian Sea, which has a length
of 640 miles, and a breadth of 200, is navigated

We are also told that a considerable number
of horses are bred in the Cabul dominions,
and those of Herat are very fine. Camels are,
however, on the whole, the animals most
employed for carriage. The ox is used to
plough, except perhaps in Balkh, where
horses are so common.’'^

Having arrived at this favourable position,
distant from the Indus between 700 and 800
miles, over roads that are in constant use tor
caravans, it is necessary to remark that Herat
is accessible from Russia by another route, the
greater part of which passes through a fertile
country, that lies between this city and the
south of the Caspian Sea. It will be exa-
mined, before we proceed to enquire into the
nature of the intervening country between
Herat and the Indus. The line of advance
from the Caspian to Herat, is the second
alluded to in the beginning of this enquiry.
There can bo little doubt but it would be the
one adopted by a Russian army, and it will
be found about 600 miles in length. The
distance will therefore be no more than be-
tween 1300 and 1400 miles from the Caspian
Sea to the Indus; the bare possibility ot its
practicability ought to be considered with
attention. .

Whether Persia is or is not occupied,
there would be a body of irregular horse of
that country, at the command of Russia, to
keep open the communication between the
Caspian and Herat, in case any disposition to

cause numerous vessels to be employed.
Such facilities of conveyance formed to com-
municate with St, Petersburgh, and other
cities of the empire, would render the trans-
portation of an army to the opposite shore of
easy accomplishment, whilst the uninterrupt-
ed navigation of the sea by Russia would also
ensure a regularity of supplies. At Astracan
there is a large and commodious harbour,
with a dock yard and spacious quays. In
July 1723, Peter the Great assembled an
army at the city of Nijnei Novgorod, at the
confluence of the Occa and Volga. From
thence they proceeded down the latter river
to the Caspian, and 33,000 men were landed
at Daghestan, on the west side of the sea.
He took the city of Derbent from the Per-
sians, and extended his possessions, after
which he returned to Astracan in October."

At the south extremity of the Caspian,
the bay of Astrabad admits of a secure
haven, and may average a week’s sail from
the opposite port of Astracan. Astrabad is a
walled town, having 2 or 3,000 houses ; the
surrounding country is scarcely surpassed
for richness and beauty. At this place a
dep6t could be formed,and the army assem-
bled for further operations in their progress
towards Herat.

•Account of the Kingdom of Cabul, by the
Honourable Mountstuart Elphinstone*

'‘Coxe’s Travels in Poland, Russia, &c,

428

COUNTRY BETWEEN THE CASPIAN AND THE OXUS.

" On the borders of Khorassan. and to the
north of Astrabad.isthe province of Khauriztn,
comprising the country between the Caspian
and the Oxus; the wandering tribes breed
sheep, camels, and horses ; the steppes that
border on the Caspian abound in prodigious
droves of cattle, and ‘ there is scarcely a man
in Toorkaustaun so indigent as to walk on
foot; even beggars travel on hoise-back, or
at least on asses.*'*

It is stated of those tribes, that ‘ next to
their horses, the most valuable possession of
the Toorkaumauns is the camels, of these are
bred among them, and generally in Khoras-
san, three different sorts.’i* Individuals are
said to have as many as seven hundred camels.
They are sold at from 120 to 200 Persian rupees
each, and carry from 450 lbs. to IlOO lbs.
English.

I'owards the end of the last century, a Per-
sian force of 60 or 80,000 men, under Aga
Mahomed Khan, proceeded from Astrabad to
Mushed. The following particulars of the
country between those places are borrowed
from an author already quoted, t and who
visited Mushed in 1821*22. From Astrabad
toward Mushed the road for eighty-two miles
passes across a rich and verdant district, and
ascends a mountain-pass at Goorgaun. A
dreary desert, but with water, next extends
over a rough country for ninety-two miles to
Killa Khan. 'I'he road then passes through a
fine cultivated country, presenting a highland
scene, after which it descends into a valley by
a road which carriages might have run. and
reaches Sheerwan, a distance of seventy-six
miles. Sheerwan is a populous town, the
valley in which it is situated is so fertile that
it gives credibility to the almost extravagant
account of its produce. This valley begins
considerably above Sheerwan, from whence
the road continues to pass through it for thirty,
two miles, and reaches Cochoon, having
about 20,000 inhabitants. It is asserted that
when the king was at Cochoon, with an army,
and its followers of all sorts, amounting to no
less than 300,000 souls, with nearly as many
head of animals, baggage cattle, including
corn and straw, were so plenty, that barley
sold at the rate of 20 maunds, (or 140 lbs.)
for a rupee, (2s. sterling) and that, in fact,
revisions were so abundant in the camp, as
ardly to be of any valueӤ. Passing Cochoon,
and continuing 9l miles further in the same
valley, the road reaches Mushed, the capital
of Petsian Khorassan. The whole distance
from Astrabad to this place by the above
route is 373 miles. “ The valley of Mushed
is of great length, it may be described as taking
its rise ten or twelve miles to the north-west
of Sheerwan, and extending almost uninter-
ruptedly for fifty miles beyond Mushed — it
has a low rocky pass of al out four miles, and
probably extends greatest part of the way to
Herat; it varies in breadth from twelve to
thirty miles ; it contains in its limits several
towns with their dependencies, and a great
extent of cultivated land.lT Mushed is in the

• Elphinstone. t Fraser- i Ibid.

^Ibid. % Ibid.

dominions of Persia, it is the residence of a
prince of the blood, and has about 32,000 in-
habitants. The tribes in the vicinity, although
of little consequence in regular warfare, are
addicted to plunder, and are excellent horse-
men; they are armed with spears and swords,
or bows and arrows. There is another route
fiom the south of the Caspian to Mushed,
through Nishapoor. which reduces the dis-
tance to Mushed to less than 300 miles, and
passes over a country much like that above
described. It is said of this route, “ the
plains and district of Nishapoor have at all
times been celebrated for fertility ; when look-
ing from the top of the old ark, (castle) at the
numerous villages on either side, and enquir-
ing whether they were all inhabited, I was
answered in the affirmative.”* When within
fifty miles of Mushed, “ we enioyed a very
noble view of this fine country, running from
south-east by east, to north-west by west, for
full eighty miles in length, by fifty to sixty
miles in width, and well studded with
villages.”

We are sorry that our space compels us to
break off here: we shall, however, continue
our account of this interesting subject in our
next.

Art. Ill — 'Narrative of a Residence in
Koordistan, and on the site of Ancient
Nineveh; with Journal of a Voyage
down the Tigris to Bagdad, and an Ac-
count of a Visit to Shirauz and Perse-
polis. By the late Claudius James
Rich, Esqj, the Hon. East India
Company's Resident at Bagdad, Author
of “ an Account of Ancient Babylon."
2 VoU. Octavo. James Duncan,
Paternoster-Row, London> 1836.

The editor of the present work is a daugh-
ter of that celebrated and lamented indivi-
dual, Sir James Macintosh ; and to give our
readers an immediate interest in the work,
we shall proceed to give some account of
that extraordinary man, Mr. Rich. He
was of Bristol. At the age of fourteen, with
little or no assistance, he made himself ac-
quainted with many languages, but particu-
larly with those of the east. Besides Latin,
Greek, and many of the modern languages,
he made himself master of the Hebrew,
Chaldee, Persian, Arabic, and was capable of

Fiaser.

MR. RICH S EXTRAORDiNAHY ACaUlREMENTS.

429

deciphering Chinese. This ac(iuaiataace
with, and study of, eastern languages, induced
a vehement desire to proceed to India, and
indulge the passion for eastern literature : to
be brief, at the age of seventeen he obtained
a cadetship. While at the India House the
attention of Sir Charles Wilkins was called
to young Rich’s aquirement in the oriental
tongues. Sir Charles was so struck with
his extraordinary proficiency, that he point-
ed him out to the Court of Directors as a
young person of singular and rare talents, —
one that would amply justify and do honor to
any exertion of their patronage. On this re-
presentation of Mr. Rich’s merits was he
presented with a writership by the late Ed-
ward Parry, Esq. and appointed to Bombay^
and was attached as secretary to Mr. Lock,
who was at that time proceeding to Egypt as
Consul-General ; while on this detached
service, his rank, contrary to the usage of
the service, was allowed to run on in the
same way as if he had repaired to India.
Mr. Lock, however, died at Malta before
entering on his mission. Mr. Rich, pro-
ceeded to Constantinople and afterwards
to Smyrna, with the view of making himself
thoroughly master of all the niceties and pe-
culiarities of speaking and writing the Turkish
language, and of gaining an insight into
the nature and extent of the acquirements
of the raussulmans in the various branches
of learning. He therefore became a fellow
student with Turks of his own age. While
in Egypt he perfected himself in the Arabic
language and its various dialects, and devot-
ed his leisure hours in attaining skill in
horsemanship, and in the management of the
scimitar and the lance ; thus, adding to mild-
ness of manners and studious habits a man-
ly deportment, and lively and sportive wit,
he gained the esteem and friendship of the
Franks within the circle of his acquaintance.
Having attained the object of his visit to
this country, and confiding in his knowledge
of the Turkish language, he left Egypt in the
disguise of a Mameluke, travelled over a great
part of Palestine and Syria, visited Damascus,
while the great body of pilgrims wereassein-

bled there on their way to Mecca, and enter-
ed the grand mosque, — an act which at one
time would have proved fatal to any one
known to be a Christian. His host, an
honest Turk, captivated with his address,
eagerly intreated him to settle at that place.
From Aleppo he proceeded, by Mardin and
Bagdad, to Bassora, whence he sailed for
Bombay, which he reached in 1807. When
here, being introduced by the Rev. Robert
Hall, he resided with Sir James Mackintosh,
We shall furnish our readers with Sir James’s
opinion of Mr. Rich, expressed in a letter
addressed to a friend.

“ You may recollect, perhaps, to have read
in the newspapers in 1B03, that Mr. Parry,
the present chairman, gave a writership here,
to a young man of the name of Rich, merely
on Mr. Wilkins’s report of his extraordinary
proficiency in Eastern languages, without
interest, and, 1 believe, without even perso-
nal ..nowledge. He came out as assistant
to young Lock, who was appointed Consul
at Alexandria ; and, since his death, has tra-
velled over the greater part of Tuivish Asia,
in various directions, with the eye and pencil
of an artist, and with the address and courage
of a traveller among barbarians. He acquir-
ed such a mastery over the languages and
manners of the East, that he personated a
Georgian I urk for several weeks at Damascus,
amidst several thousand pilgrims, on thek
way to Mecca, completely unsuspected by the
most vigilant and fiercest Alussulman bigotry,
He was recommended to me by my friend
Robert Hall, and I had several letters from
him. 1 invited him to my house ; and at his
arrival on this island, on the 1st of Septem-
ber, 1807, he came to us. He far surpassed
our expectations ; and we soon considered
his wonderful oriental attainments as the
least part of his merit. I found him a fair
classical scholar, and capable of speaking
and writing French and Italian like the
best educated native. With the strongest
recommendations of appearance and manner,
he joined every elegant accomplishment and
every manly exercise ; and combined with
them, spirit, pleasantry, and feeling His
talents and attainments delighted me so
much, that I resolved to make him a philo-
sopher ; I even thought him worthy of being
introduced into the Temple of Wisdom, by
our friend Dugald Stewart; and when I
w'ent to Malabar, I left him at the house
of my philosophical friend Erskine, busily
engaged with the ‘ Philosophy of the Human
Mind ” On my return, I found that this
pupil in philosophy w'as desirous to become
my son in law. He has uo fortune, nor had
he then even an appointment ; but you will
not doubt that i willingly consented to his
marriage with my eldest daughter, in whom
he had the sagacity to discover, and the vir-

430

MR. RICH’S TRAVELS AND RESEARCHES.

tue to value, the plain sense, modesty, purity,
and good-nature, which will, I hope, make
her a source of happiness to him during life.

Soon after, the most urgent necessities
of the public called for a Resident at Bagdad.
He alone was universally acknowledged to be
qualified for the station. Hewas appointed :
having thus, twice befoi'e he was twenty-four,
commanded promotion by mere merit. They
were married, and are gone to Bagdad.”

At Bagdad, a high spirit, sound political
views, a perfect knowledge of the native cha-
racter, and a profuse generosity, speedily
gained him the highest reputation both with
the local government and with the people.
He resided six years at Bagdad with no
European Society save that of his accom-
plished lady, and of Mr. Hine, the surgeon
to the Residency, who was also his assistant.
There, however, the leisure hours of Mr.
Rich were occupied in making collections
for a history, and for a geographical and
statistical account, of the Pashalik of Bag-
dad. He examined all the remains of antiqui-
ty within his reach, and commenced his col-
lection of Oriental manuscripts, which he
spared no labour or cost to render complete.
He formed a rich collection of medals and
coins, and of the gems and engraved stones
found at Babylon, Nineveh, Ctesiphon, and
Bagdad. He made an excursion to Babylon
for the purpose of examining the remains
of that ancient city.

In 1813 Mr. Rich, on account of ill health,
travelled to Constantinople. In 1814 he pro-
longed his journey through Bulgaria, Wal-
lachia,and Hungary to Vienna, and thence to
Paris. Mr. Rich, returning to Bagdad, passed
through Switzerland to Milan, thence to Ve-
nice. He crossed over to Trieste, whence he
proceeded, by Corfu and the Archipelago, to
Constantinople, touching at several of the
islands, and landing to examine and explore
the site of ancient Troy. From Constanti-
nople he returned to Bagdad, through
Asia Minor, taking as far as possible
a different road from that which he had
pursued on his way to Europe, noticing
particularly the geography of the country and
especially the lying of the chains of moun-
tains ; and as he came nearer Mesopotamia,
visiting the Syrian and Chaldean convents, and

h

collecting information regarding the singular
race of Yezzidis. After his return to the Re-
sidency he added so largely to his collection
of MSS. as to render it perhaps the most
extensive and valuable ever brought together
by any private person in the East. In 1820
his state of health requiring again change of
air, he made a tour into Koordistan, of which
the work under review contains the Journal.
On his return he visited the ancient Chris-
tian churches of Chaldea, and was enabled
to preserve and add to his library many
valuable and xerj ancient Syrian and Chal-
dean versions of the sacred Scriptures. Mr,
Rich also made a tour to Shirauz and visited
the ruins of Persepolis, the tomb of Cyrus,
and the other remains of antiquity in that
neighbourhood. While at Shirauz, the
cholera broke out, of which this distin-
guished in dividual died on the 5th of October^
With the exception of a few communica-
tions printed in the Mines de 1’ Orient the only
writings which he published in his lifetime
were the Memoirs on Babylon. He has left
however a considerable number of manu-
scripts ; in particular an ample journal of his
route from Bagdad to Constantionople. His
magnificent collection of Oriental MSS,
of coins and antiquities, was purchased by
the British parliament, for the use of the
British Museum. In the work before us the
geography of Koordistan and the manners
of the inhabitants are placed in a new
and strong light, to which we shall advert
particularly in our next.

Art. IV. — Observations on the Flora
of Court allum. By Robert Wight,
Esq. m, d. — Madras Journal of Litera-
ture and Science, 1836.

Dr. Wight is already well known to
most of our readers as a talented and in-
defatigable labourer in the Science of Bo-
tany. The following paper we are about to
review is another valuable acquisition to our
knowledge of the Botany of India. The
paper opens with a description of

SUBSTITUTE FOR IPECACUANHA— ANTIDOTE FOR SNAKE-BITE. 431

Cappartde^,

A large and almost exclusively tropical
order, a few species only being found in tem-
perate zones, while they every where abound
within the tropics : it is divided into two
sections ; the Cleomecs, or genera with her-
baceous stems and capsular fruit, and the
Capparece, The next but small order our
author notices is,

Flacourtiane^ ;

Most of the species of which are tropical :
its essential character is that it has a one-
celled ovary with parietal placenta. The
flowers vary considerably in different genera,
nearly one half of which have flowers without
petals; some are dioicous, or monoicous,
while Phoberos and others have them bi-
sexual. Inhabit, they are all trees or shrubs,
many of them armed with large strong
thorns. Hydnocarpus\iediv& a fruit poisonous
to fishes, on eating which they become unfit
for food. The next is a large but principally
extra-tropical order :

VlOLARIE^.

The species of lonidium, of which Dr.

Wight found at Courtallum, are very widely
distributed over India. They are used as
a substitute for ipecacuanha.

The next order is,

POLYGALE^.

In a botanical point of view our author
considers this order interesting, as affording
a good example of unsymmetrical flowers.
The normal, or regular, form of a flower is
to have 5 sepals, 5 petals, and 5, 10, 15, &c.
stamens, or the sepals, petals, and stamens,
regular multiples of each other. In place of
^his arrangement in Poly gala is found a calyx
of five sepals, the two lateral ones petaloid,
and much larger than the other three (usually
called aloe or wings in the generic cha-
racter) ; a corolla of three petals, the
claws of which are usually united at the
base, forming a single tubular three cleft
petal, the middle lobe of which is frequent-
ly furnished with a crest ; and eight stamens
united into two bundles. Xanthophyllum,
except the stamens, returns to the normal
form, having five sepals and five distinct
petals, but only eight stamens, six of which
are opposed to the petals, in place of having
ten, the normal number, opposed alternate-

ly to the sepals and petals. The roots of
several are said to be antidotes to snake
bite. Xanthophyllum virens is a large timber
tree, remarkably hard and useful. The next
orders mentioned are,

Elaline^,Caryophylle^,&Malvace^
The last is a large and an important order ;
from the number and variety of products
useful to mankind ; as food, clothing, and
medicine. Its species are found widely distri-
buted over the tropical and temperate zones,
but disappear as we approach the frigid. The
uniform character is to abound in mucilage,
and to be destitute of unwholesome qualities.
The medicinal qualities of marsh mallows are
known to everyone: the Hibiscus suhdariffa
is prized as a tart fruit. The Thespe-
sia Hibiscus populnea affords an excellent
close-grained wood for cart-wheels and gun-
stocks. Among the herbaceous Malvaceoe,
many species produce fine fibres of great
tenacity, well fitted, if more care was bes-
towed on their preparation, to be employed
as substitutes for flax and hemp. The Hibis^
cus cannabinus is more cultivated for the
hemp-like fibres of its bark than as a pot-
herb. The great benefits derived from this
shrub need not be enlarged upon. The great
demand for cotton, and the millionsto whom
its culture affords a livelihood by its fabri-
cation into cloth, are well known. This
Dr. Wight relates as being applicable
to cotton as well as to sugar. He says that
the cotton manufacture originated in
India upwards of three thousand years
ago : from that time to the beginning of the
present century she may almost be said
to have held the monopoly of this branch
of industry ; so far as muslins and the finer
sorts of cotton fabric are concerned. Our
author’s views, as regards the improvements
introduced by machinery, are worthy of
being noticed, as well as his remarks on the

CULTIVATION AND TRADE IN *
COTTON.

“ The Hindoo weaver, skilful, from long
practice, in the use of his simple implements
and having no competitors, did not think it
necessary to tax his ingenuity, for the inven-
tion of new and improved spinning and weay..
ing machinery, but went on, as his progeni-
tors had done, spinning and weaving, with a
wheel and loom still of the simplest construc-
tion.

432 DR. WIGHT’S ABLE REMARKS ON THE CULTIVATION OF COTTON.

The process of fabrication, by such piitni-
tive methods, is so slow, that a man and liis
family, in constant employment, can do little
more than support themselves by their labour.
When, on the contrary, the raw material is
exported at heavy cost to Britain, and manu-
factured there, with the aid of improved ma-
chinery, it can be brought back and sold,
after paying the expences of a second voyage,
from 20 TO 30 per cent, under the produce of
the same quality of the native loom. Owing
to this difference, when the trade was ihrow'n
open, and free access was allowed to British
maiuifactuies, their cheai)ness soon drove the
Indian ones out of their accustomed markets,
and caused at first great distress to our manu-
facturing population. Now, however, the
scales are re-adjusting themselves to our alter-
ed circumstances, anj the advantages of the
change are becoming evident. The exporta-
tion ol piece goods, from the comparatively
small quantity that could be pioduced for ex-
portation, and the gieat expence of fabrication,
never could return a propoitional, if even a
remunerating, pi ofii to the country. 'J'he raw
material, on the contrary, owing to the unli-
mited demand, the comparatively high price
which it bears, and the small expense of pre-
paring it for the market, not only remunerates,
out returns such a profit, as to stimulate to a
vastly increased production ; when we add to
this, that our growers can novv clothe them-
selves with English cloth mo:e cheaply than
they formerly could with native, we can at
once appreciate the advantages which India
is in course of deriving from the English cot-
ton manufactories ; and how much her future
prosperity must depend on the extension and
improvement of her cotton cultivation. I'he
fulfilling of these conditions is, in truth, in-
dispensable to a continuance of that commer-
cial prosperity, which isnow beginning to dawn
on us ; since, unless we labour diligently to
improve the quality, and diminish the expor-
tation price of our cotton, great as the demand
now assuredly is, we can scarcely expect that
it will be able to liold its present place in the
English market, when opjosed by so many
competitors, and, still more, by the long and
expensive voyage required to bring it into
that market.

This is not the place to enter on the descrip-
tion of the methods of cultivation, but 1 may
mention, generally, that the soil of much of
the Peninsula is well suited for raising some
of the finer kinds of foreign cotton, such as the
Bourbon and American green seed cottons.
'J'hose soils in which the former thrives best,
at leastin the Tinnevelly district, are light,
loose, and sandy, of a deep rusty red colour,
and largely impregnated with iron ; for the lat-
ter, dark soils, of a loose and friable descrip-
tion, from containing a considerable admixture
of sand, and that have formerly been under
wet cultivation. I’o do the plants justice
these should be ploughed with a deeper furrow
than is usual in Hindoo agriculture, to allow
of free access to the depth of at least a foot to
a large descending, or tap, root with which it
is furnished. The sowings are generally com-
menced near the end of the rains; it would be
better if they were done earlier, to allow the

plants time to attain nearly their full size, be-
fore the hot dry season set in. This is of con-
sequence, because it is the check which it then
receives, that determines to the foimation of
flower b'lds, which, by t eing delayed till this
more advanced stage, would probably be pro-
ductive of larger crops and better cotton.
Cropping the ends of the young shoots, at this
lime, would still further lead to the same
effect; by slopping the too rapid flow of the
sap, and favouring the concentration of the
sect eiions, and thereby the formation of flowers
and fruit. I mentioned, at the conclusion of
my last paper, the tendency of extreme luxu-
riancy of vegetation to cause sterility. This
is frequently the case with cotton; hence the
almost constant failure of attempts to cultivate
Bourbon and American cottons, on tv hat is
called the black cotton soil , its extreme fer-
tility causing them to run to wood and leaves,
and produce no flowers. So different is the
indigenous Indian cotton, in this respect,
that on the red soils it gives both inferior
crops, and cotton inferior quality, and at-
tains its greatest perfection on the black.
Pruning the extremities of the young nranches,
is extensively practised in some coun-
tries where the plant has been long and
very successfully cultivated. Some practical
writers however object to this practice, they
say, as the result of experience ; but, as the
experiments made to prove this position are
not detailed wfith sufficient exactitude, to
enable me to determine their value, by an
examination of the circumstances that might
iiave an unfavourable effect on the result, and
as they are at variance with the principle of
vegetable physiology, 1 feel disposed to doubt
their accuracy. As this is a practical question
of great importance, and one which can only
be set at rest by a series of carefully conducted
experiments, 1 must, for the present, leave it
in the hands of those who enjoy opportunities
of examining it in that manner, and shall feel
much indebted to any one who can give me
practical information, on this, or on any
other, point connected with the cultivation of
cotton.

1 have been induced to enter, thus largely,
on the consideration of subjects connected
with the cotton trade, for the sake of showing
the advantages India is already reaping from
her, as yet comparatively limited, engage- j
ment in this branch of commerce, and of call- |
ing attention to the much greater ones she i
may expect to flow from it, as the rewards
of industry and attention to increase the quan-
tity, and improve thfe staple, of the article
which forms its basis, in the hope of inducing
practical men to lay the results of their expe- '
rience before the public, for the guidance of I
their less informed neighbours. As there are
but few Europeans engaged in this culture, I
more especially address myself to intelligent
and well iiiformed natives, many of whom are
readers of this Journal, and, among whom,

1 feel assured, there are many, both able and
willing, to furnish much really useful infor-
mation, acquired during a series of years devo-
ted to agricultural pursuits, but who ate kept
back, either by supposing that they have no-
thing new to communicate, or from a distrust

HINTS OF INFORMATION ON THF CULTIVATION OF COTTON. 433

in their qualifications to reduce, to a suitat le
foim for publication, tire results of their ex-
perience, J o all such, the wiiler of these
menioiand I offeis his assistance, and, in the,
hope of more rapidly extending our knowledge
of cotton cultui e, as svell as forwarding the
wishes of government in the iniproveiiient of
our commerce, will, willi pleasure, charge
himself with the task of correcting for pul)li-
cation, all really practical communications
tiiat may be addressed to liim.

The following are some of the points on
which information is wanted:-— What is the
depth to which the soil should be turned, by
ploughing or digging, for cotton cultivation?
What are the advantages or disadvantages of
sowdng in rows as compared with broad cast 1
Would sowing during the earlier periods of
the rainy season, be productive of larger crops,
oi improve the staple of the cotton? What
are the effects ofciopjung the top shoots about
the time of flowering? In Spain, and the Is-
lands of tlie Meditei raneao, where cotton has
been long cultivated, and generally in America,
the ground is turned to tlie depth of ten or
twelve inches or more, in iliis country, rarely
to half that depth. In these countries the
rovv system is usually adopted, and a regular
interchange ofseed practised, it being observed,
that the crops deteriorate both in quantity
and quality, when tiiis is neglected. In this
couniry both practices are almost unknown.
The question of the best time for sowing is a
local one of season, and must be determined
by comparative trials, made in the same field,
and on plants placed, in every otlier respect,
in the same circumstances. That of cropping
must, in like manner, be determined by com-
parative experiments on plants placed, in
every respect, in similar circumstances. With
respect to this operation, I may repeat that,
as the object of it is to retard the two rapid
flow of the sap, and favour the concentration
of the secretions on which the formation of
flowers and fruit depends, it is essential to its
success, that it be done in verydiy weather,
and on clear days (exposure to bright sun-
shine prevents bleeding) ; consequently the
state of the weaflier should be noted, in con-
nection with details of experiments illustrative
of this branch of the enquiry.”

This is a valuable paper, and we shall refer
to it again.

Art. V. — On the employment of the
Electro-Magnet as a moving power :
with a description of a model machine
worked by this agent. By W. B.
O’Shaughnessy, m. d. — Quarterly
Journal of the Calcutta Medical and
Physical Society, Janu'iry, 1837-

We have already alluded to the produc-
duction of motion by magneto-electricity,
and to mechanical contrivances by which a
body might be made to move continuously

by magneto-electric agency, and to the con-
trivance of Dr. O’Shaughnessy exhibited
at the Government House in November last ;
the results of which our zealous professor has
published, strange to say, in a work that will
be read but by few. To rescue the meri-
torious exertions of our friend from being
buried in oblivion, and to spread far and
wide every invention tending to promote
useful and important results, we shall
again curtail otlier leview^s this month in
order to give the paper in full.

“In the present and a succeeding paper I
propose to give an account of some experi-
ments I recently instituted with the view to
apply the force of the Electro-Magnet as a
practical working power. As there are seve-
ral members of the Society to whom electro-
magnetic phenomena are but little familiar,
I will in the first place briefly touch on such
of the facts previously established in this
science, as are essential to the comprehension
of the experiments and models i shall subse-
quently describe.

The leading fact connected with the pre-
sent object, is the magnetic effect produced
by electricity in motion through galvanic
conductors. Let a plate of copper and ano-
ther of zinc, not touching each other, be
immersed in water acidulated with sulphuric
or nitric acid, and then let a wire be made to
touch both plates out of the fluid : the wire
becomes magnetic itself, and, if placed at
right angles to a bar of iron, renders the
iron a magnet also. If the wire be removed
from either plate, the electric circuit being
thus broken, the magnetic effects instantane-
ously cease, and both wire and iron regain
their oi’iginal neutrality. In conformity with
this principle, if we take a copper wire cover-
ed with silk, and wind it in a close spiral
coil round a bar of soft iron, and then bring
each end of the wire into contact with the
copper and zinc plates, the galvanic current
flows at right angles to the bar through the
spiral coil, (the covering of silk preventing
any lateral communication) and the bar be-
comes a powerful magnet. If swung so as
to move freely it places itself in the magnetic
meridian N. and k Its ends are strongly
polar, N and S. respectively: it attracts
iron and the dissimilar poles of other magnets
with great power. If instead of using a bar
we employ a piece of iron bent like a horse-
shoe, with the terminating surfaces ground
and polished, a powerful magnet is obtained,
which will support a great weight, while the
spiral is traversed by the galvanic current.
Several very powerful temporary or electro-
magnets of this kind, have been constructed
by various experimentalists. The most
remarkable is that made in America at the
Albany College, which supported nearly a
ton weight. Mr. Marsh of Woolwich has one
the legs of which are but six inches long by
one and a half square, which supports 500 lbs.

434

DR. O’SHAUGHNESSY’S EXPERIMENTS.

The next remarkable property of these soft
iron electro -magnets is, the instantaneous
change of their poles on changing the direc-
tion of the galvanic current. If the ends of
the spiral in contact with the galvanic plates
be made to change places, that which was
originally in contact with the zinc being
brought to the copper, and vice vers^, the
poles of the temporary magnet are changed
on the instant too : that which was north
becoming south, that which was south be-
coming north. Though itself is not quicker
than the velocity w'ith which this change is
accomplished, even in the largest bars of
iron which have yet been made the subject of
experiment.

These facts are well known to all students
in physical ''science. They have been esta-
blished for some years, and are mentioned here
but in connexion with ulterior matters. On
observing and reflecting on them, it is impos-
sible to avoid the impression, that, by appro-
priate mechanical contrivances, this enor-
mous and easily generated power could be
made available as a mechanical force. But
the difficulties which beset the attempt are
many and important. In the first place,
though the sustaining power of the electro-
magnet be immense, the force operates
through such a small distance, that the mag-
net which would hold up one hundred pounds,
would not lift one pound at the distance of
two inches — nay, at one inch. Here it is
true we have the magnetic attraction in
antagonism with the attraction of gravita-
tion, and it is but the difference of the two
foi’ces which the electro -magnet is exei'ting;
nevertheless, even when we exclude this
counteracting force, as in arrangements
afterwards to be described, the space through
which the electro- magnet attracts is very
limited, and varies according to the object on
which its attraction is exerted. Thus with
soft iron the distance is exceedingly minute ;
the poles of another electro-magnet are
drawn from a greater distance ; and the
poles of a permanent steel magnet through
greater still.

The second obstacle we encounter is so well
described by Mr. M’Gauley in his paper pub-
lished in the Appendix*, that I shall advert to
it but briefly hei-e. It is the power which
the poles of a strong electro-magnet have
of superseding the polarity of a weaker one.

'1 hus, if we place the poles of a horse-shoe
electro -magnet in contact with those of a
weaker one, so that north is opposed to
south respectively — if we change the poles of
the strong magnet by reversing the direction
of its exciting galvanic current, instead of
the strong repelling the weak, it continues to
attract the poles of the weak — these having,
in fact, been reversed by the mere change of
the strong one alone.

To overcome these difficulties, and to pro-
cure a machine moved by soft iron electro-
magnets, several attempts have recently been
made. I have collected and inserted in the
Appendix every notice 1 could find on the

subject. Of these Mr. M'Gauley’s contri-
vance of the magnetic pendulum is infinitely
the best : that of Signor Botto being on the
same principle, but much less skilfully ar-
ranged*.'Ihe American modelf is so obscure-
ly noticed, and the paragraph relating to it so
vei’y like a wild newspaper exaggeration, that
it is impossible to form any precise idea as
to its construction, its advantages, or its
power. For Mr. M’Gauley’s model I may
refer to his own clear and accurate descrip-
tion. Its chief defect is the mode in which
the power is applied. Though the pendulum
moves through a wide arc, still it is acting
merely as a pendulum through the whole of
its vibration, except in the very small space,
where the magnetic attraction is exercised.
The force acquired by the pendulum in falling
through half its arc, is necessarily expended
in lifting it through the other half. In the
whole of the intervening space, then, between
the limits of the magnetic attractions at
either side, no available force is in existence.
Again, the motion, being a reciprocating one,
has to be converted by a crank and a fly
wheel into the rotatory one required for
locomotive engines. Thus a great expendi-
ture of force is occasioned, which, as I shall
presently shew, may be economized by a
dilferent mechanical arrangement.

On commencing my experiments in July
last, my principal object was, if possible, to
apply the force directly to the moving of a
wheel. Could this be accomplished, it seem-
ed to me that we would use the whole of the
magnetic force, unopposed by terrestrial gra-
vitation— that we would act at the greatest
possible mechanical or lever advantage — and
that should one wheel succeed, a series might
be so arranged together, that the maximum
of several forces might be made to co-operate,
so as to render a number of the small spaced
magnetic powers (say 12 powers at half an
inch), equivalent to one power acting uniform-
ly through the whole space, say six inches.

The first set of experiments was instituted
for the determination of the circumstances
under which the poles of one. electro-magnet
overpower those of a second. A pair of semi-
circular bars of equal size were provided,
wound with spirals, each spiral connected
with a separate galvanic battery, and the
attracting poles of the semi-circles brought
into contact: See fig. 1.

On changing the poles of B, by moving the
ends of the spiral wire from the copper to the
zinc element and vice versh, the poles of the
magnet A were overpowered and changed
also, without disturbing their loires, so that the
semi-circles continued to attract each other
as before. Now in this experiment all cir-
cumstances connected with the two semi-
circles were as equal as possible. The bat-
teries were of the same size and same strength,
bars of the same weight and dimensions, cut
of the same piece of iron, the spirals were of
the same length, &c., still the magnet B
overcame the poles of A. By reversing the
experiment, that is, removing the wires of A

* Vide our Review, page 335.

* Vide our Review, page 337.
+ Vide our Review, page 401.

DR. O’SHAUGHNESSY’S CONTRIVANCE DESCRIBED.

435

instead of B, still the same effect was pro-
duced. I was for some time altogether un-
able to account for this occurrence, but deem-
ing it likely that the momentary interruption
of the circuit, caused by moving the wires,
might have enabled the electricity to accu-
mulate and act with greater inducing energy
on the restoration of the circuit, additional
experiments were made which justified this
view of the subject.

If, when the pole wires of A were media,
nically changed, the circuit was broken in B,
by removing one of the wires for an instant
from its plate, and then replacing it, both
galvanic currents then acting with equal
energy, the magnets held their respective
polarities : no overpowering took place, and
A ceased to attract B, which accordingly was
repelled. I should oliserve, that mechanical
supports and guides were used in the experi-
ment, which I have not delineated in the
diagram.

This fact of the increase of magnetic energy
given by interrupting the circuit, is one of
much practical moment. It is a necessary
consequence of the restoration of electric
intensity, brought about by the breaking of
the circuit which Marianini described in 1828,
in his paper in the 38th vol. of the Annales
de Chemie. I am not aware that the effect
of this renovation of power on the electro-
magnet has been previously studied. It is
well exemplified by an experiment which may
be readily performed. If we excite an
electro-magnet by a battery of 10 pairs of
Wollaston plates, 100 water, 2 sulphuric, and
1 nitric acid, by carefully but rapidly loading
the magnet, we find its maximum sustaining
power, say 20 lbs. ; add another pound, and
the keeper and weights fall off. If we now
attempt to load the magnet again, we find it
will not support more than half its previous
charge. But if we remove one of the wires
for a moment from the circuit and then re-
place it, the magnet will then sustain the
same weight as at first. Or we may take the
experiment under another modification.
Load the electro-magnet with its known
maximum weight, say 20 lbs., and allow the
action to proceed till the weakening energy of
the battery allows the weight to fall spontane-
ously ; try to replace it on the instant ; the
electro-magnet will seldom support as much
as 5 lbs. ; but if we interrupt the circuit for
a moment, it will support 18 or even 19 lbs.,
and allowing the successive charges to
fall, and repeating the experiment, we find the
magnetic force sink gradually to zero as the
force of the galvanic action declines.

To revert to the overpowering of the poles
in the instances above mentioned, further
experiments shewed that this action only
occurred when the metallic surfaces of the
bars were actually in contact, and that the
interposition of even one leaf of paper glued
on the polar surfaces prevented the effect in
question.

The practical applications of these facts in
the construction of machinery to be worked
by electro-magnet, will be sufficiently ob-
vious in the sequel of this paper, and on pe-

rusal of Mr. M’Gauley’s article in the Ap-
pendix^. Another and an interesting question
presented itself before any wheel model could
be constructed ; viz. — whether, on the excite-
ment of more than one electro-magnet by
the same galvanic battery, the magnetic force
was divided in any definite proportion between
them.

The apparatus, No. 2, delineated in the
plate, was employed to decide this question.
It consists of a small wooden table-shaped
frame, on which several small electro-magnets
may be placed, so that ends of the spirals of
one or more may be dipped into little cups
of mercury and removed at pleasure, without
disturbing the general arrangement. One of
the set is placed with its legs vertically, so
that a keepei, scale, and weights can be at-
tached to it.

d’he experiments were made vvith 12 small
horse-shoe electro-magnets, two inches long,
half inch diameter, one inch interval between
the poles, and each wound with an equal
length of silk covered wire. The battery em-
ployed was ten 4-inch plates of Wollaston’s
construction — exciting liquid, as in all these
experiments, lOOwaier, 2 sulphuricy 1 nitric
acid. On exciting the trial magnet or No. 1,
it supported 8 lbs. 4 oz. The wires of No. 2
were introduced, and No. 1 then supported
but 4 lbs. 3 oz. Three were excited in the
same way, and the weight supported was 2
lbs. lO oz. When four were excited. No. 1
held up 2 lbs. 2 oz. With five, 1 lb. 6 oz.
The numbers continued falling by the suc-
cessive partition.of the excitement, very nearly
in a direct arithmetical subdivision. When
all twelve were in connexion with the bat-
tery, the trial magnetsustained butsix ounces.
In all these experiments attention was in-
variably paid to breaking the circuit on each
fall of the weights, in conformity with the ex-
periments a^ ove described. On completing
the series ofl2, the first experiment on No. I
by itself was always repeated, in order to as-
certain how much of the decrease of power
might be attributable to loss of power in the
battery. With the proportion ofacids, above
described, the action is so constant and gentle
that the weight first sustained by No. 1 was
easily supported again.

This experiment was tried repeatedly, and
always with the same results. It shews that
the electric force, when thus '^arithmetically
subdivided, induces a directly proportioaate
and less degree of magnetic power.

Having thus given a brief exposition ofthe
electro-magnetic facts, essential to be under-
stood as a clue to the formation of an electro-
magnetic engine or machine, I proceed to de-
scribe the model I have constructed, such as
it was exhibited at Lord Auckland’s soirde on
the9th of November.

It consists essentially of the following parts.

1st, THlt. WHEEL,

Of which the frame is made of liaht wooden
disks, eight inches in diameter, two and half inches
interval at the circumference lietween the disks,
which are fastened on a coricentric woodvn sup-
port, and mounted on a steel axle half an inch in
diameter. Around this wheel, at imervais of two

* Vide our Review, page 335.

436

BR. O’SHAUGHNESSY ON ELECTRO-MAGNETISM.

inches, are disposed twelve small horse-shoe elec-
tro>magne(8 of the dimeiisioiis already desciibcd.
One end of each spiral (see fii. 3) is soldered to a
disk of copper, c, one inch in diameter placeri
on the axle conceniric with the wheel, and revolv-
ing in a little cup of mercury m, connected hy a
wire with one pole of a galvanic battery. The
other ends of the spirals are arranged on a small
ivory disk, so that the ends of fZ/ree dii> in a simi-
lar cup of nieicuty, one always lising from, as the
third enters, the surface of the mercury in coit-
iiexion with the other pole of the battery, as is
readily seen in the fig. 6. The wires on this, the
interrupted disk, are further So arranged by gently
twisting their continuations towards the wheel, that
the wire of the magnet which is horizonial when
the wheel is at rest, is perpendicular to and beneath
the surface of the mercury. A glance at the figures
3, 4, 5, and 6 will make this description readily
intelligible.

Let ns now suppose this wheel mounted on pro-
per supports, and conductois from a galvanic battery
brought into contact with the wires leading to the
mercuiial cisterns belonging to the wheel. If the
wiieel he made to turn, the smaller copper disk
revolves in the mercury continually, and hence all
the w lieel irons are ready to be excited on com-
pleting the galvanic circuit. I his is effected for
tivo hy the interrupted disk revolving in the other
cistern, so that of lire twelve irons, are always
rendered eltclto-magiiets in succession as the
wheel turns, as sh.ewn in fig. 7. henever the
bent iron descends to the angle of 30« above the
horizon, it becomes magnetic ; its second wire then
touching thesuifareof the mercui iai cistet n at an
acute angle. When horizontal it is still magnetic,
its second wire being then perpendicular to and in
the cistern. Wlien at an angle of 30® below the
horizon, the wire then enterges from the meicury,
and the iron loses all magnetic power. Thus, in
the revolving wheel, two magnets are always exci-
ted, their poles being in alternate order, and the
magnetism of each only exists while the bent iron
is passing ftomSO'* above to 30® below the hoiizon.
Tire aliernale order of the poles is ensured by the
ends of the spirals of each magnet being alternate-
ly crossed, so that liie successive poles at the same
side are in contact alternately with the zinc and
copper ends of the battery , (see figures 3, 4, and 5.)

The next essential part is

the external or principal electro-
magnet.

It consists of a bar of soft iron, bent so that the
legs are parallel to each other at the distance of
two inches. The legs of the bar employed in my
first expetiment, were but ibtee incbes long, | in
diameter. It was wound with a double spiial in
the usual iiiauner. Its sustaining force, when ex-
cited by a ten-plate 4-inch Wollaston’s baiteiy,
averaged 30 Ihs. It weighed with its spirals com-
plete, 11 Troy ounces.

This electro magnet was placed horizontally "U
a wooden support- its legs on the same plane
with, and close to, but not touching, the presenting
legs of the hot izontal wheel magnet. 1 he ends of
the spirals from this electro-magnet, were led to
cups containing mercury, in connexion with the
poles of a galvanic battery, through a moveable
system of conductors, devised so that tlte revolution
of the wheel changes the poles of the external
magnet every tinre that one of the wheel-magnets
becomes hot izontal, (see fig. 7) This part of the
model I shall irext describe ; i term it simply
THE POLE-CHaNGER;
and its construction is illustrated iii the figs. 8, 9,

10, and 11. • . 1 j .1

The object of this contrivance is, to lead the
current of electricity alternately to the right and
leftside orlegrrf the principal external magnet.
We accomplish this hy guiding the cut rent diagotral-
ly (see fi“. 10) in one instant, and making it return
diagonairy, so that its course from the battery and

its return are exemplified by an 8 figure. In the
second instant, fig. It, tlte crrrtettt proceeds di-
rectly to the opposite leg of the principal magnet,
attd returns as directly at the other side ; its course
t < semblitig the letter O.*

Twelve circular holes, each half an inch iti diame-
ter, and half an inch in depth, are cut in a piece
of wood at one inch distance from each other, as
shewn in the figure, and fixed wiies are led from
cavity to cavity ; so that 1, *2, 3 at e at tight attgles
to, and in metallic conitexion with, each olhei.
Iii3, 4, 5the same occurs, and so with tlte te-
maining numheis, as may be seen in the plate (figs.
10 and 11.) Glass tubes two inches in depth are
cemeuted into the cavities in the wood, and about
f of an inch of mercury poured into each tube.
Now by leading a silk covered wire from 2 to 8,
attd another from 5 to li, it is obvious we make
the galvanic current flow from 1 to 2, cross to 8,
circulate round ihe magnet at 7, telurn from 6 to
II, and reach the battery again at 12, rendering a
.a north, and 6 a south pole. If then we remove
these diagotial wires and insert wites from 3to4
and from 9 to 10, (see fig. 11,) the current takes
exactly the different direction : instead of pro-
ceeding to «, it goes to b, which instead of a south
becomes a north pole.

These connecting wires are accordingly so ar-
ranged with a set of levers made of slendei wo >d,
that when the lifting of Hie lioiizoiual long lever,
shewn ill the diawing, causes ilie diagonal wires
or drawbridge to rise from the mercuiy, the direct
or lateral wires full in at the same moment; the
c irreiit instantaneously cliaiiges ; and again, when
the long horizontal lever escapes the lifter I shall
presenily desciiiie, the diagonal wiies fall into
the mercury, and a small square slip of ivory on
which these wires are fastened strikes the ends of
the litile lateial levers, and causes their wires to
leave the meicury and break the lateral conimuni-
caiioii.

The lifting and falling of the long horizontal
lever is effected by six wires placed parallel to the
axle, half an iiicl) within the circumference of the
wheel, and immediately across the legs of each
alternate wheel-magnet ; see fig. 5, tv. w. By this
arraiigemeiil the poles of the pi iiicipal
magnet change every time that one of the twelve
wheel-magiiets becomes horizonial.

Let us then suppose these seveial parts placed
on a frame, as shewn in the chief diawing, and the
wheels and exieriial magnet excited eacli hy a
Wollaston battery of ten-p'ates. The wheel is at
rest; communication iliiough the pole-changer
diagonal : the right side of the external magnet has,
we will suppose, a norih pole, and the wheel-mag-
net at the corresponding side at an angle of 30®
above the horizon has a soiitii pole (and vice vers4
at tlie opposite side). The external magnet for-
cibly attracts tlie internal one, which desceinls to
the horizontal plane. At this inomeni the wire on
the circumference of the wheel, acting on the long
lever of the pole-changer, lifts the diagonal wires,
and permits the lateral to fall; the poles of ihe
external magnet change: they repel those of the
internal or wheel-magnei, which they had just be-
foie attracted, and they attract the next wheel-
magnet exactly in the same manner, owing to the
alternating anangement of the wheel-magnets pre-
viously desciibed. When this, the next wheel.-
magnet, becomes horizontal, the long lever of Ihe
changer falls, the diagonal commniiicaiion is restor-
ed, the lateral interrupted, and the poles of the
external magnet again changed. Thus the extei-
nai magnet changes its poles every time an inter*
nal magnet presents; and as the change makes
the opposite and horizontal magnets repellent, and
the external and upper wheel-magnet attractive,
rapid rotation forthwith ensues.

The model thus constructed was finished on the
8th October, and immediately tried: and on the
fust attempt it more than fulfilled my anticipa-
tions. The moment the batteries were connected

' "•'T'-'-i." ■• ' ' ''''''''

\

THE MECHANISM OF O’SHAUGHNESSY’S MODEL.

43^

wlih tlie masnets*, ihe vvlieel started off, and from
Ihe first moveiiieni woikrd ilie polf-chaiigei wiili
ease. Ihe velocity wiih whicli it revolved was
very considerable - namely, lO revoliiiioiis in a
iiiiiiiite ; ainl this velocity was perfectly iiniioim as
loiii! as the galvanic excitement was sustained.

1 he' force was so great that the support of the ex-
tetnal magnet was repeatedly diagged inwaids to
the wheel, and the magnets came in contact with a
stroke that made the fiame vibiate, to oliviate this
we were obliged to tit iti another very sir -tig sup-
port.

Seveial experiments were subseqitetilly made
with Ibis model, as well to deieiiiiine its actn I
woikitig power, as to obtain tl,ie n<-ressary data
for the construction of a larger macbine.

A corti was aiiathed to the axle, made to iilav
over a pnlle} hall an inch in diumeier, and con-
nected with a scale. on starting the model, ihe
axlelified 10 'toy ounces while the wheel wus re-
volving forty limes, and a tiov i>onnd while ie-
volving about tinny times per minnie.

These exiir rimeiifs were made, ilie w'lieel being
excited hr one of Wollaston’s ten-plate ■l-incb
troughs, the external magnet by another iioogli
piecisely similai. On adding a second I oagli
to the exiern.il magnet, the velocity liecame so la-
pid we could with ditiicnlty coiiiii it by the eye. I be
Velocity was similai l\ tiicieased in adding ibes.-
coiid iiongh to ilie wheel in>icad of ilie external
magnet. I'lie speed oi the wheel was also reniaih-
ably inciensed, by conneciing wiili the baiterv the
Second Spiral with wbicii the external o agm t was
piovided. It is almost needless to mention lhai the
inacliine was stopped at iileaMire l»y lemoving any
one III the c<>nn»ciiiig wiiep, wlieinei of the wheel
or of the exieinal magnet. In this state the model
was shewn to seveiat ft lends , tind afte i wards exlii-
bited at Liid Ancklaiid’s conv ei sa/.ioii6 on the 9tlt
of Novembei.

Remarks.

The preceding description and drawings,
together with the papers 1 may refer to in
the Appendix, are quite sufficient to shew
that the mechanism of this model is altoge-
ther different from that of any electro-mag-
netic machine hitherto invented, of which
any account has been published.

The pole-changer described by Mr. M’
Gauley is in principle the same as mine ;
and had I received that gentleman’s paper
when I commenced my experiments, I should
not have deemed it necessary to construct a
different one. My model was, however,
finished and shown at Governm‘-n' House
before I received the Philosophical Maga-
zine containing tlie description in question.
In all respects however, the detail- of these
pole changer-r differ I’he mode of working
the wires is peculiar to mine, and 'he glass
tube- in mine serve the important end of guid-
ing the wires to the mercurial surface, and
preserving this from accidental derangement
by the motion of the machine.

The application of e’ectro-maanets to the
direct attainment of a rotatory mo'icn being
thus accomplished, and all intervening and
weakening impediments of cranks, &c. alto-

♦ Only one of the spirals of the external magnet
was used in the Qist ixpei iiiieni.

gether avoided, the question of course pre-
sents itself, Can this motion be rendered
sufficiently powerful ? and if so, can it be pro-
cured at so economical a rate as to justify
the expectation that it may be made availa-
ble as a mechanical or locomotive agent ?

It is but with the utmost self-distrust that
1 would venture to discuss the first of these
questions, since 1 cannot but be conscious
that my knowledge of mechanics is too limit-
ed to warrant my speculating on the subject
but with the greatest caution. But 1 may
perhaps be permitted to offer a few practical
observations, in connexion with numerous
experiments I have made and am still pursu-
ing.

Apparently the most obvious mode of in-
creasing the power of the wheel would be by
enlarging its diameter, preserving the same
distance, two inches, betweenthe wheel mag-
nets— by increasing at the same time the
number of the wheel magnet, and diminish-
ing the distance between each pair, say to
one inch.

A model was constructed with the view to
determine experimentally the effect of these
alterations. The wheel was 37§ inches in
circumference, mounted with 32 magnets ;
clear interval one inch. The arrangement of
the disks, external magnet, and pole-
changer, the same a-: before; — a uniform but
extremely slow rotatmn ensued ; the pow er
at the axle was very nearly the same as with
the original model. Every alternate magnet
was now removed, thus making the interval
the same as in the first model ; the rotation
became equally rapid, but the axle not more
powerful than in the 12 magnet 8 inch
machine.

The sairte wheel was then fitted to a frame
and series of supports, by means of which
four external magnets, each of 30 lbs. power,
with set arate pole-changers, were brought
to net simultaneoushi on four sets of excited
wheel magnets — viz. one set at each quarter
of the wheel. 'I'lie experiments with this
model were satisfactory but inconclusive.
Each external magnet increased the power
apparently in an arithmetical ratio; but hav-
ing no more than five, sets of Wollaston’s
plates at my disposal, I was unable to give
ihe wheel magnets the fair quaniity of ex-
citement which in the commenceraeni of this
paper I have shewn them to require. I have
little doubt that when sets of plates now in
construction a'C completed, this form of
model will work with four times the power of
the first one, — or, in other words, lift 4 lbs.
troy at its axle, the v.fheel revolving forty
times per minute,

A third model, on a different plan of com-
bination, is now in construction. It consists
of four vertical wheels, of the same dimen-
sions as that in the first model, — all on one
axle, and each wheel having an external prin-
cipal magnet and separate pole-changer. The
wheels and external magnets are so set that

438 the batteries TRIED IN O’SHAUGHNESSY’S EXPERIMENT.

the raaximTam forces are exerted in succession
from right to left, at an interval of half an
inch and in an ascending plane. 1 hus the
two inch distance or interval between the
magnets is (with reference to the entire series
of wheels considered as a revolving cylindor
or drum) i educed practically to a halt inch^ —
or, in other words, if a diagonal line be drawn
from the magnet in the horizontal plane on
the right, to ihat 30 degrees above the horizon
on the left, in each ascending half inch of this
diagonal there isa magnet constantly exerting
its maximum po\ver.

From this arrangement I anticipate the
most favorable results. I see no reason why
it should not answer. Should it prove suc-
cessful, the applicability of the electro-magnet
as a locomotive working power will cease to
be a matter of speculation.

The application of this power to locomotive
engines on railroads is the first which I anti-
cipate. 'I'he recent treatise on locomotive
machines by the Chevalier de Pambnur
makes me speak wdthsome confidence on this
point- His admir.ihle investigations on the
theory and working force of t.ie carriages on
the Manchester and Darlington railways,
shews that the I'ower necessary for the
pulling of one ton at the average is actually
only 'Zi lbs ! — that is, that a weight of seven
pounds suspended over a pulley by a cord
attached to the carriage wiP draw the ton
weight on a level railway. My first model is
by experiment proved to possess one-seventh
of this power — or, in other words, to have a
tractive force sufficient to move more than
3Q0 lbs. Now the weight of the model iiself
was but 12 Ihs. its batteries 60 ; and trivial
as is this weight, there are numerous facts
which shew that it may be very much
reduced. The magnets may be all holJow for
instance, as I inferred from iMr. Barlow’s
experiments and verified by my own, on
magnets made from gun barrels. Acain, the
most po werful oftheelectro-magne's hitherto
made, viz. the American one, which support-
ed a ton, only w^eighed 27 lbs.

Numerous facts, too, seem to indicate that
the size of the galvanic battery may be re-
duced to very insignificant dimensions. The
magnet now exhibiting in the Adelaide Gal-
lery in London, and which sustains 300 lbs.
weight, is rendered active by a set of plates
which fit in a pint vessel ; and one belong-
ing to Mr. Marsh ot Woolwich, which sup-
ports 500 lbs. is excited by a battery contain-
ed in a half pint mug. Professor Moll of
Utrecht has made a ‘2ob lbs. m gnet. which
has only a single galvanic disk one inchin
diameter. These facts are extremely en-
couraging, though their applications to the
object now in view can only be made with
great caution. At first sight, it migh; natur-
ally appear that the sustaining power of a
magnet would be a just measure of its avail-
able force ; but I have found by repeated
trials that very good sustaining magnets may
be inferior in moving influence to magnets of

far less sustaining attraction. I have found
with my models that the longer the distance
from which an electro- magnet attracts a
small piece of steel, the better is its working !
power ; and in partial conformity with facts !
recently announced by Professor Ritchie, I I
have found that the length of the attracting *
di-tance is increased by prolonging the legs '
of the electro-magnet. But this only holds |
good within narrow limits 1 had, for in-
stance, three magnets made from one bar of
iron. No. 1 was three inches ; 2, ten inches ;

3, three feet long, — all were xvound with single
spirals, and each excited by one Wollaston’s
though. The magnet No. 2 far exceeded all
the others in distant attractive power.

The appropriate batteries for these experi-
ments, and some economical considerations
as to the consumption of acid, zinc, &c.,
require to be cursorily noticed before 1 can
conclude this paper.

When r commenced these experiments I
was impressed with the idea derived from the
hooks i had consulted on the subject, that
a single pair of copper and zinc plates of
moderately large size were the best suited for
the production of electro-magnetic forces. I
soon, however, found ample leason to alter
my opinion. I have made most extensive
trials of a great number of batteries of diffi-r-
ent kinds, and with tlie results I shall pre-
sently detail,— premising, tliat the same kind
of acid was used in each.

The principal batteries tried were —

I. Siiirveuii’s cniu ciiii ic copper and zinr cy liii-
dei s, So lunch fsieemed as magnetic exciters.

3. A fine single i)l te cell, lielongiiig to Mr.
Piiiisep. IJ feet wide, by 2 feet long,

3. All excellent pile of lOO 3 inch plates, beloin;-
liio to the Medical College.

4 A Cl nickshaiik’s fifu -plate S inrii iroiigh. I

5. Ditto, ten plate 4-iiich iiouglisiii porcelain
cell.s.

6. Wollaston’s ten-plate 4-inch tionghs, double
coppers.

7. Six of Professor Paradny’s rerentiv enn-
sirncied plates; see Philosopliical Transactions for
1831.

8. Professor Daniel’s new battery of cans and
zinc cytiiidei.s, uiili animal rnembiane interposed,
Willi sulpliaie of copper solution and dilute sui-
phuiic acid.

9. A modification of llie aliove of my own con-
struction, in i.roiii pssi ve sizes of 1,2,3, &c. to 20
square indies of copper siuface, the zinc cylinders
aiiialgaiiiated.

10. A laiee spiral of ten feet of copper jiy two
feet, wound l onnd a i)!ate of rolled zinc.

II. A Wollaston’s ilouhle plate, four inches
square-

12. A small spiral, 12 inches by 2, of annealed
copper and sheet lead

13. A Wollaston’s plate one inch and half long
by one hiond.

The effects of all these batteries were observed

on the same electro-magnet viz., that used ai

the exteinal magnet in the first model.

M’GAULEY’S OBSERVATIONS REFERRED TO BY O’SHAUGHNESSY. 431)

KFIK TS

No.

VVfijjhi sustariied.

1 For ivli.ii, lime.

Attiactiiig distance.

1.

9 li.a.

1.') iiiinuU's.

Email.

•2.

1,> ItiS. 1

2 or S iiiiniiies.

smalt .

S.

llutK'.

4.

none.

5.

none.

fi.

3s

2 lionr.8.

great.

7.

9

I5 oiiiMite.'’.

small.

8.

‘25

neailj 3 lii,nis.

small.

9.

Kxpei Inu'iits not vet completed, luit salisl'ac-

tory.

10.

No effect.

11.

IS IlH.

.4^ iK.iira.

moderate.

12.

10 llKS.

3| iioni.8.

loog.

13.

9 11)8.

Until Zinc dissolved.

long.

These experiments were repeated with cor-
responding results on electro-magnets of every
variety of shape, and weighing from half sn
ounce to 18 Ihs.

Combinations of several of the previous
batteries were also tried. I'lie Cruickshank’s
troughs and cells, multiplied to any number,
were invariably useless. But Daniel’s cans
and Wollaston’s double plates gave very
different results. Thus, though one Wollas-
ton plate supports l3 lbs., ten of these plates
support 38, and twenty plates 47 lbs. There
are, I may mention, two modes by wliich
these batteries may be associated, as is well
known of course to all experimentalists in
this department of science. One is the che-
mical, where the batteries are arranged end to
end, the terminal copperplate of one being
connected with the zinc of the next. The se-
cond is the magnetic, in which the troughs are
placed side by side, and the final co[)per cells
and zinc cells connected with the cells of the
same name.

Numerous experiments were made to ascer-
tain whether doubling, tripling, or quadru-
pling the number of troughs in either of
these ai rangements gave a proportionate in-
crease to the magnetic force imparted to the
soft iron. The most conclusive of these trials
was made with the apparatus previously de-
scribed, (see fig. 2) VV iiile in the chemical ar-
rangement the successive addiiions made but
a trifling increment to the sustaining power,
the second or magnetic arrangement gave
very nearly a direct increase for every addi-
tional battery.

The copper and lead arrangement No. l2
was formed for the purpose of regaining from
the solution the materials employed in the ex-
citement of the galvanic action. The expe-
riment answered so well that I mean to have
a battery constructed on this princpie, by
which 1 have no doubt 1 can recover a very
great proportion of the acid and lead used,
because the nitrate of lead formed, yield.s its
acid at a red heat, and the rnetal is readily
recovered by smelting the residue with char-
coal.

On the whole, as far as my experiments
have proceeded, they shew that, contrary to
what is stated by all authorities on this subject,
’‘‘quantity''' of electricity (that amount set in
motion by asingle pair of plates) is not the
sole influence required for the induction of
great magnetic power. “ Intensity,” or the
impetus given to quantity by increasing the
number of plates, within certain limits
seems equally, if not more, essential. Inten-
sity adds to the sustaining power, and, 1 find
by many experiments, increases the attractive
distance. Nay more : — in almost direct con-
tradiction to what has been stated by writers
on this subject, I have reason to believe we
may diminish the size of the plates even to
one square inch of surface, provided we asso-
ciated a numlier of these plates, as in Wol-
laston’s arrangement. But the details on
these curious points 1 must reserve for ano-
ther paper.

With respect to the economy of the mate-
rials used, I may refer to Mr. M'Gauley’s
interesting observations in the Appendix,
In corroboration of bis views I may slate,
that sulphuric acid is now sold in England
for one penny the pound ; at which rate, and
at the present cost of zinc, 1 would work my
model, lifting a pound weight for twelve hours,
for about, one shilling. Should we succeed
in con.structing locomotive engines on the
plan T have attempted to point out, the mate-
rials will be more economical than the cost of
steam, in the proportion at least of four to
one.

I am happy in being enabled to add, that,
the subject is now engaging the attention of
one of our most distinguished engineer offi-
cers, a gentleman whose genius, acquirements,
and opportmiitie.s give the amplest promise to
all his undertakings. I am myself sanguine
as to the result ; and though 1 feel that full
success in the attempt is beyond my capacity
and resources, 1 confidently expect to see,
ere long, the ponderous, expensive, and dan-
eerous machinery of steam, rivalled by the
light, economical, and harmless engines which
electro-magnetism will plaeeatour command.”

440

MR. GRIFFITH’S VALUABLE PAPER,

Art. VI. — On the family of Rhizophorece,
By Wm. Griffith, Esq., Madras
Medical Service,

Account of the Fin of the Balista. By
J. W. Knight, Esq.

Meteorological Register kept on board the
Experiment Steam Flat, during a voyage
from Calcutta to Allahabad. By J.
W. Knight, Esq.

From Assistant Surgeon Spry, Offg.
Medical Storekeeper, to J. Swine y.
Esq., regarding the manufacture of
Glauber’s salts. — Transactions Medi-
cal and Physical Society, Calcutta,

1836.

The first and second of these papers will
be read with great interest by most of our
readers. We lament documents of thisnature
should have been so long withheld from the
public. The other articles are also of con-
sequence, one showing the temperature
whilst travelling in a steamer during the
hottest months of the year ; and the other
on the manufacture of Glauber’s salt.

ON THE FAMILY OF RH IZOPHORE^.

“ The first peculiarity I shall mention relates
to the anthers, and appears to have been first
noticed by Jacquin, in ids Hisioria Selectaruin
Stirpium Americanaium, p. 142, and subse-
quently by the illustrious Dr. Brown, who
adverts to it in his matchless account of
Rafflesia, (Linn. Trans, vol. l3, part 1,
p. 214) in these words: “ In oilier cases, a
separation of determinate poi lions of the
membrane takes place, either the whole length
of the theca, asin Hamamelideae and Berbeii-
deae ; or corresponding with its subdivisions,
as in several Laurinse; or lastly, having no
obvious relation to internal structure, as in
certain species of Rhizophora.” 1 was ac-
quainted with this structure for the first time
about three months ago ; and was then totally
unaware that it was known to Dr. Brown.
The first mention 1 saw of it was in Professor
Lindley’s Introduction to Botany, in which
the above quotation is cited, p. 128. As this
structure appears to be confined to the genus
Rhizophora, (that is, as I limit it,) it proba-
bly lias some relation to internal structure.
I have met with it in Rhizophora macrorrhiza,
and from the examination of young anthers,
presume it to exist in Rhizophora Candelaria ,
The anthers of these are nearly sessile, of
considerable size, and compressed laterally,
especially those of R. Candelaria. Their
narrowest edges are internal and external ; or,
in other words, situated aniicously and posii-
cously with respect to the axis. On examin-
ing their external surface more closely, we
perceive numerous roundisli opaque bodies
crowded together, and apparently imbedded

in their substance, and towards their internal
edge a depressed line running obliquely up-
waids and inwards. This line is of small
extent in R. Candelaria; in R. macrorrhiza
it reaches nearly to the apex of the anther. If
we make a transverse section at this stage,
which, I should mention, is a short time
before the expansion of the flower, we find
that the body of the anther is cellular ; the cells
towaids the centre being much the largest and
most distinct. Around the periphery a con-
siderable number of small sacs exist. Tltese
are entirely closed, more or less ovate, and
disposed without any obvious regularity.
They are at this peiiod filled with somewhat
immatuie pollen. They are of considerable
depth, and perfectly tree from mutual com-
munication. In R. Candelaria no sacs
appeal to be developed along the outer or
aniicous edge; in K. macrorrhiza, they aie
developed around the whole periphery. They
are however smaller and more compressed
along the above edge than elsewhere. The
circumferential tissue, or cuticle, as it may be
called, is I ei lectly continuous with the mar-
gins of the sac.s, and with the tissue interposed
between them. In R. maciori hi/a, just
before the expansion of the flower, this tissue
or cuticle w'ill be found to have separated
along the oblique line mentioned above, and
from the tody of the anther. Two valves
are thus formed, which, however, nece.ssarily
remain in their original situation. After the
expansion of the flovyer, theinner valve, which
is the smaller of the two, separates fiom its
base upwards, and becomes inclined inward.s.
The outer is curved outwards, and remains
attached both by its immediate base and apex.

The body of the anther now presents an
alveolar appearance, tlie alveoli being more
or less filled with pollen. Traces of the
original continuity of tissue remain adhering
to the margins of the alveoli, as well as to
those of the depressions visible on the inner
surface of the valves, and which previously
formed the lids of the alvtoli, or rather closed
them in. There is no peculiarity of stiucture
in the pollen connected with this singular and
anomalous form of anther, which seems to lie
allied to that of Viscum, so far as may be
judged from the rO[)resentation given in A. L.
De Jussieu’s Memoir on Captifoliaceae and
Loranlhaceae, Annales du Museum, tom. 12,
pi. 27. fig. E.

The direction of the valves of the anthers
may be explained by assuming, that the the-
cae, which they may be said to assi?tin form-
ing, are anterior and posterior, in which case
each valve will be single. This assumption,
however, appears to me to be coniraiy to all
analogy, nor am I acquainted with an in-
stance of such a disposition. Or, we may
take the type of an anther, as Dr. Brown
has stated, to consist “ of two parallel folli-
culi or thecse, fixed by their whole length to
the margins of a compressed filament;” the
parallelism being transverse. In this view of
the case, the valves will be compound; that
is, each will be formed of half a valve taken
from the right side, and half from the left:
the line of union of the two halves being the
line of separation in other cases. 1 do not

SYNOPSIS OF THE RHIZOPHORE^,

441

know of any such absolutely analogous form
of anther ; but analogous examples of de-
hiscence occur frequently in fruits, forming
that variety knownby the name of dehiscentiu
loculicida. A similar position of the valves
might result from a twisting of the filament;
but this does not appear to take place in the
present instance. The development of the
pollen will necessarily present some peculiar-
ities, but the great paucity of materials has
prevented me from following it up.

The mature cotyledons in Rhi2ophora,
Kandelia, and Bruguieia decandra are con-
solidated, and foim a mass which, towards the
base (where it IS articulated with the collet),
is cylindrical and hollow, towards ilie apex
fleshy and coriaceous ; the upper half of this
part leing generally somewhat constricted,
and surrounded by fungous ti-'^sue. I'his tis-
sue appears to oiiginate in the coats of the
ovulum, which at some period become de-
tached and pushed towards the bottom of the
pericarpial cavity. In these the plumulais
lodged in the hollow of the cylinder. Cor-
responding with this structure, the ovarium is
only f or § iofeiior, the upper part of the cori-
aceous capsule being, as it were, exserted^.

In Bruguieia pai viflora (W ightaud Arrioli),
and probably in all the genuine species ot
this genus, the cotyledons are distinct, fleshy,
and plano-convex ; tliey are not articulated
with the collet. They are besides enclosed in
their original integuments, these being only
open at tire point of exit of tlm radicle. In
these two, the capsule is almost wliolly in-
ferior, and entirely enclosed within the calyx.
The plumulain B. pai viflora is lodged be-
tween the cotyledon.'^, and surrounded with a
transparent mucilaginous fluid.

The mature radicles cou?ist of a central and
peripherical system, the tissues of which, al-
thougli continuous, present an ohviou.s line of
demarcation. Tlie cliief bulk is cellular, the
cells abounding in amylaceous matter. Tlie
propoitionof woody fi tire varies extremely;
in Uhizophora Candelaria and macrorrinza, it
occurs throughout the central system, ami is
excessively fine ; in Bruguieia decandra the
proportion of fibre is exceedingly small, and
confined to the circumference of the central
system ; in Kandelia this tissue is veiy dense,
and exists only towards the apex of the same
system, and has no communication with tlie
collet. The proportion of vessels is in the
roots of some species exceedingly small, in
others they appear to be altogether wanting.
1 may add, that the central system subsequent-
ly becomes the wood ; the central cells, at
least in Bruguiera parviflora, remaining un-
occupied, and forming the medulla.

With respect to the exsertion or lifting up
of the axis (soulevement), I may remark, that
to all appearance it occurs in the genus Rhi-

• Both Jacquin and Gaertner have mistaken
the structure of the fruit of Rhizophora. The
consolidated cotyledons form the “ crus” of
Jacquin, and the displaced integuments are the
‘‘ albumen” of Gaertner, and the “ calyptra”
of Jacquin. According to this author the seed
is limited to the radicle and plumula, while
the cotyledons of Gaertner are the outer por-
tions of the plumula.

zophora, and is carried to its greatest extent,
perhaps, in R. macrorrhiza It is not difficult
to conceive this effect, when we take into
consideration the number of roots that descend
tiom the branches to the ground. These
must, during their growth, meet with consider-
able resistance at both extremities* The aich-
ed lorm which they invariably assume, after
penetration into the earth (the convexity
looking Upwards), is a necessary con.sequence
of that resistance.

The Linnean Genus Rhizophora appears
to contain the types of three genera. The
celebrated De Candolle, however, keeps it
entire. 1 may remark, that in an order the
genuine con.stituents of which have, with one
exception, definite stamina, their constant
iiidefinity in that instance, may, 1 should
imagine, f e relied on as a valid character ,
Kandelia seems theiefore, and on account
of tlie structuie of the petals, a good genus :
and IS adopted by Messrs. Wight and
Arnott in their valuable Prodromus Floras
Peninsulae Indise Orienialis. Bruguiera
is not quite so satisfactory ; since B. de-
candra, fvoxburgh’s Rhizophora decandra,
the figure of which in his collection of colour-
ed drawings belonging to the Honorable
Company’s Botanic Garden at Calcutta is
excellent, has the flower of Bruguiera and the
fruit of Rhizophora.

I shall conclude with a synopsis of the Rhi-
zophoreae which I have met with on the coasts
of the renasserim Provinces, between the
parallels of 16^. 3o’ and 12?, north latitude.

RnizoPHonE®, R. Brown Gen. Re"
marks in Appendix to Flinders’s Voyage, vol.
2. p. 549.

1. Rhizophora Linn, (ex parte). Dec. Prodr.
vol. 3, p. 3l, (ex parte). Wight and Arnott,
Prodr. Florae Penins. Indise Orientalis, vol.
1. p.310.

1 may here remark, that if the peculia’’
stiucture of the anthers he confined totlii*
genus, it will piove a valuable addition to the
generic character,— It appears to me, that two
very distinct species have been confounded
under R. Candelaria ; these I propose to
characteiise as follows :

1. Candelaria (Dec.) foliis ovalibus mu-
cronato-euspidatis, pedunculis petiolo brevioii-
bus saepius 2 floris, flotibus 9 — 12 atidris, fiuc-
tibus subulaio-clavatis iiutantibus, Dec. loc.
cit. p. 32. Wight and Arnott, loc. cit. p.
310. Pee Candel Rheed, Mai. vol. 6. p. 61,
t. 34. Mangium Candelarium, Rumph. Amb.
vol. 3. p. 108, t. 71, 72.

Hab. add littora limosa maris et sestuario-
rura orae Tenasserim, ubique Floret Anrili.
Maio.

Arbuscula corona lata feie hemisphaeric^.
Floies albi. Petala angusta, sublaevia, per
aestivationem stamina non amplectentia.
Stami ria .saepissiniC 12, quorum 2 sepalo cui-
que, 1 petalo cuique opposita. Radicula
(exserta) 1-, l§-pedalis.

2. R. macrorrhiza, mihi, foliis ovali-ellip-
ticis mucronato-cuspidatis, cymis nutantibus
dichotomis petioles excedentibus. floribus
8 andris, fructibus subulato-clavatis pendulis.

442

RHIZ0PH0REJ2 ON THE COAST OF TENASSERIM.

R. Manirle. Rovh- FI- Inclica, vol. 2 p.
459* Fjusdem icones piciaj in Horto Bot.
Calcuttensi asservatJB, vol- t 115, l)ona.

Flab, pecus iittora limosa marls circa Mer-
gui, oree Tenasseriix), copiose. Floret April!,
iVIaio.

Arbor 25-pec!alis, corona parvil. Flores
semper octandri, suaviter odorati. I^etala
alba, conduplicata, marginibus villo-sis. Sta-
mina 4 sepalis, 4 petalis opposiia et his per
sestivationem amplexa. Radicula (exserta)
maxima, 2| pedalis, sul venucosa.

This appears to differ from R.MangleofLin-
neus, a native or the vvestern hemisphere, in
the form of the leaves. The habit of these two
species is very distinct, as is likewise the form
of their anthers, 'fhefactof the fruit of R-ma-
crorrhiza being pendulous, results of course
from the greater length of the peduncle. This
in R. Candelaria isso short, that thegermina-
ting fruit, which is at first erect, subsequently
becomes curved downwards by itsown weight.

II. Kandelia. Wight and Arnott.

Rhizophora § Kandelia. Dec.

The character of the ovarium, as given by
Wight and Arnott, is at variance with the
usual structure of the order, and with my
own observations. 1 have found it to have
the ordinary structure.

K. Rheedei. Wight and Arnott. loc. cit.
p. 311. dsjerou Kandel. Rheede. loc. cit.
p. 63. t. 35. Rhizophora Kandel (Linn.) Dec,
loc. cit. p. 32.

Hab. ad ripas limosas fluminum orae Te-
nasserim. prsecipue ostia versus. Floret Sep-
tembi-e, Octobre.

III. Bruguiera. Lam.

• Floribus 8-petalis.

1 B. cylindrica ( W. and A.) foliis lanceo-
lato-obovaiis subacutis, pedunculis 1—3 floris
petiolis paullo brevioiibus, calycis fructus la-
ciniis patenti-reflexis, fructibus cylindiaceis
acutiusculis.

B. cylindrica. Wight and Arnott. loc. cit.
p. 3ll. Rhizophora cylindrica, ( Idnn.) Dec,
loc. cit. p. 32. Kanil-Kandel. Rheed. loc.
cit. p. 59. t. 33.

Hab. secus Iittora limosa Insulas Pulo
Gyoon et Madamacan, rarius ; florens No-
vembre.

Arbuscula. Flores viridescentes. Calycis
laciniae lineares. Petala albiila, apicibus
ciliato-pinnatifidis. Fructus penduli5 — 6 un-
ciales.

Rheede’s figure corresponds tolerably well
with my plant, wliich is distinct from Rox-
burgh’s Rhizophora parviflora.

2. B, parviflora. (W.and A .) foliis lance-
olatis vel lanceolato-ovatis obiusiu^culis, pe-
dunculis peiiolorum longitudine dicliotome 3-
floris, calycis fructus laciniis erectis, tructibus
obtusis.

B. parviflora. Wight and Arnott. loc. cit .
p. 311 (sine charactere). Rhizophora parvi-
flora. Roxb. loc. cit. p. 461. Ejusdem leo-
nes pictae Suppl. vol. 2. t. 4.

Hab. inter alias Rhizophoreas in Insula
parva, anglice Madamacan dicta, Mergui
proxima. Floret fructnsque profert ab Oc-
tobre usque ad Martium.

Arbuscula elegans. Flores viridi Intescen-
tes, sub-odorati. Calycis tubus elongatus,sub-

fusiformis. Petala lutescentia. ciliata. Fruc-
tus subcylindrici, 4— 5*unciales, penduli, api-
cihus quasi truncati et rnedio foveolati.

* * Floribus 10 —l3*petal !,■=.

B. gyrnnoirhiza (Lam-) Wight and Ar-
nott. ioc. cit. p, 311. Kandel. Rheede, loc.
cit. p. 57. t,5l, optima, t. 52. mala. Man-
giiim celsum. Rumph. Amb. 3. p, 102. t. 68.
mala. Rliizophoia gyrtmorrhiza, (Linn.)
Roxb. loc. cit, p. 460. fvjusdem icones picije
vol. 84. 114-

Hab- ad Iittora limosa orae Tenasserim ; flo- |
rens per totum annum-

* * * Species inter Rhizophoiam et Bru- I

guieram media. |

B- flecandra. mihiy foliis obovatis obtusi.s., [

simis, floribus dense capitulatis, calycibus 5-
paititis, fiuctibus clavatis sulcatis. :

Rhizophora decandra. Roxb- Flor. Ind,
Synopsis. Ms. Ejusdem Icones, vol. 8. t. j
116, optima. Dec. loo. cit. p. 33. |

Mab. ad Iittora limosa orae Tenasserim, ad
Martaban et Mergui. Floret per menses calidos.

Frutex saepiiis Immilis. Flores virides-
ceini-albidi. Petala alba (demum coriacea et j
brunuesceniia). conduplicata, apicibus inciso- j

laciniata- Stan)ina pelalorum numero dui)la, '

2 petalo cuique opposiia et per aestivationein '
eodem amplexa. Antherae biloculares. Calyx [
fructus semi'inferus, coriaceus ; laciniis pa- '
tentibus. Fructus erectus vel nutans, Radi- j

cula (exserta) 5— 6-uncialis.

Species flore Bruguierae.fructu Rhizophorae.

IV. Carallia, Roxb.

C. lucida. Roxb. Cor. PI. vol. 3. t. 2lT.
Ejusdem icones pictae vol. 9, t. 19. mala. FI. j'

Indica, voL 2. p. 481. Wight and Arnott, I

loc. ci t. p. 312- I

Hab. in humidis orae Tenasserim ad Moal- ]:
main et IMeigui, Floret Decetnbre.

Arbor humilis, ramulis compressis. Folia i
ovala vel oblongo-ovata, crenulata, interdwm j
integra, coriacea. Cyrui axillares, opposiii, 'j

dichotomi, foliis breviores. Floies dense ag- ,
gregati, viridescenti-albidi, odoris forte ingrati.
Petala aiba. Stamina petalorum numero
dupla, alterna petalis opposita et per aestiva- i
tionem iisdem amplexa. Antherae biloculares,
longitudinaliter dehiscente.s. Ovarium 4- lo-
culare, loculis 2-oviilati.s, Stylus flliformis;
stigma 4-lobum. Ovula pendula. Tegumenta
biua distincta. Foramen superum hilum prope.

EXPLANATION OF THE FIGURES. ||

1. Young anther of Rhizophora Candelaria. :J

2. Ditto ditto of R. macrorrhiza. ji

3. Transverse section of ditto of R. Cande- |

laria. _ |

3. Am her of R. macrorrhiza about the jj

time of expansion of the flower. i

4. Ditto ditto the valves detached. I

5. Ditto after expansion, the valves nearly jt

in situ. I

6. Pollen of R. macrorrhiza. i

ACCOUNT OF THE FIN OF THE !

BALISTA. j

“ The Balistes, belonging to the family
of the Sceerodermes, and order Plectognathi, |;|
of the subbrachial Malacopterygians, (Cu- ■

vier,) possesses in its first dorsal fin, an of- t
fensive and defensive weapon, the mecha- l|
nism of which is curious and highly interest- :j

Z, ■ '

/; Tk^z 4' ^

Ji- IEA€'^.^^ZI' ^ \

. Tzy. T'h'e'4?(^-ce--7-i-^^_ ^Zi(^^^^^Z?zvc-es4\
iZ. T?v^ Z 4

6

INTELLIGENCE INTERESTING TO TRAVELLERS.

44

ing : ft question might be raised, of its being
really destined to the purposes I have attri-
buted to it, and more particularly since Cu-
vier and Lacep6de, who have given descrip-
tions of this fish, have passed it over without
notice ; but I hope to prove by the position,
simplicity and firmness of its parts, thatii is
equally qualified to fulfil the offices of a fin,
and those above mentioned, which I have
assigned to it.

The fin consists of three spines, connec-
ted by an elastic membrane, extending only
to half the length of the first, covering the
second and third, and attached to the inner
border of the groove on the ridge of the back,
in which the rays are contained when at rest.
The accompanying sketch will serve to repre-
sent a section of the cavity and accessory
pieces of the machinery.

'J'he first spine curved and studded in
front, with sharp serrse, presents posteriorly
a groove, which is narrowed as it descends ;
from thence alignment passes backwards to
the ‘2nd spine — at the base are two small
tubercles, looking inwards : it forms with
capsular ligaments, and the inner margin of
the trough, a ginglymoid articulation.

The 2ud spine may be divided into the bo-
dy, sharpened before its lateral edges, being

slightly furrowed, for the reception of the
groove of the 1st spine, and smoothed inferi-
orly, where it plays over a fixed axis. An
ascending process, and two descending pro-
cesses, (one of which only is seen,) articulat-
ed with the centre of the circle, of which the
axis is a segment.

The 3rd spine is connected to the 2nd by a
ligament, and with a nodule of bone on the
floor of the cavity forms another hinge joint.

When erection is required, four small mus-
cles, inserted on ihe sides of the 1st and 2nd
spines, raise the fin, which from the mecha-
nism described is fixed so firmly as to resist
the strongest attempts at withdrawing it •
the latter object is effected by a small muscle
on the posterior surface of the 3rd spine,
which contracting acts througii the ligaments
on the whole chain of bones; releasing the
body of the 2nd from the groove and tuber-
cles of the 1st, it returns the instrument to
its proper sheath.

An engraving of the fish may be found in
the 2nd volume of the Plates of the Diction-
ary of Natural History, by the Professors
of the Jardin des Plantes; but singularly
enough they have omitted the membrane and
ligaments, without which the fin would be
rendered imperfect.”

METEOKOLOGICAL HEGISTEK. KEPT ON BOARD THE EXPERlMENTSTEUvr
FLAT. DURING A VOYAGE FROM CALCUTTA TO ALLAHABAD BY J W
KNIGHT, LSQ. ’

Dates.

<

d

o

o

2 P. M.

Sunrise, j
1

Winds, Morning and
Evening.

Remarks on the Weather.

April 22nd,
23rd,

760

840

830

90

76

s. w.

N. E. by E. — E. by s.

Violent north-wester at night
Cloudy morning, smart shower

24 th,

77

84

94

84

N. E. ^ E. — E. by s.

m the afternoon.

Fine, clear.

25 th,

78

88

88

88

s. by E. — N. w. by w.

Ditto, ditto.

26th,

77

85

86

74

N. E. ^ N.— S. W. |S.

Smart partial showers about

27th,

75

78

80

80

E. by s.— s. E. ^ s.

3 P. M.

Heavy fall of rain from 6 till

28th,

74

81

85

86

s. w. by s.

noon.

Cloudy.

29 th.

72

82

84

85

boxing the Compass, e.

Violent storm before day-break •
fine day. ’

Fine, clear.

30th,

74

85

88

88

\

s. by w.

May 1st,

74

83

87

86

N. E. — s. by w.

Strong breeze ; fine day.

2nd,

78

88

88

88

round the Com- 1 ,

3rd,

74

83

85

86

pass. j.v. byE.

Variable, n. by e.

Fine, clear.

Ditto, ditto.

4 th,

75

87

89

78

N. E.

Most furious hurricane from the

5th,

74

84

85

88

N. E.

N. w. at§ pasts p, M.
(Temperature of hot well, Seeta-

6th,

75

88

93

92

E. N. E, — N. N. E.

coond, 1330; fine clear.)

From 3 to 5, the J bermometer

7 th,

76

88

91

91

N. E.— N. N. E.

was at 980 and lOO®.

Fine, clear.

8th,

78

86

88

87

S. E.

Strong breeze ; cirro-stratus.

9th,

76

87

89

85

E. S. E.

' Uittvy, ditto.

loth,

76

87

87

87

S. E.

jThermometer at 10 p. m. 94o ;

nth.

79

88

90

90

N. B.— N. N. E,

fine, clear day. ’

Fine, clear.

12th,

83

83

84

92

S. S. W.~N. N. E.

Fine, clear, strong breeze at
night.

Fine, clear weather.

l3th.

85

93

95

94

N. E. — N. N. E.

l4th,

860 anchored in the Jumna, off the Fort of Allahabad, at i past 7 a.m.

444

ON THE MANUFACTURE OF GLAUBER’S SALTS.

The foregoing register shows the tempera-
ture of the atmosphere in the cuddy of the
Experiment flat, which is in the after part of
the vessel, and has a thin deck ; above which
was a canvas awning. 'J’he temperature on
deck was in general from 2 to 3 degrees high-
er than in the cabins.

There were 34 men undone woman (mili-
tary detachment) onboard, who were accom-
modated in the centre of the vessel, in a room
28 feet long, by 17 feet broad, and 4^ feet
high, across which were 2 large beams which
reduced the cubic space for each man o 5G
cubic feet. This space receives air and light
by 12 hatchways, of which eight were always
open ; there are no side ports or other means
of ventilation, except the hatchways, and one
port, which influences ventilation indirectly,

i. e. through the non-commissioned officers’
room. Mr. Knight considers the space and
ventilation insufficient for the number of men
who were embarked. It is less than in line of
battle ships on the lower deck, when the men
are all in their hammocks, as there are then es-
timated 120 cubic feet for each man ; and at
sea, one watcb being always on deck.butleav-
ing their hammocks below, the space for each
man would be double. However the detach-
ment enjoyed good health, there being but few
acute diseases, and those were readily cured.
REGARDING I HE MANUFACTURE
OF GLAUBER’S SALTS.

1. In conformity with the instructions of
the board, as contained in their letter to you
under date 4th November, 1830, 1 have the
honor to report to you that 800 lbs. of the
Glauber Salts have been manufactured at this
Dep6t, to meet present demands.

2. In connection with this subject, I pro-
ceed to lay before you the following details,
in the collection of which no efforts have been
spared to render them as accurate, and I
trust as comprehensive, as the Board might
wish. In the analytical part, I consider
myself much indebted to Dr. Campbell, of
the firm of Bathgate and Co., for the able
assistance he has rendered me.

3. The salts are prepared from a mineral
earth, known by the name of Khare Muttie ;
Khare being the Arabic word for Alkali, and
Muttie, the Sanscrit word for earth.

4. The only use made of it by the natives of
Oude, as far as I can ascertain, is as a con-
diment ; they give it to their sheep, mixed
in the food, but to no other animal. It is
supposed to have the effect of fining the
fleece.

5. The face of the country whence it is
brought is flat, and intersected by deep
ravines. It abounds in the neighbourhood
of Onaoo, a town about 10 miles from the
banks of the river Ganges, and is brought to
me in hard striated masses, mixed with sand.

6. In rendering the salt free from impuri-
ties. little difficulty is experienced. The pro-
cess adopted by the natives in this part of
India is both easy and simple. It consists in
boiling the Khare Muttie in little more than
its weight of water, the whites of eggs havi^
been previously beaten up and mixed with it,
until a pellicle forms. It is then allowed to

stand for about half an hour, that the impu-
rities may subside ; after which, the superna-
tant liquor is set aside to crystallize. This
process is repeated to free the crystals from
any remaining impurities, and the salt is then
laid apart for use.

7. Two pounds of earth, treated in this
manner, yield one pound of pure Glauber
Salts. A specimen of the salt, in its natural
and manufactured states, 1 have the honour
to transmit to you.

8. A series of analytical experiments were
continued for seven days, and from the results
which have been obtained, 200 parts of Onaoo

earth were found to consist of,

Dried Sulphate of Soda 145. 90

Dried Muriate of Soda, 6. 10

Alumina, 25. 0

Oxyde or Carbonate of Iron. . . 1. 5

Siliceous Earth, 9. 0

Trace of Lime, 1. 0

Loss 11. 5

200. 0

9. The regret I should have felt at not
being able to state from my personal obser-
vation, the capabilities of the different dis-
tricts in the dominions of Oude, to furnish a
supply to meet any demands the Board might
be pleased to determine on, has been removed
by the circumstance of you yourself, having
had satisfactory proof during your recent
tour of Hospital Inspection through that
country.

10. I'he expence incurred in the manu-
facture of 800 lbs. has been as follows :

1000 lb. of Khare earth, with carriage * o

hire, ®

40 maunds of fire-wood, with coolie 1
hire, eggs, and earthen pans v ^

150

or 3 annas per pound avoirdupois.

11. In searching for information regarding
the existence of sulphate of soda, in a natural
state, when first entering into the present
inquiry, I was disappointed at finding only a
short paragraph devoted to this article, in
the Materia Indica. lately published by Mr.
Ainslie. of the Madras Medical Service. It
is to this effect, “ that Dr. F. Hamilton, in
his MSS. account of the district of Furneah,
alludes to a coarse kind of Glauber Salt
being brought from Patna, and called Khare
Neerauck but, adds Mr. Ainslie in a note :
“ It is to be presumed, that it is a very im-
pure sort.” Dr. Hamilton does not say
whether it is prepared at Patna, or found
native, which it often is in combination
with oxyde of iron, and muriate and
carbonate of soda, and sometimes efflores-
ced on the surface of the soil, as in Hun-
gary, and with this he dismisses the sub-
ject. I perceive Dr. Ure mentions thal
large quantities of it exist under the surface
of the earth in Persia, Bohemia, and Swit-
zerland.

Dr. Campbell states, that the Khare Mut-
tie exists in large quantities, and it is so
rich as to yield by the common process of
purification and crystallization full 60 per
cent, offine sulphate of soda.

ABERRiVNT LANIADAN FORMS OF NEPAL.

445

Art. VII. — Bengal Almanac and Com-
panion, and City of Calcutta Register j
in two parts, pp. 200. D’Souza and
Co., Church Mission Press. Price Co.
Rs. 2. Calcutta, 1837^

In every department, even that of Di-
rectories and Almanacs, there appears
to be progression and improvement. The
one before us might have been properly
called the Stranger's Guide, instead of
an Almanac and Register, the least im-
portant parts of the work. We have the
names and situations of the streets of Cal-
cutta, Government establishments, list of
bazars in Calcutta, produce thoughout the
year, law department, including those of the
Supreme Court, Calcutta Police, and Court
of Requests, every department in Com-
merce, the description of colleges and public
schools, literary, scientific, charitable, re-
ligious, marine and river insurance
societies, places of Divine worship, ecclesi-
astical, civil, military, and marine lists, un-
covenanted assistants in public offices, with
a correct account of the streets and numbers
in which every person of any consequence is
residing in Calcutta. The work is credita-
ble to the industry and zeal of the publish-
ers, and we strongly recommend it to the
notice of residents and persons visiting Cal-
cutta.

ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS.

ON SOME NEW SPECIES OF THE
MORE TYPICAL LANIIDyE
OF NEPAL.

By B. H. Hodgson, Esa.

Resident in Nepal.

For the India Review.

To the account already given of the aber-
rant Laniadan forms of Nepal I now pur-
pose to add a notice of the more typical
ones.

Subfamily Lanian®.

Genus Lanius (hodie dictus)

Genus Collurio Vigors.

Bhadrdya of Nepal (generiec^.)

Species new. Nipalensis nobis.

Form and size. 12§ inches wide by 11^
long, whereof the tail is 5§ and the bill
15-16ths. Tarsus l,15-16ths; central toe
12-16ths; hind toe 8-16ths : weight 2 oz.

Make robust, with a large flat head. Bill
shorter than the head (an 8th or more), very
strong, possessing much and equal breadth
and height at base, but extremely compress-
ed forwards, with round ridges and vertical
plane sides : culmen half concealed by the
frontal plumes, distinctly arched in the
whole of the free portion ; not keeled ; the
hook and tooth, large : the lower mandible
rising from the gular excavation, with its
strongly up-curved point fitting into a deep
palatal notch, and its margins very widely
and Innately scooped on either side the
point. Nares nearer to the tip than gape,
elliptic, longitudinal, unfossed, scarcely
membraned posteally, and scarcely conceal-
ed by incumbent setse and hairs. Lores
and frontal band, rigid ; rest of the plumage,
soft and discomposed. Rictus to eye and
strongly bristled. Wings, hardly exceeding
the base of the tail, short, almost rounded,
4th or 5th quill longest, or both equal ; the
1st considerably more than half as long as
them. Formulaof wing 4 inches long, whereof
the Istquillis 2^, the 2nd 3f, the 3rd 3|-, the
4th 4, the 5thl-16th less; the rest regularly
decreasing to the tertials, which are but f of
an inch shorter than the longest prime.
Tail nearly as long as the body, consisting
of 12, rather narrow, round pointed, frayed
feathers, the whole of which are gradated
from below ; the ten centrals, slightly and
equally ; the two extremes, abruptly and to
the extent of l-g- inches. Tarsi elevate,
strong, crossed in front by 6 or 7 distinct
and even scales. Toes, medial, compressed,
full-soled; the outer and central, basally
connected ; the inner, scarcely cleft to its
root ; laterals and hind, equal ; central,
subelongate ; hind, stout and depressed.
Claws, strong, moderately curved or acumi-
nated. Tongue, short, flat, cartilaginous ;
tip, pointed and subbifid or subjagged. In-
testines, 10 inches long ; two tiny coeca near
anal end. Stomach, muscular and red ; outer
coat, of medial subequal thickness ; inner,
tough and grooved. Food, all sorts of hard
and soft, flying and creeping, insects,and their
larvse and pupte ; also small lizaras, feeble
birds, mice, and almost any living thing the
bird can master. Has its perch on the
upper and barer branches of trees and
bushes, whence it descends to seize its prey
on the ground : sometimes picks it from
foliage, but very seldom seizes on the wing.
Is common in the open country, in groves
and gardens, during winter ; but resorts to
the woods in summer. Has a harsh voice,
very like the kestril’s, and is perpetually

446

TENTHA AND TENTHACA OF THE TARAI.

vociferating from its perch. Bold and dar-
ing in its manners, and easily caught by
any insect bait.

Colour. Above, deep slaty ; below, with
the whole rump and upper tail coverts,
bright rusty: chin and throat, centre of
the lower belly, lining of wings and quills,
internally and basally, rufescent white :
wings, externally, black brown, with broad
rusty margins including the coverts, and
void of speculum.* Caudal plumes, red
brown ; gradually diluted from the middle
into pale sordid rusty, with which the tips
of the centrals are sensibly marked. The
black frontal band is narrow across the base
of the bill, but spreads laterally, and ex-
tends through the eyes and ears half way
to the shoulders : bill and legs, jetty : base
of the former, ruddy flesh colour : iris, dark
brown. The female is as large as, or larger
than, her mate : her slaty mantle is less
deep, and her breast and flanks are crossed
by transverse, sublunate zigzags of a blackish
hue. She has, also, frequently a white
superciliary line over the black band, which
latter is usually deficient across the front.

The young are lineated like the female ;
at first, above as well as below, and inclu-
sive of the wings and tail which have both
a subraarginal dark zone. The black facial
band is first grey, then brown in them : the
mantle is brown smeared ; and all the
colours are less pure and more diluted than
in maturity, not excepting the bill and legs,
which are brown black or dusky.

In early youth the mere chin and mere
belly, with the lining of the wings, are im-
maculate. The changes of the plumage are
truly perplexing.+

2nd Species, new. Tricolor nobis.
Rather smaller than the last, with charac-
ters and habits identically similar. 10 inches
by 11^ in expanse of wings, and 1| oz, in
weight. Of the 10 inches of length the
bill is 13-1 6ths, and the tail, 5f. Tarsus
1, 15-16ths; central toe 12-16ths. Hind
8-16ths. A closed wing, 4 inches;
whereof the 1st quill is 2f, the 2nd, 3i,
the 4th and 5th, subequal and 4 ; the
5th is usually the longest of all ; the tertials
being § less. The gradation of the tail is
1^ to 2 inches, or more than in the prece-
dent ; and the tail is longer in proportion to
the bird. This, with the customary preva-
lence of the 5th alar quill over the 4th (in Ni-
palensisthe 4th is more often the longest),
constitutes all the difference of external
structure between the two species which the

• The absence of the speculum is a fixed
peculiarity of importance in distinguishing’
the speci es.

■i Possibly there may be a second species,
bearing the same relation to Nipalensis as ex-
cubitoroides does to excubitor; but I doubt it.

most rigid examination can establish. The
sexes entirely resemble each other ; nor
does nonage afford any very obvious mark.

Colour. Head and neck, superiorly, as
far as the gape, with the top of the back,
the wings, and tail, jet black. Body,
superiorly and laterally, with the vent and
tail coverts, brilliant rusty: body below,
pure white, in summer subtinted rusty :
lining of wings and quills internally and
basally, the same : lateral tail feathers
paled, basally and marginally, to rufescent
white, and the whole broadly tipped with
the same hue : tertials next the body with
broad rufous margins : a white speculum
on the primes, apert and appearing (as
usual) from below the false wing : bill and
legs, black : iris, dark brown. In the young,
the colours are less clear and deep ; the black
parts diluted with brown ; the caudal marks
confused ; and the bill and legs by no means
fully jet ; the former having a clear blue
grey or fleshy hue towards the base and
along the tomiae.

3rd Species. Ferrugiceps or Rusty-
pate nobis. Structure essentially the same
as in the two precedent, but assimilating
with Collurio minor by its smaller size,
longer wing, and shorter and more even tail.
8 inches long by 10§ in expanse: bill
12-16ths ; tail 3|^. Tarsus 1, l-16ths ;
central toe,10-16ths ; hind, 7-16ths : weight
1 oz.

Wings but 2 inches short of the tail, which
has the extreme laterals gradated less than
one inch, and the i*est trivially rounded.
Crown of the head and rump, brilliant rusty ;
the former margined to the front and sides
with white : back, tertials, coverts, and cau-
dal plumes, rusty-brown : primaries and
false wing, black : no speculum : tertials
and covex’ts with broad rusty margins : lores,
lower part of orbitar region and ears, black.
Below, wholly white, subrufescent on the
flanks : legs and feet, slaty blue : bill, gray
blue, with black tips : iris, brown. Female,
similar, save that the facial black band is
pale brown in her. Almost confined to the
lower region of Nepal. Manners of the pre-
ceding two species.

LANIANiE.

Genus T^nthaca nobis.

T^ntha and T^nthaca of the Nipalese
Tarai’.

The birds of this proposed genus differ
very signally from the typical Lanii (Collu-
rio of Vigors) by a longer, straighter, slen-
derer, and more conical bill, distinctly fossed
at the base, and less incumbered by the fron-
tal plumes, more suddenly bent at the tip,
and less powerfully hooked and toothed ;
by longer and stronger wings ; a shorter
and even tail ; and much feebler legs and
feet, with toes differently constructed and

HODGSON ON LANIANiE.

447

more exclusively suited to perching. In all
respects, there is a strong tendency towards
our Edolian Bhuchangas, especially Albi-
rictus, which has a bill almost exactly like
that of our T^nthaca. Without museum or
library, I can, however, but faintly indicate
the probable novelty of this form or its true
position ; and I shall therefore proceed to
such and so careful an account of the struc-
ture and proportions of the two species I
possess, as will enable men of science in
Europe to decide on the propriety and on
the location of the proposed genus.

1st Species and type, new. Pelvica
nobis.

Structure and size. Bill from § to f
longer than the head, straight, porrect, co-
nico-compressed with roundish ridges, and
sub-convex sides ; at base nearly as high as
broad and gradually attenuated forwards :
a third of the culrnen carinated and hid ;
the rest, very gradually inclined to the hook,
which is decided and sudden,, but much
feebler than in the foregone : tooth, notch,
and recurve, moderate. Nares somewhat
advanced, but nearer to the gape than the
tip, oval, subtransverse, placed at the fore
end of a distinct, broad, and membraned
fosse, shaded posteally and superiorly by a
process of the fossal membrane and closely
shut by an adpressed setaceous tuft. Rictus
somewhat elongated and firm, reaching be-
yond the middle of the tail, or If inches less
its end. The 5th quill usually longest ; the
4th and 6th subequal to it ; the 1st more
than half as long as the longest. Tertials,
f inch less primes. Legs and feet, some-
what feeble : tarsi, low, but longer than any
toe : acrotarsia, strongly scaled. Toes rather
short, depressed, unequal : fores, basally
connected ; the outer, beyond the joint ; the
inner, half way to it. Thumb stout, equal
in length only to the inner fore. Claws
very falcate, small, compressed, acute ; hind,
strongest. Tongue, short, pointed, and bifid
or jagged. Intestines, 11 to 12 inches long,
with two tiny coeca near the end. Stomach
muscular, of medial subequal thickness, and
toughish only on the inside. Food, chiefly
grilli, also mantides, crickets, carpenters,
grubs (not worms), and caterpillars. Takes
its prey either on the wing or amongst foli'
age. Is shy, adhering to the forests, and
has the unamiable voice of the typical Lanii.

9f inches long by 14f wide and 1^ oz.
Bill 1, 3-16ths ; tail, 4; tarsus, 15-16ths ;
central toe, lU-16ths; hind, 7-16ths. A
closed wing 4f to whereof the 1st quill
is2|, the 2nd 4, the 3rd 4f , the 4th, one
or two, and the 6th two or three, lines less
the 5th and longest : the rest, after the 6th,
rapidly decreasing till they are taken up by
the tertials, which occurs at the 9th quill.

Colour. Half the nareal tuft with the upper
surface of the head and neck, soft grey blue :
the other half of the nareal tuft with the
lores, orbits, ears, and part of the neck,
black : body above, with the wings and tail,
rusty brown ; a band across the croup, and
the whole inferior surface, white : alar and
caudal plumes, with their larger coverts,
zoned all round, just within the pale edge,
by a blackish zigzag line : lower part of the
black, more or less lineated trarrsversely
withthe same. Bill, black : legs, dusky slaty :
iris, light brown. The female is rather larg-
er than her mate, and has the cap and man-
tle of an uniform greyish brown. She has
no black band on the sides of the head : her
bill is fleshy brown ; and her legs slaty or
plumbeous.

2nd Species. Leucurus nobis. Size small :
characters and habits of the precedent. 6f
inches long,whereof the bill is 15-16ths, and
the tail 2f . Above, sordid brownish grey, or
stone grey : below, white, with a faint tint
of fawn on the breast. Lores, orbits, and
ears, black : nareal tufts, grey : longest
superior tail coverts, black : the two central
caudal plumes, concolorous with the body
above, but darker ; the next, blackened,
basally and internally, with gradual decrease
and supercession by pure white : bill, dusky :
legs, slaty : iris, dark brown. The female has
a brownish instead of black facial band ; but
is otherwise like her mate.

Remarks. — Both the above species are
much more common in the lower region of
Nepal than in the central or northern. The
resemblance of the bill to that of Bhuchanga
Albirictus is (as already noted) striking.
There is, also, a considerable likeness in
this member to the rostrum of Phoenicornis
princeps ; but it is longer in proportion, less
plumed at base, less spreading laterally,
more conical and slenderer, but, at the same
time, stronger than in Phoenicornis. The
feet, too, of our genus are very similar to
those of both the above named species ; with,
however, a much nearer approach in this
instance to Phoenicornis. The wings have
less power and acumination than those of
Phoenicornis or of Bhuchanga, particularly
the latter. But they have, and more palpably,
a greater share of both qualities than the
wings of the typical Lanii.

I have no species of the restricted genus
Lanius wherewith to compare our lYnthaca.
But if (as is asserted) the bill and feet of
Lanius be similar to those of Coliurio, there
can be no que.stion that our genus differs
most materially from Lanius in regard to
those most influential members ; tho’ it ap-
proximate thereto, in the structure of the
wings and tail.

Valley of Nepal, 1836.

t '•48 1

GENERAL SCIENCE.

CATALOGUEOF PLAN TS COLLECTED
AT BOMBAY.

By John G]?.aham, Esq.

{Continued from page 382.)

69. Barleria pronilis. r Common on waste

60. ,, tongifolia 1 lands.

61. ,, cristata.*

62. Bomhan pent andrum.

63. ,, heptaphyllum. The first I have

only seen in gardens ; the latter is a very
common tree. Boih are deciduous, and the
numerous large glowing red flowers of the
latter make a very showy appearance when
the tree is totally destitute of leaves. Fe-
bruary and March are its flow'ering months.
The cotton, I believe, which it produces, is of
no value.

64. Butea frondosa. The immense clus-
ters of red coloured pea flowers which this
tree produces, have also a very showy appear-
ance— they come before the leaves, — inde-
pendent of the flow^ers, the tree has nothing to
recommend it in the way of beauty. It is not
very common ; several grow in Elephanta.

65. Butea superha. A very strong climber,
with far more splendid flowers. It grows
on Salsette— rave.

66. Bryonia grandis.

67. ,, scabra.

68. Borassus fiabelliformis. Tall Palmy-
ra tree; common.

69. Borago Indica. Avery common an-
nual springing up in the rains.

70. Bignonia Rheedii. I have only seen
one tree. The flowers grow on a scape flve
or six feet long, and give the tree a carious
appearance at a distance.

71. Ceinna. Indica.

72. Costus speciosus. Found it on a hill
near Wuzaum Poona road.

73. Curcuma montana. Very common on
the top of the Ghauts. A species of arrow-
root is made from it.

74. Cissus vitiginea.

75. ,, carnosa.

76. ,, 4-angularis.

77. ,, ripanda.

78. ,, crenata.

79. Convolvulus spmosMS. Elephant ci’eep -

er.

80.

vated.

f9

batatas. Extensively culti-

81.

turpithum.

82.

grandiflorus.

83.

paniculatus-

* I have picked specimens of this plant in
Danes* Island, Whuinpoa, China. A. very good
figure of it is given in Osbeck’s voyage to Chi-
na—a work which those who write on the bo-
tany of that country should not fail to consult.
— Edit.

84.

pes-casprae *

85

tigridis

86.

mu7-tcatus‘ There are seve

ral other species of Convolvulus common,
but 1 have not been able to identify them.

87- Colfea Arafeica In gardens only.

88. Capsicum annuum. Commonly culti-
vated in gardens.

89. frutescens. Ditto.

90. Cocculus cordifolius,

91. Cicer or ietinuni. Extensively culti*
vaied in the Deccan and Guzurat. The grain
jilant. Horses are fed with it instead of
corn.

92 Celosia margaritacea. An annual
springing up every where in the rains.

92. Carissa Carandas. Curwund of the
Natives; a very common shrub strongly
armed, and producing black berries about
the size of a sloe, which are eaten raw, or
made into jellies, &c.

93. C. spinarum. Berr'es red. This spe-
cies 1 have only seen in gardens.

94. Cerhera Thevetia. Only in gardens.

95. Ceropegia tuberosa. Very rare, I have
only once seen it on Malabar Hill.

96. Crinum asiaticum.

97. Cardiospermum Halicacabum.

98. Cassytha. filif 07-mis. Common in jun-
gles.

99- Cassia. Fistula. Elephanta and Salsette.

100. ,, Sumatruna. In gardens only.

101. ,. auriculata. Very common in the
sterile parts of Deccan.

102. Cochlospermum Gossi/pium. ?in gar

103. ,, serratifolium. } dens. -

104 Coreopsis tinctoria. Grown in [;ots

See., as an ornamental plant.

105. Crataeva religiosa- Commonly to be
found in the neighbourhood of temples.

106. Cactus Ficus indica.

107. Calyptranthus caryophyllata. Native
name Jamb ; the fruit is eaten.

108. Capparis Zeylonica.

109. ., trifoliud, or Crataeva religiosa,

110. ,, sepiaria.

111. ,, acuminata.

112. Calophyllum InophyV.um A Viry
pretty tree, common in the Concan and Ma
labar. Gil is expressed from the seeds and
used for lamps by the poorer classes of
natives

113. Corchorus acutanguhis. Annual
common in the rains

114. Clerodendrum Siphonanthus In gar-
dens only.

115. ,, infortunafumf

116. Clerodendrum in gardens.

* This fine creeper occurs abundantly on the
shore by the race course of Macao in China,
occupying the place of the C. of the

Scottish coast. — Edi:.

t This plant occurs in Danes’ I. China. — Edit.

CATALOGUE OF PLANTS AT BOMBAY.

449

117. CAeomc o-phylla.

1 IS. ,, viscosa.

1 19. (Yoiularia verrucosa.

120 Cli'orea Ternaka.

121. Citrus Decumfl/ia. Puminalo or shad-
idock. commonly cultivated.

1 22 . Citrus Auranfium

123. ,, Limetta.

124. Cacalia sonc7u/’o?ta.*

. 125. Chrysanthemum I'ndicion.

126. Cadsuarina rnwrica/a. Common in
Bombay, where it is planted for ornament.
It shouts unvery rapidly.

127. Coix Lacliryma.

128. Cicc’A disticha. Fruit sometimes used

for arts

129. Cocos nucifera.

130 Caryota xirens. Thi.<! beautiful palm
grows plentifully on the Ghauts. ^

131. Croton variegatum. This has ob-
tained the name of laurel, and is very com-
monly grown in pots. The temporary bun"
galow.s"oa the Esplanade are surrounded with
it to keep out the glare of the sun. The
C. I’iglium grows in Guzurat. I have never
seen it.

132. Cynanchum extensum. A common
twining plant.

133. Cucurbita Citrullus.

134. ,, hispida.

135. lagenaria. The melon and
cucumber family are very generally cultiva-
ted, and form a common article of food with

the natives.

136j Cucumis sativus.

137. ,, Colocgnthis- In the Deccan.

138. ,, Melo.

139. ,, acufangulus.

140. ,, Citrullus.

141. ,, Maderaspatanus.

142 CyUsta scanosa. Scarce.

143. Cannabis sativa. An intoxicating
liquor called Bhang is prepared from it.

144. Cycas circinalis.

145. Carica Papaya. Generally cultivated.
146 Cassandra undulcefolia.

147. Carthamus tenebrans.

148. Caesulia axillaris.

149. Combretum decandrum.

150. Conyza cinerea.

151. Cordia, Mgxa. A tree much resem-
bling the alder. Fruit sometimes pickled.

152. Cordia angustifolia.

153. Coronilla grandijlora. Natives com-
monly plant this tree about their houses. It
has large showy flowers and is of very quick
growth.

154. Ceanothus Zej/Zonica, Elephanta.

]55. Celtis orientalis.

156. Caesalpinia TJMZc/iem'ma,

157. Capparis aphylla. Common in the
barren lands of Deccan.

* This plant is also a native of China. I have
found it abundantly on a rocky point W. of
Danes’ island village, Whampoa, and also on
the opposite side of the river Tigris. The
correspondence of the Flora of Malabar and
China is very striking, but the present cata-
logue shews that the same observation does
not apply to the Concan coast. - Edit.

15S. Careya arhorea I have seen only-
one tree on Malabar hill.

159. { ’ nseavisi ellipfica.

160 Chloris harhata.

161. (Jyperus rotundus.

162. Cynosnvns indicits

163. Callicarpa lanata.

164. Celastrus montana.

165. (Nnometra caulijiora. In gardens,
scarce.

166. Codk'ia punctata.

167. Cvicrus dubius.

168. " ,, cojnpressus .

169. Commelina co/nmwnis.

170 ( 'leome tcosandra.

171- Cissampelos convolvulacea.

{To be continued.)

ON SOME ASTRONOMIC'AL ME-

THUDS OF OBSERVATION.

By William Galbraith, A. 1\1.,
Teacher of Mathematics, Edinburgh.

(Continued from page 384.^

remarks on the methods generally

employed in making circummeridian

observations.-

When the smaller instruments of astro-
nomy are employed by the method of repeti-
tion, it is of importance to observers to be
aware of the limits wiihin which their obser-
vations ought to be restrained, so as to in-
sure the requisite accuracy. This is the more
to be insisted upon, as some authors seem
unconscious of the limits to which observa-
tions, under given circumstances, ought to
be restricted, and unacquainted with the
degree of accuracy resulting from the use of
different tables in the hands of the public.

The usual tables of reduction are generally
formed by throwing the expression derived
from the principles of spherical trigonometry
into a series of two or three terms. In gene-
ral, however, when it becomes necessary to
embrace more than one, oral most two terms,
besides the probability of introducing other
errors, the application of a series is more
troublesome thvm the direct computation by
spherical trigonometry, and to avoid these, it
becomes necessary to select objects which, by
their situation with respect lo the observer,
are convenient and proper for such a mode
of observation.

In general, it may be remarked, that ob-
jects near the zenith, though the most eligi-
ble for zenith sectors, or mural circles, are
disadvantageous for smaller instrument.^, such
as Borda’s repeating circle, or other portable
altitude and azimuth circles, when the obser-
vations are repeated a considerable number of
times near the meridian. For the use of the
latter class of instilments, a considerable
zenith distance is necessary to obtain the
requisite accuracy, for it will be found, by
direct calculation, that , when the latitude is
30o. the declination 20®, of the same name
with the latitude, and consequently the meri-
dian zenith distance lO® that even Delambre’s
formula embracing these terms gives results
erroneous to the amount of 47 in excess, if

450

GALBRAITH’S ASTRONOMICAL OBSERVATIONS.

the horary distance from the meridian, when
the observation is made, extend to 30 minutes
of time; though, no doubt ibis error is dimi-
nished when combined with observations
made near the meridian. Again, when the
latitude is 40**, the declination 20°, and the
zenith distance also 20^, the same formula to
three turns gives results incorrect to about
half a second in excess, while the first two
turns, or those commonly used, give an error
of about 4 in defect. Lastly, when the lati'ude
is so hi:^h as fifty degrees, the declination
still 200. and the zenith distance 30«. Delam-
bre’s formula to these turns gives, at 30
minutes distance From the meridian, correct
results ; while two turns give a small error of
about half a second in defect. Assuming dif-
ferent numbers somewhat analogous but with
similar relations, the same conclusion would
follow. It may, therefore, be concluded that
when the zenith distance in mean latitudes
amounts to about 30®, two terms of Delam-
bre’s formula, or their results in tables, are
sufficiently correct for practical purposes at a
horary distance from the meridian of about
30 minutes, and then the calculation for the
mean of a considerable number of repetitions
is comparatively simple.

Instead of Delambre’s formula, or tables
derived from it, some practical astronomers
recommend a table given by the late Dr.
Thomas Young, consisting of natural versed
sines, which are nothing more than the first
part of Delambre’s table in a less conve-
nient form, and requiring the additional trou-
ble of employing a constant log within to
convert them into Delambre’s numbers in every
operation, without any equivalent advantage
in any respect over the other method;* in the
words of Dr. Pearson, “ Dr. Young having
simplified (complicated he should have said)
the preceding formula by omitting the second
term,” &c. Now it has already been shown
that the second term cannot be admitted un-
less the zenith distance be considerable, not
less than 20°, or 30°. at 30 minutes from the
meridian, or the object to be observed be a
circumpolar star not very distant from the
pole, in mean latitudes, and of this any ob-
server may easily satisfy himself.

If, for example, at London circummeridian
observations be made extending to 24 minutes
from the meridian, (the extent to which Dr.
Young’s table has been carried, in a tract
published by Messrs. Troughton and Simms,''
to determine the obliquity of the ecliptic at
the summer solstice, the first two terms of
Delambre’s formula would be sufficient,
though Dr. Young’s table, recommended by
Dr. Pearson, and more lately approved by
Mr. Simms, woixld, at 24 minutes from the
meridian, give results erroneous to about 7",
a quantity quite inadmissible, though this
problem is just such a one as is, under the
given cii-cumstances, suited to the smaller
class of altitude and azimuth circles, gene-
rally in the hands of astronomical students,
and repeating circles previously alluded to.

♦ The author of these remarks has endea
voured to remedy this elsewhere.

If, however, the horary distance from the
meridian be, under such circumstances, re-
stricted to 12 minutes of time, which will
admit of a sufficiently extensive number of
repetitions useful to exterminate casual errors
of observation, reading; and dividing ; two
terms of Delambre’s formula will be fully
adequate for the purpose, while the error
arising from the use of Dr- Young’s table
will not exceed half a second.

With regard to the most eligible size of an
instrument, it is difficult to come at an accu-
rate conclusion. That must, in a great degree,
be regulated by the purposes for which it is
intended- 1 am strongly inclined to think,
however, that circles of moderate size, and of
the most simple yet substantial construction,
are the most likely to give satisfaction. Very
large mural circles that do not revolve in azi.
muth, especially when employed to make
observations on the sun, are liable to sulFer
unequal expansions from heat on that side next
the sun, being acted on powerfully if not
shaded, which it is difficult to do completely,
while the opposite side is slightly affected
by its position in the shade of the other, and it
is doubtful, in my opinion, whether a consi-
derable number of microscopes except under
|)eculiar circumstances will correct the errors
arising from this cause. On the other hand,
a much smaller instrument revolving in azi-
muth, and by that means having its different
sides, though as much shaded as possible,
exposed partially in succession to the sun will
expand much more equally, and when the
mean of three or four verniers or microscopes
read at each observation, which may be repeat-
ed two or three times in pairs of double observa-
tions, within the j)roper time near the meri-
dian ; on the principles of the theory of proba-
bilities, the errorsarising from all the different
causes affecting the accuracy of the results
must, in a great degree, destroy each other.

Though this conclusion is the most proba-
ble in reference to a steady well constructed
instrument, yet it must be received under
certain qualifications, since too much praise
has doubtless been lavished on the omnipo-
tence of Borda’s repeating circle, especially
by foreigners. M. Biot, afier explaining the
principles of the repeating circle, says, ‘‘ Let
us examine, now, in what respect the repeated
multiplication of the angle proves advantage
ous. It would have none, if the divisions cut
upon the circle were mathematically exact, and
if the observer could dii’ect the interst-ctions
of the cross wires in his telescope perfectly cor-
rect, for, in that case, one observation would
give the zenith distance exact. But as these
conditions cannot be accomplished in practice,
the repetition of the angles supplies the defect
by compensations. With regard to the error
of the divisions, it is clear, that the arcs mea-
sured, follow without interruption upon the
limb, in such a manner that the print of
the limb, which is the termination of the
previous observation, becomes the origin of
the succeeding. From this it follows,” says
M. Biot, “ that the sum of the observations,
or the whole arc passed over by the verniers,
comprehends no intermediate error, but the errors

THE FRENCH REPEATING CIRCLES.

451

of the two extreme reading:s at the commence-
ment and termination of the observations.”
Tliat this conclusion of M. Biot may be true,
it is necessary that there be no, or at least an
insensible, resistance in the centre work lo
the action of the tangent screws, and that
there is no imperfection in the tangent screws
in producing motion, nor in the clamping
screws in securing permanent positions. Now,
it is clear that if there is the least
defect in all or any of these, M. Biot’s con-
clusion will be erroneous, and such must of
necessity be the case to a certain degree,
since it depends upon the materials of which
the instrument is constructed, and cannot
be removed by the abilities of the artist, or
the perfection of the workmanship, however
excellent it may be. Hence, it necessarily
follows that a slight relative motion must take
place between the verniers and the circle for
each repetition, causing by that means a small
error, which will be continually repeated, and
which, therefore, the principle of repetition
cannot cure. It is, I believe, owing to this
cause that a constant error of about 6 ,
according to Baron Zach, m^y remain in
some instruments in a series of many hundred
observations made "with the repeating circle
when the clamping irons are imperfect. M.
Biot goes on to say, that the errors of the
extreme readings at the commencement and
termination are much diminished, because
the circle has generally four verniers that are
read separately, and of which, the mean
marks the commencement and termination of
the total with a great probability of accuracy.
Finally, the small error which still remains,
notwithstanding these precautions in the
extreme readings, is distributed over the
entire arc measured on the limb, and there-
fore has an insensible influence on the simple
value of one observation, when these obser-
vations are sufficiently multiplied. The errors
of the division, then, in the repeating circle
itself are also thus diminished by repetition,
and the compensation of errors is not the
effect of probability, but of certainty.

“ To estimate the extent of this compensa-
tion, it may be remarked, that our (French)
repeating circles are generally about 15 inches
in diameter, and the error of division cannot
exceed 15' . If the error would be reduced to
half a second after thirty observations, what
would it become aftei eighty or one hundred ?
What does it become after, as has often been
done, the series of different days are made to
succeed one another, without interruption,
upon the limb, so that the two errors of the
extreme readings are extended upon a total
arc, which contains the simple arc many
thousand times ? I he errors of division,
then, in this instrument become evanescent,
and it is impossible they can be entirely de-
stroyed in the largest instruments, if they
are not repeaters. Never can the address of
an artist equal a mathematical proceeding.”

But there are other errors which are de-
stroyed by the principle of probabilities in the
use of the repeating eircle, that still remain
in other instruments. Such are, the errors
of the level, which were small in the original

repeating circles, and in those later construct-
ed still less, in which the divisions of the
level give immediately fractions of a second.
Such is also the case with the errors of
pointing, or those arising from directing the
inter>ection of the cross wires of the teles-
copes to the object observed, which, though
small of themselves, ate destroyed like those
of the level by their fortuitous compensation
in many thousands of observations. 'I hese
errors exist also (though I may add in a less
degree) in the observations made with large
instruments, as the mural circles. For the
error of pointing is still found, though
diminished by the greater power of the teles-
cope, and that of the level is represented by
the error of the plumb line. But in this case
the small number of observations does not
admit of a compensation as exact as in the
repeating circle. If we suppose that the ac-
curacy of mean results is in the ratio com -
pounded of the number of observations, and of
the length of the rauius of the instrument, one
hundred observations made with a repeating
circle of two decimetres, or about eight Eng-
lish inches radius, would be equivalent to one
observation made with a mural circle of twen-
ty metres radius, or about sixty-six English
feet. “ Could we obtain such instruments,”
says M. Biot, “ and, above all, could we em-
ploy them in observations which require us to
transport them from place to place ?” Now,
though the repeating circle is, in the hands
of an able observer, an instrument capable of
great precision, yet we cannot assent to the
extravagant eulogium thus betowed upon it
by M. Biot in his Astronomic Physique, be-
cause it rests on assumptions too gratuitous
to be granted without qualification ; and, as
we have already remarked, he has not alluded
at all to the errors inseparable from its construe -
tion, and the method of using it when executed
by the best artists.

However perfect the damping screws may
be, yet still, by repeating the observations,
repeated small relative motions by pressure
must take place between the verniers and
limbs, which remain as a constant error that
no continuation of the process of repetition
can remove, because it arises from that very
principle. If, however, an equal number of
observaiions at nearly equal zenith distances
on opposite sides of the zenith be taken, then
on the principles of probabilities, it may be
expected that the errors from this cause will
likewise have a tendency to destroy each
other. Thus, by a judicious use of the re-
peating circle, it may be employed to great
advantage in all observations which require
a moderately sized instrument capable of easy
transportation. Still, however, the complex
nature of its construction and the involved
methods of observation are inherent disad-
vantages, which render a commodious instru
ment of similar dimensions but more simple
in principle a desideratum to a numerous
class of practical astronomers.

The only other instruments, whose prices
are moderate, and dimensions convenient, are
Captain Rater’s circle somewhat enlarged,
and Mr. 1 roughton’s portable altitude and

452

THOMSON ON THE FORM ACTION OF SHLPHURIC ACID.

azimuth circle. In these the repeating prin-
ciple so much recommended in Borda’s, is
dispensed with for the purpose of securing
stability and permanency of adjustment,
which are the main desiderata in the other.

Though the same principle of repetition
cannot be practised by these instruments as
in that of Borda, yet the observations may be
repeated near the meridian with success, in
which the constant error arising from the
imperfection of the repeated damping on
Borda’s plan, is thereby avoided, while by
means of three verniers carefully made, com-
bined with the motion of the celestial body in
zenith distance during the time of repetition,
the errors of division and pointing will, if not
entirely destroyed, be greatly diminished — a
proposition suiiported by uniform experience.

In this country the use of the great mural
circle permanently fixed in the meridian is
generally adhered to, and by means of its
size, the power of its telescope, and the num-
ber of its reading microscopes, its errors are
supposed to be almost entirely destroyed,
though the principle of repetition be aban-
doned. Thus by the introduction of one
advantage, another is lost instead of attempt-
ing a union of both. The smaller circles
possessing the property of repeating the ob-
servations, may, therefore, approach very
nearly the precision of the larger, as has been
proved in the measurement of the French arc
of the meridian compared with the British
trigonometrical survey. It is indeed difficult
to say, whether the final results of the one
or the other possess the superiority, though
the former was executed chiefly with Borda’s
repeating circle of about 16 inches diameter,
or 8 inches radius both with regard to astro-
nomical and geodetical observations, while
the latter had the benefit of a zenith sector
of 8 feet radius, and a theodolite of 3 feet in
diameter, both without the principle of repe-
tition adopted by Borda. Hence, it may in
general be concluded, that the principle of
repetition employed in one class of instru-
ments was nearly equivalent in securing accu-
racy of results to the advantage of large size,
and the superior power of the telescopes in
the other. Hence, we may also infer, that
one of Mr Troughton’s objections to the
repeating circle, namely, that wdien the in-
strument has a telescope of small power the
observations are charged with errors of vision
which the repeating principle will not cure, is
not borne out by experience. Indeed we can-
not comprehend the notion why the errors of
vision as well as of division according to the
usual doctrine of probabiltties are, if not de-
stroyed, at least greatly diminished, by the
principle of repetition. MM. Lenoir and For-
tin have lately improved the movements of
the repeating circle in some respects according
to Puissant, and Mr. Troughton has given
some of its parts abetter position for dimi-
nishing friction and insuring accuracy of
motion, though on the whole it is still com-
plex in its construction, and, so long as its
peculiar repeating principle is retained, it
cannot be much simplified. The late M.
Reicheubach,of Munich, constructed repeating

circles, which for some time have enjoyed
great reputation, chiefly on account of the
goodness of the tangent and damping screws,
and the accuracy of the division. The superior
telescope is also attached to a circle turning
with ease and precision within the graduated
circle and having their faces both in the same
plane.

On the recommendation of Laplace this
artist const! acted a large repeating circle of
this description for the Royal Observatory at
Paris. Whatever properties it may possess
yet it has been thought advisable to have also
a large mural circle on the principles of Mr.
rroughlon constructed by Fortin, which the
French express a liope will contribute greatly
to the advancement of astronomy. From
these circumstances it seems to be admitted
that the powers of the repeating circle have
been overrated, and that the advantages deriv-
ed from the repeating principle aie in a gieat
degree counterbalanced by the delects of
Its consliuction. May we, thereiore, irjfer
that the smaller class of portable circles of
the constructions of Troughton and Kater,
which admit of repeating the observations
near] the meridian a sufficient number of times
to insure accuracy, are, from the compactness
of their structure, their stability, and ac-
curacy of motion, superior to the repeating
circle. Of al! these circles Kater’s is the
cheapest and susceptible of great accuracy
when not too small. The size 1 would ven-
ture to recommend would be about 6 or 8
inches in diameter with telescopes magnifying
20 or 30 times and the three verniers each
reading 10 . To those who are willing and
able to afford the expense, one of Troughton’s
altitude and azimuth circles of 10 or 12 inches
in diameter would prove an excellent instru-
ment, liiough for travellers it would be rather
to,) heavy. lu th >t case Katei’s would be
a good substitute, and its efficiency will be
snov\ trill the following observations.

{To he continued.)

ON THE FORMATION OF SULPHURIC
ACID.

By Thomas Thomson, M. D. F. R, S-
L. and £. &c.

Regius Professor of Chemistry in the University
of Glasgouj.

It is well known that sulphuric acid is ma-
nufactured in this country by the combustion
of sulphur. The sulphurous acid formed is
passed into large leaden chambers, where it
comes in contact with nitric acid and a small
quantity of water ; the fumes of the nitric
acid being sent into the leaden chamber at
the same time with the sulphurous acid.
Now, whenever any sloping part occurs in the
leaden chamber at some height above the floor
which is covered with water, there is a de-
posit of a white saline matter.

453

THE RESULT OF THOMSON’S EXPERIMENT.

This saline matter is in small scales. It
has an excessively acid taste. When exposed
to the air it gradually runs into a liquid,
which is pure sulphuric acid. When thrown
into water a violent effervescence takes place,
nitrous gas is given off in abundance, and a
solution of sulphuric acid remains. 1'his
saline matter has been repeatedly examined.
Davy considered it to be a compound of
nitric acid and sulphurous acid. Dr. Henry
examined it some years ago, and concluded
from his experiments that it is a compound of
hyponitrous acid and sulphurous acid.

By the kindness of Mr, Tennant I have
had repeated opportunities of examining this
matter in a state of great purity. 1 have
subjected it to various experiments, and have
been led to form a different opinion from that
entertained by Dr. Henry of its composition.
How far the experiments which I shall detail
warrant that opinion, I leave to practical
chemists to determine. The analysis is not
quite satisfactory, because we cannot deter-
mine experimentally the quantity of water
present.

1 . When a quantity of the saline matter
is mixed with water in a retort, a strong
effervescence takes place, and nitrous gas
escapes in torrents. The whole dissolves in
the water, with the exception of a small
quantity of white matter, the weight of
which varies in different specimens. This
white matter when dried is a tasteless
powder, insoluble in water. When heated it
takes fire, and burns with a blue flame, while
some sulphur sublimes. What remains is
pure sulphate of lead. These phenomena
characterize lead sulphite of lead. Hence,
it is evident, that the saline matter from
the leaden chambers contains sulphite
of lead. From 550 grains of saline mat-
ter 1 obtained 8*43 grains of sulphite of
lead, or about 1.53 per cent. In another ex-
periment ICO grains of the saline matter
yielded 1’4 grains of sulphite of lead, or
somewhat under one per cent. These two
experiments show the two extremes ; in all
the others the quantity was intermediate.

2. 58 grains of the saline matter were
heated in a small retort. The solid matter
became partially liquid and fumes of nitrous
acid made their appearance. On increasing
the heat an effervescence took place, and gas
passed rapidly. It was yellow like nitric acid
fumes, and like that acid acted on mercury,
which prevented me from collecting th^^gas.
When the effervescence stopped, a colourless
liquid remained with a small deposit of sul-
phite of lead at the bottom of the retort.
This liquid was colourless, but it effervesced
violently giving out nitrous fumes w’^hen
mixed with water. It remained, therefore,
the same mixture or compound as the original
saline matter.

3. When the saline matter is triturated
with carbonate of ammonia, combination takes
place without any sensible decomposition.

4. It was triturated with a quantity of bi-
carbonate of potash in powder, which from pre-
vious experiments was judged capable of just

saturating the uncombined acids. Ftimes of
nitric acids were given off till the w'hole be-
came quite dry. The trituration being
continued, the mixture softened into a white
paste, which was left exposed to the air for
some hours. On examining this residue, it
was found to consist chiefly of a mixture of
sulphate of potash and carbonate of potash
with a very little nitrate ; the nitric acid had
been almost all dissipated during the tritu-
ration.

5, 160 grains of the dry saline matter were
put into a retort mixed with water and the
deutoxide of azote collected as it was extri-
cated. The quantity of this gas evolved,
supposing the thermometer at oO'’ and the
barometer at 30 inches, was 59 35 cubic
inches.

The liquid in the retort being freed from
the sulphite of lead, was found to be a solu-
tion of sulphuric acid in water, without any
trace of nitric or sulphurous acid. This sul-
phuric acid being obtained partly in the state
of sulphate of soda, and partly of sulphate
of barytes, amounted to 132.24 grains=
105*79 grains of sulphurous acid.

The weight of the nitrous gas obtained was
1917 equivalent to 34 5 grains of nitric acid.

The constituents obtained were.

Sulphurous acid 105*79

Nitric acid 34*50

Sulphite of lead 1-40

Hrrg

Loss 18‘3i

160-

This loss must be water. The constitu-
ents then are very nearly

1 atom nitric acid 6*75

5 atoms sulphurous acid. 20 00
3 atomswater 3*375

30*125

That the acid present is nitric and not
hyponitrous I infer from the phenomena of
the distillation of the saline matter ; and
from our knowledge of the factthat nitric acid
is actually introduced into the leaden cham-
bers along with sulphurous acid, and there
being nothing present to convert it into
hyponitrous.

There is no evidence from the analysis that
the whole acid of sulphur was in the state of
sulphurous acid. I am induced from the pro-
portions found to suspect that 2-8ihs of it was
in the state of sulphuric acid, and 3-5ths in that
of sulphurous acid. On that supposition it is
easy to see how the atom of nitric acid, by
giving out 3 atoms of oxygen, converts the 3
atoms of sulphurous into sulphuric acid, while
the acid thus decomposed makes its escape
in the form of deutoxide of azote.

The preceding analysis was repeated with
very nearly the same result. If the supposi-
tion of the saline matter containing 2-5ths of
sulphuric and 3-6ths of sulphurous acid be

454

IMPORTANT DISCOVERIES IN SCIENCE.

admitted, then the constitution of the
portion examined must have been

Sulphurous acid. 63*87

Sulphuric acid. 62 90

Nitric acid 34 50

Sulphite of lead 140

Water 7 33

160*00

his approaches pretty closely to
3 atoms sulphurous acid . . 12
2 atoms sulphuric acid . . . . lO

1 atom nitric acid 6 75

1 atom water 1*125

29*875

Probably the -water was in combination
•with the sulphuric acid. — Records of Science.

NOTICE OF SOME RECENT IMPROVE-

mentsin science.

electricity.

electricity by CONTACT.-Ac-
cording to Karsten, the metals, and, perhaps,
all solid bodies, become positive in fluids; and
the fluid in which they are plunged becomes
negative.

2. A solid, which is half immersed in the
fluid, acquires an electric polarity ; the sub-
mersed portion possesses positive electricity,
and that which is not immersed, negative
electricity.

3. Solid bodies present a great difference
in their electro-motive force, in relation to the
same fluid, and this difirerence is the true
cause of the electrical, chemical, and mag-
netic activity of the circuit.

4. If two solid electromotors, but of differ-
ent electro-motive force, are immersed in the
same fluid without touching, the most feeble
electromotor receives the opposite electricity
to that of the strongest eleclfomotor, and be-
comes, of consequence, negatively electric.

5. The half of the weakest electromotor,
which rises above the fluid, exhibits the oppo-
site electiicity to that of the immersed portion,
and becomes, consequently, positively elec-
trical.

6. The electro-motive electricity of a fluid
depends on the property of being reduced by
two solid electromotors, of difft-rent force, to
such a state that the two electromotors re-
ceive opposite electricities. In general, all
fluids which are bad conductors of electricity,
possess the properly which has been pointed
out ; but not fluids which are not conductors,
nor those which are good conductors. How-
ever, the intensity of the electro-motive force
of fluids does not depend only on the more or
less imperfect conductibility, but on other
relations which are not sufficiently known.

7. The electro-motive effects of two metals,
which forma circuit in the same fluid, are
founded upon the continual excitation and
neutralization of the opposite electricities

which take place in the fluid. They are
produced by the electro-motive action of the
strongest and weakest of the electromotors
upon the fluid, and are accelerated by the
immediate contact of two solid electromotors,
when the latter are good conductors.

8. The chemical changes which take place
in the fluid are, it is true, in proportion to the
neutralization of the two electricities produ-
ced by the solid elements of the chain. But
these chemical changes, and the neutralization,
do not follow as cause and effect.

9 In the system of chains which forms
the pile of Volta, the opposite electricities are
completely neutralized by the solid elements
of each chain ; that rs to say, by the pairs of
plates ; and there is no electrical current from
one pair to the other. (UJmtitvt. 150.)

ELECTRICITY FROM DEOXIDA-
TION. Ir is well known, that when the
peroxide of manganese is brought in contact
with platinum, positive electricity passes
into the platinum, and the negative into the
finger, or whatever body the peroxide is
touched with. De Larive has ascertained
that the development of the electricity
proceeds from chemical action, as it is very
weak with distilled water, but becomes strong-
er with acids or alkaline solutions ; for wood
being substituted for the platinum, the same
effects are produced when the finger is dipped
in an acid or alkaline solution, and applied to
it. (Ibid, 155.)

PEROXIDE OF LEAD, according to
Munck, when brought in contact with other
electromotors, as copper, zinc, carbon, and
peroxide of manganese, developes negative
electricity much more strongly than any other
body hitherto examined ; and forms an excel-
lent conductor of electricity. Hence, it may
be employed with great advantage in the con-
struction of dry piles, and even in common
piles, instead of copper. (Poggendorjf*s Ann,
(1835-6.)

CAPILLARY ATTRACTION.

1. Dutrochet, some years ago, observed,
that when two distinct fluids in a tube are se-
parated from each other by a partition having
capillary pores, the liquid soon begins to pass
in currents through the dividing medium ; but
tlie quantity of liquid in each is not the same ,
so that one of the fluids acquires a greater vo-
lume than the other. The stronger stieam
Dutrochet terms endosmose, and the weaker
current exosmoie. Some have supposed, that
the difference in the adhesion of the particles
of different liquors was the cause of this phe-
nomenon ; and that the endosvwse always
took place from the side of the less glutinous
fluid. But when solutions of gum and sugar
were tried, the endosmose took place from the
gum to the sugar, even when the former was
twice as much concentrated as the latter.
Many acids, as nitric, muriatic, phosphoric,
and acetic, when they are separated from wa-
ter, by an animal membrane, receive the
endosmose from the latter. Concentrated
sulphuric acid destroys the membrane ; and,
when diluted, exhibits no signs of endosmose.
When oxalic acid and water are employed,
the endosmose proceeds from the acid to the

DRAPER’S AND MRS. SOMERVILLE’S EXPERIMENTS.

455

water, and increases in proportion to the
strength of the solution. By itself, however,
oxalic acid passes more slowly through ani-
mal membrane than water. When a solution
of tartaric acid exceeds the specific of 1‘05,
the endosmose takes place from the water to
the acid ; if it is lighter than 1‘05, the pro-
cess is reversed. The same happens with
citric acid.

Dutrochet terms the passage of the oxalic
acid to the water, inverse endosmose. The
mineral acids do not exhibit this phenome-
non; phosphoric acid, however, exhibits it
for an instant, when reduced by the addition
of water, to the specific gravity of 1*085.
Change of temperature affects the passage of
the acid through the membrane, as it does its
specific gravity.

This agrees with the experiments of Girard,
upon the flowing of pure water, and water
containing nitrate of potash, through capil-
lary glass tubes. A solution of one part nitrate
of potash in three parts water, at the tempera*
ture of 40®, flows more readily through a ca-
pillary tube than pure water ; while above
40® the reverse happens. Dutrochet has found
these observations to hold only with animal
membranes ; not with vegetable, or thin inor-
ganic porous p\zXes.—{Pharmaceutisches Ceir
tral-hlatt, Feb. 1836, 92)

2. Jerichau,*of Copenhagen, has obtained
some interesting results on this subject, A
forked glass tube, 1| line in diameter, was
closed at one extremity with sealing wax, and
then the closed leg was filled with water, the
covered portion with mercury, and the open
leg partly with an aqueous solution of sugar.
'1 he tube was placed in a vertical position.

In the course of a week the mercury in the
closed leg rose a line, which might lead to the
supposition that the wax hadnot been so close-
ly applied to the glass as to prevent the exist-
ence of any capillary opening between the
wax and glass. To determine this point ano-
ther equally curved tube was taken, fused at
one extremity, and filled as before. To as-
certain the smallest rise, a small mirror, with
a transverse scratch upon it, was placed be-
tween the legs of the tube, close to the bent
legj so that the scratch, when it cut the re-
flexion of the eye over the pupil, appeared
as a tangent to the upper surface of the mer-
cury in the tube.

On a small rise of the mercury, the eye
must be brought forward, when the scratch
appears still to be the tangent of the mercury,
and passes immediately through the middle of
the reflexion of the eye.

After trial, it was found that a tube fused
at one end, and about a line in diameter, an-
swered the desired purpose. This tube was
filled with water, and then a globule of mer-
cury, which occupied 0’7 line of the tube, was
placed in it | some pulverized sugar was dis-
solved in the water. The tube was then made
fast to the mirror, and placed horizontally, in
order that the mercury might not be pressed
down by its own weight. The drop slowly

progressed towards the closed end of the tube.
After the lapse of a month, it had advanced
about a line. The water which was expelled,
mixed itself with the sugar solution ; and this
was concentrated by evaporation, without de-
positing any crystals. A solution of gum, sub-
stituted for that of the sugar, gave the same
result. In ten days, the drop of mercury ad-
vanced 0*2 lines towards the closed end of the
tube.

The converse of this experiment was tried
will) a portion of a straight tube, which was
fused at one extremity. A dense solution of
sugar was placed between the closed end and
a drop of mercury ; and before the drop some
water was introduced. If the latter evapo-
rated, it was renewed. The drop advanced
towards the open end of the tube, while the
saccharine solution increased in volume by
the absorption of water.

Extending his researches in this way, with
different liquids, Jerichau draws six inferen-
ces from his experiments.

1. That liquids, separated by porous plates,
reciprocally penetrate in part through these
plates. This, however, has been previously
stated.

2. The proportion of the volume, which
passes from both solutions in equal time, de-
pends on the nature of the solutions and par-
tition as well as the temperature. It is not,
however, a necessary condition, that a greater
volume should pass through the plate from
the one solution than from the other; or, that
on one side of these plates a greater volume
should enter, as Dutrochet erroneously
thinks.

3. When the diffusion is terminated, tha
volume remaining on each side of the parti-
tion may be calculated from the original vo-
lume, being inversely, as the square root of its
density ; as Graham has shewn with regard to
gases. If equal volumes of a saturated solu-
tion of common salt, and solution of sugar of
the specific gravity 1'078, are separated by a
bladder, the first increases in volume at first
but diminishes in specific gravity, in a great-
er degree than would take place by a regular
mixture.

4. The height to which solutions ascend in
capillary tubes, is often proportionate to the
quantity of liquid diffused. Thus, some solu-
tions, which rise highest in capillary tubes,
are conveyed in strongest streams, but there
are many exceptions to this rule.

5. Liquids are not only conveyed through
solid porous plates, but also through a short
canal between mercury and glass.

6. By the chemical action of electricity,
the proportion of the liquid which passes may
be increased ; but this cause only operates,
in so far as it separates acids, alkalies, and
salts,

OPTIC^.

EFFECT OF LIGHT IN MAGNETIZING
NEEDLES. — Mr. Draper* has repeated the
experiment of Mrs. Somerville, which consist-

• Journal of tlie Franklin Institute, Februa-
ry, 1835.

• Poggendorff’s Annalen, xxxiv. 613.

456

MAGNETO-ELECTRIC CURRENTS.

ed in rendering a needle magnetic by placing
it under a piece of glass, or blue ribbon,
having half its length protected by paper.
He did not succeed. He made a very delicate
experiment, by admitting “ a divergent beam
of light through a hole in the shutter of a
dark room ; the cone of luminous matter,
at its apex, was about 1*1 0th of an inch of
diameter, and a hair, or other filament held
in it, exhibited the phenomena of diffraction ;
the colours being received into the eye by a
lens. Across this beam a silver wire was
adjusted, and each of its extremities con-
nected v;ith cups of mercury, which commu-
nicated with the poles of a voltaic battery.
It was expected that, if there was any action
between a magnetic filament and light, some
derangement would be seen in the diffracted
fringes, when the current passed ; but none
such was observable.” He found also, that
solar light concentrated upon a delicate
needle, produced no effect, either in the air
or in vacuum. “ A needle made of watch
spring, about 4 inches long, which in an
exhausted receiver, suspended by a filament
of silk, exhibited no polarity, had one half of
it exposed to the violet ray, cast by an equi-
angular prism of flint glass. This ray was
separated from the others, by passing it
through a slit in a metallic screen, and half
the needle shielded by a piece of paper. After
two hours exposure, it was suspended again
in the exhausted receiver, but still showed
no token of polarity ; it was then exposed to
the other rays successively, with the same
result*”

Mr. Boyle found, that a piece of amber
would become electrified by exposure to a
sunbeam. Mr. Draper produced the same
effect on ruby from Ceylon, rolled sapphire, a
tourmaline, a Brazilian emerald, a topaz,
and likewise glass. He attributes this to the
agency of the light, and not to the heat ; be-
cause, when exposed to the action of heat
from another source, in the same degree, no
such consequence followed.

ELECTRICITY AND MAGNETISM.

hlETHOD OF DETERMINING THE
ELECTRICAL CONDUCTIBILITY OF
SMALL MASSES. — The usual method of
determining this property in bodies, consists
in interposing between an electrical somce
and a metallic wire attached to a sensible
electroscope, the body whose conductibility is
to be ascertained. For this purpose, an
electrical machine, a voltaic or a dry pile is
employed. Several ingenious apparata have
also been substituted, Lassaigne recommends
a modification v/hich he has found to answer.
To one of the wires of Schweigger’s multi-
plier, he attaches a small platinum spoon con-
taining dilute nitric acid ; above this spoon,
is fixed upon a support, a small glass tube,
2*3 inches long, and ;19 inch in diameter. A
wire of red copper curved at one of its extre-
mities, traverses it for two-thirds of its
length. To this distance the wire is flatten-
ed into a spatula, or terminated by a disk.
To this part of the ware the body to be tried
is attached It is then touched on the other

side with the end of the other wire of the
multiplier, and then the curved portion of the
copper wire is plunged into the nitric acid.
If the body placed between the two wires is a
conductor of electricity, the magnetic needle
instantly deviates. He has also found, that
a thermo-electric cylinder is very conve-
nient ; it is formed, by soldering, end to end,
two small cylinders, the one of Bismuth, and
the other of Antimony. When placed in a
glass tube and slightly heated at the point of
union, it was placed in contact on one side,
with one of the wires of a multiplier, and on
the other, with the substance to be tried, and
touched at its opposite extremity, with the
other wire of the multiplier. The results
werp. similar to those obtained by the first
method ; Arsenic and Tellurium were found
to be conductors.^

CHEMICAL ACTION OF ELEC-
TRICAL CURRENTS.— The experiments
of M. Botto lead to the conclusion, that the
direction of a magneto-electric current has
an influence, like that of a hydro-electric cui;-
rent, upon the facility which it may have in
passing through the same system of conduct-
ors. Mr. Faraday has proved, that the dif-
ferent substances which form a circle, expe-
rience, in similar circumstances, an equal
magneto-electric induction, and, conse-
quently, a tendency to produce the same
current. Botto has confirmed this fact.
He disposed a magneto- electric helix, having
two distinct and equal ends, in such a man-
ner, that when it was traversed in a contrary
direction by two currents developed by influ-
ence, these two currents neutralized them-
selves. If in the circle, which these currents
are obliged to traverse, we place a vessel
filled with acidulated water, and communica-
ting with the conductors on one side by a
wire, on the other side by a plate of the same
metal, the currents are neutralized. But, if
one of them is made stronger than the other,
by a change in the number of the spirals in
the magneto-electric helix, the effect upon
the galvanometer which results from this
dilference of intensity, is much more decided,
when the most powerful current passes into
the liquid from the wire to the place, than in
the contrary direction. Hence, it would ap-
pear, that w'e are to attribute the double
phenomenon which the same heterogeneous
circle presents, under the relations of electric
conductibility, to the difference of chemical
re-action which accompanies the passage of
the currents.-f

ATMOSPHERICAL ELECTRICITY.
— M. Matteuci has lately made some inter-
esting experiments upon this subject. 'They
were conducted, in what is termed in Italy,
an English wood (that is, one of small extent)
consisting of Robinia pseudacacia, Platinus
Occidentalis, Gleditzia iriacanthos, Melia, 8fc.
The electroscope with which the experiments
were made consisted of a stem of wood, at

* Journ. de Cliim. Medic, i. 63r*
t Bibliotheque Universelle, February, 1835.

EXPERIMENTS OF M. LLAMBIAS.

457

the extremity of which was placed a common
lamp ; a copper wire conducted the electricity
from the flame to an electroscope. On rainy
or windy days, a very thin portion of phos-
phorus was substituted for the lamp, and was
kept in a tube of glass terminating in a point.
He found, that whenever the electricity of the
atmosphere is positive (which is always the
case in calm weather), it is impossible to
have any traces of electricity in the interior
of a wood. The most curious mode of observ-
ing it, is to move, carrying the electroscope
in the hand, either out of the wood, or above
the leaves. The flame is scarcely removed 10
paces from the trees, when traces of electri-
city begin to appear. These increase with
the distance. In returning, the first tree is
scarcely reached, when the electroscope
ceases immediately to indicate the presence of
electricity. These general results can only be
explained by one of two hypotheses ; either,
that the electricity of the air is discharged by
the leaves and the vapour of water, and
escapes by this means into the earth, or, that
there is developed by the effect of vegetable
life, — by the respiration of plants, enough of
negative to neutralize the positive electricity
of the surrounding air. The second hypo-
thesis appears most plausible, because it is
difficult to admit the second, when we attend
to the conducting power of the flame, and of
the column of hot air which is much superior
to that of the leaves.

The results of a great number of observa-
tions showed that in the night, signs of elec-
tricity are often absent, both in the air, and
in the interior of a wood. At the approach of
day, before the sun appears above the hori-
zon, decided indications of negative electricity
appear among the trees, while none are detect
ed in the open air. We can readily under-
stand this observation, if we admit that
oxygen is disengaged from the leaves before
the rays of the sun strike them directly. In
this case, negative electricity appears. If the
sky is calm, the signs of negative electricity
disappear in the interior of the wood, at the
same time that positive electricity is developed
in the air- On three days, when the sky was
cloudy, and almost stormy, negative electri-
city was detected in the external air, and in the
wood. Hence, it may be inferred, that ne-
gative electricity is disengaged by vegetation
during the dry, which is constantly neutra-
lized by positive electricity. Matteuci has
promised to continue his observations,
and expresses a strong desire that similar
investigations should be undertaken by
meteorologists in other parts of the world,
especially in reference to rain.*

NEW METHOD OF MAGNETIZ-
ING.— M. Aime recommends the following
method, which consists in tempering and
magnetizing a bar of iron at the same time.
To effect this, a bar of soft iron curved in the
form of a horse-shoe, is surrounded with a
brass wire, covered with silk ; the two ex-

* BibUotbeqne Universelle, May, 1835, 33,

tremities of this wire are made to communi-
cate with the poles of the voltaic pile ; a bar
of steel equal in length to the distance
betw’een the two extremities of thehorse-shoe
is then ignited, and seized between a pair
of pincers; the two poles of the horse -shoe
are then applied to the bar, and plunged into
a bucket of water ; in the course of a minute
or two after immersion, the bar is detached
from the horse-shoe, and a|similar operation
performed with similar bars extracted from
the fire. In order to prevent the brass wire
from softening, care must be taken in dip-
ping the apparatus in water to envelope the
two extremities of the helix in a rag covered
with mastic. The ends of the conducting
wire were soldered to the zinc and copper
poles of the battery ; a single wire was em-
ployed. Aime, however, considers that it
may be preferable to unite several into a
bundle, or even to take a ribbon of copper
covered with silk or varnish. The bar ought
not to be detached too quickly from the
horse-shoe ; it is necessary to wait until the
interior of the steel has acquired a slight
elevation of temperature, in order that the
molecules may have time to arrange jthem-
selves, conveniently, for magnetizing and
tempering. The duration of the immersion
varies with the size of the bar, and the
temperature which it possesses when taken
from the fire.*

9 MAGNETISM BY COMMON ELEC-
TllICITY.f — M. Llambias has addressed a
manuscript upon this subject to the French
academy. The results of his experiments
were, 1. In every metallic conductor travers-
ed by the discharge of a Leyden phial, two
magneto- electric currents are simultaneously
discharged, which pass in opposite directions,
one of which may be said to proceed from the
vitreous to the resinous pole, and the other
from the resinous to the vitreous pole. 2. The
currents can be partly separated from each
other. This separation may be effected in
dividing a discharge between two or several
different branches of the same circle, when in
some particular branch there is an interrup-
tion which gives origin to the spark. 3. This
separation of currents is more or less practi-
cable, and is comprised within certain limits,
which can be nearly determined by experi-
ments for each discharge, and for each of the
other elements which produce the phenome-
non. 4. The separation of these currents may
take place in any portion of the circle sub-
mitted to the discharge, at the same time
that the other parts of the same circle are
traversed by currents completely re united. 5.
In every circle, or every portion of the circle,
which the two currents traverse in union, it
is, in general, the current which passes from
the vitreous to the resinous pole, or the pri-
mitive current which has the chief effect in
communicating the magnetic influence. 6.
Each of the currents magnetizes so much the

* Journal de Chime. Medic, i. 370.
t Ibid, i 3S,

458

RECENT SCIENTIFIC INTELLIGENCE.

more strongly in proportion, as it is separated
or disengaged from the other ; and in gene-
ral, we may say, that the magnetic power,
produced by a discharge of the Leyden jar,
is only the effect determined by the simulta-
neous union of two magnetizing, more or less
unequal and opposed, forces. 7. The com-
mon simple spark of the machine produces
analogous phenomena. — lbid»

NOTICE RESPECT ING DR. EHREN-
BERG’S COLLECTIONS OF DRIED
INFUSORIA, AND OTHER MICRO-
SCOPIC OBJECTS.

To Richard Taylor, Esq.., &c. &c.

British Museum, 21st Jnne,1836.

Dear Sir,

DR. EHRENBERG of Berlin, well
known for his elaborate work on the Infuso-
ria*, has recently presented to the British
Museum a series of dried microscopic objects,
consisting chiefly of infusory animalcules,
globules of blood, &C', accompanied by a short
notice (too shoit indeed) of his method of pre-
paring them, and a list of the subjects. Dr.
Ehrenberg preserves these most minute and pe-
rishable of known organic formsby meansof ra-
pid desiccation on little plates of mica, in winch
manner he informs us that he has succeeded in
making a very satisfactory dried collection,
not only of nearly 300 species of Infusoria,
but also of other kinds of microscopic objects.
He mounts them betwen double plates of mica,
fixed in the cells of slides, in the usual manner
of preparing the scales of butterflies and Po-
durce, and other transparent microscopic ob-
jects ; and thus, he says, “ I have not only
preserved the form and colour of the shielded
(cuirasses ) Rotatoria and Bacillaria, but al-
so the softest and most delicate o( the polygas-
tiic Infusoria, even these of the genus Monas ;
as well as the tissue of plants ; the Spermato-
zoa. and CercaricB ; the different sorts of glo-
bules of blood, with their nuclei; globules
of lymph, chyle, and milk; and the nervous
tubes, &c., of a great number of animals, and
of man.”

A power of about 3o0 (linear) is sufficient
for viewing these objects, “ but a lower power
does not show them satisfactorily, however
well they may be illuminated ”

I subjoin a list of the subjects presented to
the Museum, and remain,

Dear Sir, faithfully yours,
John Geo. Children.

Slide^ No. 1-

1. Monas viridis-

2. Polysoma uvella, and Monas termo.

3. Spirillum undula, and Vibrio bacillus.

4- Euglenia acus; Eu. viridis ; Eu- pyrum*

5“ Coleps hirsutus..

6‘ Volvox globator.

No. 2.

1. Paramecium caudatuin.

2. Glaucoma scintillans.

3. Trichoda carnium.

4. Charchesium polypinum.

5' Epistyli-s nutans.

6. Euplotes Charon.

No. 3.

1. Stentor niger.

2. Paramecium aurelia.

3. Glaucoma scintillans.

4. Stentor polymorphus.

5. Stentor coeruleu-.

6. Idem— compressed, to show the testiculi.

No, 4.

1* Nassula ornata.

2. Nassula elegans.

3. Nassula aurea.

4. Idem— Cl ushed, to show the teeth.

5. Chilodon uncinatus.

6. Chlamydomonas pulvisculus.

No. 5.

1. Hydatina senta.

2. Idem — crushed, to show the teeth,

3. Polyarthra trigla.

4. Brachionus pala—with its eggs.

5. Brachionus rubens — ditto.

6. Anuraea aculeata.

No. 6.

1. Globules of blood of the Sheep (Ovis aries).

2. Ditto of the Frog (Rana temporaria).

3. Grains of the Retina of the Eye of the same.

4. Spermatozoa vespertilionis murini.

5. Arhnanthes longipes.

6. Meridion vernale ; Fragilaria rhabdosoma ;

Navicula acus ; Na. amphisbaina.

Philosophical Magazine, August, 1836,

EHRENBERG’S NEW DISCOVERY
IN PALAEONTOLOGY :

TRIPOLI COMPOSED WHOLLY OF INFUSORIAL
exuvive

At the sitting of the Royal Academy of
of Sciences of Paris, July 11th, the following
letter was communicated, dated Berlin the
3rd of July, from M. Alexander Brongniart:
— ‘‘I have today become acquainted with a
discovery entirely new, for which we are in-
debted to M. Ehrenberg, and which he has
demonstrated to me in the clearest manner ;
it is that the rocks of homogeneous appearance
which are not very hard, friable, even fissile,
entirely formed ofsiiex, and which are known
by the names of tripoli, more or less solid
(PoUerschiefer of Werner), are entirely com-
posed of the exuviae or rather of the perfectly
ascertained skeletons of infusorial animals of
the family of the Bacillaria and of the genera
Cocconema, Gomphonema, Synedra, Gaillo-
nelLa, &c. These remains having perfectly
preserved the forms of the siliceous carcases
of these infusoria, may be seen with the great-
est clearnsss through the microscope, and may
easily be compared with living species, observ-
ed and accurately drawn by M. Ehrenberg.

DR. RANKEN’S INVENTION.

459

In many cases there are no appreciable dis-
tinctions.

The species are distinguished by the form,
and still more surely by the number oi septa
or transverse lines which divide their small
body ; and M. Ehrenberg, who has been able
to count them by tlie microscope, has observ.
ed the same number of these divisions in liv-
ing and in fossil species-

They are the tripolis of Bilin in Bohemia,
of Santa-Fiora in Tuscany, and of other pla-
ces which I do not lemeraber with certainty*
(of the Isle of France and of Francisbad near
Eger, if I am not mistaken,) which have given
occasion to these curious observations. I’he
slimy iron ore of marshes is almost wholly
composed of Gaillonella ferruginea.

The greater part of these species are lacus-
trine, but there are also some marine, parti-
cularly in the tripoli of the Isle of France.—
Vlnstitut, No. \66.—lhid.

BRITISH ASSOCIATION FOR THE
ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE.

The next Meeting will be held at Bristol
during the week commencing on Monday,
August, 22nd ; the Members of the General
Committee will assemble on the preceding
Saturday. — Ibid.

THE INDIA REVIEW.

Calcutta : January 15, 1837-

LORD AUCKLAND’S SCIENTIFIC
PARTY.

Tuesday 'Evening., Zrd January, 1837.

We rejoice to see our prediction, regard-
ing the ulterior good to be derived from the
instructive and interesting entertainments
at the Government House, realized.

The ingenuity of talented men has been
in active exercise, and discoveries have been
displayed, which will tend to the most im-
portant results. Although we cannot con-
cede to Dr. O’Shaughnessy the merit of hav-
ing discovered the working machine for pro-
ducing moving power by the application of
electro-magnetic influence, yet we must ac-
knowledge that his contrivance of another
machine, the model of which was exhibited
at the Government House, and is described in
our present number, does him great credit
for ingenuity, perseverance, and zeal, and
will add to that professional renown for pro-
mising talents which he has so Justly attain-

ed. In addition to the foregoing on the
present occasion. Dr. Ranken, officiating
secretary to the Medical Board, — a gentle-
man already distinguished for his mechanical
genius by his invention of the thermantidote,
an engine by which ordinary houses in India
can be both cooled and ventilated, brought
forward a plan for discovering shoals or ob-
structions in the way of steam vessels. Dr.
Ranken forwarded to us a model, from
which we had a drawing taken (plate 3, fig.
8,). The following is the account for which
we are indebted to the author.

“ The apparatus is attached to the fore
part of the vessel, and is intended to act as
she proceeds in her course.

“ This imperfect model is supposed to
represent a steamer afloat, and the trough, in
which it slides, the channel of the stream. A
shaft or pole (1), equal to the length of the ves-
sel, isprojected forward from the bow, where
it floats on a level with the waterline. At the
further extremity of this shaft is a cylin-
drical cross-bar, (2), the length of which
being optional, is here somewhat greater than
the breadth of the steamer. The crossbar,
perforating a row of feelers, (4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9,)
supports them in a vertical position, where
the channel is clear, but allows them to ro-
tate freely and to fall down, when pressed
by any thing under water. A lever extending
horizontally backward, with holes in it for
receiving a weight at different distanees from
the top of each feeler, counterpoises the
pressure of the water and the force of the
current on the immersed portion of the feeler.

“ These feelers, the essential part of the
contrivance, descend under water as far as
the.keel, and rise above so as to be fairly in
view from the deck of the steamer. If the
lower ends of any of the feelers, thus im-
mersed, come upon a shoal, sand bank, or
sunken tree, they are forced backward and
upward, when of course the opposite ends
or tops, visible above water, sink forward
and downward. The exact situation of any
obstruction or danger to the vessel may in
this manner be indicated in time, it is be-
lieved, to enable the helmsman to avoid it,

460

LORD AUCKLAND'S SCIENTIFIC PARTY.

by steering where other feelers, still remain-
ing vertical, shew the channel to be clear.

** The small paper tubes on the tops of the
feelers shew where lanterns might be placed,
throwing out sufficient light ahead, and
rendering every motion of the feelers con-
spicuous, if the river were navigated at
night as well as by day.

“ If it were necessary, a man or two could
be stationed before the cross-bar where the
figure of a boat (3) appears in the model, to
see that the machinery keeps in order.”

Several of the scientific and nautical gen-
tlemen who examined the model at the Go-
vernment House suggested partial objections
to the use of the apparatus. Its great
length, one observed, would probably im-
pede the vessel in turning to either side.
Another remarked that, though the long
shaft could now be taken off and put on
again at pleasure, it was not sufficiently un-
der command while attached to the bow at
the water line. To obviate these inconve-
niences, the same gentleman proposed to
let the apparatus down to the water from
the foremast, or from a sort of crane by
which it might be placed in its proper posi-
tion or lifted up as circumstances should
require. A third, whose knowledge of
steam navigation gave particular weight to
his opinion, thought the contrivance unob-
jectionable in ascending the river at the
aate of 3 or 4 knots an hour, but not cal-
culated to be of any use in coming down, at
double that speed or more, when the warn-
ing given by the feelers would not be suffi-
cient to enable the steersman to avoid the
shoals in his way.

To these and other remarks the inventor
replied to the following effect, in the course
of the conversation which took place.

With the exception of the metallic rods,
each a quarter of an inch in diameter, which
are to form the immersed portion of the
feelers, the whole of the machinery is in-
tended to be so light as to float on the sur-
face like a blown bladder. Having the least
possible hold on the water therefore, it will

scarcely be any impediment to the move-
ments of the steamer.

Were the long shaft of the apparatus ex-
tended from a mast or crane elevated above
the deck, the height would, in addition to
the present length of it, cause the feelers to
describe the arc of a larger circle, rising
higher and sinking deeper than the keel in
the pitching motion of the vessel. It might
be an improvement to attach the shaft by a
long fork to the middle of the vessel on each
side, at the water line, where there is least
motion.

It is not generally believed that the velo-
city of a body through fluid renders it more
difficult to turn aside, or a ship less obe-
dient to the helm. It is not meant that the
paddles should be backed or the steamer
stopped, when the feelers indicate a shoal
in her way. When they shew the exact
spot where the danger lies, and at the same
time let us know where there is enough of
water, turning the rudder a few points to
larboard or starboard, will apparently make
the steamer take a safe course the more rea-
dily the faster she is going.

No objection seemed to be urged against
the principle of the contrivance, the doubts
expressed having reference chiefly to the
manner of employing it. Dr. Ranken ex-
pected to find that so simple and obvious a
means of sounding the bed of a river had
already been tried and rejected by practical
men for reasons which he could not disco-
ver. But this appeared not to be the case,
and adverting to the great importance of
being able to navigate the rivers of this
country with safety in the night as well as
the day time, he offered to place a complete
apparatus at the disposal of any competent
person who had inclination and opportunity
to give the contrivance a fair trial.

Mr. Prinsep and Dr. Weifer exhibited the
powers of the ox-hydrogen microscope,
by which sections of wood, the structure of
plants, forms and dispositions of cellular and
vascular tissues, and fibres of plants, as well
as organic fabrics, cotton, &c. were accu-
rately developed. Entomological descriptions

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NATURAL CURIOSITIES AND WORKS OF ART.

461

j were given ; and living infusoiise were seen
ji contending with and destroying each other,

I which excited considerable amusement. The
j animalcules were the most lively animated
j objects displayed in myriads in our common
drinking water : a little brandy was introdu-
ced, and they all fell to the bottom, showing
the eifect of ardent spirits in suspending
! animation. Among the numerous exhibi-
tions of natural curiosities, we noticed some
jerolites which have fallen in India ; the one
at Moradabad in 1806, one at Allahabad in
1822, one at Ghazeepore in 1827, and another
at Hydrabad in 1831. There were some
beautiful specimens of Japhogas Succatus
and Pteropus Marginatus of Bengal, and fossil
hippopotamus and fossil crocodile from the
Sub Himalya, furnished by Col Colvin. Salt
from the Samber lake in various states of
manufacture, from Lt. Conolly. The skeleton
of an ouran outang and one of an albatross.
Among the works of art we observed three
casts ; viz. those of King William, — Cobbett,
and O’Connel in character. Our gracious
king was considered an admirable likeness.
O’Connel, in the attitude of animateddebate,
with one hand grasping his waistcoat, laid
bare his brawny bosom, with the other arm
extended and clenched fist denouncing ven-
geance on the enemies of his injured coun-
try. Cobbett hoary-headed, reclining in
despair on a garden bench, was a fine
picture of intelligence and age. A silver
cup given by Dwarkanath was an admii'a-
ble specimen of workmanship by Hamilton
& Co. The Auckland cup was still more
creditable to the abilities of Pittar. The
latter had no blemishes as regarded chaste-
ness and design, which unfortunately was not
altogether the case with regard to the for-
mer. There was also a splendid collection
of bronze medals, struck inFrance under the
the orders of Napoleon, in commemoration
of his victories, and a very perfect Sciogra-

thicon.

DR. O’SHAUGHNESSY’S & MARSH’S
EXPERIMENTS.

We perceive that the editors of the Quar-
terly Journal of the Medical and Physical So-

ciety have given ' ‘ an account ofa new method
of separating small quantities of arsenic from
substances, with which it may have been
mixed, by J. Marsh, Esa.” When we com-
mented upon Dr. O’Shaughnessy’s descrip-
tion of this mode of separating arsenic from
other substances, we had not seen Marsh’s
clever paper, and therefore Dr. O’Shaugh-
nessy’s statement (for we conceive the edi-
torial to be his), that our review was of that
document, is incorrect. Our description of
numerous tests and advice to judge and
juries in quoting the difference of opinion
among chemical physicians, the professor
denounces as odd mistakes and a proof of
our not being, as he is, familiar with the sub-
ject ; he appeals to men of science in Europe
to support his assumption. Now we must
protest against any such appeal, if he had a
reason on the spot to prove our conclusions
erroneous : to have given it would have been
but complying with the claims of legitimate
discussion. Has the professor so soon for-
gotten the opinion we gave on his experi-
ments on the blood ? When we then point-
ed out his errors, his reply was the same as it
is now ; viz. that he did not consider himself
called upon to enter into a chemical dis-
cussion with us, as our review had denoted
a total want of practical knowledge of the
subject. Instead, therefore, of entering into a
controversy with us regarding the existence
of a supposed new substance in the blood,
he would appeal to home authorities. The
appeal in this case was inourfavor, as shown
in our number for January 1836, wherein the
experiments by Brett and Bird, of Guy’s
hospital, are described, the result of v/hich
led to conclusions the same as our own.
We have since received a long com-
munication from those gentlemen on the
same subject, which we have not published,
nor should we have adverted to it now,
had not the remarks of our friend O’Shaugh-
nessy elicited this, defence, and compelled
us to point out to our professional brother
our desire for free and open discussion of
important questions. It is by collision of
opinions that truth is elicited ; but the sub-

462

USEFUL DISCOVERIES IN SCIENCE;

ject, and not. persons, must be addi^essed.
When the latter is the case, ' bitter and
angry feelings are engendered in bosoms
where nothing but amity, esteem, and true
friendship should pervade, which ought
invariably to be the case with all lovers and

we -perceive an error on eubjecta con-
nected with the public weal and with
science, vve feel it to be our bounden duty to
expose it, without having the least respect to
persons, or to any other views than those
of discharging the duty of an upright and

promoters of science. Therefore, whenever independent journalist.

.PROGRESS OF SCIENCE,

AS APPLICABLE TO THE ARTS AND MANUFACTURES ; TO COMMERCE
AND TO AGRICULTURE.

IMPROVEMENTS UPON 'IME HY-
DRO-OXYGEN MICROSCOPE.

Sir,— In throwing tlie flame upon the lime
in the liydi o-oxycen microscope, it is found
that deep cavities ore formed in it by the
violence of the flame, and that it is requisite
to move it. to cause the fire to art upon another
part, otiieruise the light becomes dull and the
large lenses endanueied. I his at oresenl (or
was lilt la>t year, when I directed the maker
to cam-e it to revolve ami rise,) i.s moved by
hand.whicli is incon ven’ent in saveia! res-
pects; first, if a hole is made, the radiant
point of tlie lens is abered, and peifi cl dis-
tinctness is gone : tile object glasses are en-
dangered, and in opening the door to adjust
the lime, a light is thrown into the room.
Moreover, one of tiie cylinders of lime will
only last one exhibiiion, wlieieas, by being
turned lemilaily, it would do for seveial.
The improvement consists in causing the lime
to revolve regularly and slowly, and, at the
same time, lise gradually, wliereby the same
part never comes under tlm action of the flame
twice. (See plate, 3 fig. 5.)

ABC is an uprigtit shaft, upon the upper
end of which the cylinder ot Tune A is put ;
DE a grooved wheel to be driven by an end-
less screw, E, which endless screw lias a cog-
ged wheel FGH, wliichis driven by a spring
having a train of wheels, the whole being re-
gulated by a fly. The screw Bis for the pur-
pose of raising the shaft ABC when turning.
By this screw the shaft A B C is raised ; one
whole revolution raising it the distance of one
thread on the scie'v ; the grooved wiieel D E
slides freely upon the shaft by a sliding piece
K, having a square hole in it filling the shaft,
and which causes the wheel to turn along with
it. That the wheel D E may not rise or fall,
a groove or slit is marie in K. which runs in a
piece of board L H. fastened to the lower
b<i a i d . — Mech a n ic ’.v Maga zi rie.

W. Ettrick.

STRAINING DRAWING-PAPERS.

Sir, — I'Perhaps the follovving methods of
straining paper for drawingsCU’ithout ce-

ments, may be u-reful to some of your read-
ers:—(See plate 3, fig.s. 1, 2, 3, 4.)

Fig. 1 is a plan of the drawing-board, with
four grooves rt /) c d cut round it, in wliich
four slips of wooil fit, as shown in fig. 2, which
is a section llirounii f)ue of the grooves. The
damp p.iper is to be laid on the board and
tucked inio the grooves. 'I'he slips of wood
are then to I e put into the position shovvn at
fig. 2. along ine whole side at once, and then
piessed dow'n into the groove.^, as in fig. 3.
It will be seen that the more tlie paper strains,
the moie firmly it will he held.

1 have had a board made as above for an-
tiquariaii paper, and find the plan to answer
in firaclice. 'I'lieie is a lilile difficulty in put-
ting the slips into their place.®, wliich may be
very n-iiicli lessened liy the grooves and slips
being made perfectly straight and parallel ;
or it may be entirely removed by the contriv-
ance seen in fig 4. .y;

ti l> is one of tlie grooves ; ccthoslip of wood,
much nariower than the groove, so that it can
be laid in its place, and forced light up by tjie
wedges w iv. 1 he enipty parts of the grooves
may seive to prevent the instruments rolling
oftThe board.

Y^ours, &c.,

James Hennell.

J une 4, 1836. Ibid^

NOTES AND NOTICES.

OIL FROAI FLIES. — A society ha® feen
formed in Geirnanyto e\tr,ic.i oiLfrom fiies,
for trrpasing \v\\ee\> - Camhri m.

A EROS r A fl ON.— A balloon is being
consirucled, under ihe diiection of Mr. Green,
of siicii dimensions as to be cauable of carfy-
itig lO persons. Tlie gores of silk by which
it will he I’ofmed are iieaily 100 feel in length,
the centre being about 4 feet in width, and
verging al the extremity to nearly a pouit.
When finished, the balloon will be about 70
feet high. It is made of the best manufac-
tured silk, 'J’he net which will sunound it
weighs 3 cwt., whije' the wliole apparatus,

• .Ffj;-'\viieels, I suppose. <^Print6r's> De»U\

463

STEAM SUPERIOR TO - OTHER FORMS ^'OF. MOTIVE POWER.

including net, but wiilvput gas, ballast, or
passengers, will weigh about 7 cwt.

IMPROVEMENTS AND EMBEL-
lilSHMEN TS INuPA RIS.— ;The granite for
llie ped.e'^ial of the obelisii of l.uxoi has an i ved,
and only awaits the decrease of the waters of
the Seine to he landed. It consists of .seven
blocks, one of which weighs 120,0001 Is. I’he
Hotel Dieu, it is said, will shortly be taken
down, to carry on the beautiful line of quays
which extend along each bank of the Seine.
The sick will be removed to the Invaiides,
which establi.'hment will be broken up. and
formed into several bianche.s, in various parts
of the country, where articles of provision,
&c. are cheap. — Paris Advertiser.

'BRITISH MUSEUM BUILDINGS.—
With the exception of the interior finishings,
the northern side of the British IVlu'eum is com-
pleted: and when the inteiior of this part is
finished, the temporary communication on the
western side to the Elgin. Marble room, &c,
will be lenioved, and made to correspond with
the eastern sitle. It will he a tew yeais before
the old soutbern Iront, and the buildings
. 'round the entrance court-yard are taken down ;

but when they are removed, and the new
. buildings completed, the Biitish Museum will
be one of the most elegant architectural
.■edifices, in the Grecian style of aicliitecture,
fin the metropolis. 'I’he architect to the new
buildings i.s Sir Robeit Smiike. — Arclntectu-
XtaL Magazine for July.

APPLIGATION OF S IE AM -POWER
TO THE CULTIVATION OF LAND.

S' Sir,— During the last twenty year.s steam-
ploughs have been frequently on the tapis,

■ and perliaps ere long we .shall see them going
about and undertaking to plough field.s for
whoever may desire their assistance, and with
very little more preparation than is now re-
quired to place a portable thrashing-mill,
i About the time that the Leeds Railway was
• done, when high-pressure engines were much
improved, the idea of thrashing by steam led
me to think of making a portable plough,
applicable to all kinds of land. Now that
pu blic companies are forming that will requiie
the use of such things, perhaps my old plan
may t e useiul to some oi them. I send you,
therefore, a description of it, that you may
publish it as soon as convenient.

The sketch (see plate. 3, fig, 6.) shows
"my arrangements, made long ago, both for
ploiigliing and harrowing land by steam-power-
AA represent a piece of land to be plouglied
B, a carriage on small wheels (or rollers it tlie
ground is soft), which carries the steam-engine
to work the wheel C ; D is another carriage,
at the opposite end of the field, to carry
; another wheel E. On these two wheels 1 put
an endless chain or rope FG, which, when
worked by the sieam-engine.willdraw a plough
T1 and hairow 1 in different directions; and
when they ariive at the end, 1 cause botlitiie
‘ carriagesBand D to be nioved the width of the
furrow, either to the right or'left, and reverse
the motion of the engine to draw the plough
a:ud harrow back again. In , placeof ah end-

less chain, a coorraon.one with cylinders will
answer the sarne purpose, by u^ing proper
conducting pulleys on the opposite carriage.
To mention any smaller details, Tpresume,
is useless. . .

I am. Sir, '

Your obedient'^ervant,

J. Dickson, C. E.

9, Charlotte-street, Biacldriars-ioad,

- - Jxme, IHSG.-^MechaniCs'Mdgazine.

STEAM VERSUS VVA:rER. ,

(From the American Mechanic's Magazine.)

Few persons, even in this age of inquiry and
improvement, seem to be awaie of tlie vast
rmperiority of steam over every, other forrh of
motive pow'er. Many aie still, by ibis asser-
tion, reminded of tlie anecdote of the famous
B indley- In giving evidence before a Com*
riiitti-e of the Hou-e of Commons on the
subject of Canal.s, bespoke of their superi-
oiity as a mode of communication in such
• locided terms, tliat a meml er asked for what
lie tbouglii rivers were intended ? he unhesita-
tingly replied, tofeed canals." Now, though
we say that the manufacture will one day
“ feed his boiler from tlie falls,’’ we think
that the assertion is not a bold one, and tliat
it floes admit of proof.

Some time ago, our attention was directed
to a comparison of the expense of the two
forms of power in the village of Lowell, po.s*
.se.^sed of the best water power in the Union-
The expense of steam to water wa.s said to be
as 100 to 125.

VVe have since often had this subject in
mind, in reference to the more improved use
of steam, and particularly to the economy of
the rotary-engine of Avery.

Puisuing the comparison, we have collected
some oftheniore piominent disadvantages, of
the usual hydiaulic system, and the cories-
poiidiiig advantage of steam-power-

The first item of cost is that of the water -
wrighr, over and above the value of the
ground as increased by any other a(lvantage.s
of locality. Thi.s expense is in no ca^e trifling,
andsomelimes is positively enormous. 'I'here
is. of course, no corresponding item of expen-
diture in the use of steam, an engine work-
ing as well on the top of a hill as in the bot-
tom of a valley.

2d. The outlay upon wheels, dams, and
other hydraulic works- This is often much
greater than would be necessary for the aver-
age pressuie, provided it were constant — that
i'^, we are to erect woiks to support much
more water than we have supplied through
three quarters of the year- Freshets, &c- are
to be provided against, at an increased cost.
It is well known that in some locations the
provision for such contingencies is no small
portion of the whole capital employed.

It is tins expense, other things being equal,
that is to be compared with the cost of an
engine, and the comparison is favourable to
the latter, .. . kj

31. After every precaution, damages from
floods are of constant occurrence, and their
cepairis exceedingly costly.

464 MARBLE CEMENT INTRODUCED INTO AMERICA.

4i.h. The delay cau!«e<l by freshets*, &c
producing a stoppage from llie too great sup-
ply of power.

5th. The delay in seasons of drought,, when
the supply is insufficient.

These last are most vexatious occurrences,
preventing work oftentimes when most is to
ne done, and the uncertainty arising from
the po.ssibility of sucli delays and accidents,
is a constant care to the raa eager of such an
establisinent ; whereas to the con.'umer of
steam, the perfect certainly of the amount and
regularity of the supply of power is a great
auxiliary in conducting business.

For a steam-engine, tlieonly use of water is
a sufficiency for the boiler ; and in these days
of economy of heat and steaiu, a very small
quantity of fuel is used, and but little water.
We have seen a rotary engine, estimated at
l5-liorse power, evaporating but 40 gallons
per hour.

6th. Delay in winter, and in our uncertain
climate this may sometimes be consiilerable,
and, in an establishment of great extent, per-
liaps fatal.

'I'o balance all these expenses, peculiar to
the use of hydraulic power, theie is, as far as
we can recollect, but one peculiar to that of
steam, namely, /ne/. Now, in saw-mills this
experi.se is noUiing, and in all instances much
less than forniei ly.

Our persevering countryman. Dr. Nott,
has already succeeded in greatly reducing tliis
item of cost— and he does not yet appear to
be satisfied.

As regards fuel, Avery’.s engine has im-
mense advantages over otliers, inasmucii as
the quantity of water used is less than in any
other case. 'I'lie elasticity of the steam ope-
rates more advantageously than in any other
construction, the small quantity of watei used
being a proof of this.

^In the engine above referred to, the cost for
coal was rattier less than one dollar for ten
hours.

It is almost needless to observe rliat, in
many large establishments, manufactories,
&c., the application of a portion of the steam
to heating, &c., nearly, if not quite, compen-
sates the cost of fuel. The certainty and
uniformity of this method of diyiug goods
have fully established its superio; ity. Indeed,
in the art of dyeing, certain colouis owe tlieir
brilliancy to the rapid and high heat of >team,
and they could 1 e produced in no other way.
While speaking of this use of steam, we must
notice an engine erected in the Astoi Huiel.
This isasmall engine ofb-hoise power; its use
is to pump water from the different ci-tems to
all parts of the house— supply ilie. baths with
hot and cold water— <dean knives — luu'^h
shoes — loasiand grind coffee; and the steam
cooks the vaiiuus dmhes in the kitchen, and
also dries the clothes, which by this method
of proceeding are ready tor use witn unpiece-
dented dispatch.

To these and numberless other uses is this
engine turned, saving an immense number of
servants, a great quatiiity of fuel, and avast
deal of time.

(The exhaust steam-pipe of this engine i*
over 320 feet long )

One of the greatest advantages of steam-
power, in many cases, is, that it admits of
change of locality, without injury to the nia-
ctiinery, and often with benefit to the em- i
plover. i

1 n this respect, again, A very’s engine stands j
pre-eminent. The machinery is beaniifclly |
compact, and consequently foitable. An |j
engine of l5-hoise power is liaidly a load for j‘
a horse, the whole weighing less tnan COOII s. j;

Let us suppose, liiat a man puicliasesa f
piece of timber land, of prime quality, but,
unfortunately (as is thought), away horn any
water-course.

Let him procure an Aveiy’s engine ; and
this, connected with iiis saw-miil, can be
placed upon wheels and moved, by the engine I
itself, if he pleases, to any part of Ids land, i
( iNIiils capable of such an arrangement, and
very compact, are now easily to he piocuied.)

Let him locale his mill near a spring, and
commence operations. The wa-ie and rub-
bish, that in most ca.ses i'* a diug, is entirely
consumed by tlie engine ; the ground is
cleared, and nothing is to be removed Imt the
perfectly formed timber.

Amongother usefu 1 applications of such an
engine, in tlie toiest itself, no one can be equal i
in beauty of opeiaiion to tlie valual le stave- j
maclime of Philip Cornell, N. Y. This ma. |
dune jiromises to lie of great se'vire. . With |
such an aiiangemeni as that of the saw-mill |
above mentioned, nearly, if not quite, double |
the usual number of staves can be cut from
the limber before transportation, and these '
are already dressed and ready for use, either j
for liquids or solids.

'I’hese are only a few of the very many use- |
ful ap[)licaiious of this sort of travelling ma" '
chines. Others will suggest themselves to
our readers.

It must be very evident that, whatever !
biings into use property of little or no value, j
enabling the produce of such land to compete I
successfully with that of much better, must i
add to liie w-ealth of the landholder, or timber- j
mer chant, a sum equal to the cost of the best
land. I

Thus a great uniformity of value would re- I
suit, and of consequence amoie equal compe- *
lency to those on, or away from, great water- j
courses and canal.s.

MARBLE CEMENT. |

An important improvement, which has been
for several years in progress is aliout being
introduced to 'he more general notice of the
public, and, we believe, into extensive use for
building purposes. It is a ci mposition or
cement, ot vvhii h the principal ingredient is
marble or lime stone, which, vvlien applied to
the inner or outer walls of buildings, presents
the appearance of polisiied marble, of the
various hues an(i, qualities vvhich distinguish
the beautiful material imitated. What would
be thought of a magician who possessed the
power of changing the sombre brick and stone
walls of the buildings of a city, in one week,

IMPROVEMENTS IN ROPE-MAKING.

465

into substances, resembling the most beautiful
Grecian, Italian, Egyptian, or Veid Antique
maible, or pprphyiy, like the rock of Gibral-
tai 1 Yet all ibis may Ue done by this inven-
tion,of a humble ciiizen, of Orange county,
in this State. This cement has been suAi-
ciently tested by experiments on buildings, to
satisfy practical men of its decided superio-
lity over any other cement, stucco, or other
hard finish for walls, hitheiio known. In our
next Numlier we expect lo be uhle to fuinish
the public witii some interesting pat ticulars on
tins subject ; and in the mean time we can
slate, that a Company has been formed in this
city lo carry on the operations connected with
the manufacture of this new cement, and its
apfilicadon to buildings. — New York Rail-
rod'l Jou vital.

URG A N.— The city of iM unicit has lately
purchased a curious organ of mai vellousi^ffect.
'I’lie pipes and stops are of a miniature size, yet
have all the musical effect of a church organ,
it IS the woik of an luimble aitist of Fioieuce,
named Michael Faoli ; whose talent has been
< revealed for chance, and who, at the age of
sixteen, made a beautiful clock, after one in-
spection of a model. The cuiate of his village
first employed him to make an organ which
all Florence admired. — Atheiiceum,

ROPE-MAKING MACHINERY.

Messrs. Macnab & Co. of Greenock,
have published an Exposition of the Prin-
ciples of Mr. James Lang’s invention for
Spinning Hemp into Rope-yarns by ma-
chinery, and its effect on the strength and
durability of Cordage. Of this Exposition
the following extract will convey an outline.

‘‘It was only towards the end of the 18th
century that the art of Rope-making engag-
ed the attention of scientific men, and began
to be conducted on scientific principles.
Then it was discovered, that, by the mode
of operation formerly in use, the yarns
could not be brought to bear equally with
each other ; and, therefore, that a great loss
of strength in the rope behoved to be the
consequence. Great exertions were accor-
dingly made by several intelligent individu-
als to remedy this defect, and between the
years 1783 and 1807, no fewer than twenty-
two patents were taken put for improve-
ments in the art, and for machines of vari-
ous descriptions, — these it is not to our pur-
pose to describe. It may be sufficient to
;state, that the one invented by Captain
Huddartof London, was greatly approved
of, and obtained the highest celebrity. This
plan was introduced into Greenock in 1802,
by the late firm of Messrs. John Laird
& Co., but was in some measure superseded
a few years after by the method now in use,
and which, by the application of the same
principle, but of a more simple construction,

was found to secure the same object, while,
at the same time, it was better adapted for
general purposes. For this improvement
on Captain Huddart’s plan we believe we
are indebted to Mr. W. Chapman of New-
castle. The principle by which an increase
of strength in the Cordage was effected
(amounting to about 30 per cent.), is simply
by so constructing the strand of the rope
as that every yarn is made lo bear its own
jiroportion of the strain. That the appli-
cation of such a principle should be follow-
ed by such a result, must be apparent to
every one, and it is by carrying out this
same principle to its full length, as we shall
afterwards show, that we have been ena-
bled" to effect an additional increase of
strength, and, consequently, of durability
to the rope.

“ That a great improvement in rope-
making waseffectedby these gentlemen,ther0
can be no question, but that perfection in
the art might be attained, it was still neces-
sary that the mode of preparing the yarns
should also be improved. The usual pro-
cess of hand-spining was considered very
defective, as evidently it did not impart to
the yarns that degree of strength which it
was thought the material v/as capable of
affording. Endeavours were accordingly
made to obviate this defect also. Three pa-
tents were even taken out for machines, but
these were found not to answer expectation ;
those constructed by Mr. Chapman are
still used by some houses in England, but
as they are very defective, they have never
been introduced into general practice. A
moment’s consideration must be sufficient
to convince any person, the least convers-
ant in rope-making, that, if the strength,
and durability of the rope depend on the
proper arrangement and equal bearing with
each other of the yarns in the strand,
so its strength and durability must also de-
pend on the just arrangement, regular twist-
ing, and consequent equal bearing of the
fibrous substances which are employed in the
composition of the yarns. Indeed, after the
improvement above alluded to, this was the
only thing requisite to complete the scientific
construction of cordage ; and by the applica-
tion of machinery, on a principle somwhat ana-
logous to that which we have already referred
to, this desideratum has also been supplied.
Mr. Lang, who had for many years directed
his attention to the subject, and was con-
vinced of its practicability, upon taking the
active management of our works, got a set
of machines constructed under his own
direction, which, on repeated trial, were
found completely, to accomplish the object.
By this invention, the regular spinning of
the yarns, which had hitherto been prepared
in a tedious and clumsy manner by hand-

466

DISCOVERY IMPORTANT FOR INVALIDS.

labour, is one object which has been cfTected ;
but this, although in itself important, is
one of its least advantages. By the same
plan, the herap^ to whatever purpose ap-
plied, being drawn over a succession ot gills,
or small hackles, is dressed in the highest
degree ; hence the fibrous substances of the
hemp are regularly split and subdivided ;
they are also multiplied to such an extent as
that their number in a Patent-spun yarn will
be found more than double the quantity of
those which compose a hand -spun yarn of
equal grist ; this, every one will admit, must
increase its strength in no inconsiderable de-
gree. Again, while the fibres are thus great-
ly multiplied, they are also completely elon-
gated and laid straight, so as to admit of being
regularly twisted, and each fibre being stretch-
ed its full length and laid parallel to the
others in the yarn, they are all made to bear
at the same time, and equally, in the strain ;
thus every fibre of the hemp is called into
action, and contributes its own proportion of
strength to the fabric; this is certainly a
most important feature in our Patent plan,
and such a result could never be expected
from the most careful and best conducted
hand-spinning. But this is not all, by hand-
labour the hemp can only be spun from the
middle, or bight ; and therefore only one-
half of the length of its fibre is extended in
the yarn, consequently, some qualities of
hemp have hitherto been considered inferior,
because, on account of the shortness of their
fibre, they would not admit of being doubled ;
thus, a material in other respects as good,
while of lower price, has been rejected in the
manufacture of Cordage, not so much on its
own account, but because, by the process of
hand-spinning, only the one-half of its length
could be employed. Now, Mr. Lang’s plan
has this additional advantage, that the hemp
is spun by the end of the fibre, and thus, by
having its whole length extended in the yarn,
those qualities of hemp hitherto considered
inferior, because shorter, may be applied
W’ith equal safety and advantage, and do in
reality produce Cordage as strong and as
durable as the others. When we take into
account the very depressed state of this branch
;Of our manufacture, in consequence of the
•facilities enjoyed by our neighbours on the
.continent of underselling us in a foreign
market, as also the present state of the ship -
■ping interest, it will, by every candid person,
be acknowledged that an invention such as
this, by which we are enabled to produce a
superior article, and at a cheaper rate, ought,
even in a politicalpoint of view, to be regard-
ed as a public good ; and is consequently en-
titled to public encouragement and support.”
i Professor Jameson adds : — We have seen
the rope-yarns, understand the machinery

employed, have rqad carefully the exposition, |
and do riot hesitate to say, that this new I
cordage has answered the expectation of those ■
who hare tried it, and that severely too, in i
liiany seas.* — Arcana of Science.

CYLINDER BEDSTEAD.

An important and invaluable contrivance,
denominated the reclining cylinder bedstead,
for which a patent has been recently obtain-
ed, and which, on the point of adoption in
St. George's Hospital, London, has been
minutely inspected and most cordially ap-
proved hj 'Written testimonials, by the whole
of his Majesty’s physicians and surgeons,
and the most eminent practitioners in the
Uietropolis, is one amidst the many brilliant
evidences of that astonishing progress in
mechanical science for -vv'hich the present
age is remarkable. The inventor is Mr,
James Cherry, of Coventry.

The sacking is attached to two cylinders
running lengthwise, one on each side of the
bed ; these C5dinders contain several springs
upon the chronometer principle, which, pro-
pel them upon the axles outwards, or right
and left from the centre of the bed. The
sacking, when the bed is not in use, ,is'al-
ways at full stretch ; but when it receives the
weight of the body, the springs relax, and
the bedding is sunk to a concave of twelve
inches ; the feathers encompassing the patient
and relieving the back from the pressure
which is imparted to the sides ; together
with the undulating motion of the spring.s
by which the bedding is sustained, impart a
sensation of entire comfort and ease. In the
opinion of the faculty, this individual feature
presents an eftectual preventive of sloughing
in the back, that dreadful and often fatal
consequence of a long continuance in the
recumbent posture. The invalid, however
helpless he may be, may be placed -in any
required position, either for his own comfort,
or for surgical operation ; for example, the
body can be raised to any degree ; the lower
limbs placed on a double inclined plane, a
point essential in the I'eduction of fractures ;
the feet elevated to assist in replacing a dis-
located knee-pan, &c. &c.

By this fortunate invention, the torture
which many patients experience from being
lifted out of bed, and exposed to the atmos-
phere while the bed is re-making, or other
necessary changes eifeeting, will be utterly
obviated, and the expensive attendance of
assistants precluded. One person can, in the
space of two minutes, and without trouble or
exertion, complete an entire changepf bedding
-—the bed under the patient, holsters, pil-

JamcEoi»’« Journal, No. 36.

A FLOUR MILL OF SIMPLICITY AND DURABILITY. 467

ibws, ^C. all may be swept, upon the flobr^
and replaced by others, and this arrangement'
is made without inconven'ence to the patient,
nor is he in this, or any of the other changes,
once touched or exposed to sight of cold.

The bedstead is also convertible into an
easy chair, and can be restored to its hori-
zontal without disturbing the patient or de-
ranging the bed clothes ; the bed-rest and
pan are brought into use upon a new and
most easy pi'inciple ; the latter is closed by
an air-tight, self-acting valve, and all its
operations are conducted without the least
noise or jarring from the machinery, which
is entirely concealed when the bed is made
up.

The revolving cylinder bedstead is an
elegant structure, in the newest French style,
with scroll back and canopy top, that it is
not only applicable to cases of sickness, but
available for ordinary use, imparting, from
its peculiar construction, much greater com-
fort, with a mere mattress, than is derived
from a bed of the softest down when laid
Upon a bedstead of the general description ;
jn short, it fully justifies the patronage of
the most eminent of the faculty, possessing
every conceivable convenience, unimpaired
by a single objection.* — Ibid.

HEBERT’S PATENT FLOUR-MAKING
MACHINE.

' From 0 personal inspection of the machine
'delineated in pe'spec'.ive on the preceding
■page, and from a caiefol perusal oi theinven-
boiL specification, it appears to us to be his
desian to construct flour-mills of tlie utmost
-simplicity and duiabillity ; in which, not only
the ^ri, tiling of tl>e corn, but the dres»i)i!r (sift-
ing) of tlie meal into flour, pollard, bran,
&c., are simultaneously performed. It is not,
however, to be understood that these com-
bined operations are effected by the nieie
nnae.ratton of a dressing-machine to a mill, and
driving them both together ; for in such an ar-
rangement there would be neither novelty nor
economy. But the combined operations of
grinding and dressing aie in this new patent
mechanism so simplified, and so intimate, that
they are continuously going on, upon oneconti-
tiiioiis snrfiice. The essential members of the
machine are thereby reduced to onlytuari
• one stationary, the other rotative. This re.
tnarkable simplicity conduces to many advan-
tages. which our mechanical rearlers will at
tdnce appreciate, without our entering upon
“ tlie details. The inventor has shown in his
specificatian. and has actually put into beue-
"flcial practice, several modifications of the
principle so as to adapt the scale of their ope-
rations to any required magnitude. We have
selected for the present ai tide what the pa-
tentee denominates his patent 'Jo/nest iV flour-

• Analyst, No. 10.

maker. Which is adapted to the manual force
ofone man : but the power requisite to woik
thi-i, may be diminished or incteast^'d at the
pleasure of the operator, by a corresponding
reduction or augmentation of the feed. oi quan-
tity of coni permitted to pass under the opera-
tion of the grindeis in a given time. In a sub-
sequent Number we purpose inserting a de-
scription of one of the same kind of machine.s,
which is in use at the workhouse of Ail Saims
near Heitford, where it i-s worked by any
nuinlier of men, from two to ten (by a suitable
alteration of the feed), and i-; capable of pro-
perly grinding and dressing as much corn in
a given time as other mills will giind only
the estimated power required to vvork if effi-
ciently,treing that of one horse. whetiier work-
ed by that animal, or by wind, water, or
steatn.

VVe shall no-w proceed to describe the hand-
mill with reference to the engraving befoie
adverted to * (See plate 3, fig. 7.)

a i> an axis, mounted in plummet-blocks
bh, and turnetl by a winch c, assi>ted, if re-
quired. by a handle d, fixed to one of the arms
of the fly-wlieel ee. The axis a also carries a
bevelled wheel, /, which drives a pinion jr
fixed upon a vertical spindle h, that revolves
in the centre of a metHllic hopper i, and car-
ries at its lower extremity the upper grinder ;
and to the perifihery of the latter is attaoiied
a scries of brushes, that revolve together wdth
it inside the circular case j, cast in one piece
with the hopper t. The lower grinder is fixed
in the centie of the flat top k of the pedestal ;
and around the lower grinder, in the same
plane as its superior surface, is an annulus of
fine wire-gauze ; over the area of whicli the
brushes sweep in their revolution, continually
scattering every particle of the meal, as the
same is constantly projected in minute quan.
tities all around the peripheries of the grind-
ers, on to the wire-work ; causing the flour to
fall through the meshes into the drawer mnt
below: wliile the bran and pollard, which
cannot pass the wire-gauze, are continually be-
ing freed from their adiiering flour by the ac-
tion of the brushes, until they are diiven
through an aperture, at llie outer circum-
ference of the wire-gauze, on to an inclined
screen of coarse wire-work, where the offal
separates itself, in tlie mere act of falling, into
pollard and bran ; both of which deposit
themselves into separate compartments made
in the drawer n. All is a screw for regulating
the admission of the corn ; and at o is a lever,
over an engiaved plate, which directs th'o
operator which way to move it, according
as he may desire to regulate the grinding,
whether coarser or finer than it was previous-
ly set. I'ltese adjustments are obvious to the
sight, and unerring in their action.

Amongst the advantajges which this ma-
chine presents to the economist, may be stated
its convenience, portability, and perfect clean^
liness, and there being no dust or waste of

• Our draftsman, upon lookiifs! at this eiigravins,
has ohsei vert i<> its,' that he. has jnaile ibe square
pedesial or box latlivr too 8mal!l, vv4ii^:h lia-» given
to I he iiiachinn an anpearance” of top-heaviitesi,
which (he uiiginal does nut possess.

468

METHOD OF RAISING HULLS OF SHIPS.

any kind. It is particularly adapted for the
use of domestic families who aie desirous not
merely to make their own bread, but to be
sure that the flour which they use is a genuine
product of good wheat. As respects its utility
to emigrants and distant settlers, we have lea-
son to believe tliat its merits have already
been very satisfactorily tested , the dui ability
of the grinding surtaces being such as to ren-
der a renewal of them apparently unnecessary
for a series of years. A mill of this kind may
1 e seen at No- 20, Paternoster-row,— iffec/m-
fiic's Ma^uzine.

PRESERVING PASTE.

Paste made by putting acetate, or sugar of
lead, into it, instead of the old way of mixing
it with alum, keeps it from moulding, and
quite moist for months together. — New Month'-
ly MogaZXue-

NEW LAMP.

A lamp of a new construction, which de-
scribes a circle of light of about thirty feet in
diameter of the apparent intensity of sunshine,
showing the objects within its sphere as dis-
tinctly as those on the table of a carneia-
nbscura, has been elected at the head of the
inclined plane in St. Leonard’s depot. Its
object is to enable the engine-men to have a
cli.stinct view of the inclined ropes during the
night, and this has been fully attained. 'I’he
lam p consists of an aigand burner placed in
the focus of a large speculum of a peculiar
form, by which the whole light is distributed
just on the space where it is required ; it is
computed that the light on the above space
is equal to that of twenty-five or thirty .-iini-
iar hnrneis in common lamps. A lamp of
this kind we have no doubt u ould be iiselul
for Ollier purposes : it app'ears tons that the
largest assembly loom might be brilliantly
lighted by one placed at each end of the room,
and one would he sufficient to light the stage
of a theatre. 'I'he cost of this one is said to
be about 200/., but we understand it saves
an annual expenseof about half that sum. The
inventor is a Mr. Rankin, and he names it the
Colloidal lam p— probably because the light
is thrown from it in the form of a cone. —
Caledonian Mercury.

CURRENTS IN WATER.

In this last number of Silliman's Journal^
in an article on “ currents in water.” it is
asserted, that if a tub or other vessel is filled
with water, and a hole made near the middle
of the bottom of it to discharge it, the water
will acquire a rotatory motion from west to
south, or opposed to the apparent motion of
the sun ; and if means are used to produce
an opposite motion, upon withdrawing those
means the former direction will be resumed.
This cannot be the effect of chance, but of
natural laws constantly operating. — Guern-
sey Star.

HOUSEHOLD MANUFACTURE OF
SUGAR.

A remarkable proof of the facility with
which beet root sugar manufactories may be
established is presented at this moment at
Wallers, in the department du Nord. Four
of the villagers, by advancing 50 francs each,
have formed a joint capital of 200 francs,
and with this they produced between 40 and
50 lbs. of sugar, of rather inferior quality, a-
day. 'I'hey employ curry combs to rasp the
beet roots, which they put into a napkin-
press to extract the juice, and then boil the
syrup in common culinary boilers. — Ibid.

NEW SHIPS’ SIGNAL LANTERN.

A most admirable invention has recently
been brought into use, and is likely to meet
with general' adoption, intended to prevent
those accidents which are the cause of so
much loss of property, as well as the annual
sacrifice of a number of valuable lives, it
consists of a ship’s lantern, of copper,
strongly and efficiently constructed, and
possessing the means of being regulated so as
to show a light of different colour, according
to the tack upon which the vessel bearing
it may be sailing, or the position in which
she lies. A set of instructions accompanies
each lantern, by which the master is inform-
ed what light he is to show on each change
of tack and position, and thus a mutual
understanding is attained amongst navi-
gators as to the meaning of the signals ex-
hibited. The changes of colours are effected
by the following simple contrivance : — The
lantern contains an interior case, capable of
being turned round, and having windows of
glass of several colours. The lamp of the
lantern has a strong reflector and powerful
‘‘bull’s eye,” or magnifier, to project the
light, opposite which, in the outer case, is an
aperture. By turning round the interior case,
each coloured glass window is brought in
front of the bull’s eye, and thus a light of
the colour required is projected. — Hull Packet.

KEMPS SUBMARINE APPARATUS.

We understand another attempt is about
to be made to raise the hull of the Cnmeleon,
by Mr. Kemp, who, having obtained a patent
for the buoying principlf, has received per-
mission from Government to make an experi-
ment on this ill-iaied vessel, and in the event
of its proving successul, the wreck as it may
be raised will beconie the reward of the enter-
prise. Mr. Kemp’s apparatus consists of a
number of empty punclieons, each open at one
end, and having a bar of iron across, by wliich,
after being sunk, thgyaie attached to a chain,
previously passed round the wreck by the
divers, who next employ themserves succes-
sively applying to each cask the elastic tube
through which they are filled by the air-pump.

RECENT INTELLIGENCE IN MAGNETO-ELECTRICAL MACHINES. 469

and the wafer consequently expelled. The
puncheons tlius charged with air acquire a
perpendicular position, and a*'e so buoy, ant, as
to render certain the raising of any weight pro-
};ortionafe to the number of them employed.
'I’he operation of filling the puncheons with
air will be comparatively easy in this instance,
as from the favourable circumstance of the
wreck lying in less than thirteen fathoms of
water, little more than two atmospheres will
be required, and scarcely any doubts arp
entertained of the attempt proving suc-
cessful.— Dover Telegraph.

MASSIEAND RAN WELL’S PADDLE-
WHEELS.

A few days ago, the first public trial of this
new paddle-wheel for steam-vessels was made
on the River. Tt was affixed to the Red Ro-
ver steamer, belonging to the Herne Bay
Company, wliich conveyed the female emi-
grants and agricultural families to the ship
at Gravesend in which they embarked for Van
Dieman’s Land. After the emigrants had
left the steam-vessel, to the starboard side of
which the new wheel was affixed, the larboard
side being furnished with the common wheel,
the Emigration Committee, visitors, and se-
veral naval officers, proceeded to inspect the
n^w paddle-wheel, a model of which was sub-
mitted and familiarly explained by Mr. Massie
and Mr. Ranwell. 'I'he principle seems to
consist in the exposure of the entire surface of
the float to the vvater while in the most ad-
vantageous position for propelling, which
upon approaching the suiface becomes divid-
ed'intoa series of angular bars, which suffer
the water to pass through the interstices, and
thus transfer the action of the steam-power to
the next floats in succe-sion, instead of use-
lessly wasting it on the water-lift. A consider-
able ferment in the water (though the swell
was not so heavy) was apparent, which, how-
ever, a little alteration m the construction
will considerably diminish, and which the
experiment will enable the inventors to ac-
complish.— Weekly Dispatch.

COINS IN THE CLOUDS!

A Brighton physician lately adopted the
following singular means of preserving some
ofthecoinsof the realm. He enclosed several
of the last impiessions in a ball of wax, which
he placed in a balloon of India-rubber suffi-
ciently inflated with gas to raise it several
thousand feet above the earth, where, floating
in space the memory of our nation and its
monarch, may be recorded for hundreds of
thousands of years. Within the ball of wax
was also placed a slip of parchment with the
following letters cut out ; — “ Anglia Martis
X., IS36.'*— Dispatch.

ON CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN
THE CONSTRUCTION pF MAG-
NETO-ELECTRICAL MACHINES,
AND ON THE USE OF CAOUT-
CHOUC FOR INSULATION IN
VOLTAIC BATTERIES.

By Fred. W. Mullins, Esa., M.P.,
F. S. S.

To the Editors of the Philosophical Maga^
zine and Journal.

Gentlemen, - I think it important to call
the attention of the scientific readers of your
valuable Journal, to some improvements fe-
cenily made by me in the construction of the
magneto-electric machine, which go far to
demonstrate the still very imperfect state of
these instruments, and form a fo'undation for
alterations infinitely more important both in
their mode of construction and application.

The machine whose power 1 had an op-
paitunity of testing was constructed on the
most approved principle, and consists of two
sets of bar-magnets arranged vertically, each
set consisting of a do7en bars, and the upper
poles of one set being unconnected with those
of the other. I had previously seen and
examined hoiizontal horseshoe machines,
and, so far as I was enabled to institute a com-
parison, considered the other mode of con-
struction to be preferable. After trial, how-
ever, it struck me that the power of all
magneto-electric machines was very imper-
fectly developed, and that it might be possi-
ble to obtain considerably greater effects from
the same number of magnetic bars liy esta-
blishing a magnetic connexion between the
poles of the latter, and this withotit much
difficulty or increased expen.-e. With this
view I procured two magnetized arcs of the
shape given in the annexed figure, and of the
same width and thickness as the bars of the
machine. (Plate2.fig. 10.) I then applied them,
one to the opposite poles of the outside pair of
bars, and one to those of the inside, and on
giving the shock to a gentleman who was
present, and who had tried the power of the
instrument when the poles were unconnected,
the effect was so much increased that he
refused to repeat it, and on trying it on my-
self I found the power to be fully double what
it had previously been. I was aware that
connecting pieces of soft iron were sometimes
used, but that their utility was said to be
very questionable, and having myself tried
them, I can safely say that soft iron as a mode
of connexion is useless; it is evident, there-
fore. that the increase of power does not
depend upon connexion, unless when the
substance forming the connexion is in a peculiar
state, and thereby capable of exerting a certain
influence on the poles of each set of magnets.,
which influence, it can be shovvn, does no#
depend upon the size of the connecting
magnets, for I have tried large horse-shoe
magnetic bars, single and in sets, without any

470

LATEST INTELLIGENCE ON THE ELECTRO-MAGNET.

increase of power beyond that obtained from
the small magnetic arcs represented in the
figure.

Induction is certainly a cause, but not the
sole cause oi the increased power ; there are
other causes, as yet unexplained, which I
trust may appear satisfactory to those who
may peruse a paper which 1 am now prepar-
ing on this highly interesting subject ‘. suffice
it here to say, that in the future construction
of the instruments in question, magnetic arcs
in connexion with vertical bar-magnets should
decidedly be used in preference to any otlier
form or mode of construction at present
known; and I would strongly advise any
person who happens to have a machine of the
horse-shoe form to cut off the bend as indicat-
ed in the annexed figure ( Plate 2, fig.l 1 ) and
re apply the same oi other pieces of the same
size magnetized, for by so doing it wilt be
founrl that a vast increase of power will be ob-
tained. I liave thrown out these hints in the
hope that lliey may lead to still greater im-
provements in the mode of developing the
povveis of combined magnets. In concluding
this subject it may be well to observe that
with my improved magnetic machine I have
charged a l^eyden jar, and obtained by the
same means various others results similar to
those obtained from the action of the com-
mon elecliical machine.

In conclusion I would add, that in the
various experiments I have made in regard to
the best modes of developing and sustaining
voltaic electricity, I have found that caout-
chouc, or Indian-rubber, may be used with
great advantage for insulation. I have applied
it in place of glass in my intensity-sustaining
battery ; and as it can be naade to adhere to
the copper and may be laid oii as thin as
common letter-paper, a combination of plates
or cylinders may be brought so close together
as to occupy only a third of the space filled by
a similar combination in the batteiies at pre-
sent used. In my intensity-battery, from the
advantages derived from bringing the me-
tallic cylinders as close as possible, this mode
of insulation is most convenient and satisfac-
tory.

I am. Gentlemen, yours, &c.

Fred. W. Mullins.

Bouse of Commons, July 1, 1836.

ON THE CAUSE OF THE REMARK-
ABLE DIFFERENCE Bl/l'WEEN
THE ATTRACTIONS OF A Pl RMA-
NENT AND OF AN ELECTRO-
MAGNET ON SOFT IRON AT A
DISTANCE.

By the Rev. William Ritchie, L. L. D.,
F. R. S,,

Professor of Natural Philosophy in the Royal
Institution and in the University of London*

As soon as the electro-magnet was con-
structed and employed to illustrate the im-

» Communicated by the Author,

mense magnetic power communicated to ;
soft iron, it must have been observed that its ’
attraction for iron filings or pieces of soft iron j
at a distance was much less than that of a !
permanent magnet of equal lifting power i!
This peculiar property rendered the electro" '
magnet not well suited tor magnetic induc-
tion at a distance ; and hence, after a few
unsuccessful trials to substitute it for the
permanent magnet in my apparatus for con-*
tinned rotation, it was lone since abandoned.

In a short paper by Mr. Rainey in the
last Number of this Journal, p. 72, ihe fact
is stated, and an explanation attempted to be
given of this peculiarity ; bul 1 am afraid the
explanation will not be found in accordance
with the present stale of the science. This \
stibjecl having engaged my attention some !|
years ago, I liad several times commenced a j
paper intended (or the Philosophical Maga- jj
zine, but other more pressing subjects prevent- i
ed me from finisliing it. As the fact is a ne- j
cessary consequence of the properties of !
electro-maguets which I formerly made pub- j
lie in your Journal, I take the iiferty of i
sending you the present investigation, wldch jj
may be regarded as the completion of my for- I
mer paper. |[

Expei iment 1. Suspend a piece of soft iron, |
C D, at the extremity of a slender delicate
balance of light wood; place a permanent
lioi se-shoe magnet below it, and ascei tain its
attractive force, by weights put into the scale !
G, when it is in contact, and also when it is
removed to different distances from the soft
iron- Remove the permanent magnet, and
substitute a very short electro-magnet of equal
lifting power. Remove it to the same distan-
ces as before, and the attractive power will di*
minish very rapidly compared with that of the
permanent steel magnet- (See Plate 2, fig. 9).

Exp. 2. Instead of the short electro-magnet
substitute a very long one (one of two or three
feet long, for example,) and of equal carrying
power ; remove it to the same distances and
asceitain its attractive power, and it will be ,
found (hat its attraction for the lifter at these I
distances will ?iot diminish so rapidly as that
of the short one* The longer the electro-mag-
net becomes, the more does it approach to
the character of the permanent magnet in all |
its pioperiie-. .

Exp. 3- Instead of making the electro- |
magnet of soft iron, make it of hard iron or un. if
tempered steel ; repeat the preceding experi- li
ments. and its attractive power at a distance
compared with its lifting power will he much
greater than in the case of the electro-magnet
of soft iron*

These facts, which as far as I know, have i
not belore been published, will enable us to
account for this properly on principles pre- I
viously recognised. 1 he perlect equality of !
action and reaction must 1)6 found to exist in |
this case as well as in every other in which j
/orce ofany kind is concerned. The electii-
city which has been decomposed and arranged ;
in the soft iron in the peculiar manner which
constitutes magnetism, cannot decompose j
and arrange the electricity belonging to the
lifter without suffering a corresponding dimi-

ON THE SYSTEMS OF COSMOGONY.

nntron, and the more difficult the arrange-
ment, in the lifter so much greater will be
the diminution of power in tlieele* tro-magnet.
Again, if tlie electricity in the electro-magnet
be easily arranged by the induction of the
voltaic helix, it will be easily forced back to
its natural state by the reaction of that belong-
ing to the lilter. Hence it follows that when
the inducins' power of the electro-magnet is
very great (which it is when the lifter is in
contact with its ends), it will possess sufficient
\ ower to vanquish the coercitive force of the
lilter, arrange by induction a large portion of
the electricity of the lifter, and thus exhibit
powei ful attraction. When the lifter is re-
moved to a certain distance, one-tenth of an
inch for example, the power of the electro-
magnet being much diminished in conse-
quence of the distance, whilst the difficulty of
overcoming the coercitive force of the lifter is
incieased, the effect will be very small com-
pared with the former. For, if the inducing
power be only equal to the coercitive foice
of the litter, no attraction whatever will take
place ; and hence the impossibility of mag
netizing a large bar of steel tempered as hard
as possible, by means of a small permanent
magnet with a soft temper.

Now, if the coercitive force of the electro-
magnet be incieased, which is done either by
employing a long magnet, or using hard iron
or untempered steel, such a magnet will sui-

4n

fer a less diminution by the reaction of the
lifter in the case of increased difficulty of
arrangement in the lifter, than in the case of
the short electro-magnet of perfectly soft
iron.

In the case of the permanent magnet of tem-
pered steel, the electricity belonging to it was
arranged with difficulty, and after repeated
touches oi another magnet, and consequently
it will easily vanquish the coercitive power of
a piece of soft iron, and induce a magnetic
state upon it, whilst the peculiar arrangement
of its own electricity will remain nearly un-
changed. Hence its attractive powers will
diminish nearly as the squares of lire distances
of the soft iron from its \)o\eSj or imaginary
centres of accumulation, a law which cannot
exist in the case of the electro-magnet the
electricity of which is so easily put in motion
i-oundthe elementary molecules of the iron by
the reaction of the lifter.

In the explanation given by Mr, Rainey
the lifter is supposed to react powerfully on the
electro;-magnet so as to increase its power, a
supposition which cannot possibly be admitted-
For the electro-magnet must, in the first place,
give the lifter all its magnetic power, conse-
quently the power of the lifter never can exceed
tliat of the electro magnet, and consequently
never can induce a higher magnetic state in it
than what has already been done Iry the volatic
helix. — Phil. Mag. for Aug» 1836,

THE

STUDY OF SCIENCE,

A FAMILIAR INTRODUCTION

TO THE

PRINCIPLES OF NATURAL PHILOSOPHY.

As, among our readers, there may he some who have not had opportunities of becoming'
acquainted with the recent elaborate researches and ingenious speculations of learned men
in the several departments of Natural Philosophy, we have determined to devote a certain
number of pages monthly, to form a series of lectures in the several branches of science, by
way of a familiar introduction to the study of Natural Philosophy with modern discoveries.

GEOLOGY.

{Continued from pa^e 349.)

The proper object and design of geology,
therefore, must be the study of the general
structure of what may be termed the shell
of the terrestrial globe ; for though specula-
tions relative to the nature of the internal
strata, or even the nucleus of the mass, are
not wholly inadmissible, yet they must ever
be regarded as of secondary importance, and
should be no further pursued than they are
•warranted by those facts and appearances
■which come immediately under our observa-
tion. This consideration, however, was
entirely lost sight of by those earlier writers,
who; either incidentally or professedly treat-
ed of the earth. It would be profitless
labour to pursue at length the reveries of a

host of bold theorists, who sprung up be-
tween the period of the rivival of learning in
Europe and the middle of the last century ;
and whose systems of cosmogony, as they
vainly styled them, have by more sober in-
quirers been justly stigmatized as romances,
indebted for their existence to the prolific
powers of imagination.

But while so many philosophers were busily
employed in endeavouring to erect systems
of cosmogony on the basis of their own most
imperfect knowledge of the nature of mineral
bodies, or drew their ephemeral theories solely
from imagination, there were some who more
wisely applied themselves to the observation
of nature, and to the collection of correct
information relative to the productions of the
mineral kingdom in general, and especially
concerning those fossils which exhibit traces
of having originated from organization.

472

OPINIONS OF CELEBRATED PHILOSOPHERS.

Bernax'd Palissy, a potter of Saintes
towards the end of the sixteenth century, is
said by Fontenelle to have been the first who
ventured to assert in Paris, in opposition to
the prevaling opinion, that petrified shells
were the remains of testaceous animals that
had formerly lived in the sea, and that all
these were not deposited at the universal
deluge. He wrote on the Origin of Springs
from Rain-water, and other scientific works ;
and he had the merit of displaying much
juster views of the operations of nature than
most of his contemporaries , though his ideas
met, in his own time, with a very faint re-
ception. Similar notions were advocated by
Isi icholas Steno, a Dane, who became professor
of anatomy at Padua in Italy, in 1669 ; and
Hooke and Hay, in England, distinguished
themselves by opposing facts to visionary
theories.

Leibnitz, in his Pi-otogsea, published in
1680, advanced the bold hypothesis, that the
earth was originally a burning luminous
mass, the gradual refrigeration of which
produced the primitive rocks, forming at fiist
a solid crust, and this being ruiitured, owing
to irregular contraction, the fragments fell
into the universal ocean formed by the con-
densation of vapours on the surface of the
globe. He proceeds to trace the production
of inundations, convulsions, and attrition of
solid matter, by its subsequent deposition
constituting the various kinds of sedimentary
or stratified i-ocks. Hence, he observes, may be
conceived a double oidgin of primitive masses ;
(1.) By cooling after igneous fusion; (2.)
By re-concretion from aqueous solution.*
“ Here,” says Mr. Conybeare, ” we have
distinctly stated the great basis of every
scientific classification of rock formations. ”+
The grand feature of the theory propounded
by Leibnitz, relative to the candescent state
and gradual cooling of the earth, was adopt-
ed only by Whiston, but likewise more I’e *
cently by BuflFon, Deluc, and other theorists.

Among those men of science who con-
tributed to the improvement of geology, by
their researches into the actual structure of
the earth’s crust, was Tilias, a Swede ; who,
aware of the importance of an exact know-
ledge of mineral bodies, published in 1750
several topographical descriptions illustrative
of the geology of certain districts in Sweden.
He was followed by Lehman, a German mi-
neralogist. dii’ector of mines in Prussia, who,
in an Essay towards a Natural History of
the Sti’ata of the Earth, 1756, proposed a
division of mountains into those formed
before the creation of animals, and contain-
ing no fragxnents of other rocks ; mountains
which were derived from the partial destruc-
tion of the primary rocks by a general i-evo-
lution ; and those which resulted from local

•“ Unde jam duiilex origo iutelligitur prl-
nxoruin corporuin, una, cum ab ignis fusione
refrigescereixt, aliera, cum reconcrescereat
exsolutione aquarum.'*
t Progress, Actual State, and Ulterior Pros-
pects of Geological Science, iu Report of Bri-
tish Association for x83i, p, 368,

revolut ons, and in part from the Noachian
deluge.

Many other writers now appeared, who
advantageously directed their attention to
the investigation of particular topics connect-
ed with this subject; as the causes and phe-
nomena of earthquakes and volcanos, the
formation of deltas or low tracts at the
mouths of rivers, the actual structure and po-
sition of the minei'al strata, and the descrip-
tion of fossil remains of animal or vegetable
origin. Among those who I’endered import-
ant services to the cause of science by ad-
vancing general views of the theory of the
earth, were Dr. James Hutton, of Edin-
burgh and Professor Werner, of Freyberg,
in ^Saxony. These celebrated philosophers
produced systems, in one respect, diameti’i-
cally opposite to each other ; for while Hutton
attributed the formation of the older rocks
entirely 10 the agency of fire, Werner insisted
that they originated from solution in a liquid.

The German geologist deserves the cre-
dit of having directed the attention of his
pupils to the constant relations of mineral
groups, and their regular order of superposi-
tion; distinguishing the classes of pi’imary
rocks, or those destitute of organic remains,
as granite and gneiss; transition or secon-
dai’y rocks, formed from the disintegration of
the preceding, and occasionally exhibiting
traces of organic remains, as gx’eywacke, a
mechanical compound of agglutinated frag-
ments ; floetz or tertiary rocks, including the
coal sti'ata, chalk, and freestone, some of
which abound in organic relics ; and besides
these, alluvial strata and volcanic rocks, the
latter of which he seems to have regarded as
of little importance, for he asserted that in
the primeval ages of the world there were no
volcanos.

The great merit of Hutton consists in
his having demonstrated the igneous origin
of basalt, and other trap rocks ; the high
probability that granite is derived from the
same source ; and that the other primary
non fossilliferous rocks have been more or
less subjected to the agency of fire. ‘‘ The
ruins of an older woxdd,” said Hutton, ” ai*e
visible in the pi’esent structure of our planet,
and the strata which now compose our con-
tinents have been once beneath the sea, and
were formed out of the waste of pre existing
continents. The same forces are still de-
stroying, by chemical decomposition or me-
chanical violence, even the hardest I’ocks,
and transporting the materials to the sea,
where they ai*e spread out, and form strata
analogous to those of more ancient date.
Although loosely de[)osited along the bottom
of the ocean, they become afterwards altered
and consolidated by volcanic heat, and then
heaved up, fractured, and contorted.”*

The theory of Hutton was admirably
illustrated and ably supported by Professor
Playfair, of Edinburgh, while it was assailed

* Lyell’s Principles of Geology, 3d ed., 18 4,
vol. i. pp, 88, 89; from Hutton’s Theory of the
Earth,

OPINIONS OF THE LATEST CULTIVATORS OF GEOLOGY.

473

•by Murray, Kirwan, Deluc, and oihers, a
violent controversy being maintained between
the partizans of Werner, who were calltd
Neptunists, as ascribing the formation of
all rocks to waier;and those of Hutton,
styled Vulcanists. because they attributed
the original formation of rocks to fire. The
Neptunists, for a time, constituted by much
the more numerous party ; liut in the course
of these discussions, it was at length per-
ceived that speculation had, on both sides,
been carried further than was warranted by
the extent of existing information ; and that
■while neither the theory of Werner, nor that
of Hutton, could be considered as alFording
an explanation of iill the phenomena, or mak-
ing near approaches to perfection, there
■were many points with respect to which the
researches and observations of both these
philosophers contributed to the extension of
our knowledge, and the improvement of the
science.

“ A new school at last arose, who profess-
ed tlie strictest neutrality and the utmost
indifference to the systems of Werner and
Hutton, and ■who resolved diligently to
devote their labours to observation. The
reaction, provoked by the intemperance of
the contending parties, now produced a ten-
dency to extreme caution. Speculative views
•were discountenanced ; and through fear of
exposing themselves to the suspicion of a
bias towards the dogmas of a party, some
geologists became anxious to entertain no opi-
nion whatever on the causes of phenomena,
and were inclined to scepticism, even where
the conclusions deducible from observed facts
scarcely admitted of reasonable doubt.

“ But although the reluctance to theo-
rize was carried somewhat to excess, no
measure could be more salutary at such a
moment than a suspension of all attempts to
form what were termed theories of the earth.
A great body of new data w'as required, and
the Geological Society of London, founded in
l807, conduced greatly to the attainment of
this desirable end. To multiply and record
observations, and patiently to await the re-
sult at some future period, was the object
proposed by them ; and it was their favourite
maxim, that the time was not yet come for a
general system of geology, but that all must
be content for many years to be exclusively
engaged in furnishing materials for future
generalizations. By acting up to these princi-
ples with consistency, they in a few years
disarmed all prejudice, and rescued the
science from the imputation of being a dan-
gerous, or at best but a visionary pursuit.”*

One train of research, which was now
pursued with great ardour, and which con-
tributed much to the improvement of science,
was respecting the nature of the organic re-
mains, which were found imbedded in various
strata indilferent parts of the world. Cuvier,
the celebrated anatomist and zoologist, pro-
fessor of natural history at Paris, acquired

♦ I, yell’s Principles of Geology, vol. i. pp,
102, 103.

great distinction by the number, accuracy,
and importance of the discoveries which he
made relative to the generic and specific cha-
racters of the animals, fragments of whose
bones, and other constituent parts, occurred
to notice in the course of his long and labori-
ous investigations He ascertained that nu-
merous living beings of different classes,
which have no existing analogues, once inha
bited the surface of the globe ; and that the
relative priority of the several strata miiiht,
to a certain extent, be inferred from the cha-
racters of tlie organic remains included in
them

Among the recent cultivators of this
branch of science besides Cuvier, may be
named Alex. Brogniart, Lamouroux. La-
marck, Deshayes, Marcel de Serres, Broc-
ihi, Goldfuss, Parkinson, Buckland, Cony-
beare, J. S. Miller, Mantell, Lonsdale, Say,
M orton, and Harlan, who devoted their atten-
t on chiefly to fossilized animal remains ; and
Adolphe Brogniart, Witham, Bindley, and VV,
Hutton, whose investigations have been es-
pecially directed to botanical oryctology. The
results of their researches relative to these
subjects, and those of other geologists con-
cerning the mineral ogical Structure and
position of roc,s and mountains, and the
modifying influence of existing causes on the
surface of the earth, have greatly contributed
lo the augmentation of our knowledge of the
nature and arrangement of the superficial
strata of the planet on which we dwell, which
must be regarded as the only sure foundation
of a true system of geognosy, which may
verify or overturn the conjectural specula-
tions of those philosophers who wrote during
the infancy of the science.

When we compare the result of ob-
servations in the last thirty years, with those
of the ihree preceding centuries, we cannot
but look forward with the most sanguine ex-
pectations to the degree of excellence to which
geology may be carried, even by the labours
of the present generation. Never, perhaps,
did any science, with the exception of astro-
nomy, unfold, in an equally brief period, so
many novel and unexpected truths, and over-
turn so many preconceived opinions. The
senses had for ages declared the earth to be
at rest, until the astronomer taught that it
was carried through space with inconceivable
rapidity. In like manner was the surface of
this planet regarded as having remained
unaltered since its creation, until the geolo-
gist proved that it had been the theatre of
reiterated change, and was still the subject
of slow but never-ending fluctuations.

This discovery of other systems in the
boundless regions of space was tbe triumph
of astronomy ; — to trace the same system
through various transformations — to behold
it at successive eras adorned with different
hills and velleys, lakes and seas, and peopled
with new inhabitants, was the delightful
meed of geological research. By the geo-
meter were measured the regions of space,
and the relative distances of the heavenly
bodies ; — by the geologist myriads of ages
were reckoned, not by arithmetical compu-

474

ON A RECENT ELECTRICAL THEORY.

tation, but b^f a train of physical events — a
succession of phenomena in ihe animate and
inanimate worlds — signs which convey to
our minils more definite ideas, than figures
can do, of the immensity of time,’’*

By the discoveries of a new science,
(the very name of which has been but a few
years ingrafted on our language,) we learn
that the manifestations of God’s power on
earth have not been limited to ihe few thou-
sand years of man’s existence. The geo-
logist tells us, by the clearest interpretation
of the phenomena which his labours have
brought to light, that our globe has been
subject to vast physical revolutions. He
counts his time, not by celestial cycles, but
by an index which he has found in the solid
framework of the globe itself He sees a
long succession of monuments, each of which
may have required a thousand ages for its
elaboration. He arranges them in chrono-
logical order, observes on them the marks of
skill and wisdom, and finds within them the
tombs of ihe ancient inhabitants of the earth.

He finds strange and unlooked-for
changes in the forms and fashions of organic
life during each of the long periods he thus
contemplates. He traces these ehanges
backwards through each successive era, till
he reaches a time when the monuments lose
all symmetry, and the types of oiganic life
are no longer seen. He has then entered on
the dark age of nature’s history; and he
closes the old chapter of her records. This
account has so much of what is exactly true,
that it hardly deserves the name of figurative
description. ”t

(To be continued.)

ELECTRICAL THEORY OF THE UNI-
VERSE.

By Mr Thomas S. Mackintosh.

{^Continued from page 359.)

In the concluding part of our last paper
we remarked, that in treating of the moon’s
appi’oximation we should be enabled to draw
our arguments and inferences from two
sources, astronomy and geology. Let us
examine, in the first place, what support our
theory derives from astronomy. We have
laid it down, that if two or more comets settle
into the planetary state about the same
period, the larger attracts the smaller to its
sphere, and these become its secondaries.
Now, a slight glance at the planetarium, or a
scheme of the planets , will at once convince
us of the extreme probability of this assump-
tion. Here we see the planets and satellites
in the following order and_ proportion ; the
number of moons are found in regular grada-
tion, corresponding with the age of each
planet, with only one exception, but even
this disappears when viewed in connexion
with the other parts of our theory ; this ex-
ception is Mars, and the asteroids or minor

* LyelL’s Principles of Geology, vol. i, pp,
106, i07.

+ Discourse on the Studies of the University,
by Adam Sedgwick, M. A F. R. S., Wood-
wardian Professor, and Fellow of Trinity
College, Cambridge, 1834, pp. 25, 26

planets. Mars has no satellite : and the
asteroids, which are no larger than satel
lites, and appear, from their situation, as if
they ought to have been attached to Mars,
revolve in orbits round the sun like the
primary planets. According to our hypotliesis,
this exception to the general rule admits of
an easy explication. From the relative situa-
tions of Mars and the asteroids, the former
appears to have settled at a period too remote
to admit of the latter coming within the
sphere of his attraction ; nor are they, from
their equal magnitudes, capable of attracting
each other. If we allow this explication, the
whole series will stand as follows, taking
Mars and the asteroids as a planet and his
satellites : —

rnmaiies. ni^ijiure irom No. of

Sun III Milf!-. JJooiis.

Mercury 36 000,000 0

Venus 68,000,000 0

Earth 95,000 000 1

Mars 144 000.000 asteroids.... 4

Jupiter .... 494 000 000 4

Saturn .... 906,000,000 7

Uranus.. . . 1822,000,000 6

Had the minor planets been attached as
satellites to Mars, it is probable, judging by
his distance from the sun as compared with
the earth and Jupiter, we should not at this
time have found more than two remaining.
We should also remark, that it is by no
means improbable that Mars was attendedby
one or two satellites during the early stage of
his planetary existence. It is further to be
remarked, that Uranus, the most distant,
and, according to our theory, the most recent
of all the known planets, is represented as
having only six satellites to accompany her,
being one less than Saturn. But this number
only represents the satellites of Uranus that
have been discovered hitherto. Astronomers
are agreed, that, with more powerful instru-
ments, it is extremely probable that several
more might be discovered. Upon the whole,
we are satisfied, if this, table be considered
attentively, in conjunction with the fore-
going hypothesis, that the truth, or extreme
probability of our theory, is a conclusion that
must press itself very closely upon the mind.

In the older astronomical works we find
the moon’s mean distance from the earth set
down at 240 000 miles ; whilst in the more
recent worts it is valued at 235,000. It is said
that this difference has arisen from the imper-
fect means of observation possessed by the
early astronomers ; and that the moderns,
with rnoie correct instruments and improved
modes of observation, have been enabled to
calculate the meandistancewith more accura-
cy, and that, therefore, the modern calculation
is a much nearer approximation to the truth.
To a certain extent this may be the case ;
but when we consider that Thales, the philo-
sopher, was enabled to calculate and foretell
an eclipse 600 years before Christ, it would
appear that the ancients had a more extended
knowledge of astronomical science than is
generally conceded them by the moderns. It
is inconceivable that the early a.stronomers,
excelling as they did in mathematical know-
ledge, should, in computing the moon’s mean
distance, have committed an error amounting

AN IMPORTANT PAPER ON ELECTRO-VEGETATION.

475

to a 48 li part of the whole value ; especially
whe'i it considered that the inoon’s distance,
astrdtion.icaliy speakin", is comparatively
small, arid n)ic;ht be asceit.iined with tolerable
accuracy, by observations on her horizontal
parallax.

V e aie, therefore, induced to conclude,
that ihi-i difference has aiisen, to a certain
extent, from the moon’s a ppi oximation. If
we iiad a true and invariable standard of time
to vvhich we could refer, it mii;ht possibly
furnish us with a natura vvheieby to determine
the rate of the moon’s approximation. Ac-
cordiriff to our tlieoiy.the moon’s rate of mo-
tion in her mbit is a continually increasin'^
quantity, and the mean time from node to
node is, coi'.sequently, continuallv decreasing.
But as the earth i- also sunject to tlie same
iav\ 5, it is eviilenl that her motions and time
must also vary in a direct ratio v\ith those of
the moon ; and, therefore, a true measure of
the duration of time cannot be obtained by
assuming as a standard the periorl of tlio
earth’s annual revolution, or that ofthe moon,
or, indeed, of any ai/ig/e planet in tlie solar
system. If the tiue time of the planets
were carefully ascertained and compared with
each other, we might obtain a mean time that
should approacli very nearly to the truth. But
perhaps the only true and unvarying standaid
of time in the solar system is to be derived
from the sun’s rotation on his axis , as, from
his situation in the centre of the system, he is
not affected by the same causes, it is probable
that his rotary motion is uniform and con-
stant.

It would appear, also, that even the motions
of the earth, as compared with each other,
are not constant and uniform ; that the velo-
city ill her orbit is increasing, whilst the
diurnal motion lemains stationary, or perhaps,
agreeable to our theory, we ought to say, that
the latter suffers a retardation. In the time of
Julius Caesar, the length of the year was
settled at 365 days and 6 hours ; and in the
time of Pope Gregory XIII., in 1582, it was
found that tire equinox had gone backwards
lO days, in consequence, as it was supposed,
of the year having been fixed at too great a
length ; it was, therefore, determined tlrat the
calendar should be reformed, and the length
of the year was settled at 365 days, 5 hours,
48 minutes, and 51 '6 seconds. This was
done by the ablest men in Europe with great
care and circumspection, and after extending
their observations throughout a long series of
years ; and yet it has lately been discovered,
as appears in Dr. Playfair’s “ System of
Chronology,” that the Gregorian year is too
long. As usual, this discrepancy is attributed
to the reformeis of the calendar, and no one
seems to suspect, that the year is gradually
becoming shorter. It may be objected, that
the difference is extremely small as compared
with so long a period. But we must recol-
lect, that all the works of nature are carried
forward by slow, sure, and imperceptible de-
grees ; and, therefore, the smallness of the
difference only shows, that this work is in
strict comforraity with all her other opera-
tions.

Our theory assumes, that the planets and
satellites are maintained at their respective
di-tances fiom the sun and each other by the
relative quantities of positive and negative
electricity with which ea( h is charged, or, in
other w'okIs, by the solid contents of matter
contained in each, and the quantity of electric
fluid with vvhich that matter is charged or
satuiated. Now, as we can (letennine by
exoeriu ent the exact state of two electiified
bodies by the atiiactive and lepulsive forces
wbicb they exert on each other ■ and 'veknow
that these forces follow ibe >;ame law as to
the intensi’y ot the fluid, namely, tlie inverse
ratio ofthe squaie of the rlistance-ihi' might
birnisli us with a rough datum h r ascertain-
ing tlie moon’s electrical state, that is. how
far slie ha's receded toc.aids a conijilele ne-
gative cond t'on ; and as tlie power wiiirh
she exerts upon the tides is governed by the
sairte law tliat regulates her own distance, vve
niight, by caiefully eslimating the difference
of her attractive and repulsive forces in
apogee and perigee, be enabled to obtain a
tolerably correct measure of his inductive
influence. 'J'he ocean may be regarded as a
great natural barometer, indicating the state
of the electrical atmosphere by which tlie
earth is surrounded; but as it is moved by
three forces at the same time— the moon, the
sun, and the earth’s galvanic circle— all these
elements of power must be nicely adjusted
before vve can expect to arrive at any thing
like an accuiate calculation.

(To be continued,)

ELECTRO-VEGETATION. -
By T. Pine, Esq.

Whatever opinion may be formed
respecting the identity of the fluid which
emanates from the sun, and that which
is the cause of electricity, the principle
of the extraordinary conducting virtues
of plants through their acute extre-
mities will, I trust, be admitted from the
facts which are there adduced. I have
alluded to some other facts and expe-
riments, tending to show that this conduct-
ing virtue is intimately connected with
their vegetating properties. In connexion
with this most energetic influence continu-
ally exerted by plants, it appears to be of
the greatest consequence to determine how
far they are furnished with supplies of the
electric fluid in the medium by which they
are surrounded ; and at what seasons, and
under what circumstances, this supply ap-
pears to be most abundant in the ordinary
course of nature. With a view to a satis-
factory answer to this question, I turned my
attention to the observations of those elec-
tricians who have made numerous experi-
ments on atmospheric electricity, and in
particular to those of Mr. Cavallo, from the
second volume of whose work on electricity

476

PINE ON ELECTRO-VEGETATION.

I have deduced the following particulars : —
The electricity of the air, as distinguished
from that of clouds and storms, was not the
object of his researches, till it incidentally
fell under his observation in the course of
his experiments with the view to the latter
object. But he soon discovered, contrary
to his expectations, that a clear atmosphere
was attended with a constant positive elec-
tricity ; while a generally clouded atmo-
sphere either afforded comparatively feeble
indications, or, as the clouds gathered to
blackness, usually gave signs of a strongly
negative influence. His general inference,
that “ the air appears to be electrified at
all times, and that its electricity is con-
stantly positive fi was the result of frequent
experiments made in the course of two years,
by means of a kite with a wire extended
through its string, and by an insulated elec-
trometer of pith balls, affixed to the end of
a rod, projecting from the upper part of his
house at Islington. Having, however, ob-
served a passage in Sir H. Davy’s “ Ele-
ments of Chemistry,” in which he speaks
of ” clouds as being usually negative,” and
inclines to the conclusion, that plants are
acted upon by a positive electricity in regard
to the atmosphere, I took the liberty of re-
questing the opinion of my friend, Mr.
Sturgeon, as the result of the numerous ex-
periments which I knew he had made upon
the electricity of the atmosphere, and was
favoured with the following obliging and
satisfactory reply: —

“ In the first place, I perfectly agree with
you as to the solution of the results of Sir
Humphrey Davy’s experiments on corn ;
for the positive pot of a voltaic battery
would supply the animating electric fluid to
the germinating seed in precisely the same
manner that nature supplies it from the
atmosphere to the ground. As he does not
state from what ‘ experiments made on the
atmosphere,’ he draws his conclusion that
* clouds are usually negative,’ I am unable
to form any opinion respecting them ; but
I must beg permission to state, that such a
conclusion is quite at variance with the re-
sult of my experiments. It is true, I have
obtained negative charges at the kite-string,
but the instances are very few indeed. Those
which did occur were only whilst heavy
clouds passed over the kite ; the indications
both before and after the clouds’ transit
being invariably positive. And even in those
temporary exhibitions of negative electricity
I am very far from concluding that the
clouds themselves were negatively electric.
The indications were those of the kite,
which was floating much lower than the
clouds; and the air in the vicinity of the
kite was consequently the only part of the
atmosphere explored during each experi-

ment; which air probably became nega-
tive, or deprived of most of its natural elec-
trieity by the repulsive force of the accu-
mulated electric matter in the positively
charged clouds. This assertion can hardly
be construed into ‘ begging the question”
or ‘ straining a point,’ because such phe-
nomena are easily produced by experiment,
and must frequently occur in nature,

“ The results which I have obtained from
experiments made at nearly all the seasons
of the year, and at all times of the day, and
many at night, induce me to believe that
the general electric state of the atmosphere
with its contained clouds, vapours, &c., is
with reference to the earth positive. All
electrical phenomena are relative, and con-
sequently all our calculations respecting
them have no other object than the
ever-varying degrees of those relations ;
but the relations themselves appear to be
constant and uniform. Therefore I con-
clude generally, and my conclusions are from
direct experiments, that the atmosphere
taken as a whole is constantly in an electro-
positive state, with reference to the earth,
and that in the atmosphere itself, the upper
regions are constantly electro -positive, with
reference to all those situated nearer to the
surface of the earth.

In corroboration of Mr. Sturgeon’s
statement, my friend, Mr. Weekes, informs
me, that about twenty years since, though
little more than a youth, and knowing but
litttle of what had been done by philoso-
phers, but being exceedingly attached to
electrical experiments, he mounted a large
pole on the top of a very high tree ; on the
top of which was fixed a large, sharp iron
rod (insulated), and from it a wire commu-
nicated with a rather large but delicate elec-
trometer, placed in an adjoining cow-shed.
“ I have,” he observes, “ turned to my ma-
nuscript notes of that period, and, with sin-
gular pleasure, I find that upwards of 90
observations made with this apparatus dur-
ing seven months, from December to July,
are in perfect accordance with the experi-
ments of our friend, Mr. Sturgeon, as well
as your own theory.”

The facts, then, of the constant presence
of electric fluid in the atmosphere, and of
the superior conducting efficacy of the
points and tubes of vegetables above that
of pointed metallic rods, or any other sub-
stances in nature, are, I trust, sufficiently
established ; from whence the constant mu-
tual action between them appears a neces-
sary consequence. The tubes of plants are
continually imbibing the fluid from the at-
mosphere, which is as constantly replenish-
ed from some other source. That that
source is no other than the sun, appears

IMPORTANT PARTICULARS ON ELECTRO-VEGETATION.

peculiarly manifest from the following ex-
periments of the Abb^ Mazeas, made in the
months of June, July, and October. He
erected an iron rod, 370 feet in length, on
an elevation of 90 feet above the horizon.
Being insulated by silken cords, sheltered
from the rain, at Chateau de Maintenon,
when he began his experiments on the 17th
of June, the electricity of the air was sensi-
bly felt every day, from sun-rise till seven
or eight in the evening, except in moist
weather, when he could perceive no signs
of electricity. In the driest nights of the
summer he could discover no ^gns of elec-
ti icity in the air ; but it returned in the
morning when the sun began to appear
above the horizon, and vanished in the
evening, about half an hour after sun-set.
The strongest common electricity of the at-
mosphere during that summer (1753) was
perceived in the month of July, on a very
dry day, the heavens being very clear, and
the sun extremely hot. The distance of ten
or twelve lines was then sufficient for the ap -
proach of light particles to the conductor,
in order to see them rise in a vertical direc-
tion, like the filings of iron on the approach
of a magnet ; whereas, in ordinary dry wea-
ther, the wire attracted the dust at no great-
er distance than three or four lines.* I am
unable to conceive of any facts which can
more directly and evidently show that elec-
tricity, in common with light and heat, de-
rives its origin from the sun as its source and
centre ; it is shown to accompany him with
the same constancy as light and heat, and to
exist with the greatestintensity in union with
his intensest beams. Some observations made
by me in the course of the last summer appear
admirably to accord with this conclusion. By
inverting glass jars upon the soil in the day
and night seasons in generally dry weather,

I observe that, when neither the light and
heat of the sun, nor his heat when the light
was excluded, would extract any moisture
from the earth, moistui’e was copiously given
out from it during the absence of the sun,
which was again absorbed on his return. As
these effects appear to be the reverse of the
ordinary results of light and heat upon moist
bodies, I can only account for it from the
opposite electrical states of the earth and
atmosphere in the presence and absence of
the sun. During the continual dispersing
of the solar rays in the atmosphere by
day it is positively electrified with respect to
the earth, the moisture of which being also
negative, does not combine with the fluid
in the form of vapour ; but, on the contrary,
absorbs it while remaining in the liquid
state. As night approaches, on the other

• Priestley’s History of Electricity, pp. 363,
364,

477

hand, large quantities of moisture having
transpired from the leaves, which, together
with the extraction of oxygen from them in
the form of gas, occupies a large portion of
the solar rays in the atmosphere, the small
qnantity which is left in the soil combining
with the rays which it has imbibed, they
become positive in regard to the atmosphere,
the superabundant solar or electric fluid
combines with the residuum of water in
sufficient quantities to transform it into va-
pour, in which form it rises to be almost
immediately recondensed in dew, by the
attraction of the fibrous and other acute
extremities of the tender herbs.

What the reciprocal effects produced by
the mutual action of the atmosphere and of
plants upon each other actually are, is so
beautifully shown in the experiment to which
I have alluded in the Atlas for August 24,
1828, that I am tempted to transcribe it : —

“ For the double purpose of ascertaining
the power of spires in modifying the elec-
tric relation of the atmosphere and the earth,
and in effecting the progress of vegetation,
by their electric influence, M. Astier insu-
lated a sextuple spire of the gleditzia tria-
canthus, at the top of his house, and
brought a wire from it to an insulated flower-
pot, in which were planted five grains of
maize ; a similar sowing was made in an
uninsulated pot for the purpose of compari-
son. The experiment continued from the
6th to the 20th of June, including two stormy
days. The electrometer gave considerable
signs of electricity in the flower-pot, and by
using the condenser sparks were produced.
The electrified grains were found to pass
more rapidly than the unelectrified grains
through the first periods of vegetation.
When Bengal rose-trees were submitted to
the same experiment, the flowers of the elec-
trified plant appeared more rapidly and
more abundantly than in the other case.”

The narration is brief, and one important
particular seems not to have been determined,
viz. whether the electricity plus or mi-
nus; though, from the foregoing considera-
tions, little doubt can be entertained that the
fluid issuing from the sun had rendered the
atmosphere thus strongly positive, in a re-
gion in which his beams are so copiously dis-
pensed. Admitting this to have been the fact,
here is a clear illustration of the principle
that the atmosphere, receiving a constant
supply of electric fluid from its great source
in the centre of the solar system, is continu-
ally imparting of its superabundance to the
vegetable kingdom through its acute extre-
mities, and thus causes or promotes its ger-
mination and growth — while a portion of it
being transmitted to the earth, that approach

478

THE WONDERS OF INSECT ARCHITECTURE.

towards an equilibrium which is essential to
the general harmony of nature is maintain-
ed.

That the electricity of the atmosphere in
the night season should occasionally be
negative, and that it should ordinarily be
in a less degree positive than during the pre-
sence of the sun, agreeably to the experi-
ment above related, appears to be in perfect
accordance with the very different states and
operations of plants by day and night res-
pectively. The transpiration of vapour, and
the yielding of oxygen gas from the leaves,
are processes peculiar to the day season, and
to which the action of the solar rays is es-
sential ; whereas, during the absence of the
sun they appear to be occupied by the attrac-
tion of vapours and of carbonic acid. Such,
at least, are the facts which have constantly
been offered to Iny observation in the course
of the last summer, by means of numerous
experiments, which I may have occasion
more particularly to relate hereafter. It is
true this representation does not literally
coincide with the statement of Mr: Cavallo,
and ray friend, Mr. Sturgeon, respecting the
constant positive electricity of the atmo-
sphere. But their observations being prin-
cipally confined to the day season, and with-
out any particular reference to the state of
vegetation, must, I conceive, be considered as
mainly relating to that portion of time ;
while experiments relating to the variations
occasioned by the presence and absence of
the sun, and by the different operations of
plants by day and night, and at different
seasons of the year, are, I apprehend, reserv-
ed in a great degree for futtlre investigation.
In the mean time, the facts of the general
positive electricity of the atmosphere, of the
extreme conducting activity of plants in im-
bibing this superabundance and transmitting
a portion of it to the earth, while the residue
is efficacious in promoting their germination
and growth^ is, I trust, in a great degree,
established by what has been advanced.
Many particulars will, however, transpire in
the course of a more detailed inquiry, which
may conduce bo conform and illustrate these
positions.

Should it be thought that in the above
statements I have made too liberal a use of
the experiments and observations of others,
I can only plead that my general object, in a
manner, obliged me to search for assistance
from, any, autlrentic sources of information
from whence it could be derived, and that
thus they are brought to support principles
which do not appear to have been in the
contemplation odf the excellent electricians to
Vv^hom we are indebted for the facts ; those I
mean which are taken from printed docu-
ments, with the exception of M. Astier’s,
wJiose further communications are indeed

most desirable. As to those of my two most
ingenious and excellent friends, .they being
communicafSd for the express purpose of
aiding me in the general inquiry, I could do
no other than thus to bring forward the
decisive evidence with which they have so
generously furnished me in support of posi-
tions which must otherwise have remained
in a great degree in the state of mere hy-
pothesis.

(To be continued.)

INSECT ARCHITECTURE.

It can hevcr be too strongly impressed
upon a mind anxious for the acquisition of
knowledge, that the commonest things by
which we axe surrounded are deserving of
minute and careful attention. The most
profound investigations of Philosophy are
necessarily connected with the ordinary cir-
cumstances of our being, and of the world
in which our every-day life is spent. With
regard to our own existence, the pulsation
of the heart, the act of respiration, the
voluntary movement of our limbs, the con-
dition of sleep, are among the most ordinary
operations of nature ; and yet how long
were the wisest of men struggling with dark
and bewildering speculations before they
could offer anything like a satisfactory solu-
tion of these phenomena, and how far are we
still from an accurate and complete know-
ledge of them ? The science of Meteorology,
which attempts to explain to us the philo-
sophy of matters constantly before our eyes,
as dew, mist, and rain, is dependent for its
illuetrations upon a knowledge of the most
complicated facts, such as the influence of
heat and electricity upon the air ; and that
knowledge is at present so imperfect, that
even these common occurrences of the wea-
ther, which men have been observing and
reasoning upon for ages, are by no means
stitisfactorily explained, or reduced to the
precision that every science should aspire
to. Yet, however difficult it may be entirely
to comprehend the phenomena we daily wit-
ness, every thing in nature is full of instruc-
tion. Thus the humblest flower of the field,
although, to one whose curiosity has not
been excited, and whose understanding has,
therefore, remained uninformed, it may ap-
pear worthless and contemptible, is valuable
to the botanist, not only with regard to its
place in the arrangement of this portion of
the Creator’s works, but as it leads his
mind forward to the consideration of those
beautiful provisions for tbe support of vege-
table life, which it is the part of the physio-
logist to study and to admire.

PROGRESS OF SCIENCE IN THE MOFUSSIL.

479

’Phis train of reasoning is peculiarly appli-
cable to the economy of insects. They
constitute every large and interesting part of
the animal kingdom. They are everywhere
about us. The spider weaves his curious
web in our houses ; the caterpillar constructs
his silken cell in our gardens : the wasp that
hovers over our food has a nest noT; far re-
moved from us, which she has assisted to
build with the nicest art ; the beetle that
crawls across our patch is also an ingeni-
ous and laborious mechanic, and has some
curious instincts to exhibit to those who will
feel an interest in watching his movements ;
and the moth that eats into our clothes has
something to plead for our pity, for he came
like us, naked into the world, and he has
destroyed our garments, not in malice or
wantonness, but that he may clothe himself
with the same wool which we have stripped
from the sheep. An observation of the ha-
bits of these little creatures is full of valua-
ble lessons, which the abundance of the
examples has no tendency to diminish. The
more such observations are multiplied, the
more are we led forward to the freshest and
the most delightful parts of knowledge ; the
more do we learn to estimate rightly the
extraordinary provisions and most abundant
resources of a creative Providence ; and the
better do we appreciate our own relations
with all the infinite varities of Nature, and
our dependence, in common with the ephe-
meron that flutters its little hour in the sum-
mer sun, upon that Being in whose schema
of existence the humblest as well as the
highest creature has its destined purposes.
“ If you speak of a sto^,” says St. Basil,
one of the Fathers of the Church, “ if ycru
speak of a fly, a gnat, or a bee> your conver-
sation will be a sort of demonstration of His
power whose hand formed them; for the
wisdom of the workman is commonly perceiv-
ed in that which is of little size. He who
has stretched out the heavens, and dug up
the bottom of the sea, is also He who has

pierced a passage through the sting of the
bee for the ejection of its poison.”

If it be granted that making discoveries
is one of the most satisfactory of human
pleasures, then we may without hesitation
affirm, that the study of insects is one of the
most delightful branches of natural history,
for it affords peculiar facilities for its pursuit.
These facilities are found in the almost inex-
haustible variety which insects present to the
entomological observer. As a proof of the
extraordinary number of insects within a
limited field of observation, Mr. Stepherra
informs us, that in the short space of forty
days, between the middle of June and the
beginning of August, he foxind, in the vici-
nity of Ripley, specirhens of above two thou-
satid four hundred species of insects, ex-
clusive of caterpillars and grubs, — a number
amounting to nearly a fourth of the insects
ascertained to be indigenous. He further
tells us, that among these specimens,
although the ground had, in former seasons,
been frequently explored, there were about
one hundred species altogether new, and
not before in any collection v.^hich he had
inspected, including several new genera ;
while many insects reputed scarce were in
considerable plenty*. The localities of in-
sects are, to a certain extent, constantly
changing ; and thus the study of them has,
in this circumstance, as well as in their
manifold abundance, a source of perpetual
variety. Insects, also, which are plentiful
one year, frequently become scarce, or dis-
appear Eiltogether, the next — a fact sti'iking-
ly illustrated by the uncommon abundance,
in 1826 and 1827, of the seven-spot lady-
bird {Coccinella septempunctata), in the
vicinity of London, though during the two
succeeding summers this insect was compa-
ratively scarce, while the small two-spot
lady-bird {Coccinella bipunctata) was plen-
tiful. {To be continued,)

♦ Stephens’s Illustrations, vol. i., p. 72, note.

THE

SPIRIT OF THE INDIAN PRESS,

OR

MONTHLY REGISTER OF USEFUL INVENTIONS,

AND

IMPROVEMENTS, DISCOVERIES,

AND NEW FACTS IN EVE^Y DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE.

ORGANIC REMAINS IN THE SEWALIK rented to the museum by Captain Cautley of
HI LLiS. Bengal artillery. These organic remains

come fro m the range of hills formerly called

We observe in the Delhi that a Sewalik, which skirt the base of the Himalayah

magnificent collection of fossil bones was pre- mountains from the Ganges to the Sutlege

480

HIGH ROADS AND RAIL ROADS.

rivW, or from N. L. Si)® to 3lo They abound
in part of the range to the westward of the
Jumna river and belong to the genera Masto-
don,Elephant, Hippopotamus, Rhinoceros, Hog«
Anthracotherium, Horse, Ox, Deer, Antelope,
Canis, Felis,Garial, Crocodile, Emys, Trionyx ,
besides fish and shells. Among the fossils
there were some considered to be new genera,
and one which Capt. Cautley and Dr. Falconer
have called Sevatherium. The monkey of a
large species has been found fossil in the Se-
walik Hills,

THE HIGH ROAD BETWEEN BOMBAY
AND CALCUTTA.

The feasibility of this plan has been long since
shown, and when the British Government in In-
dia begins to look to its own interests and those
of the people, no doubt such a road will be open-
ed. The Friend of India makes the following
observations on the subject.

The advanlages to he derived from layino open
this cnuniiy hy means of a great liiali nay, and a
free coinninuication will] tile nioie civili/ed dis-
tricts east and west, are such as to give a siionj*
cast of benevolence to tlie project. The uact of
land tliiongh which this route would pass, mea-
suring about 4U0 miles square, is at present one
of the wildest wliich can he conceived. The greater
part of it is overgrown with thick forests attd jrrrt-
gles, the abode of wild beasts, while the patches
of cultivation which occasionally intervene, are
occupied hy men little elevated above the brute.
Yet the country is eniiiienil> endowed by nature
with advantages, it abounds in hills, ricli in ore,
and in valleys capable of tite highest cultivation .
It requires only the progress of civilization to fill
the region with smiling villages and iltiivirtg
towns The productions of ilie.se extensive conn-
tries are very imperiecily known. It is ceiiain
however that they abound generally with firte tliir-
hers 1 he lac and trrssar silk insects afford tlieir
products pleniifrtily ihronghout. The hills gerte-
rally, and the eastern ones in pat ticrrlar, are rich
in iron ores. 'I he Palamow district possesses ex-
tensive fields of coal, The soil in Sirgoojah, it is
stated hy Hamilton, “is siiigiilarly rich, and so
tvell supplied with moistute that even the tops of
the Iiilis are marshy ” The valleys yield vastquarr-
tities of Tickoor (circuma anguslifolia) from which
the Natives prepare a farinaceous powder scatcrly
to be distinguished from the arrow root of the vvest
Indies. Tlie district of Sumbhulpore prodrrces
ahundaiice of rice, cottoir, and irott, and also dia-
monds and gold dust- The high lairte land of
Mynput, which is considered saluhr ions, is situa-
ted in this district. The uplands generally of these
countries are represented ti> be well adaiited for
dry grains and pasturage, while the valleys yield
the most abundant crops of rice. I heie being no
outlet however from these provinces hy rivers or
roads, no produce is raised beyond what the irtha-
bitaiits themselves reqrtire, attd ibiis no means are
afforded them of bettering tireit condition, by bar-
tering their own produciiorrs for those or tireir
neighhonrs. Like every other tract itt a state of na-
ture it is partially unhealthy ; hut after cleat iiig the
first ranges of the Hutabhooti aitd Singhhoorn
hills, the country exiaiids inio extensive grass
plains, and reaches an altitude of between two
and three thousand feet, wliich secures it a mode-
lats temperature in the hot weather, and ihe ad-
vantage of bracing cold in the winter By car-
rying a high way thtongh this country, the first

step would be lak^i to Ittiiig this wild waste Inbv
cultivation attd to impart the blessings of civilizaiion
to its ittde inhahitanrs.

In a commercial point of view, Ihe construction
of such a road olfets tlte most advaitiageous pros-
pects. Singular and even iitcredilde as it may
appear, it is unless true that, at tneseitt the only
roirte for nieichattdi/.e fromNagpore and its vicinity
to Calcuita. is by Jrthhnipore, Rewalt, attd Vlitza-
pore. riip direct distance between Nagpore and
Calcinfa is 500 utiles, the route now iravetsed hy
merchandize exceeds InOO ; and of this mute, that
portion of which liesbeiweeti Nagpore and jnhhul.
pore can scttrcely be called a road . It is certainly
no stitall inconvenience m trade, that tire valua-
ble productions of Berar, ate iliiis obliged to de-
scribe a circuit of a thousand miles before iliey
reach the port of Calcutta- But were a toad ottce
onetted, as we have lieett proiiosittg, the produce
of that king lorn would he imported direcily into
Calcutta, at only half the outlay of time and titottey
wltich is at presetrt indispertsaltle, wltilellte greatest
facilities woitld he alFotdid for pouring British
mattriiaciutes into the provinces in the centre of
India.

Itt a military and political poirrt of view, the ad-
varrtage of a high road ttrmugh tlie certtre of Ittdia, i
from Bombay to Calcrrtta, are loo obvious to treed
recupitirlatiori, and it may he sntlicietrt therefore |
to cite the opittioti of iliat eminerrt statesman Sir ,
John Vlulcolm, who, in Iris evidence liefore rite |
House of Cttmttiotts, says, “1 Itave ihtts eiidea- i
voured to shew that the consirnciion of a direct |
Highway from Calcnila to Nagpore would he pro-
dttciive of great attd permanent advanlages in a
poliiical, commercial, and ntililary point of view, —
what the advantages fiotn the land revenue ofsucli
a country ntight (itove when improved and settled,

I shall not venture to calculate ”

The same paper has the following sensible
remarks on a.

BOUIE BETWEEN BAJMAHL AND CaL-

cur f A.

By one of the late arrivals we learn that the rail
road between Utica and Schenectady in America
has just been completed at au expense of about
£ 310,000. Ihe disiaiice heiweeii the two places
is ah'iut seventy-seven miles; so tliat the outlay
has lieeii at the rate of about 40,000 Rupees a mile.
Ihe modeiaiioii of this expense, compared with
heavy charges incurred iti Kiigland, in the con-
st! iiciion ot similiar works, naturally leads the
mind to cotitemrilate the possiltility at no distant
period of giving this country the inesiitnahle be-
nefit of rail roads; and as a fust expel imetii, of con-
necliiig the Wesleiii Provinces with the Port of
Calcutta hy such a contiivance. We apprehend
that all the iron employed in the Oliio road was
iinpotted fioin England, iind at a rate of freight
not iiiiich utiove that which olttains between Liver-
pool and t alculta. The nature of the ground on
tlie American line of road, must also itave been
similar to that of the plains of India, to account
for so small an outlay ; as it is welt known that
tlie greatest portion ot the expense of these enter-
pnzesin England arises fioni the hilly natiiie of
the locality over which the mad passes, and the
charge foi constructing viaducts. It may theie-
fore, We think, lie assumed, tliat th' outlay oiia
road across tlie plains of Bengal, would not greatly
exceed that which has been incut red on the present
occasion in America, If this supposition aptiroach
the tiuih, the exueiice of a rail toad irom Rajmalil
to Calcutta, Ihe distance in a straight line being one
liiindied and sixty miles, would tie about sixty-
foui lakhs of Rupees, which is not more than four-
teen lakhs above the charge yjhich the canal be-
tween Bajmahl and Culna, so long contemplated,
yvns estimated to cost. Wlienever, ihert-foie, the
runds of the State ate sntflcienily strong to autho-
lize the adoption of means for facilitating ibiscoin-

THE FRUITS OF THE MOFUSSIL PRESS.

481

m«nic.ilioii, we think there csm be little question
(liat a laii-vvay will ite f<tuii(l preferable to a canal*
P-'i haps there is no pan of the couuiry, possess-
ed of greater iiatuial facilities for the consiruciiou
of a tail load, than that to wliich we allude. The
line is not like other parts of Bengal intersected
with stieams, neither does fhe obstruction arising
frttni uiidnlaiions of the soil exist to any extent,
li lies inoieover in the vicinity of the coal uiines ;
Uiijmahl w'ould stipply coal, for one portion of the
route, and Bnrdwatt for the other. The advantages
of estahiishitig sitcli a line to the coinineice of the
country, and to the geneial inieicottrse of societ) ,
are incalctihible.. No enlerin ize crrnid perhaps lie
thonglit of tnoi e useful, mot e necessary, or more
likely to yield a pt ofiiahle rcttirn than this. The
dtstatice would he traveised in a little tnore iliati
five liottis; so that ajotirney to Rajnialil and back
again might be petloinied in a single day Of
course all the freight wliich is imw sent tip, or
brought down by way of ilie Sooiuleibnus dining
ih“ dry ntoinhs, would be disoaielied bv the lail
road ; and the siieed of iIk* coinmnn caiion, the
absence of risk, and the nioderation of tlie expense,
would possibly induce tlie itnnsinis-ion of till inei-
chandize, even dtning the rains, liy lliis channel.
All European passengers would necessaiily avail
themselves of it ; aud the pointof starting to the
Western Provinces would be removed from Cal-
cutta to Kajmalil. This place would at once be-
come the port for onr Steamers ; there would no
longer exist any necessity to employ a flat in addi-
tion to the steamer, and a steam vessel without ibis
drag might easily teach Ailaliabad from Kaj-
mahl in less than ten days So vast indeed is the
commerce that would instantly occupy this road,
that the expenditure which Government might in-
cur would in all probability be refunded in a few
years, while the advantage of shortening the dis-
tance between the metropolis and our north-
western fiotiiier by ten days would be found, in a
political point of view, an object of the highest ad-
vantage to Oovernmeut. We have thrown out
these ideas, in the hope that others beiiei aide to
enter into details, will be induced to discuss the
plan, and thus pave the way for its eventual adop-
tion.

GEOGRAPHY AND STATISTICS OF INDIA.

At a recent meeting of the Asiatic Society, it
was determined to engiaft a geographical and
statistical class upon the parent stock of that
institution, which will no doubt attract the atten-
tion of our leading scientific characters, and ste(>8
will be taken to encourage geographical aud statis-
tical researches at this Presidency, and to place
the documents which may be collected on these
subjects ou record.

SUGAR CANE IN INDIA.

Our readers will perceive from our nume-
rous extracts from the Mofussil papers, the
value of the press, beyond the Mahratta ditch.
The following, from our able contemporary of
the Meerut Observer, will not, we presume, be
deemed unimportant at this moment.

As the country cane is far inferior to the
canes of Otaheite and Mauritius, especial care
has been taken to naturalize them, and the at-
tempt has so far succeeded that they have af-
ter nine years’ cultivation not been found to
degenerate in India under common care, tieen
proved to yield four times as much as the
ceuntry canes, and that hopes are entertain-
ed that in four yeai*s more the country cane
will be completely displaced. That this is not
a chimerical hope we beg to record a fact
which, however astonishing it may appear, is

vouched for in the high authority of Capt.
Cautley. Two years since Colonel Colvin re-
ceived from Calcutta about seven living Ota-
heite canes ; from these he has succeeded in
raising a large plantation ; last year he sent
nine canes lo Capt Cautley, who planted
them at Manuckmow, and reaped this year no
less than squ < anes from them, being a sixty -
fold return for the cuttings planted ; nearly the
whole of these Capt. C. purposes replanting
with the view of distributing the produce
amongst the Zuineendars of his neighbourhood.
The Horticultural Society of Meerutt has re-
ceived a sti ply of cuttings of tiie same cane
from Dr. Stevenson at I ucknow, from Colo-
nel Colvin’s plantation at Dadoofioor, from
Capt Cautley, and from Capt Sleemaiv’s Jub-
bulpoor Establishment, which ought to enable
the Committee to raise a sufficient quantity
of cuttings for next year, to distribute amongst
the neighbouring planters.

From the same paper, we extract the fol-
lowing

It I- marks on The corn of the spring

t"ROl’, IN I'HF, VoUTHF.ll DIVISION op

THE DOAB, IN THE Ul’PlUl PROVINCES

OF INDIA.

By Capt. Brown, Revenue Surveyor.

Considerable aitenlioii has lately been paid to-
wards tlie impiovement of certain products adapted
for exporiatioii. |t may be thoiight worthy of
consideiatioii to ascertain whether luoduce for
home consnmpi ion, particularly the more valuable
sorts, may not be equally capable of improvement
with great heiiefii.

ITie mass of the population of India being almost
wholly employed in Agricitllural pursuits, has long
been considered prejudicial to the improvements
of the conntiy, the fiist step to vvhicli must natur-
ally be looked for lo a new system, and cannot be
better commenced, titan bv acquiring superior pio-
ducp as the first stimulant to further industry.

The .Agricultural products of India, as far as
regards Coin, have probably never undergone any
changes. Althongli in Europe great advantages
from time to lime have been derived by the iiitro-
diiciinti of superior foreign grain, the aileniion of
Agiiciilturists seems still to be drawn to the subject,
and new aud impoitaiii r.cquisilious to i..j English
farmer have lately been made in the Victoria Wheat.

The light Corn of India as at present grown may
be best suited for dry light upland soils without
ii tigation, but the rich and irrigated soils certainly
desei ve a better and heavier description of giaiii
than that n<iw used.

In order to shew the necessity of improvement,
the following is a short desci ipiion, with sketches,
of bailey and wheat grown in India, conipaied
with common wheat grown in England, and wheat
in Syria, the latter in a cliniAte somewhat similar
to Ibis, piemising that the crops selected of Indian
produce, was of the best desciiption procurable in
the district of Sabariinpoor,

No i. Bailey, length of straw 3 ft. 2 inches, 54
grains in the ear, weighing ,{0 grains.

No. 2. Commtin red wheat, length of straw 3 ft.
9 inches, 38 grains in tlie eat , weighing 2i giains
1'hisistlie wheat sown geiieially in tlie Dooab in
all soils.

No. 3- The Daoodeeor Beardless wheat, length
of straw 3 ft. 8 inches, 28 grains in the ear, weigh-
ing 22 grains. The District of Rewarree in Dilhi is
famous for this wheat, the flour from it is used for
the finest sort of bread and sweetmeat.

No- 4- Bearded large white wheal, 43 grains in
each eaj, weighing 31 grains- This wheat is very
uncommon ; it is sometimes grown in the Futty-
giiiir Dislrict,a few heads of it were found at
vSnharutipnor.

No. 5- Heshbon wheat as sketched and describ-
ed by Messrs, Irby aud Mangles in their travels

COALS— SAUGOR RAIL ROAD.

482

i'l Nubia aiiil Svi ia&c., lennih'of siraw 5 fi. 1 Inch,
8l aiams In tlic ea , wciiilnuii 193 siains-

nomm iu liuglisli wiicat Innaih <,i siiaiv4f(. 2
iiiciirs, 41 grains in me car, wcigijiu^ vi giaina.

COA.LS RAIl.S-ROADS.

We beg to call the attention of all concern-
ed to the following sensible remarks which
we have taken from the Agra Ukbar.

If th e Government is too poor or disinclined
to enterprise, it may awaken able, as well as
monied men to the speculation, it is asserted
that the expense is too great, look to North
America, and our own country for what united
efforts will effect. 1 say not, that it is impera-
tive that the Company’s Government should
expend with risk, some little of their surplus
revenue in l ettering their charge, as they
rent the state, at on e as a speculation, of ^
and d \ but when evident profit will be the re-
sult of the application of funds to any extent
in rail roads, i' seems quite out of all calcula-
tion that the means at command should be over-
looked. The material for forming Iron manu-
facturing establishments equal to those of
Merthy, Tydil, &c. in South Wales exist here,
coal, iron, ore, and lime in as great profusion,
as these minerals are attainahle there. To
erect furnaces, make rails, and lay them to
Mirzapoor for coal, and all our commerce
there, would soon repay the outlay- Cotton
now taken away by bullocks in many weeks,
would not occupy as many days in transporting
by locomotive engines, and rail waggons - mer-
chants would soon be compelled to resort to
the road waggons a supply of coal for all pur-
poses of inland, or other navigation at hand
with the river Nerbudah, for | of it’s course
available for supplying Bombay with coal and
carrying off the bulky heavy staple productions
of the valley districts, and where the rocky
impediments to navigation are not to be over-
come,rail waggons along the side to the nearest
point where boats could approach, could be
employed, although I see not why from Hurdia
to Panwell a rail road might not be driven.

It will be asserted that the Tapty forms an
insurmountable obstacle, let it be proved f
suspect that many places near Boorhanuoor on
that river would admit of bridging. The
quality of the coal now under consideration is
equal to the best English, and when at this
moment no serious impediment presents on
this side the Cape excepting the want of suffi-
cient good coal, te any extent of steaming,
surely the demand and sale of it and iron
would render ofitseli so profitable a return,
that commercial t .lls and hire of engines
would alone create a revenue more than suffi-
cient to keep up all establishments and pay
tor wear and tear. In a military point of view
the transport of guns, of heavy stores ofbodies
of men in so few hours ; so many miles, must
be considered. The Post Office establishment
totally set aside on the whole line, it would
bring Calcutta within a week’s journey of
Bombay. Passengers from Bengal to Bombay
would never take any other route or way of
travelling, supplies for the interior would be
brought up for a trifle, fresh, uninjured, and
secure from loss. The grand line from Bom-
bay to Mirzapore once completed and end-
less ramifications would result, the country
would within a very few years assume a
very different aspect, cities like those of the
United Slates would arise at places of com-
mercial interest, others decayed would be
renewed, and the bustling activity of a North
American be assumed hy the quietest believers
in the wisdom of their fore-fathers in the
world. In North America a road precedes
the population ; here we have no such things
for our teeming subjects. That by my pro-
curing the official reports on this .subject, and
publishing them in your paper, I trust I may
attract the attention tifsome who would be
willing to attempt what is no vagary untried
theory, the effort of an idler’s brain, but
what the many hundred miles of similar roads
in Europe and America have proved- Until a
fit man is sent to survey the country through
which the work is to proceed, no average of
expense can be taken, and no comparison with
English prices per mile. Let a few miles be
set atiout, and we could form an estimate.

SAUGOR RAIL ROAD COMPANY.

We are glad to find the daily press of Calcutta acknowledging that our progress in the
mechanical arts are likely to overcome all difficulties to a Saugor rail road.

We understand that, owing to circumstances with which it is not necessary to trouble the
public, Mr. Hornemann, who lately came out to Calcutta in behalf of the Saugor Rail
Road Company, is about to return to England. Mr. Hornemann’s absence will, however,
be but temporary, as he is now, we hear, perfectly satisfied of the feasibility of the
project, some slight deviations from the original plan suggested by recent surveys being
to be made by the Directors. The report of the officer who lately went down to ascer-
tain the state of the navigation of Lacam’s channel and Channel creek is, on the whole,
very favourable to the project. The practicability of the latter is, we believe, deter-
mined to be beyond all question, and as the Saugor Rail Road Company, will, of course,
adapt the situation of their road and dock to the state of the channels, the feasibility of
navigating Lacam’s channel becomes a matter of less present importance. We shall look
with some anxiety for Mr. Hornemann’ s return, for there can be no doubt that, if the plan
in the amended shape proposed, be practicable, it will merit the fullest support fi’om
the community of Calcutta.

As conneeted with Mr. Homemann’s skill in the matter of railway, the following par-
ticulars connected with the Greenwich Railway may not be uninteresting to our readers.

‘ The Greenwich Railway may be said to be a continuation of the new London Bridge
to Greenwich ; it is elevated on arches of brick work averaging 26 feet from the ground
to the crown of each, 25 feet in breadth, with a foot path of the same dimensions.
The south side is planted with various forest trees, which forms a delightful walk for the
citizens of London ; there is also a road on the north side, of 25 feet, which the direc-
tors have not determined as yet for what purpose they will appropriate it.

[ 483 ]

LATE INTELLIGENCE FROM EUROPE.

We have just received the Madras Herald, which contains the proceeding's of the British
Association. Such are the important discoveries — and science in the management of bal-*
loons, that we have delayed our publication in order to enable us to lay the whole before
our readers in our present number.

The Exnmbier, Sepiemher, 4, 1836.

BRITISH ASSOCIATION.

The various sections ot ilus [hiio-ophic
congress— -would that such “ congre^se.'” lor
ever took place oF such as Euiopc has been
most familiar with — assenu le'l on Friday, the
2€th ult. We select tor notice a ponion of
discu.ssion in the geological ^eclioll, not only
ascuriousin itself^ but a-; exhibiting the de-
gree of lurking science in ( xistence, which
meetings of this kind may biiag to day. After
some remarks on the change in the chemical
character of minerals, pioduced by galvanism,
made by Mr. Fox, the Chaiiman (Mr. Mur-
chison) said, it had been observed to them
last evening, that the test of some ol the higli-
est truths which philosophy had brought to
light was their simplicity. He held in his
hand a blacking-pot, which Mr. Fox had
bought yesterday for a penny, a little water,
clay, zinc, and copper, and by these humble
means he had imitaie<l one of the most secret
and wonderful processes of nature~her mode
of making metallic veins. It was with peculiar
satisfaction he contemplated ithe valuable re-
sults of this meeting of the association. There
was also a gentleman now at his right hand,
whose name he had never heard till yesterday,
a man unconnected with any society, but pos*
sessing the true spirit of a philosopher; this
gentleman had made no less than twenty-four
minerals, and even crystalline quartz. (Loud
cries of“ Hear,”) He (Dr Buckland) knew
not how he had made them, but he pronounc-
ed them to be discoveries of the highest order ;
they were not made with a blacking pot and
clay, like Mr. Fox’s, but the apparatuswas
equally humble; a bucket of water and a
brickbat had sufficed to produce the
wonderful effects which he would, detail
to them. Mr. Cross, of Broomfield, Somer-
set, then came forward, and stated that
he came to Bristol to be a listener only,
and with no idea that he should he called
upon to address a section. He was no geo-
logist, and but little of a mineralogist ; he had,
however, devoted much of iris lime to electri-
city, and he had lately been occupied in
improvements in the voltaic power, by which
he had succeeded in keeping it in full force for
twelve months by water alone, rejecting acids
entirely. (Cheers.) Mr. Cross tlien pro-
ceeded to state* that he had obtained water
from a finely crystallized cave at Holway,
and by the action of the voltaic battery had
succeeded in producing from that w'ater, in
the course of ten days, numerous rhomboida!
crystals, resembling those of the cave ; in
order to ascertain if light had any influence in
the process, he tried it again in a dark cellar,
and produced similar crystals in six days with
one*fourth of the voltaic power. He had
repeated the experiments a hundred times,
and always with the same result. He was
fully convinced that it was possible to make

even diamonds, and that at no distant peiiod
every kind ot mineral would be formed hy tlie
ingenuity of man. By a variation of his ex-
peiimenis he had olrtained gray and blue
ca rbonate of copper, pliosphaie of soda, and
twenty or thnly other specimens. If any
meiwbeis of the association would favour him
with a visit at fiis liouse, they would be re-
ceived with hospitality, though in a wild and
savage region on the Quantock Hills, and he
should be proud to repeat hi.s exp-eriments in
their presence. Mi. Cross sat down amidst
long continued cheering.- Professor Sedg-
wick said he had discovered in Mr. Cross a
friend, who some years ago kindly conducted
him over the Quantock Hills on the way to
Taunton. The residence of that gentleman
was not, as he had described it. in a wild and
savage region, but seated amidst the sublime
and beautiful in nature. At that time }ye was
engaged in carrying on the most gigantic ex-
periments, attaching voltaic lines to the trees
of the forest, and conducting through them
streams of lightning as large as the mast of a
74 gun ship, and even turning them through
his house with the dexterity of an able
charioteer.

Sincerely did he congratulate the section on
what he had heard and witnessed that morn-
ing. The operations of electrical phenomena,
instances of which had been detailed to
them, proved that the whole world, even
darkness itself, was steeped in everlasting
light, the first born of heaven. However M
Cross might have hitherto concealed himself*
from this time forth he must stand before the
world as public property.— Professor Philips
said, the wonderful discoveries of Mr. Cross
and Mr. Fox would open afield of science in
which ages might be employed in exploring
and imitating the phenomena of nature.

On Saturday, the 27th ult. the attention of
the scientific persons assembled at Bristol was
invited to the laying of the first stone of ti e
Clifton suspension bridge. The Marquis of
Northanapton, officiating as President of the
Association, in the absence of the Marquis of
Lansdowne, laid the stone with the usual
ceremonies. A great concourse of spectators
attended, and it is said the beautiful rocks
and town of Clifton never presented so ani-
mated and interesting an appearance. The
following were given as the dimensions of the
bridge : — Distance between the two points of
suspension, 700 feet ; length of suspended
roadway, 630 ; height of roadway above high-

watermark, 230 ; total width of floor, 34. The
architect is Mr, Brunei. In the evening, the
last meeting for the transaction of the genera!
business of the Association was held in the
theatre at Bristol, when the thanks of the
Association were voted to divers public bodies
in that city for marks of attention respectively
paid to it.— The Rev. Vernon Harcourt read
a list of the various invitations that had been
sent fromdi&reat places to solicit the attend-

4c84

MR. GREEN THE EXPERIENCED AERONAUT.

ance of the As?ociation at its next period of
meeting, which were given according to the
number of applications that had been made.
These were from Newcastle-upon-Tyne, four ;
Liverpool and Birmingham, two ; Manches-
ter, one; Worcester, one; and Leeds, one. A
consideraV'le discussion ensued, and it was at
length decided that the next meetingshould be
held at Liverpool, in the month of September,
1837. The Karl of Burlington was appointed
president ; Sir P. G. Egerton, Baronet, Dr.
Dalton and the Rev. E. Stanley, vice-pre-
sidents ; the Rev. James Yates and Dr.
Turner, secretaries ; aud>-A. J. Murchison,
Esq., general secretary, in the room of Mr.
Daly, who had resigned.

SCIENCE IN A BALLOON.

Dr. Kent's Account of his Ascent loith Mr.

W. Green from Vauxhall- Gardens, on Tues-
day, August 30, 1836.

Every arrangement having been completed
for launching the balloons, the signal was
given at five minutes past six o’clock, p. m ,
and they immediately rose, the wind blow-
ing gently from S. W. The atmosphere be-
ing remarkably clear, every object beneath
us was seen with the greatest distinctness.
We crossed the river a little to the eastward
of London bridge, and the view at that period
was most magnificent; St. Paul’s seen a
little to westward ; the Monument nearer to
us in the same direction ; the Tower almost
immediately below us, the London Docks,
the shipping, the extended view of the river,
and the beautiful and highly- cultivated coun-
try all around the metropolis, forming a
coup d'oeil of the most sublime grandeur,
which sets at defiance every attempt at de-
scription. We crossed the river Lei a little
to the northward of Stratford, at which time
we had attained our greatest altitude, and en-
tered a different current, which took us a little
more to the eastward. M5e then passed over
Epping Lower Forest and Wanstead Park,
descending very gradually until we again
reached terra firma at seven minutes pas'-
seven, in a beautiful grass field, close to the
Maypole, on the border of Hainault Forest,
four miles N. E. of Ilford. Mr. C- Green
having got into a different current, we soon
parted company, but we had an exceedingly
interesting view of his balloon until within a
few minutes of his descent. This took place
at Romford ; our chaises, however, met at
Ilford, and we arrived together at the Gar-
dens, Vauxhall, at eleven o’clock, p. m. It
is but justice to Mr. W. Green to state, that
his management of the balloon wa.s most
skilful, and that the descent was accomplish-
ed in the most easy and delightful man-
ner. The greatest depression of the mercury
in a barometer was 24.75 inches, which
was its register at 6 h. 33 m., its height on
leaving the ground having been ascertain-
ed to be exactly 30 inches. The thermometer,
which stood at 63 deg. Fahrenheit, or 17 deg.
Centigrade, on leaving, sunk to 5l deg.
Fahrenheit, or 10,4 Centigrade, at which
point it stood at the abovementioned time.
There was consequently a depression of 5.25
inches in the height of the mercury of the
barometer, and of 12 deg. Fahrenheit in the
thermometer, indicating the greatest eleva-
tion to have been about 5,863 feet, or 1 mile
and 580 feet. A much greater altitude could

have been attained, but it was thought de-
sirable to make the descent before it became
so dark as to render it probable we might be
delayed in the emptying and packing the
balloon.

The management of the machine in the
hands of an aeronaut so practised and intelli-
gent as Mr, W . Green appears to be extreme-
ly simple. After leaving the earth his atten-
tion is first directed to the state of the dis-
tension of the balloon, more particularly if
the sun’s rays are falling on it. I'wo causes
are then in operation which produce the effect
of rarefaction and consequent expansion of
the gas in the balloon ; one, the diminished
atmospheric pressure, and the other, the ca-
loric imparted by the rays of the sun. Should
these causes act powerfully, it becomes ne-
cessary to allow the escape of a small volume
of gas from the safety-valve. Here ihe
judgment of the aeronaut is called into ex-
ercise, as he must allow a sufficient quantity
of gas to escape, to prevent any undue disten-
sion at the same time that it is necessary for
him to bear in mind that he will have again
to return into the same dense atmosphere he
has left, when the balloon will, of course,
contract into a smaller space than it previ-
ously occupied. As long as the machine
continues to rise, or is sailing along at the
same altitude (which is ascertained by the
barometer, or by the less scientific but readier
method of throwing out small pieces of tissue
paper and observing the direction they ap-
pear to take), the above is the only point
which requires his attention. When it is
determined to commence the descent, either
a small quantity of gas is again allowed to
escape, or (if the balloon has already a ten-
dency to descend) ballast is no longer thrown
out, excepting as much as is sufficient to
counteract in some measure the condensa-
tion of the gas by the increasing density of
the atmosphere. Having descended to within
100 or 150 yards of the earth, an eligible
spot for landing is selected, and the bal-
loon is then allowed to descend again
until the grappling-iron brings it to
anchor, or the cord is secured by some of
the persons attached to the spot. It is then
drawn down gently by them, and as soon as
the car rests on the ground, the valve is open-
ed wide, the balloon is quickly emptied, and
the whole being packed within, the car is re-
conveyed to the spot from which a few hours
before it arose. The safety-valve is situated
at the top of the balloon, and is about eight-
een inches in diameter. It is divided into
two equal parts, each of which is kept closed
by the action of powerful springs. Cords
are fastened to either of these valves, which
pass through the centre into the neck of the
balloon, within reach of the individuals in
the car. The valves are prevented from being
opened too far by small pieces of twine fas-
tened to them and to the ed^e of the aperture.
When the ground is reached, and the machine
secured, these are broken by a sudden jerk
of the cords, the gas escapes rapidly, and
the balloon collapses.

Owing to the excellent management of
Mr. W. Green, the balloon has not receiv-
ed even a scratch by which it is damaged.

Benjamin Archer Kent, m. h.

20, Harley-street, Cavendish square.

BRITISH ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCUNCE. 485

Our kind friend and contemporary of
the Oriental Observer, Mr. Rushton, has
been so fortunate as to receive the la-
test number of the Athenceum j the entire
columns of which have been devoted to
the report of the proceedings of the
British association. No expense has
been spared to make it full and sa-
tisfactory. We shall continue to furnish
cur readers with the result of the even-
ing meeting so that it shall not inter-
fere with the regular number of our
Review. We are sure that our readers
will share in our sense of obligation to
Mr. Rushton for this spirit and zeal he
has evinced in the cause of science by
enabling us to diffuse expeditiously this
important and highly interesting intel-
ligence.

SIXTH MEETING OF THE BRI-
TISH ASSOCIATION FOR THE
ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE.

[From our own Correspondents.^
SATURDAY’ AUG. 2,0.

At the Meeting of the General Com-
mittee, a letter was read from the Mar-
quis of Lansdowne, stating his regret
at being unable to take the chair, in
consequence of the alarming illness of
his eldest son (the Earl of Kerry),
though all his arrangements were com-
pleted for leaving London on that even-
ing. It was then proposed that the
Marquis of Northampton should be ap-
ointed Vice-President, in the room of
. Harford, Esq., who had resigned
from ill health. The motion was una-
nimously adopted, and an express des-
patched to secure his Lordship’s at-
tendance on Monday evening. Some
temporary arrangements were made, to
facilitate the distribution of tickets, and •
it was agreed that the officers intrusted
with this duty should be at their posts
at eight o’clock on Monday morning.
Sectional officers and committees were
appointed, after which the General Com-
mittee adjourned to twelve o’clock on
Saturday, 27th August. To prevent the
final meeting of the Association from
interfering with the deliberations of the
Commitee as in Dublin, it was resolved.

that the close of the meeting should
take place on Saturday evening, in the
Theatre. It was gratifying to' observe,,
that all traces ofthe temporary estrange-
ment of Sir David Brewster firom his
old colleagues in the Council had dis-
appeared. The members seemed eager
to welcome him, and he was equally
eager to show that past differences were’
forgotten. The Marquis of Northamp<i-
ton arrived in course of the evening.

MONDAY, AUG. 22.

At eleven o’clock, the several Sections
met at their appointed stations, and
proceeded to business.

Section A.— MATHEMATICAL
AND PHYSICAL SCIENCE.

President -Rev. W- Wheweli,.

Vice Presidents — Sir D. Brewster, Sir W. R.
Hamilton.

Secretaries— Professor Forbes. W. S. Harris,
Esq. F. W. JERRARD, Esq.

Committee- -C . Fabbage, Esq., F R. S , F.
Baily, Esq , Professor James Cliallis, Mr.
Chatfield. Professor McCullagb, Robert W.
Fox, Esq., William Freiul, Esq., G. Ge.rard,
Esq , Professor Iloyd, J. W Lubbock, Esq
Rev. Dr. Lloyd, Provost of Trinity College,
Professor Moll, Rev. G, Peacock, Professor
Rigaiul, Professor Ritchie, Jehu Robison,
Esc| , Professor Stevelly, H. F. Talbot, Esq.,
Professor Wheatstone.

The President of the Section took
the chair. — The Chairman stated that
according to the directions of the Gene-
ral Committee, that Committee of the
Section had met in the morning, and
set down the papers which they deemed
proper to have brought before the Sec-
tion on this day ; giving, as usual, a
preference to those subjects which had
been undertaken at the suggestion or
request of the Association. It was well
known, he observed, that grants of
money had been voted by the General
Committee in aid of important resear-
ches, and some valuable discoveries had
resulted ; and that on that day they
were about to be gratified as well as in-
structed, by hearing of laborious and
searching observations and experiments
which, but for the valuable pecuniary
aid afforded by the British Association,
must have lain, as they had already
done, for years, a mass of useless lum-
ber. He concluded by stating that the
Committee, in accordance with powers
vested in them by the General Com-
mittee, had added to their number, the
names of many highly-distinguished in-
dividuals, who had not arrived in town

486

ACCOUNT OF A LENS OF ROCK SALT.

Et tlie time when the list of the Com-
mittee was printed.

The President then called upon Sir
David Brewster to an account of a lens
of rock salt, upon the construction of
which he had been authorized by the
Association assembled at Edinburgh to
expend a sum of SOI. ; as certain opti-
cal researches upon the nature and qua-
lities of that sid)stance, had induced
men well skilled in the subject to anti-
cipate the most favourable results to
astronomy from its construction.

Sir David Brewster stated, that
through the kindness and activity of
Dr. Traill, he had procured from Che-
shire several splendidly transparent
and hom.jgeueous crystals of rock salt;
and that he had little doubt that these
would in every way answer the desired
end ; but that, as a lens, when con-
structed of this material, would re-
q’'ire to be adapted to a certain glass
lens or lenses, — and as the construc-
tion of each of these and their mu-
tual adaptation was a matter requiring
not only the nicest mechanical mani-
pulation, but also a skill and knowledge
of principles wiiich was not to be ex-
pected in workmen of an ordinary class,
— he had most reluctantly been com-
pelled to abstain from an attempt at the
actual construction, but he hoped very
soon to have it in his power to accom-
plish thi^ most desirable object.

The President requested Mr. Baily
to inform the Section, what steps had
been taken towards procuring from the
French olisewiatories, the reduction of
the Observations respecting certain fix-
ed stars, fur which a grant of money
had been already made by the Associa-
tion..

Mr. Bally replied, that as he w^as in
daily e?:ppctacion of receiving from M.
Arago information respecting these re-
ductions, which vvoi Id be more precise
and interesting than any thing he was
at present pi’enared to say respecting
them, he tru.sted the Section v/ould jier-
mit him to defer his notice of them to a
future occasion.

To this request, the President, in the
name of the Section, assented, and cal-
led upon Mr. Lubbock to give an ac-
count of the recent discussions of tide
observations made at the ports of Liver-
pool and London, and for which a

liberal grant of money had also been
made by the Association.

Mr. Lubbock rose and stated, that
through the indefatigable exertions of
Mr. Dessiou, considerable progress had
been made in the reductions of the ob-
servations made at Liverpool by Mr.
Plutchinson.

The diurnal inequality or difference
between the superior and inferior tide
of the same day, v'hich in the Thames
was very inconsiderable, if not insen-
sible, was found at Liverpool to amount
to more than a foot ; a matter upon
which the learned gentleman laid con-
siderable stress, as calculated to lead to
important practical results. The object
of these reductions was to compare the
results of theory with these observa-
tions, and with those of Mr. Jones and
Mr. Russell made at the port of Lon-
don. The principal objects of comfiari-
son were the heights of the several tides,
and the intervals between tide and tide ;
and these were examined in their rela-
tions to the parallax and declination of
the Moon and of the Sun, and in re-
ference to local, and what may in one
sense he called accidental causes, as
storms, &c. Of this latter, one of the
most curious, as well as important, is
the effect of the pressure of the atmo-
spheric column. The learned gentle-
man stated, that M. Daussy had ascer-
tained, that at the harbour of Brest a
variation of the height of high water was
found to take place, which was inverse-
ly as the rise or fall of the barometer,
and that a fall of the barometer of 0.622
parts of an inch, was found to cause an
increase of the height of the tide, etmal
to 8.78 inches in that port. To conffrm
this interesting and hitherto unsuspect-
ed cause of variation, had been one
piincipal object of the researches of tho
learned gentleman, and at his request,
Mr. Dessiou had calculated the heights
and times of high water at Liverpool for
the year 1/84, and compared them with
the heights of the barometer, as re-
corded by Mr. Hutchinson for the
same year ; and by a most careful
induction, it nad turned out that the
height of the tide had been on an aver-
age increased by one inch for each
tenth of an inch that the barometer
fell, ceeteris paribus ; but the time was
found not to be much, if at all, affected.
Mr, Lubbock then proceeded to examine
the semi-menstrual declination and

m

THE RELATIVE LEVEL OF LAND AND SEA.

parallax correction; and stated that the
result was a remarkable conformity be-
tween the results of Bernouilli’s theo-
ry, and the results of observations con-
tinued for nineteen years at the Lon-
don Docks. But to render the accord-
ance as exact as it was found to be
capable of being it was necessary to
compare the time of the tide, not with
that transit of the Moon which imme-
diately preceded it, but with that which
took place about five lunar half days.
To explain this popularly, the learned
gentleman stated, that however para-
doxical it might appear to persons not
acquainted with tlie subject, yet true it
was, that although the tide depended
essentially upon the Moon, yet, any
particular tide, as it reaches London,
would not be in any way sensibly affect-
ed, were the Moon at that instant, or
even at its last transit, to have been an-
nihilated ; for it was the Moon as it
existed fifty or sixty hours before, which
caused the disturbance of the ocean,
which ultimately, resulted in that tide
reaching the port of London. The
learned gentleman then exhibited sever-
al diagrams, in which the variations of
the heights of the tide, as resulting
from calculations founded upon the
th eory, were compared with the results
of observations. The general forms of
the two curves which represented these
two results, corresponded very re mark-
ably ; but the curve corresponding to
the actual observations, appeared the
more angular or broken in its form, for
which the learned gentleman satisfacto-
rily accounted, by stating that the ob-
servations were neither sufficiently nu-
merous, nor sufficiently precise, from
the very manner in which they were
taken and accorded, to warrant an ex-
pectation of a closer conformity, or a
more regular curvature. 'Wiien it is
recollected that the observations are at
first written on a slate, and then trans-
ferred to the written register, by men
otherwise much employed, and whose
rank in life was not such as would lead
us to expect scrupulous care, it was not
to be wondered at, if occasionally an
error of transcript should occur, or
even if the observation of one transit
was set down as belonging to the next.
When to these circumstances it was
added, that the tide at London was in
all pi'obability, . if not certainly, made
up of two tides, one having already

come round the British Islands, meet-
ing the other as it came up the British
Channel, it was altogether surprising
that the coincidence should be so exact ;
and it was one among many other valu-
able results of these investigations, that
it was now pretty certain that tide ta-
bles constructed for the port of London,
by the theory of Bernouilli, would give
the height and interval with a precision
quite sufficient for all practical pur-
poses, and which might be relied on as
sufficiently exact, when due caution was
used in their construction, and the ne-
cessary and known corrections applied.
In conclusion, Mr. Lubbock said, the
Observations for the ])ort of London
had now been continued from the com-
mencement of this century, and those
for Liverpool, as we understood, about
twenty-five years.

The arrangement of the papers made
hy the Committee now required the
President to give a report or the pro-
ceedings of the Committee appointed
hy the Association to fix the relative le-
vel of land and sea ; the chair was there-
fore taken by Sir David Brewster, one
of the Vice Presidents, and Mr. Whe-
well presented himself to the Section.

He commenced by saying, that as in
the discussion of the relative level of
land and sea, the tides of the ocean
were an important element, he should
preface the remarks upon that subject,
which he intended to submit, by mak-
ing a few observations upon the very
valuable communication of his friend
Mr. Lubbock. The communication hs
highly eulogized, and pointed out to
the Section the importance, of many of
the conclusions, should they prove here-
after to be generally applicable : but he
expressed strongly his fears that this
would not be the case. Observation-
had, in the instance of the tides, far
outstripped theory, for many reasons,
which it w'ould be imposible to detail;
but among the most prominent wero
the complexity of the problem itself in-
volving the astronomical theories both
of the Sun and Moon the masses of
these bodies; the motions of disturbed
fluids, and local causes, tending to alter
or modify the general geographical ef-
fect of the great tidewave at any parti-
cular place. It was upon a careful re-
view of these considerations, that he
was led to fear that it would be still
many years before theory would be-

488 PLAN FOm FIXING THE RELATIVE LEVEL OF LAND AND SEA.

»come so guarded and supported by local
observations, as to afford a sufficiently
'Correct guide to be implicitly relied on
in these speculations. He instanced
the tides of the Bristol Channel, which,
in consequence of their excessive mag-
nitude, afforded magnified representa-
tions of the phenomena by which the
deviations become more remarkable.
At the port of Bristol, the tide rose to
a height of fifty feet, while towards the
lower part of the Channel they only
rose twenty, and along other parts of
the coast not quite so high. The most
striking of Mr. Lubbock’s conclusions
was that by which it appeared that
the ocean assumed the form of the
spheroid of equilibrium, according to
the theory of Bernouilli, but at five
transits of the Moon preceding the tide
itself. By the calculations of Mr. Bent,
however, it would appear, that although
the observed laws of the tides at
Bristol might be made to agree with
Bernouiili’s theory of equilibrium
tides, by referring them to a certain
anterior transit, — so far as the changes
due to parallax were concerned, as also
as far as those due to declination were
concerned, — yet it turned out that this
anterior period itself was not the same
for parrallax as for declination. The
two series of changes have not there-
fore a common origin or a common
epoch ; so that in fact there is no ante-
rior period which would give theoretical
tides agreeing with observed tides ;
and, therefore, at least the Bristol tides
do not at present appear to confirm the
result obtained by Mr. Lubbock from
the London tides. The learned gentle-
man then illustrated these views by
diagrams, by the aid of which he ex-
plained to the Section the luni-tidal
intervals, and the curve of semi-men-
strual in equality — (this latter term, and
the doctrine connected with it, was
introduced into the subject of the tides
by the learned gentleman himself, and,
as is admitted by all acquainted with
the subject, with the most valuable
result).

Professor Whewell then proceeded
to the question more immediately before
him — the proceedings of the Committee
appointed to fix the relative level of the
land and sea, with a view to ascertain
its permanence, or the contrary. He
observed, that the Committee had not
taken any active practical steps for the

important purposes for which they were
appointed, because they had met with
many unexpected difficulties requiring
much consideration. It was, however,
intended to appoint a Committee for
the same purposes, who should be fur-
nished with instructions founded upon
the views at which the former Commit-
tee had by their labours and experience
arrived. One method proposed was,
that marks should be made along vari-
ous parts of the coast, which marks
should be referred to the level of the
sea ; but here the inquiry met us in the
very outset— what is the proper and
precise notion to be attached to the
phrase the level of the sea ? Was it
high water-mark or low water-mark
Was it at the level of the mean tide,
which recent researches seemed to es-
tablish ? In hydrographical subjects th a
level of the sea was taken from low
water, and this, although in many re-
spects inconvenient, could not yet be
dis^iensed with, for many reasons, one
of which he might glance at — that by
its adoption, shoals, which were dry at
low water, were capable of being repre-
sented upon the maps as well as the
land. The second method proposed
appeared to the learned Professor to
be the one from which the most im-
portant and conclusive results were to
be expected. It consisted in accurate-
ly levelling, by land survey, lines in
various directions, and by permanently
fixing, in various places, numerous
marks of similar levels at the time ;
by the aid of these marks, at fu-
ture periods, it could be ascertained
whether or not the levels, in particular
places, had or had not changed, and
thus the question would be settled whe-
ther or not the land in particular
localities was rising or falling. Still
further, by running on those lines,
which would have some resem-
blance to the isothermal lines of Hum-
boldt, as far as the sea coast, and mark-
ing their extr^emities along the coast,
a solution would at length be obtained
to that most important practical ques-
tion,— what is the proper or permanent
level of the sea at a given place ? Un-
til something like this were accomplish-
ed, the learned Professor e.\ pressed his
strong conviction of the hopelessness of
expecting any thing like accuracy in
many important and even practical cases.
As an example, he supposed the ques-

THE VARIATIONS OF PARALLAX OR RECLINATION. 483

ftion tobe the altitude of Dunbury Hill
referred to the level of the sea: if that
level of the sea were taken at Bristol,
where the tide rises, as before stated,
fifty feet, the level of low water would
differ from the same level on the sea
coast at Devonshire, where the sea rises
say eighteen feet ; and supposing, as
is most probable, the place of mean tide
to be the true permanent level by no
less a quantity than sixteen feet, which
would therefore make that hill to ap-
pear sixteen feet higher, upon a hydro-
graphical map constructed by a person
taking his level from the coast of De-
vonshire, than it would appear upon
the map of an engineer taking his level
at Bristol. In the method proposed,
the lines of equal level would run, sup-
pose from Bristol to Ilfrocom in one di-
rection, and from Bristol to Lyme Re-
gis in the other, and by these a
common standard of level would soon
be obtained for the entire coast.

Professor Sir William Hamilton rose
to express the sincere pleasure he felt at
the masterly expositions of Mr. Lub-
bock and professor Whewell. One
conclusion to which Mr. Lubbock had
arrived was to him peculiarly interest-
ing, viz. that by which it appeared that
the influence of the Moon upon the
tides was not manifested in its effects
until some time after it had been exert-
ed, for a similar observation had re-
cently been made by Professor Han-
xeen respecting the mutual disturb-
ances of the planets — Mr. Lubbock
rose to say, that the agreement between
the results calculated from the theory
of Bernouilli and those obtained from
actual observation, were much more
exact than Professor Whewell seemed
to imagine ; in truth, so close was the
agreement, that they might be said ab-
solutely to agree, since the difference
was less than the errors that might be
expected to occur in making and record-
ing the observations themselves. — Mr.
Whewell explained that he wished to
confine his observations to the Bristol
tides, as these were the observations to
which he had particularly turned his
attention ; and, with respect to which,
he should be able, at the present meet-
ing, to exhibit diagrams to the Section,
which he felt confident would amply
bear out his assertions respecting these
tides. — Mr. Lubbock stated, that so
near, indeed so exact, had been the

coincidence between the observation*
made at London and Liverpool, and the
theory, that he was strongly inclined to
believe that, that coinciden-ce would be
found at length to be universal. — Pro-
fessor Stevelly inquired, from Mr. Lub-
bock, whether he did not think it quite
possible that local causes might exist,
which \yould be fully capable of pro-
ducing the deviations from the theory
of Bernouilli ; as, for instance, in the
case of Bristol, so ably insisted upon by
Professor Whewell, where the causes
of the extraordinary elevation are the
landlocking of the tide-wave as it as-
cends the narrowing channel, and the
reflexions of other tide-waves from se-
veral places. Now, particularly in the
case of reflex tides, may it not so hap-
pen, and does it not, in fact, happen in
several places, that they bring the
actual tide to a given port at a
time very different from that at
which the influence of the Moon and
Sun, if unimpeded, would cause it to
arrive, and thus separate, as Professor
Whewell had stated, the origin or epoch
of the variations due, suppose to paral-
lax and declension, and even cause
other divisions from Bernouilii’s theo-
ry ? — Mr. Lubbock replied, that un-
questionably it might so happen; but,
in his opinion, the discussion of a few
observations, like those made at Bristol,
could not be expected to point out very
exactly the origin or epoch of either of
the variations of parallax or declination,
with sufficient exactness, to furnish se-
cure data for determining that they di'd
not correspond to any one common
previous transit of the Moon.

Professor Whewell, who had left the
room for a few moments, now returned
with some diagrams, which tended to il-
lustrate his view of the question ; and, in
particular, he drew the attention of the
Section to the circumstance, that the di-
urnal inequality, which was now begin-
ning to be observed, decided the ques-
tion, inasmuch as its epoch could not
by any means be attributed to the same
previous transit of the Moon to which
the others were referred. — Mr. Frend
congratulated the meeting upon the
prospect now held out of determining
precisely that most important practical
question, the true level of the sea.

The President then called on Mr.
£ubbock for his communication res-

490

FORMATION OF EMPIRICAL LUNAR THEORY.

pecting tlie formation of an empirical
lunar theory.

Mr Lubbock made some preliminary
remarks, tending to prove, that al-
though the astronomical tables con-
nected with the lunar theory are suffi-
ciently perfect for the more general
purposes of navigation, yet astronomers
are by no means satisfied with resting
at this degree of exactness. It is an
object much to be desired that they
should reach, by calculation and theo-
ry, a degree of accuracy far beyond this,
and if possible construct lunar tables in
which the fixed co-efficients should be
as exact as could be obtained from the
use of the very best instruments, erect-
ed in fixed observatories. His object
was to press the accomplishing of this
by obtaining directly from observation
the co-efficients and other quantities
which would be necessary for the con-
struction of tables, with as little reference
to previous lunar theories as was practi-
cable or proper. He observed, that the
most important works upon the lunar
theory were those of Messrs- Damoi-
seau and Plana. The calculations of M.
Damoiseau, however, are in such a very
intricate form, that it is almost impossi-
ble to verify them. The work of M.
Plana constitutes an eatirely new era in
the lunar theory, for in it the results are
developed according to the powers of
extentneities, inclination, and other ele-
ments of the lunar and terrestrial orbits,
as also the quantity M. denoting the
ratio of the Sun’s mean motion to that
of the Moon. In other respects, the cal-
culations are similar to those of Damoi-
seau ; and in both there finally meets us
the almost insuperable difficulty, that
the expressions for the co-efficients are
series, having a very slow conveyance,
and requiring, therefore, extreme labour
to deduce them with any tolerable de-
gree of accuracy. Now, it is principally
these co-efficients that Mr. Lubbock
wished to have the values of deduce em-
pirically from the best observations ;
and he even ventured to express a hope,
that by this method tables might be con-
structed of such minute exactness, as
might serve to check the results obtain-
ed from theory ; and his anticipations
were the more sanguine, because nothing
was wanting to complete success but
the placing of a sufficient fund at the
disposal of a committee, since abundant
stores of the most minutely exact obser-

vations were recorded ; and persons in
every way competent to their reduction
were to be had.

Professor Sir William Hamilton then
read his report on Mr. George B. Jer-
rard’s mathematical researches, con-
nected with the general solution of
algebraic equations.

Sir W. Hamilton wished, in the first
place, to inform the Section, that no part
of the grant SOI. had been expended,
which the Association had so liberally
placed at his disposal for the purpose of
procuring the assistance of persons
competent to verify, by numerical com-
putations, the method of Mr. Jerrard.
The reason that he had not deemed it
necessary to resort to this expense was,
that he had, at a very early period after
the meeting of the 13ritish Association
in Dublin, satisfied his own mind that
the method of Mr. Jerrard entirely failed
in accomplishing the solution of equa-
tions of the fifth and sixth degree ; and
he trusted that he should be able to lay
before the Section, with as much clear-
ness as the abstruse nature of the sub-
ject would admit of, the principal steps
of a demonstration, which, to the mind
of the learned Professor himself, at least
carried complete conviction, that the
method of Mr. Jerrard was not appli-
cable until the equation, as a minorlimit,
had reached the seventh degree. In or-
der that he might carry the Section fully
along 'with him. Professor Hamilton
stated, that it would be necessary to give
again a rather detailed account of the pe-
culic rities of the very i igenious notation,
devised by Mr. Jerrard, for denoting
certain algebraic jirocesses, or operations
resorted to in the application of his
method. The Professor then proceeded
to detail to the Section the several steps
of Mr. Jerrard’s method, clearly mark-,
ing the steps previously known to an-
alysts, and such as Mr. Jerrard had the
merit of originating. 'I’he ])rincipal pe-
culiarity oiformulce seemed to be, that
in an equation, transferred in a ])articu-
lar manner for the purpose of eliminat-
ing the co-efficients of the original equa-
tion, the co-efficients were so ingenious-
ly obtained as to lie entirely independent
of the degree of the original equation,
and therefore to be of a similar form in
all possible equations, the solutions of
which were sought. As soon as he had
prepared these formulae, the Professor
proceeded to demonstrate to the Section^

::l

491

GENERAL SOLUTION OF ALGEBRAIC EQUATIONS.

that from the very nature of their con-
nexion with the original equation, they
must fail in giving its solution, where it
only rose to the fourth dimension, be-
cause he showed that this would involve
the solution of an equation of the sixth
degree, as a preliminary step. Equa-
tions, however, of this degree had been
long solved, and it was only, therefore,
in connexion with the generality of Mr.
Jerratd’s method, that its failure, as re-
garded them, was of any consequence.
He then proceeded to give a similar de-
monstration of its failure, as regarded
equations of the fifth and of tiie sixth
degree; during his discussion of this
step of his demonstration, he took occa-
sion to show, that Mr. Jerrard’s method
had succeeded in reducing equations cf
the fifth degree to tables of double en-
try,— a discovery, ui)on the value of
which he enlarged considerably, and
highly eulogized and complimented the
author; insomuch, that he stated that
if the method had accomplished nothing
but this alone, Mr. Jerrard would have
received the congratulations of the scien-
tific worlJ. He then proceeded to
show, that unless the index of the equa-
tion reached as a minor limit the num-
ber seven at least, a certain intermediate
equation, concerned in the elimination,
would be met with, along with a multi-
ple of it, which, therefore, would not
give a number of distinct results suffi-
cient to complete the uliminations ; but,
beyond that degree, he stated that he
had satisfied himself, that Mr. Jerrard’s
method would afford solutions of equa-
tions, which, even if they should, from
their complexity or other causes, be use-
less to the j)ractical or merely arithme-
tical algebraist, yet to those engaged in
prosecuting inquiries involving purely
symbolic alg-bra, he felt confident they
would afford facilities and general me-
thods of investigation, hitherto almost
un'ooked for and unexpected.

Mr. Babbage comjfiemented Sir W.
Hamilton upon the very lucid exposition
which he had given of a subject which
he characterized as bordering upon the
very extremest limits of human know-
ledge,and congratulated Mr. Jerrard upon
the success with which he had contrived
so effectually to distinguish between the
symbols of operation and those of quan-
tity, in expressing the results of elimi-
nation. Engaged, as it was well known
he was, in a branch of practical numeri-

cal science, he could not suffer himself
to be supposed to look with indifference
upon a discovery which, if it should
even fail in affording any practically
important assistance to his particular
branch, must yet be admitted to afford
the strongest promise of advantage to
the more purely al)stract branch of alge-
braic investigalion — Professor Peacock
observed that during the progress of the
discussion of this question he had not
failed to remark the many advantages
which must result to algebra from Mr.
Jerrard’s method, from the collateral
improvements to which the i^rosecution
of his princij)al'o!)ject had led, partly in
snggusting new and hitherto unex-
])lored methods of elimination, and part-
ly by leading to a notation, which so
clearly distinguished between the marks
of quantity and the observations and
changes which were to be resorted to in
reference to them ; but as to the result
itself, he need characterize it no higher,
when he added, that it was an advance
in ihe science, vvhich it did not appear
that the celebrated La Grange had ever
contempleted, and which was not ap-
jwoached by the result of Stcliern-
hausen. — Mr. Frend regretted to differ
from Mr. Babbage ; but to him it ap-
peared that this subject, instead of rang-
ing on the very outside verge of human
knowledge, on the contrary, lay at the
very entrance of its portals.

Professor Phillips then read his Re-
port of the Experiments instituted with
a view to determine the Inferior Tem-
perature of the Earth.

Mr. Phillips stated, that this subject
had for a long period engaged the
anxious attention forscientific men, both
at home and upon the continent ; that the
most accurate as well as numerous ex-
periments indicated a decided elevation
of tera})erature as a more depressed sta-
tion below the earth's surface was at-
tained ; even when the depths descend-
ed to were small, this elevation of tem-
perature became large enough to arrest
attention ; in fact, the temperature of
the air, of the water, of the rocks, and of
the soil, was found to augment as we
descend. But, in order to ascertain
if possible, what portion of this heat
arose fronri, or was connected with, an
elevated temperature of the internal
parts of the globe, as well as to ascertain
whether the causes of these were local
or universal, and, if possible, to arrive

492

THE INFERIOR TEMPERATURE OF; THE EARTH.

at the law of its distribution,it was deem-
ed a matter of much importance to get
rid altogether of the effect of the air’s
temperature upon the thermometer, as
also the action of water, because the
sources of the water in mines, &c. must be
in most cases entirelybeyond the reach
of observation. All these circumstances
induced the Committee appointed by the
Association to conduct experiments upon
this subject, to take the temperatures
of the rocks themselves alone, as the
fundamental experiments. With this
view, they had no less than thirty-six
thermometers made arid carefully com-
pared; and, although they well knew
that these thermometers, after all the
care which had been bestowed upon
their construction, were by no means
perfect or exact, yet as their errors had
been carefully quoted, by a comparison
with the standard thermometers of the
Ro)^al Societies of London and Edin-
burgh, and each thermometer numbered,
the errors admit of an easy correction.
Many of these thermometers had been
already placed under the care of persons
adequately instructed to conduct the re-
quisite experiments, and some of them
were still in the possession of the Com-
mittee, who would gladly place them in
the charge of any person, giving adequate
security that they should be applied to
the purpose for which they had been
procured. The method of using them
was this; a hole large enough to receive
one of the thermometers, is first drilled
into the solid rock, at the bottom of the
mine, pit, or other proper place of obser-
vation, to the depth of two or three feet
at least ; into this the thermometer is
then introduced and sutfered there to
remain for a number of days sufficient to
ensure the attainment of the temperature
of the rock itself. The temperature of
the air at the mouth of the pit,* and if
possible, the mean temperature of the
place, must be observed or obtained.
Professor Phillips then stated, that ob-
servations had been made in this man-
ner, and with some of these instruments,
under the directions of Professor Forbes,
at mines in the Lead Hills, in Scotland,

• It appears to us that it would be most disir-
able that the temperature of the air at the
bottom of the pit, and as close aspossiiile to
the rock in which the thermometer is placed,
«hould be noted, for unquestionably this are
cannot be excluded from the hole in which the
thermometer is placed, and must have an ele-
vated temperature .

and that Professor Forbes would >ako
some early opportunity of bringing these
observations more immediately under
the notice of the Section ; at Newcastle,
under the direction of Mr. Briddle; at
W^earrnouth, under the care of Mr.
Anderson; near Manchester, and at
Northampton, under the direction of
Mr. Hodgkinson : and -within a few
days. Professor Phillips had been ena-
bled, through the kindness of a friend,
to place a thermometer in a deep coal
mine at Bedminster, in this immediate
vicinity (Bristol). The results of these
observations, so far as they had as yet
proceeded, amply confirmed the fact of i
the increase of temperature in the parts
under the earth’s surface. As one ex-
ample, the Professor stated, that in a
mine, the perpendicular depth of which,
below the surface, was 525 yards, the
thermometer in the rock stood at 7^“,
while the temperature in the open air at
the mouth of the mine, varied from 300
to 800, the mean temperature of the
place being 47^®.

Professor Forbes then gave, from me-
mory, an account of the experiments which
he had been the means of instituting in
the Lead Hills. Before he did so, however,
he w'ished to state that he had been in-
formed that an artesian well had lately
been met with in granite ; and he then
gave a general description of artesian
wells. It was to this effect : that here-
tofore, in making borings in certain
districts through certain alternations of
clays, and at length through certain
rocks, a supply of water was reached,
which rapidly rose through the boring
to the surface, and continued to over-
flow at the top, sometimes, as the term
fountain indicated, in considerable quan-
tity, and with considerable force. He
instanced the artesian wells or fountains
of the London clay districts; and added
that the temperature of these waters
was found universally to increase with
the depth of their source beneath the
surface of the earth. Heretofore, no
such well had been obtained by boring
through the granite ; and if the account,
which he had received, were correct,
and of its correctness he entertained
little doubt, this would be a matter of
considerable interest as well to the geo-
logist as to those who were engaged in
scientific pursuits similar to those now
under consideration. The observations
made under his directions in the Lead

ON POLARIZfib LIGHT.

493

Hills, alluded to by Professor Phillips,
were almost entirely conducted by Mr.
Irvine. These observations were par-
ticularly interesting, from the fact, that
the mines, in consequence of a strike
among the workmen, had not been
worked for many months, and at the
same time it most fortunately happened
that they were selfdrained, that is, by
machinery worked by external power,
without the aid of either animals or
steam. This most fortunate concur-
rence of favourable circumstances, which
could be expected to be met with in so
very few instances, at once disembar-
rassed the observations from many
sources of error, which, but for this,
would have still left considerable doubts
of the results being, partially, at least,
affected by the heat generated by ani-
mals residing and working in the mines,
as Well as artificial fires kept up for the
purposes of ventilation or of originating
power. It was upon these grounds that
he perceived the importance of them,
but had it not been for the valuable as-
sistance afforded him by Mr. Irvine,
who descended into the mine, and placed
the thermometer and made the observa-
tions, he could scarcely have been as
successful as the results already obtained
warranted him in hoping he should be.
These results, which, of course, h^d
not as y’^et reached the degree of accu-
racy which he still looked for, lead to
the conclusion that the temperature in
that mine increased about 50 of Fahren-
heit for a descent of ninety-five fathoms.
— Professor Stevelly stated, that as prac-
tical utility was one of the principal ob-
jects of the British Association, he
might be permitted to add, that the
waters of these wells, in consequence of
their temperature being in general ele-
vated above the mean temperature of
the place at which they delivered their
waters, had been applied to the very
important practical purpose of freeing
machinery of ice in winter, insomuch,
that by their instrumentalitj% machine-
ry, such as water-wheels, &c., which
had alwa5’'s previously been clogged by
ice for a considerable part of the winter,
to the great loss of the owner’s manu-
factory, were, by the aid of the waters
of these fountains, kept constantly free,
while the same water had even been
previously, in some instances, conduct-
ed through the factory itself, with a
view to keep up a uniform and elevated

temperature within its walls, thus af<*
fording a second and a very valuable
practical application.

The Rev. Mr. Craig now read a pa-
per on Polarized Light. He stated,
that he conceived the term ])olai:iza-
tion of light” had been hastily adopted,
and tended to mislead, by directing the
mind to a class of phenomena, with
which he thought the effects upon light
were by no means to be chssed. In
fact, he conceived that the phenomena
usually attributed to ])olarization, were
only particular instances of the ap])lica-
tion of a general principle resulting
from the very nature of light, namely,
that light, when strong, could pass
through the substances of several pecu-
liarly constructed media, in a manner
which, when its impulse has been pre-
viously weakened, which by several
means it may be, it could by no means
similarly pass. The Rev. gentleman
then exemplified in the common optical
changes made upon the course of light,
and called reflection and refraction,
how rays, which before incidence had
gone on together, were by these pro-
cesses so separated as to produce to-
tally separated images, and even suc-
cessions of images ; in this and similar
cases, he conceived that the division
of the rays was accompanied with a
weakening of the force of each part,
insomuch that they would now no
longer pass through media in the same
way that they would have passed pre-
viously ; and thus, in certain cases, re-
sulted an inability to pass even through
regular structures, such as crystals of
Iceland spar, tourmaline, &c , without
exhibiting phenomena arising out of
the peculiarity of such structures, and
which afforded diversities, as he con-
tended, fully sufficient to account for
all the phenomena usually denominated
polarization. He then went in detail
over five common methods of polariz-
ing light : viz. 1. By reflections at cer-
tain angles from plates of glass ; 2. By
reflections from similar plates, having
their under surfaces blackened, so as
to absorb the rays upon their coming
to the back surface of the glass, and to
this glass he would refer the effects of
all polished surfaces, such as varnished
mahogany tables and trays, j apanned
metals, burnished leather, &c., and he
instanced the total disappearance of all

494

PHOSPHATE AND PYROPHOSPHATE OF SODA.

diversity of colour from varnished card
of several colours, when viewed under
certain circumstances, through eye-
pieces of tourmaline, Iceland spar, &c,
(we omit the detailof these experiments,
as every one of them have been shown to
he consequences of the undulatory the-
ory of light) ; 3. By transmitting the
ray through certain crystalline sub-
stances, such as Iceland spar ; 4. By
passing the ray through crystals of tour-
maline cut by planes parallel to the axis
of the crystal ; 5. By the use of Nicholls
double fosion of Iceland spar, of the
action of which upon light, the rev, gen-
tleman took, as it appeared to us, an
entirely erroneous view, for he stated
that the. rays which had been separated
within these prisms, were reunited upon
their emergence, whereas the very nature
of the prism is to prevent that reunion,
by causing a total reflection of the ordi-
nary ray at the oblique common surface
of the two prisms, (between which, the
Canada balsam is interposed). The rev.
gentleman then proceeded to explain, in
connexion with his theoretic views, the
play of colours observed within certain
kinds of crystals of Iceland spar, the dis-
tinction between right-handed and left-
handed quartz crystals, and numerous
other instances derived from facts fami-
liar to those who have studied this
branch of science.

Section B.~CHEMISTRY AND
MINERALOGY.

President - Rev Professor Cdmming.

Vice P residents ••'Dr . Dalton, Dr Henry
Secietaries-'^Yir Apjohn, Dr. C Henry, W.
Herapath, Esq

Committee --Tir Barker, Professor Daubeny,
Charles T Coathupe, Esq., Rev. W Vernon
Harcourt, Professor Hare. Professor John-
ston, Georg:e Lowe, Esq , F R. S. Professor
Miller, Riclnrtl Phillii)s, Esq , Dr. Roget,
Dr Ro' er, D Thomson Dr. Turner, Dr. T
Thomson, T. Thompson jun.,Esq., Henry
Hou^hWatson, Esq., Wil iam West, Rev.
Wil iam Whewell, Dr. Tellowly, Colonel
Yorke,

Mr, Watson read a paper on the Phos-
phate and Pyrophosphate of Soda; —
one, however, of so much detail, as
scarcely to admit of compression. The
results at which he arrived are the fol-
lowing : — 1st, That Phosphoric acid
given off water in being converted into
the pyropbosphoric acid, and that hy-
drogen and carbon are component parts
of the former. 2nd, That phosphoric
and Pyrophosphoric acids are alto-

gether different, — different in their i
composition and their atomic weight ; |

that of the phosphoric being 36T,
and that of pyrophosphoric, acid, '
31.7. 3rd, That the precipitate given by
pyrophosphate of soda and lime water,
when calcined, is black ; that afforded by
phosphate of soda and lime water white.
4th, That, contrary to the prevailing
opinion, a solution of the pyrophosphate
of soda does not spontaneously change
into phosphate. [The statement con-
tained in this paper appeared to us ra-
ther startling, and, we must add, in-
conclusive.]

Mr. Ettrick on a new form of Blow-
pipe.— The principal novelty in this
apparatus was the method employed for
maintaining a constant blast indepen-
dent <ff hydrostatic pressure. This was
accomplished by small bellows, thrown i
into very rapid action by means of a !
wheel and pinion, and a stop-cock in-
serted in the tube connecting the bellows
and cylindric reservoir. To prevent the
air from being too much compressed, j
the bellows were furnished with a valve, i
opening outwards, and which was i
pressed upon by a spring, the force of j
which admitted of being very readily j
varried. From the cylinder there are |j
two eduction pipes, terminated by noz- ||
zles, so that by using these, and a pair
of lamps, two jets of flame might be
brought to bear 'upon the same object.
He also explained, how air might be
made to issue from one, and coal, or
other inflammable gas, from the other ;
and exhibited a tube similar to that long
since described by professor Daniell, by
the use of which a combustible atmos-
phere might be made to issue from an
orifice without any previous mixture in
a reservoir.

Dr. Hare, in observing on this paper,
incidentally described the apparatus,
which hehas for many years been in the
habit of using, with a view to the fusion
of refractory substances ; and stated,
that the double tube of Daniell had been
used by him many years before it was
described by the person whose name it
usually hears. Dr. Hare stated, that he
had also used the double jet, but had
long since laid it aside, from a convic-
tion of its inutility.

Mr. Herapath then drew the atten
tion of the Section to the composition of
Bath Water, as recently determined by

BLASTING OF ROCKS—AURORA BOREALIS.

495

him, and detailed the methods of analy-
sis which he adopted, and the results
at which he a^ri^ ed. This analysis,
which appeared to have i)een elaborate
and exact, was conducted in the follow-
ing manner ; Evaporation to dryness
gave the total amount of saline matter.
This was resolved into two parts by rec-
tified spirit, which dissolved the chloride
of sodium and magnesium, and left the
other materials. The residue was treated
with muriatic acid and alcohol, and the
various matters taken up estimated in
the usual way. Finally, what remained
undissolved by the acidulated spirit was
found to be a mixture of soda, lime,
and silex, the relative quantities of which
were also determined. His final results
would not appear to differ materially
from th' se of other chemists. The total
amount, indeed, of saline matter obtained
by him was greater, and Dr. Thomson
suggested that this was probably not
due to error of experiment, but to the
circumstance of the waters themselves
having actually altered in composition,
a fact which, at least in one instance, he
had established by experiment.

Dr. Hare next described his Appara-
tus for the Analysis, on the plan of
Volta, of Gaseous Mixtures. It consists
of two distinct parts, his eudiometer and
calorimeter ; in the former of which
he measures and confines, and, by the
latter of which, he fires the mixture. 7'he
combustion is not produced, as in the
case of the common eudiometer, by an
ordinary electric spark, but by igniting
with the calorimeter a fine platium wire,
which traverse'- the gaseous mixture.
It is unncessary to give a more detailed
accountof this very ingenious apparatus,
as it is figured and described in the sys-
tem of Berzelius, which is, no doubt, in
the hands of every chemist.

We should not, however, omit to notice
a very interesting application which Dr.
Hare makes of his calorimeter — nam.ely,
to the blasting of rocks. By this machine
the powder can be fired at a great dis-
tance, and several trains also at the
same instance, — of course, without en-
dangering the lives of quarrymen ; and,
should an immediate explosion not take
place upon setting the calorimeter in
action, by replacing this instrument in
the inactive state, which is done in an
instant, the trajn may be approached,
without fear that its ignition will ensue,

— a thing which, according to the ordi-
nary modes of blasting, can se dom be
done with impunity. He also alluded
to an apparatus, in which silicon and
boron can be readily obtained by igniting
with his calorimeter potassium envelop-
ed by the fiuo.silicic or fluoboric gases,
and complained that an account of this
instrument, which he forwarded several
years ago to the Annals of Philosophy,
had been suppressed.

Mr. Herapath read a short paper on
an Aurora Borealis, visible in this city
on the 18tii of last November, and sug-
gested as the true theory of this very
interesting, but rather perplexing, phe-
nomenon, that it is due to the escape of
electricity in streams from an excited
cloud, enveloped by an atmosphere in a
state of relative dryness. This view was
supported by Dr. Exley and other gen-
tlemen, who had observed them in seve-
ral parts of Great Britain and Ireland,
but was ably and energetically opposed
by the President, Dr. Dalton, who con=.
tended, that Aurorae occur at altitudes
far above the region of the c‘ouds, and
also very frequently when clouds are
al ogether absent. Mr. Herapath, in cor-
roboration of his views, urged, upon the
authority of Sir H. Davy, that electri-
city in motion through a very rarefied at-
mosphere would be productive of no
light ; but this statement was contradict-
ed byDrs. Dalton and Hare, and would
certainly appear to require confirm-
ation, for it is inconsistent with ex-
periments made in an artificial vacuum.
In connexion with this topic of the Au-
rora, Dr. Hare entered into some de-
tails, tending to prove, that within a
Tornado, such as often occurs within the
Tropics, there exists a j)artial vacuum, —
a circumstance which he attributes to
an electric discharge, which passes be-
tween the earth and the space beyond
our atmo.sphere. In both these regions,
oceans of electric fluid are, to use a
phrase of the Doctor’s, accumulated;
and to the discharges which took place
between them, and between each, and
charged clouds he see > ed to refer all
the phenomena of atmospherical electri-
city. This hypothesis is undoubtedly
novel ; but, as far as it appe rs to us,
not in very strict accordance either with
facts, or the fundamental principles of
electrical science. It did not excite any
discussion.

496

VERTEBRATED ANIMALS IN THE CRAG OF NORFOLK.

8KCTION r.-GEOLOr,Y AND GEOGRAPHY.

Prciftfenf-.-Rev . Dr Buceland,

Vice Presidents CJaiyFixa, Esq., G. B.

Geeenocgh, Esq.,

(For Geography) R I Murchison, Esq.
Secretaries‘—W. Sanders, Esq , S. Stutchbb*
RY, Esq., T. j. Tohrie, Esq.

(For Geography) F Harrison Rankin, Esq
€ommittee--~n T. De la Becl»e, Esq., M. Van
Breda, Jos. C-irne, Esq, Penzance, Edward
Charlc.sworlli, E.q , Major Clerke, l ord Cole,
Rev. William Conybeaie, R. Grilfith, Esq ,
Rev William Hopkin.s, Robert Hotton Esq ,
Boscawen lbho.stson, Esq., Rev. T. T. Dewis,
JamesMacadam Esq ,SirGeor^e Mackenzie,
M . Van (lor Mclen. Lord Northampton, Pro-
fessor Pari<rot. Professor Phil ips Professor
Sedgwick, William Smith Es j., .lohn Tay or.
Esq, Dr. William West, Samuel Worsley,
Esq., Rev. .lames Yates.

G. B, Greenongb Esq. in llie chair. —
A memoir was read by Mr. E. Charles-
worth, lieing a notice of Vertebrated
Animals found in the Cra',r of Norfolk
and Suffolk. The principal object in
bringin^T forward this subject was to es-
tablish the fact of the remains of mami-
ferous animals being as.sociated with the
mollusca of teitiary beds above the
London clay, in the eastern counties of
England. These remains are confined
to the part of the Crag formation, which
appears to e.\tend from Cromer, in
Norfolk, to within a few miles of Aid-
borough, in Suflfolk, and the depth of
which was very great, wells having
been sunk in without reachinj; its bot-
tom. The hones of fish, and a large
portion of the testacea met with in the
stratum, differ widely from those of the
coraline beds, and from tliat jiart of the
Crag deposit which skirts the southern
coast of Essex and Suffolk. Among the
niamalia, wbicli the author states really
belong to the Crag, is the Mastodon au-
gustidens, of which several teeth have
recently been obtained in Norfolk from
localities adjoining the parish of With-
ingham, the spot from which D. W.
Smith states the .‘■pecimen to have been
procured which is figured in his ‘ Strata
Identified’ Mr. Charles worth con-
ceived the discovery of the remains of
the mastodon in this formation, as af-
fording an argument to prove the rela-
tive ages of rocks, as no remains of this
animal have been found in America in
beds more ancient than the diluvial.
The remaining genera of raainmiferous
animals can be identified with those
now existing, or with such as are found
in diluvial and lacustrine dejiosits. The
author next notices the discovery of the
mineralized remains of birds, chiefly
bones of the e.xtreinities of natatorial

tribes, a solitary instance of a similar j!
discovery in America being the only one ,
recorded. He was not prepared to
speak concerning the different kinds of
fish, but he stated their distribution — ,

species of Sqnalus being found near
Orford, and what Agassiz conceives to ;

be Platex, at Cromer. Among the j

most remarkable is the Carcharias Me- y
galodan, the teeth of which are found i;
in Suffolk, is equal in size to specimens |
from the tertiary formations of Malta.

He also alluded <o the difference of
the testacea in different parts of the ;
Crag, from which he was inclined to
infer there were several eras in its !
formation. No traces of the exi.stence i'

of reptilia have yet been detected, t

M’hich would rather support the opi- i;
nion of Dr. Beck and Deshayes, that ’
the climate during the Crag epoch was ;;
analogous to that of the Polar regions. jj
Professor Sedgwick stated that ho i
had long been aware of the existence of '5
remains of marnalia in the Norfolk Crag, j|
although this kind had been di3[)uted ||
by Mr. Conyheare, in his work on the 1:
Geology of England and Wales. Ha '
was rather inclined to consider the Crag
as all of one epoch ; and Mr. Lyell !
had found e.xisting species as riumer- 1;
oils in the lower as in the upjier Crag. ||
With regard to Mr. Charles worth’s |
idea of the extinction of the mastodon |:
in England before the formation of the j
diluvial beds, Professor Sedgwick con-
ceived that was reasoning from a nega-
tive fact, and that until more extensive |
search had been made, no such inference i
could be fairly drawn. He also men-
tioned that remains of the beaver were li

found in the alluvions of Cambridge- i

shire, and that it may have existed in ii

England a thousand years ago. He was 'j

confident that no cause still in existence ;!

could have produced the diluvium on
the Crag; its whole appearance sug- j
gested the idea of a great rush of waters. |
— Mr. Conyheare was perfectly willing
to correct his ojiinion respecting the ex- '|
istence of the remains of mammalia
in the Crag. He was of opinion ||

that that tertiary strata of America ■

had not been sufficien tly examined I;

to justify the conclusion that it did
not contain remains of the mastodon, 1

He started a question — which of the j

species of mastodon found in other coun-
tries did the British one resemble ? — j
Mr. Greenough mentioned, as a singu-

NEW METHOD OF ENGRAVING MEDALS.

497

lar peculiarity of the dikiviura of Nor-
folk. its containing large masses of
chalk, and these have imbedded organic
remains, differing in some respects from
those of the chalk in situ. The town of
Cromer seemed to be built on an im-
mense block of chalk, contained in the
diluvial formation.— Mr. Murchison dis-
sented from Mr. Greenoiigh’s opinion.
He conceived the formation of chalk was
under the diluvium, and had been ele-
vated and disrupted. He had seen at
Hazeborough large platforms of chalklaid
bare after a storm; near that place were
needle-shaped rock’s of chalk, and at
Cromer the foundation of the town must
rest on part of the same mass. There
were strong reasons for believing that
the Norfolk diluvinm contained recent
shells only. Mr. Lonsdale, on examina-
tion, could discover no others. — Mr.
Charlesworth mentioned that Dr. Beck
considered the shells of the tertiary
period to be extinct species, and that at
the formation of the Norfolk Crag the
climate must have been very cold, like
the Arctic regions. He considers the
diluvial formation to have been suffici-
ently searched to warrant an opinion
that it does not contain the remains of
the mastodon. Many singular organic
remains have been found there, which
have been transported, as of saurians,
which must have come from Yorkshire.
In alluding to the fact of shells similar
to those of the Crag being found at
Bridlington, he was informed by Mr.
Sedgwick that the formation at that
place was probably part of the Crag.

A paper, by Mr. J. G. Bowman, was
now read, on the Bone Caves at Cefn,
in Denbighshire. A description of these
has been already published in the Phi-
losophical Journal; and the proprietor of
the place, Mr. Lloyd, was about refer-
ing the investigation of its phenomena
to Dr. Buckland. The cav’es are in car-
boniferous limestone. The roof of the
lower cave is covered with stalactites,
which are often broken off or blunted.
The diluvium on the floor contains
fragments of slate, and the upper portion
animal remains in great abundance
Among these are some of a very minute
size, and also elytra of beetles. A black
matter is also found, with veins of red-
dish clay. 'I'he bones are often in frag-
ments, the teeth are something worn ;
sometimes the teeth of young animals,
but no indentations have been found

upon them, No skulls have been dis-
covered, nor any caprolites. The bones
frequently contain gelatine, and have
often manganese upon them ; hair was
also discovered. The stalactites seem
confined to the anterior part of the
cave ; in the posterior j)art a fine sand
is found.

After this, a desultory conversation
took place on the exhibition of two mo-
dels by Mr. Ibbotson, one of the country
round Neufchatel, in Switzerland, and
the other of a part of the Under Cliff in
the Isle of Wight, extending from
Biackgang Chine to St. Laurence.

Mr. Greenough mentioned a new
mode of engraving medals lately adopted
in France, and which he conceived
could be advantageously employed in
laying down the varieties of surface on
maps.* — Mr. Griffiths spoke of th®
great importance of models, like Mr, lb-
botson’s, as being so well calculated to
display the geological structure of a
country. He suggested the importance
of possessing maps, both of outline and of
features, and he alluded to the magnifi-
cent map of Ireland, under the Ord-
nance Survey, the scale of which, being
six inches to a mile,enabled the geolo-
gical observer to trace the geological
features with a facility before unknown.
It was mentioned, that the new map of
Austria was on a scale of twenty-two
inches to the mile, but this Mr. Gree*
nough considered inconveniently large.
Mr. Ibbotson stated that models could
be easily raultij)lied by employing a
metal mould, and using papier mache,
or some preparation of caoutchouc ; and
that they might be dissected to exhibit
the internal structure, and that mate-
rials of the strata themselves could be
used as colouring matter. — Lord Nor-
thampton and M. de la Beebe gave
their testimony of approval. — Several
gentlemen then spoke of the application
of combinations of letters to geological
map.«, to express the more minute geo-
logical ])henomena; but the general
opinion was, that in geological maps
simplicity should, as much as possible,
be preserved, and that the best mode
would be to have two maps of the same
district, one without names, for the geo-
logical map, and the other with the ne-

• We shall take an early opportunity of
giving some informatioa on this iuterestiug
subject.

49S

ZOOLOGY OF NORTH AMERICA.

cessary writing-. Maps of this kind had
been given to the Geological Society by
the Archduke John of Austria.

Section P.-ZOOl OGY ANO BOTANY.

President— Professor Henslow
P'ice PresidenU—^i^v F. W. Hope, Dr. I,
Richardson, Professor Royle.
Secretaries John Curtis, Esei , Professor Do
Dr Riley, S Rootsev, Esq

Committee— W/ l Unm Yarrell, Esq , Rev Mr
Jenyiis T. Mackay, Esq, C B ibiuotoH,
Esq., Professor Nilsson, Hon. Charles Har-
ris. Rev Mr Phelps Richard Tay or. E>q ,
T C Fly ton, Ksq , E Uowinan, Esq W
C, Hewitson . Professor Scouler, Dr. aci)b,
Rev Mr. Ellei I'lnbe, G . . .lelfrys. Esq , R
M Bail Esq , Colonel Sykes, .1 L. Knapp,
Esq..-Vi{^ors, Esq , E Forster, Esq

Dr. Richardson commenced the pro-
ceedings of the Section, by reading the
introductory portion of his report ‘ On
the Zoology of North America.’ It did
not appear probable that the progress
of colonization had, as et, extinguish-
ed any one species of animal from the
country. The great similarity existed
between the animals of North America
and those of Europe, as regarded their
generic distinctions, connected with the
dissimilarity of their species, rendered
them well adapted to inquiries connect-
ed with their respective geographic dis-
tribution. Hitherto, the trivial names
bestowed by the colonists upon many of
those of North America, had tended to
mislead naturalists. The observations,
in the present report, would principally
refer to the western parts of North A-
merica, including New Mexico, the
Peninsula of Florida and California,
down to the well-defined limits of the
very different South American zoologi-
cal province. Dr. Richardson then
proceeded to describe the physical struc-
ture of thi' country, of which the Roc-
ky Mountains formed a most remarka-
ble feature. The altitude of many of
their peaks rose above the limits of per-
petual snow, and their sides were flank-
ed by zones of different temperature,
affording passages for animals from the
Arctic circle to the Table Lands of
Mexico, without any great alteration of
climate throughout the whole extent.
The temperate zones of both hemispheres
might, in this way, be connected,
were it not that the Cordilleras were
greatly depressed at the Isthmus of
Panama, and that a plain extended
from sea to sea, a little further to the
south. As yet, we possess no informa-

tion of the elevation of the backs of
these mountains, independent of the
heights of some of the peaks, and the
elevation of the base of the range is
equally unknown. The depths of some
of the transverse valleys are considerable,
and these afford passages for the mi- j
gration of animals. Most oftheprin- j
cipal rivers flowing to the east cut |
across the chain, and one actually rises
to the west of the crests of the range. !
On the Atlantic side, are prairies, com-
[losing plains, gently inclining to the '
east, and there is an extent of land
wdiichmaybe likened to a long valley,
which stretches from the Arctic sea to
Mexico, witlu'ut any transverse ridges
dividing it, but merely affording three ;
distinct water-sheds. The greatest width
of the jdain is about 15" of longitude,
in the 40® to 50® of north latitude.
This configuration gives great facility
for the range of herbivorous quadrupeds
from north to south, and for the migra-
tion of low flying birds, whilst the Mac- l'

kenzie furnishes a channel by which i

the anadromons fish of the Arctic Sea i

can [lenetrate 10'^ or 11® of latitude to j

the southward, and the Mississippi
enables those of the Gulph of Mexico 1

to ascend far to the north. The most i

remarkable chain east of the Mississippi, |

is the Alleghanies, which are about 100 i

miles broad, rise from a base between ,

1,g00 and 1,200 feet, and attain an eleva- ■

tion from 2,000 to 3,000 feet above the
sea. The strip of land between them |

and the Coast is two hundred miles I

broad in Southerly to the 5® of latitude
these forming also the Carolinas ; be- j'
comes broader still in Georgia, and '
sweeping round the northern extremity i
of the chain, joins the valley of the Mis- i
sissippi. This strip influences the dis- ■
tribiition of animal life, by extending a
barrier to the progress of anadromous
fish from the Atlantic to the bottom of
the Gulph of Mexico. With reference to ;
Physical Geography, Newfoundland ap- 1
pears as a prolongation of the Atlantic i
coast line, and its zoological and botani-
cal productions correspond to those of j
Labrador,

When the canals already projected
shall have opened a communication be-
tween the several great inland seas which ;i
exist in North America, an interchange
will take place between the fish of wide-
ly diverging waters.

SUGAR— MALT— ARDENT SPIRITS.

499

The great proportion of water to land,
forms a striking feature of the north east
continent. This may be zoologically di-
vided into two districts — viz. the nor-
thern or barren grounds, and the south-
ern, or woo led. The temperature is here
materially influenced by the inland sea
of Hudson’.s Strait.s, and thus its capa-
bility of supporting animal life tnuch
aifected On the west of the Rocky
Mountains, the northern corner appears
to be similar to the eastern side or bar-
ren (j rounds. The general character of
the country bordering the Pacific is
mountainous.

With respect to the climate of North
America, the eastern coast has a lower
mean temperature than the western, at
least in the higher latitudes. Probably the
isothermal, and even the isotbseral lines
of the banks of the Columbia and New
Caledonia correspond nearly in latitude
with those of the east coast of Europe.
But on the eastern side, down to the
56th parallel of latitude, the subsoil is
perpetually frozen. Even in the 45th
parallel, on the north side of the great
Canada lakes, there is upwards of six
months of continual frost, and the
grallatorial and most of the graminivor-
ous birds can find nothing to subsist
them in the winter season ; and, conse-
quently, the migration of the feathered
tribes is here much more general than
in the countries of Europe lying under
the same parallel. The pricipal cause
of this great difference between the cli-
mates of the eastern and western dis-
tricts, may be ascribed to the configura-
tion of the coast land, which detains the
ice in its bays and gulfs, and this, in
melting, materially depresses the sum-
mer heat. The decrement in the mean
annual heat, corresponding to the in-
crease in latitude, is greater in North
America than in Euro{)e, and there ex-
ists a wider difference between the tem-
peratures of summer and winter. Dr.
Richardson then concluded this intro-
ductory portion of his report, by details
concerning the temperatures which had
been observed at different places in the
county under consideration.

A discussion then ensued, in which
Mr. Rootsey, Dr, Fiske, (of America,)
Rev. G Tibbetts, and Mr. G. Webb
Hall, took part, respecting the best
mode of obtaining both a registry of
facts and an appreciation of the causes
upon which atmospheric changes depend.

with a view to improve our knowledge of
the law by which climate is regulated.
It was thought that a propositi(‘n might
be made by this Section, recommending
a scheme for instituting both local and
general observations to this effect.

Mr. Rootsey exhibited a living speci-
men of a large spider, which he consi-
dered to be the Aranea aincularia, Linn,,
or Mygale avicularia, which was taken at
Bristol, in a ship from the Bay of Cam-
peachy, laden with logwood. He noticed
some of the e traordinary stories which
were commonlv reported of this animal,
such as its extremely venomous nature,
&c , but which he had thus obtained an
opportunity of refuting It was also a
common notion, that this species caught
hummingbirds, by springingupon them.
— Mr. Lister mentioned, that he had
seen a living specimen, obtained likewise
from a vessel coming from the same
port, and that it fed very readily on a
beetle, which was presented to it. — Mr,
Hope did not consider the specimen ex-
hibited as the true Mylage avicularia, but
believed it to be a closely allied species
described by Spix and Martins. He
possessed the true Mygale aviculia in bis
own cabinet, and had seen a specimen of
this insect which was washed ashore
alive in Essex, with many other exotic
insects, from a wreck which occurred
on that coast.

Mr. Rootsey exhibited specimens of
sugar, malt, and an ardent spirit, which
he had extracted from mangel wurtzel,
and considered that this root might, un-
der certain circumstances, be grown to
great advantage in this countr3’-, for the
purposes of manufacturing the above ar-
ticles. He considered the opinion of its
not being liable to injury from the attack
of insects, as erroneous, and exhibited
specimens of the common turnip fly,
Haltica nemorum, which he had found
feeding upon it. By the selection of par-
ticular geographical strata for its cul-
ture, the average crop might be increas-
ed from 40 or 50 tons, to 70 tons per
acre. He remarked, that the refuse, af-
ter expressing the juice, appeared to be
nearly or quite as nutritive to cattle as
before ; and that, by drying this at a pe-
culiar temperature in the malt-kiln, a
material was procured which, in smell,
flavour, and other qualities, closely re-
sembled malt; excepting that it was
slightly bitter. With this malt, an ex-
cellent beer had been made. He stated

500

ACCELERATION OF THE GROWTH OF WHEAT.

tlie several opinions which had been
formed respecting the different kinds of
su^ar obtained from the cane, grapes,
and other plants, and had found, from
numerous experiments, that the analysis
of the sugar of grapes was within the
average afforded by those of different
cane sugars, of which he considered
that there existed two distinct kind.
Upon subjecting the sugar from the
mangel wurtzel to the same processes as
those to which the East India sugars
were submitted, he had obtained crys-
tals in no respect different from those
of the cane sugar ; and he, therefore,
considered the two kinds in every res-
pect identical. He considered, that the
quarter of a cwt, of the malt from man-
gel wurtzel was equivalent to a i)ushel
of common malt, for the purposes of
brewing. The climate best adapted to
the growth of the plant, was that of the
vallevs rather than on the tops of hills,
and from c ■imputation, he thought that
there were in England about .500,003
acres of land favourable to its culture.

Mr. G. Webb Hall stated, that he
had been an extensive grower of this
plant, and that from experience, he was
not prepared to take so sanguine a view
of the benefits likelv to he derived from
its cultivation as Mr. Rootsey. Although
crops might occasionally grown,
which yeilded 6 ) or even 90 tons per
acre, he considered, that 4-0 was above
the average. But i' was not the case,
that the quantity of sugar to be obtained
from any crop increased in pro])ortion to
the weight of the crop from the same
ground; and in France it was found,
that one crop of 23 tons would often
yield as much as another of 40. In
lEssex, it had been found, that the plant
which before Christmas ynelded sugar
would after Christmas furnish only a
molasses, incapable of beir>g crvstallized.
'Fhe great difficulty of crystallizing the
sugar, arose from the rapidity with
which the acetous fermentation took
place, and which in our climate it was
extremely difficulty to avoid. In the
West Indies, the process was accom-
plished in three days. He considered,
that sugar prepared from the mangel
wurtzel in England could never com-
pete with that from the cane ; and if
the manufacture of it were successful in
France, it was rather to be attributed to
the government regulations, by which it
was protected, than to any other cause.

even admitting the climate of that coun-
try to be more advantageous than that
of England for its growth.

Some crystalline fragments of pure
white and transparent sugar, resem
bling sugar candy, and of considerable
dimensions, which had been naturally
formed in the flowers of Rhododendron
Ponticum, were then exhibited to the
Section, Professor Henslow. There is
minute glandular spot near the base,
and on the upper surface of the ovarium,
whence exudes a thick clammy juice,
which, on desication, crystallizes into
the substance here mentioned.

Mr. G. Webb Hall read a communica-
tion ‘On the Acceleration of the Growth
of Wheat.’ After pointing out the ad-
vantages which might accrue to agricul-
ture,from the attention given by scientfic
men to certain su'Jects with which it
was connected ; and the absolute neces-
sity which now existed for making the
most extensive and careful investigations
concerning many j)oints of great impor-
tance to the success of agriculture, he
proceeded to call the attention of the
Section to a statement of facts, by which
it would he seen that the usual period
allotted to the occu|)alion of the ground
for a crop of wheat might be very ma-
terially abridged. At an average, this
might he estimated at ten months,
though twelve, and even thirteen, were
not unusual, and eight might Ije consi-
dered as the shortest period for tiie or-
dinary winter wheat. By a selection of
particular seed, and a choice of peculiar
situation, wheat sown early in March
has been on different occasions, ripened
before the middle of August, a period
scarcely exceeding five inontlis. Mr.
Hall considers it an unquestionable law
of vegetation that the offspring of a
])lant of early maturity itself se^ks to
l)ecome so likewise, even when jdaced
in unpropitious circumstances, and that
it recedes with reluctance from the con-
dition of its parent. Hence the seed of
a crop which has been ripened in five
months has a better prospect of produc-
ing another crop equally accelerated
than that from a crop which has been
longer in ripening. He also asserted
that the acceleration of a crop was fur-
ther promoted by thick sowing, which
likewise might be considered advantage-
ous in checking and stopping the mil-
dew.

SPECIMENS OF THE TERMINAL SHOOTS OF A PINUS. 501

Dr. Ricbardson referred to the re-
mark of Humboldt, that in South Ame-
rica the wheat crop was ripened in
ninety days from the period of sowing,
and stated, that about Hudson’s Bay
this period was only seventy days. He
suggested the probable advantage that
might arise from importing seed from
the latter country for the purpose of
furthering Mr. Hall’s views ; but this
gentleman stated, that he had found
that seed imported from a distance (and
he had tried some from Italy) was lia-
ble to become diseased. — As connected
with the subject of the acceleration of
the growth of seeds. Professor Hens-
low mentioned the results of experi-
ments which he had tried upon seeds
of a species of Acacia, sent by Sir John
Herschell from the Cape of Good Hope,
with directions that they should be
steeped in boiling water before they
were sown. Some of these were kept
at the boiling temperature for three,
six and fifteen minutes respectively, and
had yet germinated very readily in the
open border whilstthose which had not
been steeped did not vegetate. It was
suggested that these facts might lead to
beneficial results, by showing agricul-
turists that they may possibly be able
to steep various seeds in water suffici-
ently heated to destroy certain fungi or
insects known to be destructive to them,
without injuring the vital principle in
the seed itself. — Mr. Hope mentioned
a practice common in some parts of
Spain, of baking corn to a certain ex-
tent, by exposing it to a temperature
150® or upwards, for the purpose of
destroying an insect by which it was
liable to be attacked. — Dr. Richardson
mentioned, that the seeds sold in China
for the European market, were previ-
ously boiled lor the purpose of destroy-
ing their vitality, as the jealousy of that
people made them anxious to prevent
their exportation in a state fitted for
germination. Upon sowing these seeds
he had. nevertheless, observed that
some few of them were still capable of
vegetating.

Mr. Curtis exhibited some specimens
of the terminal shoots of a Pinus, which
had been attacked by the Hyluryus pini-
perda and made a few remarks upon the
habits of this insect.

Dr. Daubeny communicated to the
Section the partial results which he had
obtained from a series of experiments

he was carrying on at Oxford, respect
ing the effects Which arsenic produces
on vegetation. He was led to under-
take these experiments from having
received a communication from Mr.
Davies Gilbert, in which he stated that
there was a district in Cornwall where
the soil contained a larj/e proportion of
arsenic ; and that no plants could grow
in it except some of the Leguminosae.
By analysis, this soil yielded him about
50 per cent, of arsenic, in the form of
a sulpburet ; the rest being composed
principally of sulphuret of iron and a
little silica. He had already ascertain-
ed that a little of the sulphuret mixed
in soils produced no injurious effect on
Sin apis alba, barley, or beans ; and that
they flowered and seeded freely when
grown in it. Although the want of so-
lubility in the sulphuret might be
assigned as a reason for its in-
activity ; yet it was certainly taken
up by water in small quantities, and
imbibed by the roots of plants.
Upon watering them with a solution
of arsenious acid, he had found that
they would bear it in larger proportions
than was pre-supposed. The injurious
efiPects of arsenious acid on vegetation
in the neighbourhood of the copper-
works of Bristol and Swansea was noti-
ced by Mr. Rootsey; and Mr. Stevens
mentioned the circumstance of the trout
in some streams of Cornwall having
been destroyed by the opening of some
new mines in their neighbourhood,
from which arsenical compounds were
discharged, though the vegetation did
not appear to be injured by them ; and
it was further stated, that horses were
considerably injured, and rendered sub-
ject to a remarkable disease, by the
effects of arsenical compounds in the
same districts.

Section E.-ANATOMY AND MEDICINE.
Present Dr. Roget.

Vice Presents Dr Bright, Dr . Macartney .
Secretaries Dr . Symonds, G. D. Fripp, Esq,
Committee— . o’Beirne, Dr Bernard, Dr.
.lames Bernard, S. D. Broug'hton,Esq., R.
Carmichael, Esq., Dr, Carson, Bracey Clarke
Ksq , E Cock, Esq., .1. W. Cusack, Esq , H .
Daniel. Esq , J. B. Estlin, Esq , Dr. Evan-
son, W Hetling, Esq , Dr. Hodgkin, Dr.
Houston, Dr Howell, Dr James Johnson,
R. Keate, Esq , O King, Esq , Dr Prichard
O. Rees, Esq, Dr. Riley, Richard Smith,
Esq.,J. C. Swayne, Esq., N. Vye, Esq ,
Dr. Yellowley .

Dr. Roget opened the business by a
few words on the nature and objects of the
Association, and then, for himself per-?

502

ON A Work on tetanus.

sonally, entreated the indulgence of the
members, as he had been lately suffer-
ing from a severe attack of ophthalmia.
Dr. O’Beirne then read the following
Report of the Dublin Committee on the
Pathology of the Nervous System ; —

“ The Committee appointed in Dub-
lin to investigate the Pathology of the
Brain and Nervous System, feel com-
pelled on the present occasion to con-
fine themselves to an analysis of the
cases of nervous affections, which have
come under their observation, during
the short period which has elapsed since
they have considered themselves to be
regularly appointed.

“ They are of opinion that, in order
to arrive at accurate Pathological con-
clusions on a subject so extensive and
on which the most eminent authorities
are found to disagree, a very great num-
ber of cases should be first submitted to
their examination— then, the symptoms
of each case carefully registered, and,
subsequently, accurate postmortem ex-
aminations made, in the presence of the
Committee, to ascertain the structural
lesion or lesions which with the symp-
toms co-existed.

As far as their investigations have
yet extended, they see that the subject,
if considered in all its details, will re-
quire a considerable length of time be-
fore they can accumulate such a num-
ber of cases and matured observations,
as would justify them in drawing general
conclusions.

Further they have to state, that
they have collected some valuable facts
relating to injuries and diseases of the
nerves, which seem to throw light up-
on the disputed points of the physiolo-
gy and pathology of this portion of the
nervous system. They ate of opinion,
however, that more extended observa-
tions the branch of the subject, are re-
quired to be made. They would also
submit the necessity of repeating those
experiments on animals, upon which so
many authorities rely as a foundation
for their doctrines.

** The Committee, influenced by the
above considerations, have decided on
avoiding for the present, any attempt
at drawing general conclusions. They
consider it more judicious to collect and
arrange for a future Report, should
they be re-appointed, the abundant
materials, which their opportunities ena-
ble them to supply.

“ In furtherance of this object, they
have been for some time engaged in re-
gistering the history and symptoms of
cases of nervous affections in the wards
of the House of Industry, Dublin, and
the different hospitals connected with it.

This Institution contains, indepen-
dently of crises of paralysis, (estimated
at about 150), the following cases of
mental and nervous affections, arranged
as follows : —

Males. Females

Chronic Insane.. .. 14: 179

Epileptic ditto ... 21 33

Congenital Idiots. 69 63

Epileptic Idiots... 14 20

178 294 Total, 479

“ The number of cases which the
Committee have hitherto been enabled
to examine with sufficient accuracy,
amounts to 4-1. Of these they have made !
analysis. They also have some cases
of affections of individual nerves.

(Signed')

James O’Beirne, M. D.

George Greene, M. D.

John Macdonnell, M. D.

R. Adams, A. M.T. C.D.”

“ Dublin, August 17, 1836.”

Dr. O’Beirne then read a paper
entitled, ‘ An Abstract of a Work on
Tetanus,’ in which he pointed out the
use of tobacco enema, and dwelt at con-
siderable length on the differences be-
tween the spurious tetanus and the
true.

At the close of the paper. Dr. O’
Beirne, in reply to questions put to
him by some of the members, observed,
that with respect to arguments deduced
from the exhibition of poisons, he
thought they must be drawn from ana-
logy, and be unsatisfactory ; there was
no poison which produced tetanus,
without producing other symptoms not
peculiar to tetanus, and that all cases
referred to in illustration of the subject
ought to be shown in all their bearings.
One gentleman in relating a case had
stated, that there was tenderness of the
abdomen, whereas in real tetanus there
is no such symptom ; and he believed
that many others referred to as tetanus,
were far from genuine. — Mr. Bracey
Clarke stated, that he had observed
some remarkable appearances in the
bodies of horses which had died of te-
tanus. The intestines were always
constricted, and he uniformly found on
dissection, either great congestion, or
positive inflammation, of the lungs.

PRESENT STATE OF GLASGOW.

503

Bleeding had been found to effect a
cure. — A member inquired of Dr. O’
Beirne, whether he had ever used oil of
turpentine in this disease ; he had
found it beneficial as an enema ; the
proportion he used was ^ij oil Tereb.
to 5j of laudanum ; and pouring cold
water on the head at the same time.
Dr. O’Beirne had no objection to the
use of the oil, but he wished not to
complicate the treatment. Mr. King
related a case, which terminated favour-
ably after an immense living lumbricus
had been voided.

A short description of a case of A-
neurism of the Arteria Innominata,
furnished by Sir D. H, Dickson, was
then read.

Section F.—STATISTICS.

President . - S\v Chari.ks Lkmun, Ban.

Vice Presidents. - H. HAllam, Esq., Di.

J erra NU

Secretaries. -Kes. J E. Browby, C. B. Fripp,
James Heywoou. Esq

Committee. - i . W. Cowell, Esq., M. Dupin,
Lord King-, 'Vi. Von I’.aumer, Bight Hou l,
S. It ice, Profes-or Babbage, Dr. Bowring,
M. P., 1 . Wyse, W. P , Bev. E. Stanley, Col.
Sykes, Dr. W. c. Taylor, Henry VVoolcombe,

I sq. J Sinnpson, Esq , Major Clerk, Porter,
Esq., Professor IVJounier, Lord sandon, Lord
Nugent, carpenter Bowe, Esq, Ihonaas
Moore, Esq., Bev. W L Bowles.

A report was read, entitled ‘ A few
Statistical Facts, descriptive of the for-
mer and present state of Glasgow,’ by
James Cleland, L.L.D. This report
was so comprehensive, and entered into
such minute detail, both as to the past
and present state of the city, that we
must be content to extract the more
interesting passages. —

Church Accommodation. — In conduct-
ing the government census for 1831,
Dr. Cleland embraced the opportunity
of ascertaining the number of sittings
in the churches of the Establishment,
and in the chapels of the Dissenters.
The results are as follows ; —

Sittings in the various places of wor-
ship in the city and suburbs, 73,425, —
viz. in the Established church, 30,928 ;
Seceders, Dissenters, Episcopalians,
and Roman Catholics, 42,497 ; being
in the proportion of only one sitting to
2. 75-100 persons, or 20,291 sittings
less than what is required by law, viz.
church accommodation for two-thirds
of examinable persons. When this
statement came to be considered by the
religious part of the community, efforts
were made to procure additional church
accommodation. A society was formed

for ‘ erecting additional parochial
churches in Glasgow and its suburbs,’
and although it has been instituted
little more than two years, upwards of
24,000^. has been subscribed, and al-
ready six churches are built, or are in
course of erection. Assuming the po-
pulation in 1836 to be 235,000, and
that 60 sittings should be provided for
every 100 of the population, it is found
that although every sitting in every
church of every denomination were
occupied, there would be a deficiency
of church accommodation to the extent
of 6 1 ,594 sittings. To supply this want
6 1 additional churches would be re-
quired.

Roman Catholics. — Being desirous to
obtain an acurate account of the num-
ber of Catholics in this city and
suburbs. Dr. Cleland requested Dr.
Scott, the Roman Catholic bishop, to
allow him to examine this register of
births and babtisms for 1830, when he
found that they amounted to 915; and
as he had previously ascertained that
there was one birth forevery2947-100th
persons in the comunity, he concluded
that tha number of Catholics in the dis-
tricts referred to must be 26, 965 souls. — ■
Having a desire to know the increase in
the number of Catholics in the city and
suburbs during the last five years, he
applied to Bishop Murdoch, the coad-
jutor of Bishop Scott, who also allowed
the register of births and baptisms, to
be examined, and calculating on the
same principle as in 1830, Dr. Cleland
considered that the Catholics in this city
and suburbs, at the end of 1835, amount-
ed to 46, 138 souls.

Trade. — The increase of trade at
Glasgow, in consequence of the improve-
ments on the river, almost exceeds belief.
Less than fifty years ago, a few gabbarts,
and these only about 30 or 40 tons bur-
den, could come up to Glasgow. The
recent improvements have been such,
that in the year 1831, vessels drawing
13 feet 6 inches water were enabled to
come up to the harbour; and low large
vessels many of them upwards of 300
tons burthen, from America, the East
and West Indies, and the continent of
Europe, as well as coasters, are often to
be found three deep along nearly the
whole length of the harbour. During
the year 1834, about 27,000 vessels
passed Renfrew ferry ; and at some
period of the year, between 20 and 30 in

/

604

PRESENT STATE OF GLASGOW.

one hour. A few years a^o the harbour
was only 730 feet lon^ on one side ;
whereas it is now 3340 feet lon^ on the
north side of the river, and ] 260 on the
south. Till of late years there were only
a few punts and ploughs for the purpose
of dredging the river ; now there are 4
dredging machines, with powerful steam
apparatus, aed 2 diving bells Till 1834,
the river and harbour dues were annu-
ally disposed of by public sale, but now
they are collected by the trustees, con-
sisting of the members of the Town
Council, and five merchants appointed
by them.

Amount of Revenue, Expenditure, and
Debt.

Date. Revenue. Expenditure, Debt.
^tuT 0 10 ^2,680 4 ll ^>2,533 4 \

1836 31,910 19 3 29,609 13 11 121,003 l3 9

It appears from the evidence of Mr.
James Russel, harbour master for the
department of steam vessels, before a
Committee of the House of Commons,
in May, 1836, that there were 75 stea-
mers plying to and from Glasgow,
tonnage 688,568, and that during 1835
there were 8101 arrivals of steamers,
twenty of them of the largest class, and
some of these about 200 feet long (equal
in length to frigates of the first class).
Amount of Customs Duties collected at

Glasgow in Years ended 6th January.

Year. Duties.

Year.

Duties

S.

d.

£-

s.

d.

1812.

...3,124

2

182.5..

..41,154

6

7

lS13.

...7,511

6

5^

1826..

..78,658

1.1

8^

1814.,

. ..7,119

12

8|

1827 .

..71,929

8

04

1815 ,

...8,300

4

1828 ..

..74,265

0

n

1816 .

.. 8,492

9

2|

1829..

..70,964

8

4

1S17.,

. .8,290

18

1830..

..59,013

17

3

1818 .

. . 6, 802

1

3

1831..

..72,053

17

4

1819..

..8,384

3

4

1832..

..68,741

5

9

1820..

. 1 1, ooo

6

9

1833..

97,041

ll

ll

1831 .

.16, 147

19

0

1834..

.199,913

3

3

1899 .

16, 847

17

7

1835..

.270,667

8

9

1823..

.22, 7 ’.8

17

2^

1336..

.314,701

10

8

1821..

, .29,926

15

0

It is probable, from present appear-
ances,that the duties for 1837 will
amount to 400,000Z.

Steam Vessels. — The whole race of
steam propeling projectors having left
the field one by one, without being able
to effect the object of their ambition, the
ground was occupied by Mr. Henry
Bell, who was bred a house carpenter.
Having a turn for mechanics, and a
great desire to follow out what others had
abandoned, he employed Messers. John
Wood & Co. of Port Glasgow, to build
a boat for him, which he called the
Comet, and having himself made a
steam-engine of three horse power, he

applied the paddles. After several ex-
periments, the Comet plyed from Glas-
gow to Greenock, on the 18th January,
18 12, and made five miles an hour against
a head wind, while in a short time, by
simply increasing her power, she went
seven miles an hour. This was the
first vessel that was successfully pro-
pelled on a navigable river in Europe ;
and it is very remarkable, that notwith-
standing the great progress in mecha-
nical science, no improvement has yet
been made on Mr. Bell’s principle, al-
though numerous efforts have been
made, here and elsewhere, for that pur-
pose. It is true, that boats go swifter
now than formerly, but the propelling
system remains the same. — All the new
boats, either for the out sea or river
trade are of greater engine power, and
are much more splendidly fitted up for
the accommodation of passengers. The
speed is also greatly improved. The
Liverpool steam-boats, in 1831. were
thought to have made good passages,
when they performed the rup from Li-
verpool to Greenock, a distance of 220
miles in twenty-four to twenty-six hours.
It is now done much sooner. On Wed-
nesday, 24th June, 1835, the City of
Glasgow steam-packet left Greenock
and arrived in Liverpool, in the unpre-
cedented short period of seventeen hours
and ffty five minntes ; and the steam-
packet Manchester left the Clarence
Dock, Liverpool, on Monday evening
the 15th DecemlDer, 1834, and arrived
in Glasgow, a distance of 240 miles,
discharged and loaded her cargoes, and
was back again in the same dock, with-
in the short period of sixty hours.

The cabin fares of the river boats,
are rather less than one penny per mile,
and those of the out sea packets rat^i er
more. The fare from Glasgow to Liver-
pool is IZ. 55.

Stage Coaches. — Stage coaches were
first introduced into Scotland in 1678*
On the 6th August, in that year, Pro-
vost Campbell and the other Magistra-
tes of Glasgow contracted with William
Hume, of Edinburgh, that he should
run a coach between Edinburgh and
Glasgow, a distance of 42 miles. The
following is an abstract of the inden-
ture, which is rather curious. Hume
engaged with all diligence to run a
coach with six able horses, to leave
Edinburgh every Monday morning, and
return (God willing) every Saturday

HUMAN LIFE IN GLASGOW.

505

night; the passengers to have the liber-
ty of taking a cloak-bag for their clo-
thes ; the Burgesses of Glasgow to have
a preference to the coach ; the fare from
the Jst March to the 1st September, to
be 4?. 165. Scots (85. sterling); and
during the other months, Si. 85. Scots.
As the undertaking was arduous, and
could not be gone into without assist-
ance, the Magistrates agreed to give
Hume 200 marks a-year for five years.
The coach was to run for that period whe-
ther passengers applied or not, in con-
sideration of his having actually receiv-
ed two years' premium in advance^ 22/.
45. S^d. sterling.

Dr. Cleland has obtained the follow-
ing curious information from Mr.
Dugald Bannatyne’s scrap book: —
The public have been so long familiar-
ised with stage-coach accommodation,
that they are led to think of it as having
always existed. It is, however, even in
England, of comparatively recent date.
The late Mr. Andrew Thomson, sen,
informed me that he and the late Mr.
John Glassford went to London in the
year 1739, and made the journey on
horse-back. That there was no turnpike-
road till they came to Grantham, within
one hundred and ten miles of London,
That up to that point they travelled up-
on a narrow causeway, with an unmade
soft road upon each side of it. That they
met from time to time strings of pack
horses, from 30 to 40 in a gang, by which
goods seemed to have been transported
from one part of the country to another.
The leading horse of the gang carried a
bell, to give warning to travellers com-
ing in the opposite direction ; and when
they met these trains of horses, with
their packs across their backs, the
causeway not affording room to pass,
they were obliged to make way for them,
and plunge into the side road, out of
which they sometimes found it difficult
to get back again upon the causeway.

Intercourse with Glasgow. — Dr. Cle-
land has published the names and des-
tinations of 61 stage coaches, which
arrived and departed during 313 lawful
days, each averaging 12 passengers.
This gave 458,232 persons in the year.
By 37 steam-boats, 25 passengers each,
579,050; by the swift boats on the
Forth and Clyde Navigation and Union
Canal, 9L 976 ; by the light iron boats
on the Paisly Canal, 307j275 ; by the

boats on the Mailkland Canal, 31,7B4
and by the Glasgow and Garnkirk Rail-
road, 118, 882. These together i>.ake
the gross number of persons passing
and repassing to Glasgow daily amount
to 1,587,198.

Populations. — -The following table
shows the amount of population in
Glasgow and suburbs, at the time of
the Reformation contrasted with the last
government census in 1831

In 1580.. 4,500 1740 . . . l7,0.=54 1831 .. .202,426

The population fell < ff immediately
after the restoration of Charles II, ; and
it is a curious fact, that it required more
than half a century to make up the de-
falcation.

Mortality Bills. — The marriage regis-
ters in this city and suburbs, may be
held as correct for all statistical pur-
poses. The same thing applies to the
register for burials ; and from having
been appointed to take the sole charge
of conducting the enumeration and clas-
sification of the inhabitants of the city
of Glasgow and suburbs, for the govern-
ment census of 1821 and 1831, Dr.
Cleland can vouch for their accuracy.

Bills of Mortality are understood to
contain a list of Births, Marriages, and
Deaths, from parochial registers, at stat-
ed periods, in connexion with the popu-
lation.

Births and Baptisms.
Keturiis from Clergymen

Males.

Females. Total.

and Lay Pastors

3281

3116

6397

And still*i)orn to do....

246

225

471

Total.. .

of this number there

3527

3341

6863

were registered only .. .
Nnmber unregistered ex-

1678

1547

3225

clusive of still-iMtrn . . . .

1603

1569

3172

The following results are derived from the
census of 1830-1.

Malt'S. Females.

Births ...... 3,527 3,341 Excess of Males 186

Under 5 years . 1.5,422 14,855Excess<)f!VIales 567
Uinler 10 years 28, •'>49 •27,435Excess<)fMalesl,l l4
Under 15 years 39,040 38, 15.5 Excess of Males 885
Under *20 yeais 47,529 50,411Excess of Fems2,822
Under 30 years 62,706 73,4l9ExcessofFemsiO,783

*^"latiou'^^^^ J 93,724 l03,702ExcessofFenisl4,978
Burials 2,701 ‘2,484Excessof Males *217

Probability of Human Life in Glasgow
which partakes of a Manufacturing and
Commercial Population. — Population,
202,425 ; burials 5,185 ; rate of morta-
lity, one in 39 4-lOOth persons.

In 1820-l,with similar machinery,
the population being 147,043 ; burials,
3,686 ; the rate of mortality was one in
39 89-lOOth persons, or, in other words,
as near as may be to the mortality of
1830-1.

506

COTTON TRADE AT GLASGOW.

In the government Parish Register
Abstract,” ordered by the House of
Commons to be printed, on 2nd April,
1833, it is shown, in Vol. iii. p 496,
that the rate of mortality in the metro-
polis, on an average of years from 1811
to 1821, was one in 39.7 persons ; and
the same official document show that
on an average, from 1821 to 1831, the
rate of mortality was one in 39-8 per-
sons.

In the kingdom of the Netherlands,
where the registers are as correctly kept
as any in Europe population, 6,166,854;
deaths, 158,800, viz. males, 81,742 ; fe-
males. 77,058. Rate of mortality, one
in 38 82-lOOth persons. Births, 207,388
viz. males, 106,481 ; females, 100,907 ;
there is one birth in 29 7‘l-10CM;h per-
sons.

Births in Glasgow, 6,868; population,
202,426 - there is one birth in 29 47-
100th persons. The marriages being
1,919, there is one marriage for 105
4-lOOth persons. The births being
6-861, and marriages l,9l9, there are
3 57-lOOth births to each marriage.
The number of families being 41,965,
there are 4 82-lOOth persons to each
family.

Cholera. — From tables, kept by Dr.
Cleland and Dr. Corkendale, it appears,
that there were three eruptions of cho-
lera, marked by the reduced number
of cases. Each eruption had a period
of increase, and also of gradual de-
crease. In the first eruption, persons
poorly fed, of irregular habits, and
dwelling in the crowded ill-aired parts
of the city, were chiefly affected. The
second eruption was more severe ; the
attacks were more spread over the
town, and many healthy persons, and
in easy circumstances, fell victims to
the disease. The last eruption was
milder than the second, but still sur-
passed the first, both in the number of
cases, and in the healthy and good
condition of many of the sufferers.
The total number of cases 6208, is
about one for every 32^ of the popula-
tion. The total number of the deaths,
3,005, is about one for every 67i
of the population. The progress of
the disease was such, as to have
seized one victim for about every six^
and to have occasioned one death for
about every thirteen, families.

Glasgow in 1699. — According to the
report of the Municipal Corporation

Commission in 1835, there were in the
year 1699, 15 ships belonging to Glas-
gow. The foreign trade amounted to
the sum of 20, 500/. Scots — that the
merchants retailed 20 tons of French
wine ; 20 butts of sack ; 12 butts of
brandy yearly, and 1000 bolls of malt
monthly. That by the decay of trade
500 houses were uninhabited, and that
the rent of those inhabited had fallen
nearly a third. That the best houses
did not exceed the rent of lOOZ. Scots,
and the worst 4?. Scots, except some
taverns. It appears from an official do-
cument, that at that period the city of
Glasgow, now the first in point of popu-
lation and mercantile enterprise in Scot-
land, was ranked only as the fifth, and
that the proportion of every lOQ/. of
taxation was, for Edinburgh, 38/. 25.

8c/. — Dundee, 9/. 105. 8c/. — Perth, 7/. ,

125. — Aberdeen, *Jl. 45. — Glasgow, 2/. |

135. 8c/.

Cotton Trade. — The manufacture of |
linens, lawns, cambrics, and other arti- '
cles of similar fabric, was introduced '
into Glasgow about the year 1 and ‘
continued to be the staple manufacture I
till they were succeeded by muslins. On '
the 2 1st of July, 1834, Mr. Leonard Hor- ;
ner, one of the Parliamentary Factory j
Commissioners, reported to Parliament, |
“ That in Scotland there are 134 cotton j
mills ; that, with the exception of some i
large establishments at Aberdeen, and
one at Stanley, near Perth, the cotton
manufacture is almost entirely confined l
to Glasgow and the country immediately j
adjoining to a distance of about 25 miles '
radius, and all these country mills, even I
including the great work at Stanley, are '
connected with Glasgow, trade. In Lan- ■
arkshire (in which Glasgow is situated) '
there are 74 cotton factories ; in Renfrew- '
shire, 41 ; Dumbartonshire, 4 ; Bute-
shire, 2; Argyleshire, 1; Perthshire, 1.

In the six counties there are 123 cotton
mills, nearly 100* of which belong to
Glasgow.’

Power Looms — have increased greatly
of late years — some idea may be obtained
of the extent of their use in Glasgow |
when it is known that in 1831 four hou-
ses employed 3040 looms. These looms,
on an average, weave fourteen yards
each per day. Allowing each loom to
work 300 days in a year, these four com-
panies would throw off 10,101,000 yards
of cloth, which, at the average price of i
44c/. per yard, is 189,393/. 155. per

CHEMICAL WORKS AT GLASGOW.

507

annum. The power and hand Ipoms
belonging to Glasgowin 1831 amounted
to 47, viz. steam looms, 15,127 ;
hand looms, in the city and suburbs,
18,537 ; in other towns, for Glasgow
manufactures, 13,463. Since that period
power looms have greatly increased.

Steam Engines.— lHhexQ are in Glas-
gow and its suburbs 310 steam-engines,
viz. 176 employed in manufactories ; 59
in collieries ; 7 in stone quarries ; and
68 in steam boats. Average power of
engines, 2O.40-lOOth j total horses’
power, 6.406.

Coals. — In 1831 the quantity sent to
Glasgow amounted to 561,046 tons, of
which 124,000 were exported, leaving
for the use of families and public works
437,049 tons.

Average Price of Coals delivered in
quantities in Glasgow during Eleven
Years.

Per T<in. Per Ton.

s.

d.

s. d.

s. d.

s. d.

Ih 1821.

..8

4

lo 9

4

Ill 1827. .6 3

to 7 3

1822..

.7

U

to 8

11

1828 .5 10

to 6 111

1823..

,.7

6

to 8

6

1829.. 5 10

to 6 10

1824..

, .7

II

to 8

11

1830.. 5 10

to 6 10

1825..

11

1

to 12

I

1835. .6 10

to 7 10

1826.

..9

7

to 10

7

Previous to the year 1755, all colliers
and other persons employed in coal
works were, by the common law of
Scotland, in a state of slavery. They,
and their wives and children, if they
had assisted for a certain period at a coal
work, became the property of the Coal-
masters and were transferable with the
coal work in the same manner as the
slaves on a West Indian estate.

Timber Trade. — Messrs. Pollock, Gil-
mour, 8f Co., who are chiefly engaged
in the North America timber trade, have
eight different establishments, that ship
annually upwards of six millions cubic
feet of timber, to cut and collect which,
and to prepare it for shipment, requires
upwards of fieteen thousand men,
AND SIX hundred HORSES AND
OXEN in constant employment ; and,
for the accommodation of their trade,
they are owners of twenty-one large
ships, the registered tonnage of which
is twelve thousand and five tons, navi-
gated by five hundred and two seamen,
carrying each trip upwards of twenty
thousand tons of timber at forty cubic
feet per ton ; all of which ships make
two, and several of them three, voyages
annually. It may be truly said that
this establishment is unequalled in
Europe.

Iron Works in Scotland in June,

Erei ted in «ir

1836.

about the 5 ear’s

Furnaces.

Tons.

1767, Cairon Conipaiiy ..

... 6

. 8,000

l7Kfi, rlwie . .

... 4

. I2,0no
. 3,000

1786, Wilsoiiiowii

1790 Mnilkiik

. .. 3

. 6,000

1790, Cleland

1790, Devon

. 7,noo

1805, Caldei

5

. 15,000

1805, Sholts

. 3,000

1825, .MoiiklaiKl

1828, (larisheirie

. I6000

1834, Diiiiilyvaii

. 12. <00

Total

. .. .ii

. 92,000

Exclusive of the

above fur

‘naces.

there are eight additional ones in a state
of forwardness — viz. two at Gartsher-
rie, one at Calder, one at Monkland,
two at Somerlie and two at Govan.
These eight furnaces will make about
20,000 tons annually.

These works are all in the neigh-
bourhood of Glasgow excepting five,
and none of them are thirty miles dis-
tant from that city.

St. Rollox Chemical Works. — This
manufactory, for the manufacture ef
sulphuric acid, chlorid of lime, soda,
and soap, the most extensive of any of
the kind in Europe, covers ten acres of
ground, and within its walls there are
buildings which cover 27,340 square
yards of ground. In the premises there
are upwards of 100 furnaces, retorts, or
or fire places, and in one apartment
there are platina vessels to the value of
upwards of 8,000Z. In this great con-
cern, upwards of 600 tons of coal are
consumed weekly.

Soft Goods Trade. — ^The establish-
ment of Campbell & Co., now embra-
cing the whole sale as well as the retail
business, is the largest of the kind out
of London, containing 4842 square
yards of flooring, or rather more than
an imperial acre. One hundred and
thirty-four persons are employed in the
sale and counting-house departments
of these warehouses. The following is
a note of the respective amounts of
seven years’ sales, which not only shows
the progressive increase of Messrs.
Campbells’ business, but exhibits a fair
criterion of the rapid increase and com-
mercial improvement of the city of
Glasgow : —

III 1818 ..£ 41,022 6 4 In 1830.. £250,899 9 6

1824 .. 156,284 2 I 1832.. SI2,207 5 8

1827 .. 183,385 6 10 1834 .. 423,021 4 7

The sales during l835 exceeded half
A MILLION STERLING. Besides these
gross sales, the company manufacture

4

608

PRESENT STATE OF GLASGOW.

to the value of from 73,OOOZ. to 80,000Z.
annually of the goods thus disposed of,
giving employment from this depart-
ment to nearly 2000 persons.

Post Office. — On the I7th of Novem-
ber, 1709, when the Magistrates of
Glasgow applied to Parliament for a
riding post between their city and
Edinburgh, the whole Post Office re-
venue of Scotland was under 2,000Z.
The correspondence of Scotland seems
to have been at a low ebb at the Re-
volution, as William III. gave a grant
to Sir Robert Sinclair of Stevenson, of
the whole revenue of the Post Office in
Scotland, with a salary of 300Z. per
annum to keep up the post. After a
fair trial. Sir Robert gave up the grant
as disadvantageous.

There are four complete deliveries of ’
letters now made daily to every part of
the town and suburbs, and an answer
may be received the same day to a pen-
ny-post letter put into the office, or a
receiving-house, in time to be sent out
with either of the two first deliveries.

Revenue at the following dates.

Ill 1781.. £ 4,f4l 4 9 III 1831 ..£ 3.7,6 12 19 .>5

1810.. 27,598 6 0 1832 .. 86,053 0 0

«8|5.. 35,784 16 0 1833 . 36,481 0 0.^

1820.. 34,533 2 3 1834 .37,483 3 4

1825.. 3j,l90 17 1835.. 39 954 4 6

1830.. 34,978 9 0^

Markets. — Prior to 1784, when the
Highland Society of Scotland was insti
tilted, the cattle slaughtered in Glas-
gow were small and ill fed ; since that
time the quality of butcher’s meat
has been greatly improved. Inl763,
when deacon Peter Brown became
apprentice to the butcher trade, the
slaughter of bullocks was not known
here ; a few milch cows only were
killed through the year. At Martin-
mas every family that could af-
ford it killed a small Highland cow,
which, was called their mart, and this
served them through the greatest part
of the year Dr. Cleland has ascertained,
that from the 1st of May, 1827, till 1st
of May, 1828, there were 17,840 Wllock-
slaughtered in this city and suburbs,
and 144,900 sheep and lambs. Value of
butcher’s meat for the above year (details
published in the Annals of Glasgow),
303,978Z. I4s. 5d. ; bread, 177, 266Z.
105. 8d. milk, 6 7, 34 2 Z. 105. Total value
of meat, bread, and milk, 548,587Z. 155
Id. Since 1821, a great number of
rumps of beef has been sent to this mar-
ket yearly from Edinburgh. In 1835,
there were upwards of 7,530 rumps

sent here from tliat city, the average
value of each was 205. The rumps are
cured as hung beef.

Live Cattle Market. — Prior to 1808,
the principal butchers in this city were
frequntly obliged to travel a circuit of
seventy or eighty miles, to purchase
cattle in lots, and to rent expensive
parks in the neighbourhood of the city
to graze them in. The mode of supply
is now completely changed. In 1808 a
spacious market place for the sale of
cattle was fitted up between the south
and north approach to the city in Gra.
ham Square, in which there is a com
modious inn, stable, sheds, a byre to
hold 120 bullocks in view, and 2G0 pens
to contain 9,360 sheep. This marker
place, which is allowed to be one of the
most complete in the kingdom, occupies
an area of 29,561 square yards, or ra-
ther more than six imperial acres, is
paved with whin, and inclosed from the
streets by ashlar stone walls. The dues,
which are moderate, were let by auction
at Whitsunday 1836, for a period of
years, at the annual rent of 1,285Z a sum
which, after paying the interest of the
debt, the grount-rent, rapairs, and other
expenses, leaves a profit to the trust
fund of upwards of five hundred pounds
per annum.

Public Executions — From 1755 to
1830, both in-clusive, 89 persons have
been executed in Glasgow of whom 5
were females. During the first 12 years
only six persons were executed, while
in the last 12 there were 37. During
66 years previous to 1831, there were
27 in which there were no executions l5
in which there was one each year, 10
two, 7 three, 4 four, 1 five, and 2 in
which there were six.

Shops. — In 1712 there were only 202
shops in the city, the highest rent 5Z.
and the lowest 12Z., average about 3Z.
In 1831 there were 3184 shope ; some
of them were rented at upwards of 300Z.,
the supposed average about 40Z.

Pawnbrokers. — Prior to 1813 there
were no regular pawnbrokers in Glas-
gow. On the 8th June, in that year,
John Graham, a retired town officer,
opened a pawnbroker’s shop in Bell
Street. In 1830 there were nineteen
licensed pawnbrokers in this city ; their
pledges amounted to 410,400, and the
capital employed in the trade to
24’apOZ.

GLASGOW EDUCATIONAL SOCIETY.

509

Theatre — It does not appear that any
theatrical representation was allowed in
this city from the Reformation till 1750,
when Mr, Burrell, a teacher of dancing
at the Bell of the Brae, gave the use of
his hall for that purpose. A temporary
theatre was erected against the wall of
the arch-bishop’s palace in 1752, and in
a shcTi't time thereafter it was demolished
by a part of a congregation who had
been hearing the celebrated George
Whitfield preach in the High Church
Yard, who denounced it as the devil’s
house. At that period pQ|)ular feelings
against theatrical amusements were so
great that dress parties were escorted to
the theatre by a military gaurd, — Inl 762
the magistrates refused to give their
Patronage ■ to Messrs. Jackson Love,
and Beate, for building a theatre, and
no person could be got to sell ground for
that purpose. At length a theatre w'as
erected in Grahamston, and opened in
the spring of 1764, by Mrs. Bellamy
and other performers. Theatrical re-
presentations continued to be so obnox-
ious to the people, that a mob set fire
to the stage, and burned the scenery
and machinery on the first night of
performance. When the damage was
repaired, the performance went on occa-
sionally till 17«2, when, at one o’clock
in the morning of 16th April, the theatre
was burned to the ground. Some time
after this a small theatre was built in
Dunlop Street and opened in January,
1715; but the play-goers thinking it too
small for the city, erected one in Queen
Street, which was opened on 24th April,
1805, at an expense of 18,500/., raised
in shares of 25/. It was let on lease at
1200/., but the lease failed; it was
then let at 800/., but this could not be
paid. The rent was then reduced to
400., and ultimately, the building was
sold at a price only equal to the out-
standing debts and ground rent. On
the forenoon of iOth January, 1829,
this splendid edifice was also burned to
the ground; and since that time the
play-goers have contented themselves
with the old theatre in Dunlop Street.

Newspapers. — ^'fhe first Newspaper
printed in the West of Scotland was the
Glasgow Courant, which appeared In
17 Id. It was published three times a
week, consisted of twelve pages in small
quarto, and was sold for three halfpence
or “ one penny to regular customers’^
Since 1715 there have been 18 attempts

to establish newspapers in the city, and
out of that number 10 survive.

Education. — From the Reformation
till 1620, there were numerous Acts of
the Scotch Parliam.ent for encouraging
learning ; but it would appear that these
Acts had not much weight with the then
Presbytery of Glasgow, as that reverend
body, on 18th July, 1604-, complained to
the magistrates of a plurality of schools.
— “ They thought that the Grammar
School, and that taught by John Bucha-
nan, quite sufficient.” In 1816, exclu-
sive of the University, and thirteen insti-
tutions where youths were educated,
there were 144 schools ; including the
public institutions, there were 16,799
scholars, of wffiom 6,51 6 were taught
gratis in charity or free schools. It
must, however, be observed, that there
were not 16,799 individual scholars, as
several of them attended more schools
than one. Sabbath Schools were esta-
blished here in 1786. In 1820 there
were 106 schools, 158 teachers, 4663
scholars, viz. boys, 2235 ; girls, 2433 ;
besides three adult schools where there
were 3 teachers, and 25 male, and 54
female scholars. Of late years an im-
provement in the mode of education has
been effected in this city, by the intro-
duction of infant, juvenile, and normal
schools ; and although a number of be->
nevolent individuals, composing the
Glasgow Educational Society have lent
their aid in accomplishing this object,
everyone will acknowledge that but for
the unwearied and meritorious exertions
of Mr. David Stow, the schools would
not have been brought te their present
state of perfection.

The Report concluded with an * Ab-
stract View of the State of Society in
Glasgow at various Periods, from which
we shall give a few extracts : —

From 1550 to 1600 — The Reformation
took place during this period. The great
body of the people, however, still re-
tained their fierce and sanguinary dis-
position. This is strikingly marked in
thsir being constantly armed ; even
their ministers were accoutred in the
pulpit. The number of murders, cases
of incest, and other cirminal acts, which
were turned over to the censures of the
church’ but too plainly point out the
depraved character of the people.

Froml650to 1700 — ^The people had
become more civilized, and paid more
attention to moral and religious duties .

510

COL. SYKES’ PAPER ON BILLS OF MORTALITY.

Towards the beginning of this period,
nine covenanters were hanged in Glas-
gow, and their heads stuck on pikes on
the jail.' Their graves were covered
with what are called the “ Martyr’s
stones,” one of which is now placed on
the north facade of the Cathedral.

The Union with England opened up
a spirit for trade hitherto unknown in
Scotland. This great measure, which
met with so much opposition in Scot-
land, and nowhere more so than in
Glasgow, contributed greatly to the
prosperity of that city.

At the time of the Union, and for
half a century after it, the habits and
style of living of the citizens of Glas-
gow were of a very moderate and frugal
cast. The houses, in the early part of
this century, were, almost without ex-
ception, covered with thatch, and those
occupied by the highest class of citizens
contained only one public room, a di-
ning-room, and even that was us'ed only
when they had company ; the family at
other times usually eating in a bedroom.
The people were in general religious,
and, about 1745, particularly strict in
their observance of the Sabbath, some of
them, indeed, to an extent that was
considered by others to be extravagant.
There were families who did not sweep
or dust their houses, did not make the
beds, or allow any food to be cooked or
dressed on the Sabbath. There were
some who opened only as much of the
shutters of their windows as would serve
to enable the inmates to move up and
down, or an individual to sit at the open-
ing to read. Influenced by a regard for
the Sabbath, the magistrates employed
persons,, termed “ compurgators,” to
perambulate the city on the Saturday
nights, and when the approach of twelve
o’clock, these inquisitors happened to
hear any noisy conviviality going on,
even in a private dwelling-house, they
entered it and dismissed the company.
Another office of these compurgators was
to perambulate the streets and public
walks during the time of divine service
on Sunday, and to order every person
they met abroad, not on necessary duty,
to go home, and if they refused to obey,
to take them into custody. The employ-
ment of these officials was continued till
about 1750, when upon their taking Mr.
Peter Blackburn, father of Mr. Black-
burn of Killearn, into custody for walk-
ing on the public green on Sunday, he

prosecuted the magistrates for an un-
warrantable exercise of authority, and,
prevailing in his suit in the court of
session, the attempt to compel this obser-
vance was abandoned.

The wealth introduced into the com-
munity after the Union, gradually led to
a change in the habits and style of living
of the citizens. About the year 1735,
several individuals built houses to be
occupied solely by themselves, in place
of dwelling on a floor entering by a com-
mon stair, as they had hitherto done.
This change, however, proceeded very
slowly, having been retarded by the
effects of the rebellion of 1745, so that
up to the year 1755, very few of these
single houses had been built At that
period, there were only three houses
from Virginia street to Anderston, about
a mile distant, excepting a few hovels,
malt-kilns, and barns ; now the whole
line is filled up with elegant houses

Previous to the breaking out of the
American war, the Virginians who were
looked up to as the Glasgow aristocracy
had a privileged walk at the cross, which
they trod in long scarlet cloaks and
bushy wigs ; and such was the state of
society, that when any of the most res-
pectable master tradesmen of the city
had occasion to speak to these tobacco
lords, he was required to walk on the
other side of the street, till he was for-
tunate enough to meet the eye of the
patrician, for it would have been pre-
sumption to approach him.

Col. Sykes directed attention to the
portion of the paper containing the re-
sults derived from the bills of mortality,
which show that there is an excess of
males from I to 15, but from 15, upwards
an excess of females. He also remarked,
that the common law of mortality, 1 in
59, must be too favourable for duration
of life, since Dr. Cleland’s returns and
the Belgium tables gave the result only
1 in 39, and the French tables give 1 in
44 for the northern provinces, and 1 in
40 for the southern provinces of France.
— Mr. Hallam was of opinion that the
average obtained in Glasgow for dura-
tion of life was not a decisive proof of
inaccuracy in the general standard ;
because the rate of mortality must be
greater in Glasgow, which was a close
manufacturing town, than in agricul-
tural districts. — Dr. Bowring said, that
until the new registration bill came into
full operation, the data for calculation

MATHEMATICS AND PHYSICS.

511

in England must be very imperfect. He
thought that the excess of females over
males, above the age of fifteen, might
be accounted for by the dangerous occu-
pations in which men are engaged after
that age, and also from the well-known
fact, that male emigration is infinitely
greater than female. — Dr. W. C. Tay-
lor observed, that no stronger proof of
the inaccuracy of the data, hitherto sup-
plied to statisticians, could be given than
the fact that the number of unregister-
ed births in Glasgow, according to Dr.
Cleland,'very nearly equalled the num-
ber registered. He had always under-
stood that the Scotch system of regis-
tration was superior to the English;
and if those registers were actually defi-
cient by one-half, he should be almost
disposed to question the accuracy of
every conclusion which has been hitherto
deduced from parochial and official
returns. — Mr. Fripp directed attention
to the fact, that the number of Dissen-
ters who objected to infant baptism was
much greater in Scotland than in Eng-
land, and that this might in some degree
account for the great desperately between
the registered and unregistered births.
— Col. Sykes said, that in a report em-
bracing such a vast variety of subjects
as that of Dr. Cleland. it was scarcely
possible to avoid desultory discussion ;
he should not, therefore, apologize for
passing at once to the subject of pawn-
brokers, whose rapid increase in Glas-
gow was, he feared, no good sign of the
comfort or morals of the lower classes
of the population. — The Colonel has
suggested, said Dr. Bowring, a subject
well worthy of the consideration of the
Section ; namely, how a series of inqui-
ries could be framed which should pro-
cure information on topics similar to
that now under discussion : in France
the government had direct superinten-
dence over the pawn-offices, and thus in-
formation in that country was attainable.
He did not know how similar informa-
tion could be procured in England, but
he felt assured that an accurate return
of the number and nature of articles
pledged in pa'Wn-brokers’ shops would
throw great light on the moral condition
of the lower orders of society — Mr.
Fripp agreed with Dr. Bowring ; and
added, that he had procured from Dr.
Cleland a return from the largest pawn-
broking establishment in Glasgow, by
which it appeared that women more fre-

quently had recourse to this mode of
raising money than men. As the subject
would probably again engage the atten-
tion of the Section, he would, .with the
Chairman’s permission, read it. (At this
moment the Right Hon. Spring Rice
entered the room, and was very warmly
cheered.) — Mr. Fripp then read the fol-
lowing return of articles pledged at the
largest pawn-broking establishment in
Glasgow :

639 men’s coats. 84 bed-ticks.

35.6 vests- 108 pillows.

288 pairs of trousers. 263 pairs of blankets.

84 oairs of stockiii»s, 300 pairs of sheets.

1980 womens’s gowns, 162 bed. covers.

.540 r>etiicoai9. 36 table-clotlis.

1.32 wrappers. 48 nmbrellas-

12,4 diifli.s- 102 bibles-

90 pelisses. 204 watches.

240 silk handkerrbiefs- 216 rings.

294 shil ls and shifts. 48 Waterloo medals.

60 hats.

It was agreed that this subject should be
deferred for future consideration ; and
most of the members intimated their
intention of endeavouring to devise
some plan by which more extensive
information might be obtained on the
subject of pawn -broking.

A long and desultory conversation
followed on various topics mentioned
by Dr. Cleland. The chairman re-
commended that the discussion of this
Report should be resumed at a future
day. Col. Sykes recommended the
part relating to Education to the atten-
tion of the meeting, as that important
subject w’ould soon be brought under
discussion by a Report from the Man-
chester Statistical Society, on the state
of education in the borough of Liver-
pool.

Section.— G.MECHANICAL SCIENCE,

President— "D Gilbert, Esq.

Vice Presidents^ l. BnUNKL, Esq, John
lloBisoN Esq.

Secretaries— "V. G. Bunt, Esq., G. T. Clarke,
Esq., William West, Esq.,
Committee- Gausa'wx Chapman, G. Cnbitf, Esq ,
J.S. Eiiys., E- Hodgkinson, Esq., Dr. Laidner,
Professor Moselev, M. Le Pla5 e. Sir, Jolm Ben-
nie, George Bennie, Esq , John Taylor, Esq-,
Bev. W. Taylor.

This Section of the Association is an
off-set from the Section of Mathematics
and Physics. At each of the previous
Meetings it has been found necessary
to appointment a Sub-Section, for the
discussion of a variety of questions,
having reference to the application of
Physical Science in Mathematics — ques-
tions which, in the present mechanical

512

THEORY OF LOCOMOTIVE CARRIAGES.

transition state of society, have great
interest and importance, and which,
having specially occupied the attention
of a certain class of men eminent in
science, seem to claim for thomselves
a separate discussion. From this neces-
sity resulted, last year, the Sub-Section,
which has this year merged in Sec-
tion E.

At eleven o’clock the Hall of As-
sembly was filled by Members of the
Association, among whom we recog-
nized some of the most distinguished
of that class of individuals who, under
the name of civil engineers, are work-
ing a change in the face of society,
more remarkable, and, perhaps, more
durable, than any which history has to
record of the legislator or the conquer-
or— conquerors where victory is over
space and time, and bloodless, and who
achieve it, not by the increase of hu-
man suffering, but by the increasing
profitable employment of human la-
bour.

The discussions were opened by
some observations of Professor Mose-
ley on the theory of Locomotive
Carriages. — It appeared to be the ob-
ject of these remarks, to establish the
importance of causing to enter into the
discussion of the theory of locomotion
on Piail-roads, the friction of the ma-
chinery of the locomotive carriage it-
self. This friction, the Professor stated
to be composed of two distinct elements
—one of which he termed the passive
resistance of the machinery, being that
which would oppose itself to a force
applied to turn the wheels of the loco-
motive carriage if it were lifted from
the rail-road. This friction he stated
to amount, in some cases, to 120lb. and
in others, to 170 or 180lb. in the carri-
ages employed on the Manchester rail-
road.

Besides this passive resistance of the
engine itself, independent as it is of the
load, the elevation of rail- road, the
velocity, or any other cause \vhich
effects the other conditions of locomo-
tion, the Professor stated that there
was a second element of the friction of
the machinery, which was dependent
upon, and proportional to the load,
inasmuch as it was dependent upon,
and proportional to, the traction, which,
in its turn, was dependent upon, and
proportional to the load.

The friction of the machinery being
thus composed of turn elements, one
constant, and the other proportional to
the load, the Professor stated that the
third element of the resistance was the
traction itself, being the friction of the
train. The resistance being transferred,
and operating upon one side of the
piston, that which overcame it on the
other side w-^as the pressure of the
steam, which, supposing the vaporizing
power of the engine to be constant, va-
ried inversely as the velocity. More-
over, w'hen the machine had acquiied
its constant velocity, he stated that
these two pressures must have become
equal. These results and reasonings
be stated not to be new, but not to be
generally known: for the application
of them to the theory of inclined
planes, which followed, he claimed en-
tire novelty. If (said the Professor)
a locomotive carriage be made, with its
train, to ascend an inclind plane the
following modifications will be made
in the resistance to the motion of the
machine and train. The passive fric-
tion of the machine will remain un-
changed— the friction resulting from
the traction wdll increase in the propor-
tion in which the traction is increased,
— the traction will be increased by the
resolved portion of the gravity in the
direction of the plane, and it wdll be
diminished, in so far as the friction of
the train is concerned, in a ratio pro-
portional to the course of the elevation.
This diminution of friction of the train,
he stated, nevertheless, to be counter-
balanced by the increased distance
through which the w^hole mass is
moved ; so that, on the w^hole, its effect
was the same as though the whole had
traversed a horizontal plane; so that
on the whole, the traction of the train,
arising from friction, and the friction
of the machinery resulting from this
cause, remained unaffected by the as-
cent. Again, the increased traction
from gravity in ascent, he stated to be
compensated by the diminished traction
in descent, or, if the angle be greater
than that of repose, by the actual
acceleration in descent. But there
remains, said the Professor, another
clement to be considered — namely, the
friction of the machinery, which results
from that increased traction produced
by gravity in the ascent. This he stated
to have no compensation in the descent.

II

ji

i

LARDNER ON THE THEORY OF RAIL-ROADS.

513

by the ascent of the carriage the trac-
tion upon it might be increased double
the friction of its machinery would then
be doubled; but, by the descent, the
carriage and its train being equally ac-
celerated, the friction resulting from
traction would, indeed, be reduced to
nothing, but it could assume no negative
form compensating the friction of the
machinery in the ascent : so that, on
the whole, there was lost the whole
increased friction of the machinery in
the ascent, compensated by no corres-
ponding diminution in the descent.
These remarks the Professor stated to
apply exclusively to the case of inclined
planes having an elevation greater than
the angle of repose. The loss of power
in this case he stated tobe considerable,
amounting, perhaps, to one-fifth of the
traction, and, since an inclined plane
will not unfrequently double or triple
the traction, amounting in the whole to
a considerable fraction of the force
expended and the coal consumed. The
great loss of power thus resulting from
the increased friction of the machinery in
an ascent not compensated in the subse-
quent descent, the Professor stated to be
an element neglected in the computations
usually made on th^ expense of differ-
ent lines of rail-road.

Dr, Lardner stated his entire concur-
rence in all that had fallen from Pro-
fessor Moseley, and then proceeded to
enter upon the discussion of a variety
of facts of great interest and importance
connected with the theory of rail-roads,
to which having had his attention of
late called by frequent examinations
before committees of parliament, he
had devoted much time. The traction
resulting from friction on a horizontal
plane, he stated to have been estimated
differently by different engineers, at
from 81b. to lllb. per ton ; from some
. experiments of his own, made with
much care, he concluded it to be about
7|lb., by which sum the traction was
increased by each additional ton of
loading. He alluded to a variety of
circumstances by which this fraction
may be modified, and mentioned, in
particular, the effect which wetting the
rail appeared to have upon it — the car-
riages, after a shower of rain, travelling
with much greater speed and facility
than before it ; and he suggested, that
watering pots might, with great ad-
vantage, be placed before a train of

carriages, washing the rail continually
for the wheels which were to follow it.
The condition of the rail opposite to
this, of its greatest freedom from fric-
tion, was that in which it was covered
with particles of earth, triturated stone
or dust ; to try the effect of this condi-
tion of the rail he had strewed sand on
the surface of the rail, where it had an
inclination above the angle of repose,
and had found the friction of this sand
sufficient to counteract the tendency of
the train to descend by its gravity. It
having appeared, from some of Dr,
Lardner’s remarks that he considered
the loss of force produced by the work-
ing of a carriage over an inclined plane
to result from the necessity of applying
the break when the angle is greater
than that of repose, and from no other
theoretical cause, although practically
there was a sacrifice in the working of
the engine by reason of the superfluous
stream thrown off in the descent. Pro-
fessor Mosely inquired, whether in the
event of the steam thus lost being by
some means husbanded from the peri-
od when the train commenced its des-
cent, and the break not put on, he
would consider any force to be lost in
the whole transit of the carriage over
the incline. The Doctor having de-
clared that to be his view of the matter.
Professor Mosely stated that he had not
then fully understood the bearing of
his remarks, or did not agree in them*
The resistance to the motion of the
carriage, he again stated to be compos-
ed of a constant element, and an ele-
ment varying in every case with the
traction : — the constant element in
working an incline, to be worked round
the two sides of a triangle instead of
the one side, which it would traverse
if there were no incline; — and the
other element, varying with the trac-
tion, and dependent upon the friction
of the machinery of the engine, to be
greatly increased in the ascent of the
plane, and to be evanescent in the des-
cent ; thus presenting itself in the
descent in no negative form, under
which it might compensate the loss in
the ascent. — The Section having been
addressed by two of its members, whose
names were unknown to us, one of
whom stated the method of watering
the rails to have been adopted with
success on some of the tram-roads in
Wales, the President rose and shortly

514

ON THE TRACTION OF BOATS IN CANALS.

went over the arguments which had
been used, and pointed out some of
their practical relations, — mistaking,
however, as it appears to us, a remark
which had been made, that the effect,
of the friction of the train, as distin-
guished from the engine, would on the
whole, be the same, whatever be the
inclination of the plane ; this assertion
(made by Professor Moseley) he ques-
tioned ; not, it appears to us, having
paid attention to the Professor’s ex-
planation, that this friction, varying
in amount, as the co-sine of the incli-
nation, and its whole effect being esti-
mated by its amount, multiplied by the
distance through which it operates,
that product must, both in the ascent
and the descent, vary as the product
of the length of the plane by the co-sine
of the inclination ; that is, it must vary
as the horizontal base of the plane, and
be the same as though the carriage
were worked along that base instead
of up the plane.

The discussion here terminated, and
Mr. Russell, of Edinburgh was called
upon to lay before the Section the
result of certain experiments, made by
him, on the traction of boats in canals
at different velocities. The researches
of Mr. Russell on this subject had al-
ready occupied the attention of the
Association, and are published among
the reports of its last Meeting ; and it
is one of many instances that may be
produced of the advantages which have
been already conferred by it on the
cause of Practical Science, that the ap-
probation which was so largely and so
justly given to Mr. Russell’s communi-
cation of last year, has encouraged him
to make these further investigations, of
which this communication is the result.

On the general principle, of the resis-
tance of fluids to bodies moving in them,
was grounded the conclusion, that it
would be an impracticable thing to
move the cumbrous boats upon canals
at any but very low velocities, except
by an expenditure of power so great
that the ordinary methods of conveyance
by roads would be cheaper. It was
believed, that the resistance would in-
crease with the velocity, by a law so
rapid in its variation, that for two miles
an hour speed, there would be four times
the resistance of one mile ; for three
miles, nine times that of one mile ; for
four, sixteen times ; and so on, as the

squares of the velocities. Here, there
was an obstacle to rapid communica-
tion by canals, which appeared insu-
perable. Mr. Russell has shown that
there is practically a circumstance which
so completely modifies the application
of this principle, that when over a cer-
tain point of speed is attained, the re-
sistance, instead of increasing when the
speed is yet further increased, in point
of fact diminishes. In one of his ex-
periments, he found, for instance, that
the resistance to the traction of a canal
boat, estimated by a dynamometer,
increased with the velocity of its mo-
tion nearly according to the law of the
squares, up to 7| miles per hour, being
then 330lb ; the speed being then in-
creased to 8^ miles per hour, instead of
further increasing the resistance, fell
to 2101b. The speed was yet further
increased, and it increased again the
resistance to 2361b ; yet, less, be it ob-
served, than at 7| miles ; 12 miles an
hour brought it to 3521b. Scarcely more
than the resistance of 7§ mes. These
results, confirmed by a number of others,
had manifestly a practical application,
and they have been applied to the work-
ing of fast canal boats in Scotland. Mr.
Russell has devoted himself to the ex-
planation of them. He states, that
where the water of a canal is disturbed
by any cause, as, for instance, the ad-
mission of a rush of water momentarily
into one extremity of it, or the impeding
of a body moving in it, there is genera-
ted a certain wave, whose motion along
the canal is altogether independent of
the nature or velocity of the impulse
given to it, and dependent only upon
the depth of the canal ; its velocity being
precisely that which a stone would ac-
quire in falling down one half the depth
of the canal. With this velocity, the
wave moves uniformly and steadily to
the very end of its motion, moving
slower, (if the depth of the canal remain
unchanged,) but only diminishes its di-
mensions, until it disappears, and this
not for a very considerable space. He
stated, that he had himself followed
waves a mile and a half, and that they
had been traced unbrokenforthree miles
from the spot where they originated.

The velocity of the wave depending
on the depth of the canal, it is manifest,
that each canal, differing in depth from
another, will have a different velocity
of wave, and that each part of the canal

INTELLECTUAL ENJOYMENT FROM THE ASSOCIATION.

515

differing from another will alter the
velocity of its wave, and thus the waves
near the sides will move slower than
near the centre of the canal, if the side
he shallower than the middle. How,
then, have these facts their application
to the phenomenon observed ? Thus,
in the experiment described above the
velocity of the wave, ascertained by
numerous experiments, was eight miles
an hour. As long, then, as the boat
moved at three, four, five, six, or seven
miles an hour, it remained in the rear
of the wave, the wave had no effect on
it, as the law of the velocities was the
theoretical law. At eight miles an hour
the boat was, in point of fact, on the
wave, and it might, indeed, be seen
about the centre of the boat lifting it out
of the water and diminishing the trac-
tion upon it. — (See Section A, Tuesday.)

The reading of this paper was follow-
ed by a discussion, in which Mr.
Whewell, Professor Moseley, and Dr
Lardner took a part, and the meeting
adjourned.

PUBLIC DINNER AT THE HOR-
TICULTURAL ROOMS.

Nearly 500 persons were present. Dr.
Lloyd, Provost of Trinity College, Dub-
lin, in the Chair — supported on his
right by the Right Hon. the Marquis of
Northampton. Professor WhewheJ, Pro-
fessor Hare (Philadelphia), Davies Gil-
bert, Esq., Rev. W. Vernon Harcourt,
John Taylor, Treasurer of the Associa-
tion, Dr. Roget, Dr. Macartney, Dr.
Bowring, &c. &c. On his left, by Dr.
Dalton, Lord Nugent, Professor Pea-
cock, Rev. W. Conybeare, T. Moore,
Esq., Sir D. Brewster, Professor Mose-
ley, Dr. Lardner, Dr. Lee, Sir Charles
Lemon, Bart, Professor Henslow, &c. —
The usual toasts were given, and the
customary speeches made; and a little
after seven the company adjourned to
the

GENERAL MEETING AT THE THEA-
TRE.

Soon after the doors were opened the
house was filled — gallery, pit, boxes —
from the top to the bottom ; and it is
presumed that not less than 2,000 persons
must have been present. At eight
o'clock the Rev. Dr. Lloyd, Provost of
Trin. Coll. Dublin, took the chair, as
President of last year’s meeting. He

soon after came forward, and thus ad-
dressed the assembled members : —

My Lords and Gentlemen. — Ever
since the origin of this Association, I
have looked forward to its annual meet-
ings in the assured expectation of the
highest intellectual enjoyment; and it
is scarcely necessary for me to add, that
in these delightful anticipations I have
never been disappointed. Indeed, when
I consider the purposes for which you
are associated, and the powers by which
those purposes are to be effected, it
would seem to me impossible that any
hopes of this kind, however sanguine,
should end in disappointment ; — for here
it is my unspeakable privilege to mix
with the elite of this great country — with
all that are distinguished by talents and
attainments in each of the numerous
departments of science ; and not more
distinguished by those high qualifica-
tions, than they are by the exalted pur-
poses for which they are met together.
Those purposes are, by a more rapid
and extensive communication of the
lights of science as they are struck out,
and by carrying these things home to
the doors of all, to awaken to exertion
those gigantic powers of mind, which
are not confined to a few favoured spots,
but which are everywhere to be found ;
and by establishing a more immediate
and intimate communication among
those engaged in kindred pursuits — to
unite their exertions, as it were, into one
simultaneous effort, and thereby to ac-
celerate the progress of discovery in
every line in which the mysteries of na-
ture may be penetrated by the ingenuity
and perseverance of man.

Leaving to others to seek their intel-
lectual entertainment in the way most
agreeable to their own tastes, the efforts
of this Association are directed to the
investigation of those realities by which
we are surrounded; and of the power
with which they are invested, which,
whilst they point to the being and the
attributes of the One Great Source of
all Existence, whom to know is to adore,
do also constitute the means which He
has placed within our reach, and in our
hands, for the improvement of this our
present condition.

This is a labour in which all of every
grade are alike interested, and in which
all will, at least, bid you God speed.
Accordingly, it will be observed, that

516

LADIES ADMITTED ON THE PLATFORM.

the regards of all, of humble as well as
of those in the most exalted stations, are
directed towards your proceedings ; and
that every where multitudes continue to
press around you, not merely as curious
spectators, but as active workmen.
Here the mechanic repairs to lay before
you his inventions for giving increased
effect to human industry, as well as the
philosopher who seeks to render the
forces belonging to inanimate matter a
substitute for manual labour, and there-
by to ease mankind of more than half
their toils; and here also the statesman
seeks to perfect himself in the knowledge
of the nature and extent of the materials
at his disposal, for effecting the improve-
ments he contemplates in the social
edifice.

Though myself unprofitable spectator
of your exertions, I would claim to be con-
sidered as one greatly interested in your
success. I arn fully sensible that this is
but a poor claim to the notice with which
I have been honoured, and I can assure
you, gentlemen, that any language aft
my command would be no less poor to
convey the feelings it has excited; I can-
not therefore trust myself in making the
attempt, but must confine myself to the
simple declaration, that the feelings
awakened by your unmerited kindness,
far from any admixture of self-com-
placency, are those of the humblest, as
of the warmest gratitude.

With respect to the Presidency itself,
with which I have been so highly hon-
oured, I think that it maybe compared
to a brilliant gem, to which it bears
many striking analogies, but chiefly in
this, that whilst it dignifies every thing
with which it is connected, its own na-
tive lustre can neither be impaired nor
improved by any adventitious circum-
stance. Yet in returning this precious
gem with my unfeigned acknowledge-
ments, you will permit me to offer my
hearty congratulations, that the sphndid
setting it is now to receive, is in so much
better keeping with its own inhereiit
beauty and its inestimable value.

At the conclusion of his address, Pro-
vost Lloyd resigned the chair to the Mar-
quis of Northampton, who immediately
came forward and said, that he should
mark his accession to sovereign power
by an act of royal favour. Ladies were,
by law, excluded from the platform
reserved for the General Committee; but

as there were many ladies greatly incon..
venienced for want of seats, he would
however, without fear of the imputation
of tyranny, suspend that law, and invite
as many to come upon the stage as it
would admit.

The Rev. Mr. Coneybeare (who acted
as Vice President), said he would, with
much pleasure, countersign and issue
the ordonnance.

The Marquis then alluded to the
cause which had deprived the meeting
of Lord Lansdowne’s services : he was
sure that there was no person present
wi>o did not -eel a sympathy for the
afflicted father, and a sincere anxiety for
the recovery of the suffering son.* The
subject was a painful one ; but the ill-
ness of a young nobleman of such high
promise as the Earl of Kerry would, he
was assured, be deemed a grievous
affliction to all who knew his merits ;
and secret prayers would be offered for
his recovery in every heart in the as-
sembly.

His Lordship congratulated the
meeting on the great accession of mem-
bers which the Association had receiv-
ed in Bristol. Some persons had
doubted the utility of these reunions ;
but if any such sceptics were present,
he would reply to them in the words of
the sublimest epitaph ever written,

Monurnentum si quaeris, circum-
spice.’’ Was it possible, when so many
enlightened minds were thus brought
together, — when such a blaze of light
was thus kindled, that its cheering rays
should not extend to other minds, and
light up in other bosoms the same holy
fire ? The effects of such assemblages
were political and moral. Here ivere
men of every shade of denomination
and opinion engaged in one united
effort in the cause of science and truth
— eminent men from foreign lands,
united by the glorious brotherhood of
mind, were here assembled, to cement
the intellectual union of nations. This
he regarded as a political result of the
highest and most gratifying order. The
moral effect of the Association arose
from truth being the great object of all
its labours ; and every truth directly
led the mind to the consideration of the
Eternal Being who had given us facul-
ties to appreciate the wonders of his

* Whose death, we aie sony to ha\e to amioiince
as havitig occmied the verj d;t) ol tois udiiresv

SPLENDID RESULTS OF THE BRITISH ASSOCIATION.

creation, and the wisdom by which the
universeof matter was accommodated to
the universe of mind. He alluded es-
pecially to Astronomy, as leading us to
reflect on the Omniscience

'I'hat had framed such laws.

Which blit to eiiei;S a Newton made immortal-

Every true philosopher was a religious
man ; and he who was not religious,
was pro tanto not a philosopher. He
need not recommend the foreign mem-
bers to the attention of the citizens of
Bristol : the natal place of Sebastian
Cabot was already too well acquainted
with the advantages to be derived from
commercial intercourse with distant
lands. He should, however, try to
enlist the ladies in the service of the As-
sociation ; they already possessed great
influence ; he would rather see it in-
creased than diminished ; he wished that
they could persuade their husbands and
lovers that science was as beauteous
as themselves. Seriously (said his
Lordship) much is in their power :
the lessons taught by maternal love
cling to memory with a fond tena-
city which no future instructions
can ever attain : they linger there
when other lessons have been effaced by
worldly cares, or removed by more ur-
gent interests : and who shall say that
it was not the maternal affection point-
ing out the beauties of a shell a butterfly
or a flower, that first lighted up the
sparks of genius in many an infant
breast, which now is shining gloriously
forth, the pride and wonder of the
world ?

Dr. Daubeny, the Secretary, then
read the following

REPORT.

Gentlemen, — The practice of the
three preceding Anniversaries has pre-
pared you to expect, Rt the first Gene-
ral Meeting that may be held, a short
address, explanatory of the nature of
those scientific objects which had chiefly
occupied the Association on the former
occasion, and, in particular, of the con-
tents of the last published Volume of
Transactions, in which the results of
your labours are recorded. This it has
hitherto been usual for the Local Secre-
taries of the year to prepare ; and it
seemed but a fair division of labour
that such a task should, in the present
instance, be allotted to the one on whom
from unavoidable circumstances, the
smaller share in the other duties of the

5ir

office had devolved. It was this con-
sideration, indeed, which reconciled me
to the undertaking ; for had I not felt
that the framing of this Address was
only part of the functions of the Secretary
that could be discharged at a distance
from the intended place of meeting, and
that the time of my colleague would be
engrossed by the preparatory arrange-
ments, in which from my absence, I
was unable till lately to participate, I
should have shrunk from the responsi-
bility of a task which involved the con-
sideration of questions of a high and
abstruse character, to several of which
I feel myself but ill-qualified to do jus-
tice. It is therefore with extreme dif-
fidence that I enter upon a task which
has, at former meetings, been executed
by men so eminent in science and pre-
sume, though one of the humblest
members of this great body, to exhibit to
you a brief sketch of the labours of some
of those individuals, whose presence
amongst us sheds a lustre over our
proceedings, and has contributed, more
than any other circumstance, to draw
together this great concourse here
assembled.

There is, indeed, one circumstance,
and one only that gives me some claim to
address you I mean that of my having
attended at all the meetings of this As-
sociation up to the present time, and
hence having traced its progress through
all its various stages, from its first small
beginnings at York, up to this period
of its full maturit)’’, and having thus
been enabled, by an actual participation
in the business of all meetings, to form a
juster estimate of the ’real condition of
the Association, and of the services it
has rendered to science, than could
have been collected by the public at
large.

Thus circumstanced, I have become
sensible of results, flowing from the
meetings of this great body, which can
scarcely figure in a Report, or find ex-
pression in the accounts transmitted by
the periodical press, — I have been struck
by the enthusiasm elicited by the con-
course of congenial minds — the friend-
ships formed and cemented — the trains
of experiment first suggested, or prose-
cuted anewafter being long abandoned ;
above all, the awakening of the public
mind to the just claims of Sciences by
the celebration of these Anniversaries.

518

HEAT, ELECTRICITY AND MAGNETISM.

But it seems almost superfluous to
dilate, to those actually present at such
a meeting as this on topics of the above
description, when the mere fact of iheir
being congregated here in such num-
bers, conveys the best assurance that
such is already their conviction. Nor
is it merely the assembling of so large
a portion of the respectable inhabitants
of this city and neighbourhood, nor yet
the attracting from a distance so great
a number of the mere amateurs of
science, which justifies me in this con-
clusion, but it is the presence of so
many hard-working, so many successful
cultivators of physical research, and
their devoting to the service of the As-
sociation that most valuable of their
possessions, their time, which gives me
a right to assume, that the minds of
those qualified to judge on such mat-
ters, are already made up respecting the
beneficial influence which this Asso-
ciation is e.xerting. The volume, in-
deed, which now lies upon the table,
and which contains the results of our
last year’s proceedings, not only amply
sustains the former character of these
Transactions, but even shows more
strongly than those which have preceded
it, the power which the Association has
been exercising in the direct advance-
ment of Science. It contains, in the
first place, several valuable contributions
to our knowledge of Magnetism — a
branch of science which, within a few
years, stood in a manner isolated from
the rest, but which now, thanks to the
researches of living philosophers, is
shown to be intimately connected with,
or rather to be one of the manifestations
of that mysterious, but all-])ervading
power, which seems to be displayed not
less in those molecular attractions that
bind together the elements of every
compound body, than in the direction
imparted to the loadstone ; perhaps even
in the light and heat which attend upon
combustion, no less than in the awful
phenomena of a thunder storm.

Considering the connexion that sub-
sists between the science of Heat, Elec-
tricity, and Magnetism, and considering,
likewise, the cjffbrts made with various
degress of success, and by men of very
unequal pretensions, to develope the
laws of each of these sciences in accord-
ance with mathematical formulae, one
cannot wonder that the Association
should have been anxious to assign to a

member, no less distinguished for the
depth of his mathematical attainments,
than for the range of his acquaintance
with modern science, the task of draw-
ing up a Report on the theories of these
three departments of Physics, consider-
ed in relation one to the other. This,
accordingly, has been executed by Mr.
Whewell, whose Report stands at the
commencement of the volume.

The point of view in which he was
directed to contemplaie the subject,
possesses an interest to all who are en-
gaged in the investigation of natural
phenomena, whatever may have been
the particular bent to which their re-
searches have been directed.

All the physical sciences aspire to be-
come in time mathematical :^he summit
of their ambition, and the ultimate aim
of the efforts of their votaries, is to ob-
tain their recognition as the worthy
sisters of the noblest of these sciences —
Physical Astronomy. But their reception
into thi'^ priveleged and exalted order is
not a point to be lightly conceded; nor
are the s()eculations of modern times to
be admitted into this august circle, mere-
ly because their admirers have chosen
to cast over them a garb, oftentimes ill-
fitting and inappropriate, of mathemati-
cal symbols. To weight the credentials
of the three physical sciences which have
been pointed out as mathematical, was
therefore a proper office for the Associa-
tion to impose upon one of its members;
and I believe it will be found that no
small light has been thrown upon the
subject by the manner in which that
trust has been discharged.

With regard, however, to Magnetism,
which forms one of the subjects of Mr.
Whewell's Report, much still remains
to be done, before the mathematician
can flatter himself that a secure founda-
tion for his calculations has been esta-
blished ; and the materials for this foun-
dation must be collected from such a
variety of isolated points, distant one
from the other, both in time and place,
dependant for their accuracy upon the
occurence of favourable circumstances,
and, after all, demanding from the ob-
server an uncommon union of skill and
experience, that there is perhaps no sci-
entific undertaking for which the
co-operation of public bodies, and even
of governments, is more imperiously
demanded; and the Association has, in
consequence, both engaged its members

DISTRIBUTION OF THE EARTH’S MAGNETISM.

519

in the prosecution of these researches,
and has proposed to obtain for them the
national assistance. To call the atten-
tion therefore of the scientific world, in
a greater degree, to the present condi-
tion of our knowledge as to Terrestrial
Magnetism, was the object of Captain
Sabine’s Report in the present volume
of these Transaction ; and this he has
accomplished by presenting us with an
elaborate abstract of the work which
Professor Hansteen,of Copenhagen, had
published upon that subject.

This mathematician, in the year 1811,
constructed a chart, in which were laid
down, so far as could be ascertained the
lines of eq ual variation and dip of the mag-
netic needle in all parts of the world. It is
curious to observe the degree of coinci-
dence which exists between these
lines representing the distribution of
the magnetic force, and the isothermal
lines by which Humboldt has expressed
the distribution of heat over the earth’s
surface ; and this apparent connexion,
the cause of which remains a mystery,
is calculated to stimulate our zeal for
investigating the phenomena of both.
Nor is it less interesting to trace in
what degree these later observations
appear to confirm the general conclu-
sion arrived at by the celebrated Halley
more than a century before. That
astronomer had inferred, from a general
review of all that was then known wdth
regard to the variation and dip of the
needle, that there must be two mag-
netic axes ; whilst the gradual shifting
of the line of no»variation from west to
east, led him to propose the ingenious,
though whimsical hypothesis, of a
moveable globe existing in the interior
of the earth we inhabit, actuated by
the same forces as those which propel
the hollow sphere surrounding it, and,
like it, possessing a north and south
magnetic pole. This interior globe, if
it be supposed to move with somewhat
less rapidity than the exterior shell,
might, as he concieved, produce a
gradual shifting of poles from east to
west, and thus account forthe difference
observed from time to time in the posi-
tion of the magnetic axes.

Now the researches of Professor
Hansteen confirm the existence of two
magnetic axes, though they led him to
discard the hypothesis by which Hal-
ley accounted for their progressive shift-
ing, which, indeed, the recently-dis-

covered connexion between Electricity
and Magnetism gives us hopes of ex-
plaining more satisfactorily, as has been
shown by Professor Christie in the Re-
port read by him at our third meeting.

Since the publication, however, of
the great work to which his Magnetic
Chart is appended, Professor Hansteen,
aware of the mystery which still over-
hangs the subject, has been zealously
employed in attempting to remove it,
by ascertaining the present state and
progressive change of the magnetic
forces. He has accordingly employed
himself in making observations on the
line of no variation, or, as he prefers to
call it, the line of convergence which
passes through Siberia ; and, by a for-
tunate concurrence of circumstances,
the north-western expedition lately un-
dertaken by British navigators, has af-
forded the means of obtaining, at the
very same time, corresponding ones on
the similar line, which extends from
Hudson’s Bay through the United
States of America. Thus the position
of these lines in these two most inter-
esting localities, has been almost simul-
taneously determined with an exact-
ness before unequalled.

In conjunction with Captain Sabine,
Professor Lloyd, of Dublin, has con-
tributed, in anotherway, at the instance
of the Association, to extend our ac-
quaintance with the empirical laws of
this interesting department of science.
This they have effected by determining
the dip and variation of the magnetic
needle in different parts of Ireland,
which it was considered the more im-
portant to ascertain, from the situation
of that island in the most westerly point
of Europe, at which observations could
be instituted.

The distribution of the earth’s mag-
netism through this country was deter-
mined by the above-named observers,
first by a separate series of observations
relating to the force of that portion of
the magnetic influence which operates
horizontally; secondly, by a similar
series on the dip of the needle ; thirdly,
by means of observations both on the
dip and intensity of the magnetic force
made at the same time and with the
same instruments.

It would occupy too much of the
time of the Association, were I to
attempt to point out, however briefly,
the precautions adopted, andthe correc-

520

THEORY OF THE WET-BULB HYGROMETER.

tions applied in order to arrive at
accurate results. I shall therefore only
remark, that the method by which the
intensity of the magnetic force was
ascertained, resembles in principle that
by which philosophers determine the
force of gravity. For as a pendulum
when set in motion oscillates on either
side of the verticle line by the force
of gravity, so the needle, when
drawn out of its natural position,
will oscillate on either side of the
magnetic meridian by the earth’s
magnetic force, and hence, in either
case the force may be inferred to
vary, inversely as the square of the
time in which a certain number of vi-
brations are performed. In order,
however, to arrive at trustworthy re-
sults, many precautions must be adopt-
ed, which are pointed out in detail in
Professor Lloyd’s memoir, and in par-
ticular one relating to temperature ;
it being found that the same needle
will vary in force about 1-4 000th part
for every degree of Fahrenheit. Hav-
ing, however, arrived at a determina-
tion of the intensity of the magnetic
force at the two extremities of the Is-
land by a sufficiently extended series
of observations, namely, at Limerick
by Captain Sabine, and at Dublin by
Professor Lloyd, and having compared
the results with those obtained by
means of the same needles at a spot out
of Ireland, whose magnetic intensity
had been previously settled, by avail-
ing themselves of the observations of
Captain James Ross, at London, our
authors proceed to estimate the rela-
tive intensity of the magnetic force at
twenty- five different places within the
compass of Ireland, by observations
made at each of these simultaneously
with others at Dublin or at Limerick.
They thus obtained data by which to ex-
hibit the law of I'errestrial Magnitism in
Ireland, in a similar manner to that by
which Humboldt laid down the laws
of the distribution of Terrestrial Heat.
The same principal was adopted in
determining the lines of dip as of in-
tensity, and the general result was ob-
tained, that the angle which the lines
of dip in Ireland make with the meri-
dian of Dublin is 560 48’, and that the
dip increases one degree for every dis-
tance 10 of miles in a direction perpen-
dicular to these lines.

The preceding method of estimating

the intensity by the number of vibra-
tions in a given time, only applies to
that portion of the earth’s magnetic
force which operates in a horizontal di-
rection. In order, , therefore, to deter-
mine the whole amount of this force,
ovservations, of the kind above alluded
to, must be combined with others on the
dip. This third series accordingly was
instituted at twenty-three different sta-
tions in Ireland, and the result arrived
at was, that the lines of absolute inten-
sity make an angle of 330 40]| with the
meridian of Dublin, and that the inten-
sity increased in a direction perpendi-
cular to these lines by the 1-lOOth part
for every 95 miles of distance.

The importance of these researches in
extending our knowledge of Terrestrial
Magnetism, and affording the data on
which a correct theory with respect to
this subject may hereafter be based, will
be felt even by those who do not fully
appreciate the skill and labour they re-
quired, and no better proof could be
afforded of the substantial benefits aris-
ing from such an institution as the Bri-
tish Association, than that of having
originated such an inquiry

On the subject of Heat, Dr. Hudson,
of Dublin, has detailed some experiments
the tenor of which he considers incom-
patible with the commonly received the-
ory respecting its radiation, which we
owe to Professor Prevost, of Geneva, in-
asmuch as their tendency would be to
establish that cold is equally radiated
with heat — a result inconsistent with the
notion of the former being a negative
quality. He consequently leans rather
to the views of Professor Leslie, who
supposed heat to be radiated in conse-
quence of the alternate expansion and
contraction of the air around, producing
a series of aerial pulses.

In compliance with a wish expressed
by the MeteoroLgical Committee, Dr.
Apjojin has investigated the theory of
the Wet-bulb Hygrometer, and commu-
nicated an account of his experiments
on this subject at the Dublin Meeting.
His paper, having been already publish-
ed in the Iransaction of the Dublin
Academy, does not appear in our Re-
port, which, however, contains two very
interesting communications on subjects
of Meteorology.

Mr. Snow Harris has presented a
statement of the variations of the ther-
mometer at the Plymouth Dock-yard,

EFFECT OF IMPACT UPON BEAMS.

621

as noted down by the wardens and of-
ficers of the watch, during every hour
of the day and night, commencing on
the 1st, of May, 1832, and terminating
in December, 1834, which are also
checked by a concurrent series of ther-
mometrical observation, registered eve-
ry two hours, at the request of the Asso-
ciation, by the late lamented Mr. Har-
vey.

Thus have been afforded us, for two
complete years, observations to con-
trast with those taken during 1834 and
1835, at Lieth Fort, under the superin-
tendence of the Royal Society of Edin-
burgh.

Mr. Snow Harris has deduced from
an everage of these observations the
following important results

1st, The mean temperature of various
seasons, as well as that of the entire
year.

2ndly, The daily progression of tem-
perature.

3rdly, The two periods of each day
at which the mean temperature occurs.

4thly, The relation between the mean
temperature of the whole twenty-four
hours, and that of any single hour.

6thly, The average daily range for
each month.

6thly, The form of the curves des-
cribed by the march of the temperature
between given periods of the day and
night.

In this manner has been accomplish-
ed one of the first undertakings suggest-
ed by the British Association to its num-
bers, and promoted by its funds, and the
true form of the diurnal and annual
curves in an important station of our
southern coast been attained, as a stan-
dard of comparsion with that arrived at
by Sir David Brewster in the latitude of
Edinburgh, and from which they exhi-
bit in the results some extremely curi-
ous and important discrepancies.

Professor Phillips and Mr. Gray have
presented us with a continuation of
those curious observations on the Quan-
tities of Rain falling at different eleva-
tions, which had formed the subject of
two preceding communications publish-
ed in these Transactions. '

In the first series of these, it had been
shown that the difference between the
quantities of rain that fell depended on
two conditions — 1st. the height, and 2nd-
ly, the temperature; the former circum-
stance determining the ratio of the dif-

ference between the two stations, and
the latter its amount.

In the second series he showed that
the ratio likewise varied at diflferent
seasons.

The present or third series presents
us with a formula for expressing these
variations, and points out its corespon-
dence with the observations made.

That the quantity of rain which falls
should be greater at lower than at high-
er elevations, is a result which, though
at first sight it may to appear parado-
xical, is quickly perceived to harmonize
with the fact, that drops of rain descend
from a colder to a warmer atmosphere
and consequently condence a portion of
the aqueous vapour which exists sus-
pended in the lower strata. But that
the rate of increase should actually be
found reducible so nearly to a mathe-
matical formula, is certainly far more
than could have been expected, and its
successful accomplishment is calculated
to give us hopes that other meteorolo-
gical phenomena, which seem at present
so capricious as to baffle all calculation,
may at length be found reducible to
certain fixed principles. So far as relates
to the rain that falls at York, the results
are regarded by Professor Phillips as
sufficiently complete, but he strongly
urges the advantage of instituting in
other spots selected m different parts of
the kingdom similarobservations, which,
if executed simultaneously, would
mutually illustrate each other, and be
likely to throw much additional light on
the theory of rain, and on the distribu-
tion of vapour at different heights
An important practical paper has
been published in our Transactions of
this year by Mr. Eaton Hodgkinson, on
the effect of impact upon beams. It is a
continuation of some researches which
he communicated at the preceding
Meeting, on the collision of imperfectly
elastic bodies. In these experiments he
had laid down the general principles
relating to the collision of bodies of dif-
ferent natures, and had obtained, a-
mongst other results the following, —
namely, that all rigid bodies possess
some degree of elasticity, and that a-
mongst bodies of the same class the
hardest are generally the most elastic.
It remained to be seen whether this
difference in elasticity influenced the
force of their impact, and this he has
shown in his present memoir not to be

522

UNIFORM SYSTEM OF NOTATION.

the case, the hardest and most elastic
substances producing no more effects
upon a beam, than any soft inelastic
body of equal weight. Various other
conclusions of much practical as well as
theoretical importance are stated in the
above paper, and the results are sever-
ally borne out by an elaborate and care-
ful series of experiments.

Our Foreign Associatie, Mons.
Q,uetelet, has presented to us a sketch
of the progress and actual state
of the Mathematical and Physical
Sciences in Belgium, of interest, not only
from the information it conveys, but
likewise as the contribution of a distin-
guished foreigner, who had evinced al-
ready his respect for this Association
by attending one of its meetings. The
appearance of this Report, together with
that published in the preceding volume
by Professor Rogers, of Philadelphi, on
the Geology of North America, I re-
gard as a new proof of our prosperity.
It shows that the Association has begun
to exert an influence over the progress
of Science, extending even beyond the
sphere which by its name of British, it
claims for its own, and that it has enlis-
ted in its behalf the sympathies, not only
of our Transatlantic brethren, who speak
the same language, and boast of a com-
mon extraction, but likewise of those
Continental nations, from whom we
had so long been severed.

On the subject of Chemistry, our
transactions of this year contain only a
short report by Dr. T>irner, explanatory
of the sentiments of the members of the
Committee which had been appointed
the preceding year, to consider whether
or not it would be possible to recommend
some uniform system of Notation, which,
coming forward under the sanction of
the most distinguished British chemists,
might obtain universal recognition. In
the discussion which took place Vv'hen
this subject was brought before us at
Dublin, three systems of Notation were
proposed, differing one from the other,
no less in principle, than in the end
proposed by their adoption; — the first
was that suggested by the venerable
founder of the Atomic Theor)'’, Dr. Dal-
ton, who aimed at expressing by his
mode of notation not merely the
number of atoms of each ingredient
which unite to form a given com-
pound, but likewise the very mode
of their union, the supposed col-

location of the different atoms re- |
spectively one to the other, He pro- ||
posed, therefore a sort of pictorial repre- j;
sentation of each compound which he I
specified, just as in the infancy of wri- ji
ting, each substance was indecated ; not |
by an arbitrary character, but -by a sign
bearing some remote resemblance to i
the object itself. This, therefore, may '
be denominated the Hieroglyphical
mode of Chemical Notation ; it was of
great use in the infancy of the Atomic i
Theory, in familiarizing the minds of |j
men of science to the mode in which
combinations take place, and thus paved
a more ready way to the reception of '
this important doctrine. Even now, it
may have its advantages in conveying 'i
to the mind of a learner, a clearer notion
of the number and relation of the ele- i
ments of a compound body one to the
otlier ; and in those which consist only of j
two or three elements; a symbolic repre- ;i
sentation after Dr. Dalton’s j)lan might ||
be nearly as concise as any other. But it |
would be difficult, consistently with bre- f
vity, to e.\ press in this manner any of I
those more complicated combinations ]|l
that meet us in every stage of modern j
chemical inquiry, as for instance, in the
compoundsof Cyanogen, or in proximate
principles of organic life, j

The second mode of Notation is that j
in which the method adopted in Alge-
bra is applied to meet the purposes of
Chemistry. This method, whilst it is j
recommended by its greater persjiicuity,
and by its being intelligible to all edu-
cated persons, has the advantage also
of involving no hypothesis, and being j
equally available by persons who may I
have taken up the most opposite views
of the collocation of the several atoms, |
or who dismiss the question as altoge- I
ther foreign to their consideration. This j
therefore, may 1 e compared to th® j
alphabetical mode of writing in use [
amongst all civilized nations ; the cha- i
racters indeed may differ, the words for- I
med by a combination of these charac- '
ters may be very various, but the prin-
ciples on which they are put together
to express certain sounds and ideas are '
in all countries the sam&. j

The third method of Notation, which I
has been recommended by the authority J
of several greatContinental chemists, and j

especially of Berzelius, resembles rather j
a system of shorthand than one of ordi-
nary writing ; its express object being |

DR. JACOB’S REPLY TO THE ZOOLOGICAL COMMITTEE.

523

to abbreviate, so far as is consistent
with perspicuity, the mode of Notation
last described. But although most che-
mists may find it convenient to employ
some of these abbreviated forms of ex-
pression, it seems doubtful whether any
particular amount of them can be re-
commended for general adoption, since
the necessity for it will vary according
to the habits of the individual, the na-
ture of his inquiries, and the objects for
which his notes are designed.

A chemist, for example, the character
of whose mind enables him quickly to
perceive, and clearly to recollect minute
distinctions, may find a much more ab-
breviated style of Notation convenient,
than would be at all advisable to others;
one who is engaged m the analysis of
organic compounds will be more sensi-
ble of the utility of such symbols, than
another who is conversant chiefly with a
less complicated class of combinations:
and one who notes down the results of
his experiments for the benefit of private
reference, and not with any immediate
view to others, may indulge in a more
concise and complex system of Notation,
than would be convenient, where either
of the latter objects were contemplated.

As the shortest road is proverbially
not always the most expeditious, so
in Chemical Notation more time may
often be lost in correcting our own
blunders and those of the compositor,
where dots and commas of many sorts
are introduced in the place of initial
letters to express certain elements, than
was gained by the more compendious
method of expression employed. Add
to which, in the preference given to one
set of dots over another, or in the parti-
cular collocation of them, above, below
or at the side of the symbol to which
they are referred, we have no fixed
principle to guide us, and can therefore
only be determined by the greater or
less frequent adoption of one method
than of another.

Perhaps, therefore, all that can be
hoped from a Committe of British
Chemists would be, to set forward the
the various uses of some system of Che-
mical Notation, the purposes for which
each of those broughtbefore them seems
chiefly applicable, and the degree of pre-
valence which one has obtained over the
rest.

If I may be allowed to offer my own
humble opinion on a point which has
been so much debated amongst British
chemists, I should remark that for the
purpose of rendering more intelligible to
beginners the mode in which various bo-
dies are supposed to combine, the Dalto-
nian method of Notation may still be of
use, just as pictorial representation often
comes in aid of verbal description to
convey the idea of a complex object. But
that where the design is to state in the
clearest, and least hypothetical terms,
the nature of a series of combinations, a
mode of Notation as closely as possible
approaching to that adopted in algebra
seems preferable — remembering always
that as in algebra we omit certain signs
for the sake of greater brevity, so it may
be allowable to do in applying its princi-
ples to Chemistry, these abbreviations
being of course the most advisable in
cases where by reason ofthe greater num-
ber of elements involved, the expression
of them at whole length would occupy
so much space as to })revent the whole
from being comprehended at a glance.

The above remarks will not, I believe,
be found inconsistent with the spirit of
the brief report which Dr. Turner has
communicated, and which is to the fol-
lowing effect : —

1st. That the majority of the Commit-
tee concur in apjrroving of the employ-
ment of that system of Notation which is
already in general use on the Continent,
though there exist among them some
difference of opinion on points of detail.

2ndly. That they think it desirable not
to deviate in the mannerof Notation from
algebraic usage, except so far as conve-
nience requires.

And 3dly. That it would save much
confusion if every chemist would state
explicitly the exact quantities which he
intends to represent by his symbols.

But I must hasten on to those few
other Reports which the present volume
contains, but on which I shall have the
less to say, as they relate to subjects con-
nected with Anatomy and Physiology, of
less general interest to a mixed audi-
ence.

Dr. Jacob has replied to a query pro-
posed by the Zoological Committee at a
former meeting with respect to the uses
ofthe infra-orbital cavites in Deers and
Antelopes, and has pronounced them to
be designed as the receptacles of a pecu-
liar odoriferous secretion.

524 QUANTITIES OF ELECTRICITY APPRECIABLE BY THE BALANCE.

Dr. Hodgkin and Dr. Roupell have
detailed a series of experiments and
observations relative to the specific mode
of action of acrid poisons, which,
whether at once introduced into the sto-
mach, or the circulation, by injection
into the veins, seem to operate primarily
in the same manner as irritants to the
mucous membrane. The Dublin Sub-
committee, appointed for the purpose,
have given in a report connected with a
subject of great pathological interest,
respecting which none but the experien-
ced medical practitioner ought to pretend
to p^ss a decided judgment ; — neverthe-
less, when I look back to the early
period of my own professional studies,
and recollect the obscurity in which
diseases of the heart appeared then to
be involved, when their remedy seemed
so desperate, as to suggest to one of the
most distinguished writers on the subject
the motto ‘ Hcsret lateri lethalis arundo'
as appropriate to his work and as signi-
ficant of the probabilities of cure, and
when their very nature was known but
partially, and could only be guessed at
by methods purely empirical, — when I
recollect all this, I cannot refrain from
congratulating those of my brethern who
are engaged in the duties of the profes-
sion from which I am myself a deserter,
on the discovery of a new instrument of
investigation in diseases of this nature,
the use of which being founded on phy-
siological principles, seem susceptible of
greater improvement and more extended
application in proportion as our know-
ledge of the animal economy advances.

But in order properly to avail our-
selves of the indications of desease af-
forded by the differences of sound trans-
mitted through the integuments by the
heart, it is necessary that we should be
acquainted with the nature of its pulsa-
tions, and of the sounds occasioned by
them in a healthy state, and this infor-
mation it has been the object of the Dub-
lin Sub-committee to embody in the
report which was communicated by them
last year to the Medical Section.

Such are the principle contents of the
volume which records the scientific la-
bours instituted at the express sugges-
tion of the general body, and prepared
for its last Meeting ; but, exclusively of
these, many very valuable and elaborate
investigations were submitted to the
several Sections without any such soli-
citation.

I may instance in particular the views
with respect to the classification and the
geological distribution of Fishes, ex-
pounded to us with so much ability by
Mons. Agassiz, whose important labour
might perhaps have been suspended,
but for the timely assistance dealt out to
him by this bod5% and the opportunities
which its Meetings afforded, for giving
them that publicity which they deserved-

I may point out likewise the impor-
tant results submitted to the Geological
Section by Mr. Murchison and Profes- j
sor Sedgwick, with reference to the Si- i
lurian formations of Wales and Shrop- !
shire, and the multitude of facts illus-
trative of the physical structure of Ire- j
land, which were elicited by the exhibi- '
tion of Mr. Griffith’s Geological Map» |
an undertaking which, coupled with the |
researches of Mr. Mackay on the plants i
indigenous to that country, promises to i
render us as w’ell acquainted with the i
Natural History of this portion of the i
Empire, as we already are with respect i
to Great Britain itself.

Nor must I forget the researches on
Comparative Anatomy laid before the ;i
Medical Section by Dr. Houston, who |
pointed out the existence of reservoirs |
connected with the veins leading to the (
lungs in the Cetacea, an admirable con- [
trivance, by which Nature has provided I
for the unobstructed circulation of their
blood, in spite of the enormous pressure i
which they have to sustain at the great I
depths to which they are wont to
dive.

The Members of the Association had I
also the satisfaction of witnessing the ,
ingenious manner in w'hich Mr. Snow |
Harris contrives to render quantities of |!
Electricity appreciable by the balance, I
like those of any gross material sub-
stance ; whilst such as could enter
upon the more refined branches of i
mathematical analysis must have listen- ]
ed with profound interest to the exposi- j
tion given by Professor Hamilton, of |
the ingenious labours of Jerrand, of
this city, in solving Equations of the
higher orders. i;

What proportion of such inquiries
may be attributable to the influence of p
this Association, and how much might
have been merely the result of that in- :
creased taste for physical research to I
which the Association itself owes its
existence, I do not pretend to determine j j
this however, at least, must be allowed, ;

THE AGE FOR PHYSICAL SCIENCES,

525

that many of the most important truths
communicated, might have been long
in winning their way to general recog-
nition, and in ridding themselves of
those exaggerated and mistaken views
which are the commo'i accompaniments
of every infant discovery, had it not
been for the opportunities which these
Meetings afford, of examining the very
authors of them, with respcet to their
own inquiries ; of confronting them
with others who have prosecuted simi-
lar trains of research ; of questioning
them with respect to the more doubtful
and difficult points involved ; and of ob-
taining from them, in many instances
an exhibition of the very experiments
by which they had been led to their
conclusions. And it is this personal in-
tercourse with the authors of these great
revolutions in Science, which in itself
constitutes one of the principal charms
of these meetings. Who would not
have listened with delight to a Newton,
had he condescended to converse on
the great truths of Astronomy ; to a
Jussieu, imparting to a circle of his
intimates in his own garden at Trianon,
those glimpses with respect to the natural
relations of plans, which he found it so
difficult to reduce to writing ; or to a
Linnaeus, discussing at Oxford his then
novel views with respect to the vegeta-
ble kingdom, and winning from the
reluctant Dillenius a tardy acknowledg
ment of their merits ? And in like
manner, who does not value the privilege
of hearing a Dalton discourse on these
occasions on his own AtomicTheory, or a
Faraday, (.who, however, I regret to say,
is on this occasion prevented by illness
from attending), explain orally the steps
by which he has traced the relations be-
tween Electricity and Magnetism, al-
though every one is aware that the prin-
cipal facts, both with respect to the one
and the other, have long since been made
public by their respective authors, and
have been abundantly commented upon
by others. And nowhere, perhaps, is
it more desirable to instil those senti-
ments to which I have alluded, than
within the precincts of those provincial
cities which the Association now pro-
poses to visit. The inhabitants of those
great emporiums of Commerce and Ma-
nufactures are indeed often enough re-
minded that processes directed by the
guidance of Chemistry and Mechanics
constitute the very basis of their pros-

perity, but they are too apt to regard
these and other kindred sciences, as the
instruments merely of material wealth,
and to deem it superfluous to prosecute
them further than they are seen to con-
duce to that one end. That such no-
tions are short-sighted, even with refer-
ence to the practical applications of the
Arts, it would not be difficult to show ;
hut I am ambitions to place the question
on a higher ground, and the presence
amongstus of such individuals as I have
mentioned, will do more towards that
object than volumes of argument would
effect. It will convince us at least, that
other roads to distinction besides that
of mere wealth are opened to us through
the instrumentality of the Sciences,
for although, thanks to the spirit of the
age, which in this respect at least stands
advantageously distinguished from those
preceding it, the discoverers of import-
ant truths are not, as hertofore, allowed
to languish in absolute poverty, yet tho
debt which Society owes to them would
be but inadequately paid were it not for
the tribute of respect and admiration
which is felt to be their due.

It has indeed been sometimes object-
ed, that too large a share of public at-
tention is in this age directed to the
Physical Sciences, and that the study
of the human mind, the cultivation of
literature, and the progress of ths Fine
Arts have been arrested in consequence.
In what degree the accusation is well
founded, this is not the place to inquire,
although when we look round upon the
many literary characters that adorn this
age, we should rather suppose the re-
mark to have arisen from the increasing
interest in Science, than from any dimi-
nished taste for other studies. If this
complaint however had any foundation
in truth, it would only supply a strong-
er argument in favour of an Associq,tion
like the present, the express object of
which is to correct that narrowness of
mind which is the consequence of limit-
ing ourselves to the details of a single sci-
ence, or it maybe, to a single nook and cor-
ner of one, and therefore to render the
prevailing taste of the times more sub-
servient to mental culture, and therefore
a better substitute for the studies it is
alleged to have superseded. An As-
sociation too, which, with no narrow
and exclusive feeling towards those pur-
suits which it is designed to foster, ex-
tends the right hand of fellowship t©

I»26 NEW VIGOUR INFUSED IN THE BRITISH ASSOCIATION.

men of eminence in every department
upon which the human mind can be
exercised, and which would have felt
that no higher honour could have been
bestowed upon its present Meeting,
than by the attendance of the great
poet, and the great sculptor, who own
Bristol as their native city.

To alter indeed the character of the
period in which we live, is as much be-
yond the efforts of individuals, as to fix
the time of their birth, or the country
and station in which their lot is cast ;
and it is perhaps inevitable, that an age
and country so distinguished above all
others for the advancement of arts and
manufactures, should attach an increased
importance to those sciences on which
both the latter are depended. But it is
at least cosolatory to reflect, that Provi-
dence has attached to every one of those
conditions of society through which na-
tions are destined to pass, capabilities of
moral and intellectual improvement,
and that the very sciences which so am-
ply minister to our physical enjoyments,
also afford the means of those higher
gratifications which spring from the
exercise of the taste and imagination.
Thus, although it may not be easy for
the citizen to indul. e to any extent in
studies alien from the pursuits which
engross his hours of business, yet it
cannot be deemed incompatible with
the latter, to mount up to the principles
of those sciences which are connected
with the arts he practises ; to study their
relation one to the other ; and to ac-
quaint himself with the steps by which
they have reached their present emi
nence. It cannot but be useful to the
chemical manufacturer to study the laws
of that molacular attraction which
binds together the elements of the sub-
stances which he prepares ; to the
mechanic to examine the process of the
arts in connexion with the general laws
of matter ; to the miner or landsurvey-
or, to inform himself with respect to the
physical structure of the globe ; to the
agriculturist, to become acquainted with
tbe principles of vegetable physiology,
and the natural relations of plants.

For my own part, intimately connect-
ed as I am, both with the first of the
commercial cities, and also with the
fiistofthe universities, that welcomed
the British Association within its pre-
cincts, warmly interested in the pros-
perity of both, and officiating as Local

Secretary on either occasion, I have
felt personally gratified at seeing the
selection of the«e places justified by the
cordiality of our reception in both, and
at witnessing the new vigour which has
been infused into the Association, in
consequence of the support it has there-
in received. But how much will that
gratification be augmented, if it should
be found hereafter, benefit in either case
has been mutual; that these Meetings
have cemented those bonds of union be-
tween the academical and the commer-
cial portion of the British community,
which it is so desirable to maintain ; and
that, whilst the University to which I
belong has reaped advantange, by hav-
ing its attention called to the interest
felt in physical sciences generally
throughout the kingdom, my fellow-
citizens here will in like manner catch
the spirit which pervades our body, and
will engage in the pursuit of science
with a juster conception of its high ob-
jects, and with a zeal and devotion to
its cause, which will not be less practi-
cally useful, because it is stimulated by
a more disinterested love of truth ; less
capable of ministering to the operation
of the arts, because it is also rendered
subservient to mental discipline and
improvement.

John Taylor, Esq. Treasurer of the
Association, then read the account of
the receipts and expenditure, made up
to the middle of July this year ; from
which it aj)peared that the

B.ilaiice ill iiand at ilm last w.t9 £5oa 16 3

Ueceived from Members at Duliiiii. and

since 2173 0 0

Amoniit of Interest, Dividends, &c. .. I27 in <>

Sale of volumes of their rransaclion .. 375 S fl

£3185 15 0

The F.xoenditnre was as follows ; —

F.xpenses of meetinii at Dublin £^^5 18 0

Viiiioiis local pxpens.-s 121 19 0

Piticbase of £i000. Three per Cetit,

Consols 916 5 0

Snlaries 230 0 0

Grants for various Scientific piiri. OSes. 457 0 6
Printing Third Volume of Transac-
tions 517 16 0

Other Printing 6118 0

Sundries 43 8 7

,^2577 4 7

reaving a balance in hand at present of about

The total amount of property belong-
ing to the Association at present, includ-
ing the value of a number of copies of
their Transactions, is about 4,564/.

Mr. Taylor further states that the num-
ber of tickets issued up to that time was
at least 1000, the largest number that

LAWS OF THE MOTIONS OF WAVES EXCITED IN WATER. 527

had ever been issued at that sta^e of
their proceedings ; the probability,
therefore, seemed to be, that the num-
ber of members attending the Associa-
tion would be larger than ever they were
before, and the pecuniary benefit pro-
portionably greater.

TUESDAY, AUG. 23.

Section A. -MATHEMATICS AND
PHYSICAL SCIENCE.

The president upon taking the chair
this morning called upon Mr. Russel, of
Edinburgh, for his * Notice of a Series
of Experimental Researches regarding
the Laws of the Motions of Waves
excited in Water.’

This notice regarded one department
of a series of investigations In Hydro-
dynamics, in which the author has been
engaged for three years. — (See Sec. G,
Monday.) It was discovered in the course
of these investigatins, that the pheno-
mena of waves interfered with the phe-
nomena of resistance, to such an extent,
as to render an investigation of the laws
of the propagation of waves essential to
the farther prosecution of the inquiry into
the laws of resistance. The importance
also of these inquiries, in connexion
with the investigations of Mr. Whe-
well and of Mr. Lubbock, regarding the
tide-wave, gave an importance to the
inquiries which had induced Mr. Russel
to prosecute the investigation in such a
manner, as to render it subservient to
the improvement of a department of sci-
ence, of which the applications are so
highly important.

Much confusion has arisen from con-
founding different species of waves fol-
lowing different laws. Mr. Russell has
observed four species ; — 3. Waves of
the first species are seen in what is com-
monly called ripple on the surface of a
pool ; these may be called dentated, and
are not propagated beyond the place of
their generation ; 2. Waves of the second
species, or oscillatory waves, are found
when a stone is dropped into a quiescent
fluid, and these succeed each other in
concentric rings — these are the waves of
Newton and Young, and correspond to
the second species of Poisson ; they are
propagated with a velocity proportioned
to the magnitude of the displaced fluid ;

3. The third species of waves are called
breakers, surges, and tidal-bores; and

4. The fourth species of waves, is the
solitary wave, analogous to the great

tidal wave of the ocean; it is propagated
with nearly a uniform velocity. The two
last species, tlie surge and the solitary
were, are the subjects of this investiga-
tion. It was observed, 1st, When a
considerable and permanent addition is
made to the volume of a limited portion
of fluid contained in an open reservoir,
such addition produces an elevation of
the surface of the fluid, which is propa-
gated in the form of a solitary wave,
moving with a velocity nearly uniform.
2nd, The velocity of the propagation
of such waves, is equal to that vvhich
would be acquired by a heavy body, in
falling through a space equal to half the
fluid. 3rd, The length of such a wave is
nearly constant for a given depth. 4th.
The height of the wave varies with its
volume, and must be added to the depth
of the fluid, in calculating the velocity
according to art. 5th, When the height
of a wave exceeds twice the depth, it
form ceases to be a form of equilibrium,
and it breaks. Gth, When the anterior
part of a wave is found at a depth less
than that of the posterior portion, and
the height is greater than twice the
depth, the wave curls forward, forming
the common surge. 7tb, when the width
of a channel diminishes in an arithmeti-
cal ratio, the height of the wave increases
in a geometrical one, until it exceeds
twice the depth, when it breaks.

The Members expressed their satis-
faction at the ingenious devices by
which Mr. Russell had contrived to
effect his observations — as where he
noted the arrival of the wave at a
given position, by placing a white rod
across the top of the canal along
which the wave was propagated, and
watching its image in the approaching
wave: while the inclined part of the
wave was passing under it, the reflected
image of the white rod was transferred,
of course, to a considerable angular dis-
tance, ; but as soon as the top came
under the rod, a very small portion of it
being horizontal, the reflected image
assumed a position exactly beneath the
rod. By this most ingenious contri-
vance, he was enabled to determine both
the velocity of the wave, and, to some
extent, its length, and ultimately its
form. The clear manner in which his
experimental results explained the
change of form of the greater wave, by
the incompatable velocities of two waves
of a lower height, at first generated, un-

528 EFFECTS OF WIND UPON THE HEIGHT & VELOCITY OF THE WAVE.

til ultimately the two lesser were absorb-
ed by the greater, and disappeared
altogether, was unexpected, and sur-
prisingly exact. The manner in which
the wave changed its form, piqueing
more and more up, as its height beca>n3
greater and greater, in proportion to
the depth of the canal, until at length,
upon a shelving bottom, the form ended
in the surge of breaker — the manner in
which this explained every minute
familiar phenomenon, called forth re-
peated applause ; and we would particu-
larize the curved form of the surge along
the coast, as by the course marking the
equal depth of the bottom below the
surface, as soon as that depth reached
the surging limit ; also the circumstance
that the surge frequently made its
appearance first at one particular point,
and then ran off in a kind oi ftu, dejoie^
sometimes in only one direction along
the curved lines of surging depth, some-
times in both directions ; these, and
many other particulars, which we find
it impossible to insist on, met with the
most minute explanation.

The Rev. Mr. Scoresby, better known
to our readers as Captain Scoresby, beti-
ged leave to ask Mr. Russell whether
in waves generated in the deep ocean,
as in the Atlanjfic, this explanation
would not lead us to infer a velocity of
the wave greater than that of a cannon
ball. He also begged to suggest to him
the consideration of the effecc of deep
indentations upon the coast, on the
waves ; he had known, and he described
some instances, where the indented
form of the coast had a tranquillizing ef-
fect upon the waves of the sea outside,
so as fiequently to produce almost still
water. — Mr. Lubbock put several ques-
tions to Mr. Russell, for the purpose of
eliciting information and explanation
upon topics, on which, from the rapidi-
ty with which the interesting results
succeeded each other, he had not receiv-
ed full satisfaction. He felt peculiar
interest in this question, from its direct
bearing upon the tides, a subject to
which he had latterly much devoted
himself; he asked Mr. Russell, whe-
ther any of his experiments had been
conducted in covered canals, of whether
he had observed any facts connected
with the effect of the wind, either upon
the height or upon the time of propaga-
tion of the wave. — Mr. Russell stated,
as we understood him, that he had not

used covered canals; that he had noted
several of the effects of wind upon both
the height and velocity of the wave, but
he had only time to note these very
roughly, but these effects were both con-
siderable and important, and he was
even led to expect, that by this influence
wdll at length be explained among
other interesting effects, the surging of
the waves in deep seas, which takes
place in consequence of the form of the
wave being changed into one piqueing
up at the top. Mr. Roberts inquired
what means of measuring time Mr- Rus-
sell employed, and to what part of a
second he could observe? — Mr. Russell
replied, that he chiefly used ship chro-
nometers, and that he never tried to
come nearer than half a second; in that
time, as he had in the course of the pa-
per observed, the ordinary wave of the
experimental canal he used, progressed
about six feet.

Mr. W he well observed, that experi-
ments had, in some instances, borne the
most ample testimony to the correctness
of the theory of this intricate portion of
hydrodynamics ; although, in the greater
number of instances, by outstripping
that theory, it exhibited the deplorable
state of dificiency in which it still exist-
ed. The learned Professor congratulated
the Section upon the prospect which
now brightened before them, for he had
little doubt but that these experimental
results, in the hands of some expert,
analyst, would at length conduct to an
advance of the theory which in many
branches of science would be of much
importance. To himself, the obvious and
very close connexion of these researches
wdth the subject of the tides was matter
of the most intense interest The learned
gentleman then proceeded to particular-
ize some leading and valuable examples
of that connexion. The propagation of
the great tide wave was a direct case of
the propagation of the waves of the spe-
cies, to the tracing of whose laws Mr.
Russell had chiefly applied himself.
And this led him directly to an answer
to one of Mr. Scoreshy’s questions; for,
since that tidal wave could be shown to
he propagated from the Cape of Good
Hope to the ports along the coasts of
Spain in about twelve hours, surely here
was an instance of propagation of
these waves in deep waters, not only
equalling, but far surpassing, the velo-
city of a cannon ball.

REFRACTIVE INDICES OF SEVERAL SUBSTANCES.

529

Sir William Hamilton congratulated
Mr. Russell upon the most successful
issue of his researches thus far, and
strongly urged upon him the continua-
tion of them, and even the extension of
of them. The fund upon which Mr
Russell drew for bearing the expense of
his experiments, conducted, as they had
obviously been, upon the most splendid
scale, of course left nothing to be de-
sired if it still continued unexhausted ;
but to him it appeared that if there was
the least chance of a difficulty in procu-
ring funds, those of the British Associa-
tion could not be applied to a more
legitimate ora more important purpose;
and he felt little doubt that, if there
was any necessity for such application,
it would be successful.

Professor Powell then read a paper
respecting the Refractive Indices of se-
veral substances.

The Professor commenced by giving
an explanation of the term Refractive
Index, and pointed out the changes of
meaning which it had undergone since
the time of Newton. He then explained
what was meant by the “dispersive
power” of a substance. The determina-
tion of the refractive indices for definite
rays of the coloured image of the sun,
or solar spectrum, marked by the dark
lines of Wollaston, from direct observa-
tions of their deviations, produced by
prisms of various substances, was first
proposed by Frauenhofer ; and, by the
aid of instruments of extraordinary de-
licacy and exactness, executed by him,
obtained for ten media solid, and was
carried on by Mr. Rudberg for ten
more. The absolute necessity of an ex-
tended series of such determinations,
%vas pointed out by Sir J. Herschel and
Sir D. Brewster, and was further urged
by a special recommendation of the
British Association; but Mr. Powell,
finding that no other person was stepp-
ing forward to undertake the task,
stated, that he was himself most reluc-
tantly induced to endeavour to make
some progress in this matter, so highly
important in a practical point of view.
The apparatus of Frauenhofer, besides
its extreme complexity, required in the
using, a skill and accuracy, possessed by
few but himself. This, and other con-
siderations induced the learned Pro-
fessor himself to procure the aid of
Mr. Simms in constructing a much
simpler apparatus, the essential parts

of which are a graduated circle, with the
prism of its centre diameter 10 inches —
an achromate telescope, with cross
wires at its focus — an arm, projecting
from the centre, carries the prism with
two motions, one to adjust it to paralle-
lism, with the slit through which the
light is admitted, and which is about
the I-20th of an inch wide, and then
round its axis. For liquid media, hollow
jwisms, or troughs, of different angles,
were provided, whose inclined sides are
of plate glass, formed with truly parallel
surfaces and the angles accurately de-
termined previously. For seeing some
of the lines of the sjiectrum, the light of
the sun is required, in which case one or
more thickness of purple glass is used,
and, by means of the lines themselves,
the most perfect parallelism of the prism
with the slit can be obtained ; and, since
the lines become indistinct, except in
or near the position of minimum devia-
tion, that position is always adopted;
this last deviation is accurately observed
by the focal wires. The absolute devia-
tion is observed directly from the za
ro point of the circle, or that which
corresponds with the telescope direct-
ed to the slit. This instrument, the
Professor stated, although comparative-
ly so simple, admitted of a degee of ac-
curacy, even greater than what he cared
to wait for obtaining, his object being a
great number of approximations to the
truth, rather than the attainment of the
utmost precision. He then proceeded
to notice the care required in attending
to diversities of temperature, since he
had found the greatest differences to
result from this source. He alluded
briefly to the precautions used, and
then stated the means by which he had
obtained the oils, alcohol, and chemi-
cal substances, which were the subjects
of these experiments, Mr. Allen and
Professor Daubeny giving him the
most essential aid in this important part
of his labours. The fluids that he ex-
amined were oil of cassia, oil of aniseed,
sulphuret of carbon, balsam of Peru,
kreosote, oil of sassafras, oil of pimento
oil of angelica, sulphuric acid, muriatic
acid, nitric acid, alcohol 39 =.8 15, solu-
tion of chromate of lead in nitric acid,
solution of chromate of potass, of mu-
riate of lime, muriate of ammonia, ni-
trate of potass, sulphate of magnesia,
nitrate of mercury, muriate of barytes^
sulphate of soda, muriate of zinc, nitrate

530

POLARIZING STRUCTURE OF THE LENS.

of bismuth, nitrate of lead, superacetate
of lead, subacetate of lead, distilled
water the same as that in which the
solutions were made. Of these the re-
fractive indices of many were very high,
and most of them of such a nature as to
render them scarcely possible to be re-
duced to the proper form. In conclu-
sion he stated, that many crystals of
various kinds of substance, if got pure
would be invaluable for aiding in these
researches — he particularized lead. The
learned gentleman concluded by some
notice of the researches of Dovey.

Sir David Brewster stated many mo-
des in which some of the most perplex-
in difficulties met with by Mr. Powell
might be avoided. He stated, that he
could render very imperfect crystals
ayailableby covering up their imperfec-
tions with China ink ; also, we under
stood him to say, that sometimes he
interposed silk ; but he universally suc-
ceeded inmaking the dark lines visible,
by using the triple oxalate of chromium
and lead as an interpo'jing substance.
He also remarked that it would be very
important to note accurately, the angle
which the ray or beam of light made
with the edge of the refracting angle of
the prism, and illustratedits importance.

■ — Mr. Powell showed, that in the very
construction of his apparatus this was
provided for. — Prefessor Forbes bore
testimony to the extreme simplicity of
the apparatus, and its capability of ac-
curate investigations. H e had only just
come from Oxford, where he had, had
the pleasure of seeing and examining
it, and from his own experience he could
say, that any one, at all accustomed to
such experimenting, might be readily
trained to use it. 4

A paper was then read, contributed
by Sir. D, Brewster, ‘On the Polarizing
Structure of the Crystaline Lens of the
Eyes of Animals after Death. ^

The eyes examined were those of oxen
and sheep, the tendency of the lens to
indurate was prevented by immersion
in distilled water ; the polorazing struc-
ture was then examined ; great changes
were stated to take place in that struc-
ture in the eyes of aged animals. From
these investigations, the writer was led
to the results that there is in the crystal-
line lens a capability of being developed
by the absorption of the aqueous hu-
mour; that a perfect structure is not
produced until the animal frame is com.

pletely formed ; and that when it begins
to decay, the lens changes both its den-
sity and focal length, and sometimes
degenerates into the disease termed hard
and soft cateract. Sir. D. Brewster is
led to entertain a hope, that these re- I
searches may furnish a means of preven-
ting or curing that alarming disease.

The Rev. J. W. M’Gauley then read
‘A series of Experiments in Electro- jll
Magnetism, with reference to its appli- S
cations as a Moving Power.’ ]

Previously to the detail of the ex- ■
pcriraents on this subject, he thought it !j
might be interesting to the Section to
relate what he had done since the last 1
Meeting of the Association, in the ap-
plication of electro-magnetism to ma- .j
chinery. He had intended, originally, 1)
to have exhibited the improvements, ;
but should content himself, for the pre- J
sent, with the detail, rather than the j|
exhibition. He was obliged to confess, j
that he was the less anxious prema- |
turely to publish results, since he found ij
that the working model of last year, |j
given to the section, undoubtedly with \
the intention of its future improvement, |j
or the pursuance of experiments by other i|

Members, had led’ on several occasions, j
to the production of papers, and the I
exhibition of models, by those from I
it might not be expected — with a pre- I
tension to originality, but with no !|
change in the principle, and almost I
in the details. !

The working model exhibited to the j
Sections at the last Meeting of the
Association must be acknowledged as a |
proof, to some extent;, at least, of the
applicability and the manageable- ji

ness of electro-magnetism as a moving 1!

power; but the question then remaining
was, whether or not it was likely to be :
applied to useful purposes ; for this,
several things remained undone, ' 'j

Powerful magnets were to be con-
structed. The ordinary formation of |
electro-magnets furnishes us, at best, !
with an apparatus clumsy in the
extreme, and, as we shall see, of very j;

limited power. This arises from the I

very nature of an electro magnet ; for '

the lifting power may be very great,
although the attracting power at a !■
small distance may be very trifling.
There must be a limit, also, to the size
of these magnets, for, if the mass of
iron be too great for the helix, it is not
saturated with magnetism, and the j

M'GAULEY ON ELECTRO MAGNETISM.

531

helex cannot be unlimited, as, beyond a
certain distance from the iron, its action
is nothing,— in some cases, perhaps, as
we shall see, even injurious. The effec-
tive distance of the helex from the iron
cannot be great, since its action,
})robably, decreased in the inverse pro-
portion of the square of that distance.
The difficulty cannot be obviated, as
some have imagined, by causing the
electrical currents to circulate through
the mass of iron, uniting together a
number of coiled bars. This would
present an arrangement probably similar
to a permanent magnet, the masses of
iron acting on each other by induction,
the reversion of the poles would be
very slow, or altogether impossible.
The action of the magnets, rather than
their masses, must be united; but in
this, new difficulties occur. Their action
must be simultaneous, or the machine-
ry will be broken, or ineffective ; the
time after reversion, and during which
a har can be thrown off a magnet, is
extremely short — hence one reason why
it is difficult to unite the action of
several magnets. But let us suppose
that we have obtained a simultaneous
reversion of the poles and throwing off
x)f the bars — a thing totally impossible,
he conceived, from the number and
complication of circumstances by which
it is influenced — how shall this action
be applied to machinery? If the fly-
wheel of a steam-engine, from the shut-
ting off of the steam, be not impelled
by the engine while it continues in
motion, it drags the piston, uninjured,
through the cylinder ; but suppose
something to retain the piston in one
position, without stopping the wheel,
the effect were highly injurious — this
is exactly what must frequently happen
in electro-manegetism. It is impossi-
ble to reverse the poles even of one
magnet, in such a manner that the
position of the bars shall always corres-
pond with the position of the crank and
fly-wheel.*

Let M m’ be two magnets, m m’ be
the space through which b, the bar,
travels in causing half the revolutions
of the crank c’ x, while b is moving,
so that its extremity shall be at p’
then c’ X shall have become c’ x’
while it is going to p”, c’ x’ shall be-
come c’ x’” but if when the crank c’ x

is in the position c’ x’” one of the
dead points, the bar is not ready to leave
m’ ; or, in other words, if the magnet
which holds it be not ready at once to
send it off — a thing very probable — the
fly-wheel continues to revolve by its own
inertia, and the machinery is broken, or
the bar is torn from the magnet, which
offen has a curious and perj)lexing ef-
fect on the reversion of the poles.

A better reversing apparatus was to
be obtained.*

Again, the form of the apparatus,
whether mercury be used or not, must
be changed, and the principle of the one
now exhibited to the Section adopted,
since the apparatus, which will reverse
the poles of one magnet, will not with
speed of certainty reverse the poles of
two or more, when worked by the en-
gine itself. The apparatus shown to the
Section had been used with great suc-
cess in (he reversion of the poles of four
powerful magnets.

The attachment of the reversing ap-
paratus to the machine becomes difficult,
when more than one magnet is used, for
reasons with which he would not then
occupy the Section. He believed he
might mention, that he possessed an en-
gine of considerable power, in which
these difficulties were overcome.

The e.xperiments he should detail to
the Section were numerous and compli-
cated ; he had taken ev^’ery means to
secure their accuracy ; some of them ap-
pear anomalous, but were undoubtedly
modified by circumstances, many of
which are so obscure, that he has not
been able yet to detect them. He re-
marked, that it was obviously important
to make experiments in considerable
number, and on a large scale, since the
former secures a greater accuracy, the
latter the notice of results which, from
their minuteness, might otherwise es-
cape observation. His inquiries resolved
themselves into two points — the nature
of magnetism — the best means of pro-
ducing it. The means of overcoming
the difficulty arising from the necessari-
ly limited size of the iron and the helix,
he might probably treat at a future pe-
riod-

To place everything in exactly the
same circumstances, without which a
fair comparison could not be made, the
battery was cleaned, the charge renew-

Sfle plate iv. fig 6.

* See Plate iv. fig 1

532

M‘GAULEY’S EXPERIMENTS^.

ed, and the arranf^ements examined be-
fore each of the following; experiments,
and the materials of the charge were, as
far as possible, not merely similar, but
identically the same.

First Series. The Helix.

No. 1. — A horse-shoe soft iron bar
13^ inches across, to the extreme edges
of the poles, interior, 7f exterinn
length. The diameter of the bar 2|
inches, its weight 29| lb. The keeper
used was 13|- inches long, 21 wide, f-
thick; its weight, with ring, /fib. This
keeper was used in all experiments with
magnets of the same size. This, like
all the other magnets, was well coated
with sealing-wax varnish; it was coiled
with I69O feet of No. 13 copper wire, in
10 equal coils. The battery was one
foot square^ double cell, charged with
1 in 50 sulphuric acid, 1 in 100 nitric
acid, and water.

Keeper distant from poles 3-10 inch,
it lifted 4| lb. 3-20 9i

Magnet No. 1, of 5th Series, connec-
ted wdh the battery, at the same time,
lifted in contact 9|lb.

He removed one of the coils, used the
same battery, and a similar charge, at
the distance,

3-l0 inch, it lifted 7i lb.

3-20 37

i. . 26i

The one of last year, though perfectly
successful, required the agency of mer-
cury, which, for many reasons, is ob-
jectionable ; it becomes oxidated, then
contact is imperfect, and the level in
the cups, which is of the last import-
ance, is destroyed : it is liable to a
thousand accidents, not speak of its
destroying the wires of the apparatus
itself.*

The spark, on breaking contact, was
very brilliant.

Same magnet, battery, and similar
charge, but the poles of the battery
and the magnet thicker wire, it lifted
at. 3-10.. ]4i lb.

3-20..^ 24
i . . 32i

Same magnet, battery, and charge,
but thicker zinc plates, it lifted
at. i . . 32i lb.

Same magnet, &c. thin-
ner plate. i . 60

Same magnet battery, and charge,
one coil of the same wire, 150 feet in

* See plate iv. fig 1.

length,, i perceptible in

contact 12i ft).

Same magnet, battery, charge, &c.,

2 separate coils, each 150

feet 1-16.. 5f ft).

Same magnet, battery, charge, and
coils, the two coils formed into one of

300 feet, at same distance f lb.

Same magnet, battery, and charge,

3 coils, making together

450 feet f . . . 2| lb.

i ....3i
i ....4f

1-16.. 9i

The wire was coiled in larger quanti-
ty near the poles.

Same magnet, battery, and charge 4
coils, 600 feet, it lifted at i 2| ft).

i .... 3^
i ...3f

1-16.. 12i

Wire coiled equally over the magnet.
Same magnet, battery, and charge, 5

coils, 750 feet, at 4 perceptible.

i ....3i lb.

i ,...2h

i ...,4i

1-16. .12i

Wire rather more on one pole.

Same magnet, battery, and charge, 6
coils, 900 feet, at | 3| lb.

I ....3
i .. 3

i . . . . 7i

1-16. i8i

Same magnet, battery, and charge, 7

coils, 1050 feet, at ^ "I percepti-

1/ ble
i ....2i lb.
i ..5f
1-16. 19i

Wire coiled evenly. Battery dimi-
nished in energy almost immediately.

Same magnet, battery, and charge,
8 coils, 1200 feet, at. . . . i . . . . 7| tb.

^ . . . . 04

1-16 30A

Wire coiled more on the poles. When
it lifted at 1-16 30^ tb, its energy was
so far diminished as to be at i inch
scarcely perceptible.

Same magnet, battery, and charge,
9 coils, 1350 feet, at. .. . ^ , .5^ lb.

I . . . . 6i

i ....91
i .. ..8i
1-16 .2li

M’GAULEY'S EXPERIMENTS.

533

Same battery, magnet, and helices,
charge 300 drachms water, lOg sulphu-
ric, 5^ nitric acid.

1-I6.l7ilb.

The wire was coiled evenly, and filled
the inside curve of the magnet.

SECOND SERIES.

Same magnet and battery, charge 400
drachms water, 8 sulphuric, 4 nitric
acid ; all the coils remaining on those
nearest to the iron connected with the
battery, lifted, at 1-16 inch, the follow-
ing quantities.

Average of a great number of Experi-
ments : —

9 coils.1350 feet.l9|lbs.'

8..

.. 1200..

,. 26|

7..

. 1050..

. .22f

6..

. . 900. .

.. 18f

5.

.. 750..

.. 13§

4..

. . 600. .

..lU

3.

.. 450..

.. 7i

2..

.. 300..

. .

1..

.. 150..

.. 2i

The ninth
helix on this
occasion oc-
cupied nearly
^the same place
"as the tenth
on the former,
and like it, was
injurious to the
effect.

THIRD SERIES.

Same magnet, battery, charge and
helices,

2 helices arranged so as to form but

one, lifted at 1-16 inch 5| lb.

3 helices forming one 4^

4 7i

5

6 0

1 4f

FOURTH SERIES.

Magnet No. 1, horse-shoe bar, 9l
exterior length, from extremity of
poles to highest joint of exterior*
curve, diameter of bar 1-58 inches,
dises surmounting the poles 4 inches
diameter, 1-8 thick. Coiled with 500
feet of No. 15 iron wire, in 5 equal he-
lices. Keeper 9i inches long, 4 3-16
wide, f thick, weight, with ring, 91 lb.,
battery 1 foot square, double cell,
charge 400 drachms water, 8 sulphuric,

4 nitric acid. Flannel casings of the
zinc plates new.

At 1- J 6 of an inch this magnetlifted 61bs.

Magnet No. 2, same size, &c. coiled
with 500 feet of No. 13 copper wire, in

5 equal helices, same arrangement, bat-
tery, and charge.

This magnet lifted at i inch 4 lb.

1-16.... 71

Magnet No. 8, same size, and coilled
with 500 feet of No. 12 iron wire, same
arrangement, battsry charge, &:c.

This magnetlifted at i . . . . 1^ lb.

1-16.... 4

When the keeper was in contact
with this magnet, reversion of the poles
was not effected. The reversing appa-
ratus used was that exhibited to the
Section last* year.

Magnet No. 4, same size, &c. except
that the ground dises at the poles were
replaced by pins, for the purpose of re-
taining the wire. Coiled with 500 feet
No. 12 iron wire, in 5 equal helices,
same battery, charge, &., hardly any
magnetic effect, although Magnet No.
2 of this series, when connected at the
same time with the battery, was pow-
erfully excited fig.

Magnet No. 1, same battery &c. Flan-
nel cases of zinc plates had now been
used several times,

at 1-16 inch lifted. . 2| lb.

Magnet No. 2, again at i inch . . . . 5^
1-16 l4i

I had frequently remarked an electro-
magnet to improve by use.

FIFTH SERIES.

Magnet No. 1, soft iron square horse-
shoe bar, interior length 5.15-16, exte-
rior 7f inches, f inch square, coiled with
one helix of 90 feet No. 13 copper wire.
Magnet No. 2, cast iron^ same size, si-
milar helix.

Magnet No. 3, wrought iron, same
length, but round bar, f diameter ; coil-
ed with a similar helix in two lengths,
each coiled over the entire bar.

Magnet No. 4, same size, &c., coiled
with 60 feet of same wire in two helices,
one helix on each half of the bar, the
coils increasing in number from the
centre to the poles; battery 1 foot
square, double cell, charge 300 drachms
water, 6 sulphuric, 3 muriatic acid.
This charge remained unchanged
throughout this series. Keeper No. 1,
5| inches long, i wide, I thick, weight
12§oz. Keeper No. 2, same length,
double thickness, weight 18t oz. ; there
was, of course, but one ring to the
larger as to the smaller keeper, which

See plate iv fig 2;

• See plate iv. fig 3.

534

THE RESULT OF M’GAULEY’S EXPERIMENTS.

accounts for the former not being
double the weight of the latter.

lb. oz.

Magnet No. 1. with keeper No. 1
lb. oz.
lifted 25 3^

2.. 8 Hi

3 *39 3i

4 39 3i

3 25 3i

2 . 7 3

1 .30 2i

Magnet No. 1, with keeper No. 2,
lifted 32.11; an accidental stirring of
the battery accounts for the increase.

Magnet No. 4, with keeper
No. 1, lifted 84 3i

2 26 3

1 .... 24 2i

2 .... 15 3i

Sixth Series.

To test, with as much accuracy as
possible, the comparative excellence of
various charges, he tried the following
experiments. The galvanometer con-

sisted of small, but exceedingly good,
electro- magnet m, a * battery, b, two
inches square, single cell, zinc plate
i inch thick at commencement of ex-
periments, and a delicate needle, n,
made to stand at zero when the battery
was not connected with the magnet.
The least magnetism produced by con-
necting the battery with the magnet,
tended to deflect the needle. He pre-
ferred this galvanometer, on this occa-
sion, to the ordinary one, for many rea-
sons. The battery was well cleaned af-
ter each charge. The first deflection
on connecting the battery with the mag-
net, carefully noted the number of de-
grees at which the needle rested, and
the decrease of deflection every quarter
of an hour for six quarters. Rain-w'-ater
was used. The specific gravity of the
sulphuric acid 1840; nitric acid 1410;
muriatic 1175.

The solution of caustic potash con-
tained 2 in 7^ of the liquor.

* See plate iv fi g 4-.
TAifLE OF RESULTS OF THE EX P E It 1 11 1- N iS.

1 in

Rain water and niiiic acid .. I in 2I parts ....

I ill 3i
I ill 41
I in 51

Rain water and sulphuric acid I in til
I ill 31
1 in 41
1 in 51

Rain water and muriatic acid l in 4l
1 in 51

Solutions of caustic and potash

Rain water & suipb. acid 1 in 4l| nitric I in
1 in 26|

1 in 161^

I in 2011

Rain water and muiiat.. 1 in 52 sniph
nitric

1 in 5‘2^ sniph

Solution of caustic potash, and sulph.

and iiiiric
and nniiiat

Sea waterfioni Dublin Bay

Sea watei & sulpliuiicacici..

and nitric ac:d.. ..

Rain watei and nitric, I in 53, sulph 1 in 53
and muiiat. 1 in 53

1 in 40.=-,
I in 52
I ill 52
1 in to 1
Mil 51

I in
1 III

I in
I in

First Deflection,

Needle settled doivn to

1 Deflection in \st quar-

ter decreased to.

1

/n 'Ind quarter. j

■5=

n*

908

52®

32i®

11^®

4f®

3%^

38

•-i'l

15^

13

64

Sk

46

46

31

H

3g

H

38

84 *

m

75

5

3

88

44

15i

13|

9^

84

H

49

3(ti

10

5

4

67

44

15

8|

4

4|

4

33t

‘24

3|

3

U

0

97

33^

73

H

8

0

0

58

•22i

9

H

0

0

0

80

19

7

H

98

-iS

24

II

7|

6

H

82

40

•24

154

85

H

23^

S()|

4

•1

k

0

50

23

H

0

0

0

0

35

25

44

11.5

6-1

•28*

15I

10

0

85

46^

10

6

85

0

0

88

4.5

H

If

4

0

0

43

0 +

0

0

0

0

0

23

Is

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

83

26

13

8

f)|

H

0

95

55

33^

16^

0

0

95

59

40

16

iO

3

0

In two minutes it ran up to 85®, settled down to 51®.
t Would not deflect the needle even with renewed charge,

EXPERIMENT’S ON THE GALVANIC BATTERY AND ITS CHARGE. 535

Mr. M’Gauley thought it would be
unbecoming in him to suggest anything
to the British Association; but he be-
lieved nothing would be more condu-
cive to the interests of science, than
that the Association should cause to be
instituted a series of experiments on
the Galvanic Battery and its Charge,
which would set all questions on the
matter at rest for ever. Before he left
this part of the subject, he thought it
well to recall the attention of the Sec-
tion to the nature of the power obtained
by electro-magnetism. In steam, one
great cause of the varying power of the
engine arises from the varying leverage
of the crank. Let b and b’ be posi-
tions of the extremity of the pistonrod,
c’ R and c’ r’ corresponding positions
of the crank, the leverage of the crank
is measured by the perpendicular c’ p
and c’ p’. It varies as that perpendi-
cular. But in electro-magnetism, the
force at b, say the bar traversing be-
tween the magnets, is always varying.
He would not then enter into some
curious results obtained by calculation
on this matter.*

He had been anxious to satisfy him-
self, by his own experiment, of the
truth of the law of magnetic attraction
being in the proportion of the inverse
square of the distance, but abandoned
the inquiry for the present, when he
found that a magnet, with a seemingly
appropriate bar, would lift at one-six-
teenth of an inch only five pounds ;
though with a different bar it lifted the
same weight at twelve times the distance;
and that the greater the distance
through which powerful attraction might
be exerted, the less the lifting power
appeared.

Identity of Magnetism and Electricity.
— In examining the identity of electrici-
ties derived from different sources, it
seemed to Mr. M’Gauley that we some-
times forget that electricity may be
modified both as to quantity and inten-
sity ; and that if either be changed, or
both, we cannot expect the same results.
To test, therefore, the identity of any
agent with electricity, we must not use
those means which are the measure of,
or dependent on, either quantity or in-
tensity ; for if in such experiments the
electrometer or galvanometer be not af-
fected, we only arrive at a negative con-

• See plate Iv. fig 6.

elusion— that if the agent under consi-
deration be electricity, it differs from the
ordinary electricity in quantity, intensity
or both. For though we never had been
able with galvanism to cause the leaves
of the electrometer to diverge, or with
machine electricity to deflect the galva-
nometer, or with electricity to produce
magnetism, or with magnetism, electri-
city, with electricity to produce heat,
with heat, electricity — their non-identity
would by no means follow. To examine
with ease and certainty the identity of
anything with electricity, we must find
some property of electricity, which is not
modified by, nor dependent on, quantity
or intensity. We know, and chemistry
furnishes us with one proof, that the
elements of things may be the same as to
quantity, and as to the intensity of mu-
tual action ; and yet maybe productive of
vastly different effects. Thus we know,
that from two equal volumes of carbon
and hydrogen, may be formed at least
three very different substances.

The following facts seem to afford ad-
ditional evidence of the perfect identity
of electricity and magnetism; and that
magnetism does not require, nor sup-
pose, the circulation of electrical cur-
rents.

1st. A shock and spark are obtained
by means of an electro-magnet only af-
ter battery communication is broken ;
for no matter how long this communica-
tion is maintained, neither shock nor
spark shall be perceived. 2ndly. The
shock and spark are not the effects of
the battery ; for to obtain a shock —
(this shock he had not seen remarked
by any experimentalist) — it is not ne-
cessary to form a part of the communi-
cation between the copper and zinc, but
merely between the extremities of the
helix, or between either extremity of
the helix and the copper or zinc of the
battery. 3rdly. The shock and spark
do not arise from the magnetism of the
bar included in the helix, since the more
perfectly the bar is demagnetized in
breaking contact the better. Besides, it
is curious that a powerful shock and bril-
liant spark may t)e obtained without any
iron, and from a heap of wire thrown
without any heliacal arrangement. This,
Mr. M‘Gauley remarked, would lead to
a very simple and effective electrical
apparatus, one easily managed, and al-
ways ready for use; the length and
number of the coils, with a given calori-

536

PROFESSORS RITCHIE AND STEVELLY’S REMARKS.

meter, has an effect on the shock and
spark. Mr. M’Gauley exhibited to the
Section wire coiled with the greatest ac-
curacy, by a machine he had construct-
ed, which was capable of covering any
wire, manufacturing pianoforte strings,
&c., in any length, without any care on
the part of the operater, to the enor-
mous extent, if necessary, of 7000 feet per
hour. The wire which he exhibited, as
several in the Section knew, was not
more perfectly manufactured than the
many thousand feet he had covered
lately. He thought the shock and spark
might arise in this way ; a current of
electricity passes through the wire from
copper to zinc ; its inductive action on
the wire ceases suddenly, by the contact
with the battery being interrupted; the
disturbed equilibrium of the wire is sud-
denly restored. The electricity of the
battery seems, in passing through the
helix, to acquire an augmented intensi-
ty ; but from these 'facts it is evidently
not so, 4thly. The spark and shock
appear to demonstrate that currents do
not circulate around the magnet. If
they do, as is evident, they are capable,
as we know from secondary currents, of
producing a spark and shock. The
helix, of itself, is capable of these ef-
fects; let the helix and the magnet act
conjointly; these effects ought to be
doubled; the contrary is the fact; they
may be annihilated, and they ought,
for the magnet, by its electrical action,
retains the helix in a' state of exci-
tation. The universal — at least in
other cases — law of electrical induction,
if applied to magnetic phenomena, easily
explains them. He did not think it by
any means certain, that electrical action
consists in the transmission of a fluids
and not the mere arrangement of part-
tides : this idea seemed opposed by an
experiment he made some time ago.
He never could believe that the action of
the galvanic battery consisted in the
passage of electricity through the fluid
from zinc to copper, and along the con-
necting wire from copper to zinc; he
thought that the repulsion which sent
the electricity through the fluid— an im-
perfect conductor — ought to prevent its
return along the wire. He constructed
a small box of wood, being a cube inter-
nally of three inches, divided it into
twelve water-proof cells by well-cement-
ed glass plates ; placed in the cells six
copper and six zinc plates, one in

each, in the usual galvanic order;
filled the cells with a charge of J in
.19 sulphuric acid, 1 in 100 nitric
acid, and water, and connected the ex-
treme plates with a delicate galvanome-
ter, but no effect yjroduced, except when
the copper and zinc were in the same
cell, or the cells were in conducting com-
munication ; but he did not deem this
experiment conclusive against his idea,
since, although induction might occur
from particle to particle, through an im-
perfectly conducting fluid, it by no means
follows this inductive influence should
take place through the particles or glass,
since the very insulating power of glass, |
or other substances, may arise from the ji
incapacity of their particles for electrical j
arrangement. !

If it be true, that electrical effect is
the arrangement, and not the transmis-
sion, of particles, he thought we might
easily understand the agitation of the
muscles of a frog, caused in hreahing
contact with galvanic battery, even of a
single circle; the dangerous effects to
those in the neighbourhood of the dis-
charge of lightning from cloud to cloud ;
and the spark and shock obtained from
a quantity of wire — all of w'hich proba-
bly arise from the same cause, and are
the consequence of the same universal
law.

II

ii

Professor Ritchie rose to remark that
without intending to convey the least
censure on the gentleman, he could not
but observe, that he had been so entirely
occupied with his own researches as not
to have intended to anything done by
others, for there was really nothing new
in this paper — and he gave examples.

Professor Stevelly remarked, that if
the only objection to it were the crank
and magnetic pendulum networking to
gether, in a large machine that could
be at once remedied, by M^hat was well
known in practical mechanics, a slipping
coupling, as, when the steam-engine
and water-wheels were made to work
together, was generally done, or as in
the winding part of the common clock.
The great objection was the small dis-
tance through which the power worked,
onesixteenth of an inch ; thus, even if a
magnet could be produced that would
lift IjOOOlb, would still render the nu-
merical value of the horse-power almost
evanescent compared with the steam-
engine.

REDUCTION OF CHEMISTRY TO MATHEMATICAL PRINCIPLES. 537

Section B.— CHEMISTRY AND
MINERALOGY.

Mr. Exley’fe; paper on the reduction of
Chemistry to mathematical principles,
was the first read. Mr. Exley commen-
ced with a division of atoms, into what
he denominated the tenacious, the ethe~
real, thQ electrical ; the first being
distinguished by posessing the great-
est, the last by enjoying the least absolute
force, while in this particular the electri-
cal occupied an intermediate position.
In reference to these atoms, two propo-
sitions were then laid down, the first of
which affirmed the atoms to attract each
other according to the inverse square of
the distance up to a particular point,
when the attraction was converted into
repulsion ; the second, that dissimilar
atoms differ in the relative energies of
their attractive and repulsive forces,
though these forces vary according to
the same law. Mr. Exley having compar-
ed his views with those of Newton and
Boscovich, and pointed out the particu-
lars in which they differed, proceeded
to state the grounds which led him to
conclude that water was a ternary, not a
binary compound ; or, in other words,
that sixteen, not eight, was the atomic
weight of oxygen.

Having disposed of these preli-
minary topics, Mr. Exley entered upon
the developement of his views in the
form of a series of sixteen propo-
sitions. It is scarcely necessary to
say, that this part of his paper does
not admit of popular explanation;
and it would be presumptuous in
any individual to undertake the task,
who was not deeply versed in the
mathematical sciences, and who had
not had the advantage, not only of per-
using, but of studying the profound re-
searches of Mr. Exley. We have, how-
ever, no hesitation in asserting that
these researches are deserving of ma-
ture consideration. According to New-
ton, before a hypothesis is admitted, it
must be proved true, and adequate to
the explanation of phenomena. The
former test is sometimes very difficult
of application, and would be particular-
ly so in the present instance. But, as
respects the latter criterion, it must be
admitted to pronounce in favour of Mr.
Exley’s theoretical postulates; for, by
following these out, and applying to
them mathematical reasoning, he is en-
abled to anticipate and explain a varie-

ty of the most important facts in che-
mistry and general physics. Thus, he
deduces with facility from his princi-
ples the ordinary laws of chemical com-
bination, Gay-Lussac’s law of volumes,
and even the variations of volume,
which the gases are known to experi-
ence when submitted to various tem-
peratures and pressures. But the most
striking evidence of the truth of his
theorems, adduced by Mr. Exley, re-
mains to be mentioned. He has calcu-
lated by his abstract methods the spe-
cific gravities of fifty-seven substances,
supposed in the gaseous state, (some,
such as alcohol, oil of turpentine and
camphor, being compounds of an ex-
tremely complex nature,) and found
the results to correspond as closely as
could in such investigations be expect-
ed, with those obtained by direct ex-
perimental means. Doctors Dalton
and Thomson of Glasgow, as well as
other competent judges, bore testimo-
ny to the ingenuity and talent shown
in Mr, Exley’s paper.

Mr. Babbage next exhibited a ther-
mometer, recently discovered in Italy,
and supposed to be one of those origi-
nally manufactured for the Societa del
Cimento. It appeared to be filled with
alcohol. The bulb was spherical, and
the stem was divided into fifty equal
parts by beads attached to it by fusion
at equal distances. These instruments,
as is well known, being graduated
without reference to fixed points, do
not give indications comparable with
those of the modern thermometer. Li-
bri, it is generally understood, and the
circumstance was stated by Professor
Babbage, has attempted the interpre-
tation of the scale of these instruments,
partly by a comparison with each other
of ancient and modern meteorological
registers, and partly by taking with
them the temperatures of certain tepid
waters in the Pyrennees, which had
been previously examined by the Flo-
rentine Academicians. Dr. Daubeny
observed upon the inaccuracy of the
latter method, as that springs undoubt-
edly undergo, in process of time very
considerable changes of temperature.

An essay on Gaseous Interference,
by Dr. Charles Henry, was next read,
— It is universally known to chemists,
that if oxygen and hydrogen be mixed,
and brought into contact with metallic
platinum in the state of wire or foil, or

538

A PAPER ON ARSENICAL POISONS.

more especially in the spongy form, the
combination of these gases is very ra-
pidly achieved, and, if mixed in the pro -
portion, they are converted, usually
with the phenomena of ignition, alto-
gether into water. It is also well known
and was first noticed by Dr. Turner,
that if into an atmosphere of oxygen
and hydrogen, mixed in the ratio neces-
sary for forming water, certain other
inflammable gases, such as carbonic,
oxide and olefiant gas be introduced,
the combination of the oxygen and
hydrogen is, if not altogether suspend-
ed, at least materially interrupted. This
is what Dr. Henry denominates gaseous
interference. The cause of this remark-
able effect has, at different times, at-
tracted the attention of eminent che-
mists. Dr. Turner has ascribed it to
the soiling of the platinum by the in-
terferings, Dr. Faraday to some peculiar
condition induced in the metal ; while
Dr. Henry himself, at a period long
prior to the present, conceived it to
arise from the fact of carbonic oxide
and olefiant gas, having a stronger
affinity than hydrogen for oxygen gas.
In his present paper. Dr. Henry in-
vestigated the entire question. The pro-
minent facts and inferences appeared to
be that carbonic oxide retards and li-
mits, but does not altogether prevent
the action of platinum on the usual explo-
sive mixture, and the same may be said
of olefiant gas. The interfering power,
however, of the former is vastly greater
than that of the latter, their ratio being
represented by the numbers 18 and 1.
In the case of carbonic oxide, carbo-
nic acid is always produced, the amount
depending on the form of the platinum
employed, the quantity of the inter-
fering gas, and the temperature at
which the experiment is conducted ;
and, as a general rule, it may be laid
down, that the interfering influence of
the gas bears an inverse relation to the
energy with which the platinum acts,
and the degree of heat — conditions,
however, which may be considered as
identical. The diminution, and even
disappearance, of interference at high
temperatures. Dr. Henry attributes to
a relative augmentation of the affinity
of hydrogen for oxygen, an hypothesis
indeed established by othery and inde-
pendent facts.

That Dr. Henry’s theory of gaseous
interference is the true one he infers from

the general fact of no gases exercising
any such influence but those which
have an affinity for oxygen ; and that
it is strictly true, at least in the case of
carbonic oxide there can be no ques-
tion, seeing that some of the oxygen is
actually employed in the production of
carbonic acid. — Dr. Turner expressed
his conviction of the value of Dr.
Henry’s paper, of the ability with
which it was drawn up, and of the cor-
rectness of the solution of the problem
of interference, and such appeared to be
the prevailing opinion. — In the course
of the paper several other interesting
facts, of a collateral description, were
stated, and, amongst others, that
platinum causes, though slowly, the
combination of a mixture of oxygen and
carbonic oxide, but that the process is
facilitated by the introduction into the
jar of a little caustic potash. This latter
circumstance he attributed to the re-
moval of the carbonic acid by the potash
as fast as it was produced, but Dr. Dau-
beny, wdth much probability, viewed it
as a case of disposing affinity.

Mr. Herapath then read a paper on
Arsenical Poisons, and drew the atten-
tion of the Section to the case of Mrs.
Burdock,, in which he he was profes-
sionally employed, and which proved to
be one of Realgar. While engaged in
chemical investigations connected with
this case, he ascertained that Realgar is
convertible into orpiment by hydrosul-
phuric acid, and the soluble hydrosul-
phates, and that it undergoes, as might
have been anticipated, an analogous
change in animal bodies submitted to
putrefaction. Mr. Herepath also stated,
if we understood him rightly, that Real-
gar favours the conversion of animal mat-
ters into adipocire, a fact, undoubtedly
of a very novel description, and one not
very reconcileable with those researches
of Chevreul and Gay-Lussac, which
have demonstrated this fatty substance
to be an ammoniacal soap. This gentle-
man concluded by exhibiting some ex-
periments illustrative of his methods of
toxicological investigation.

Section C.— GEOLOGY AND GEO-
GRAPHY.

Dr. Buckland in the chair. — ^The first
paper was. A Classification of the old
Slata Rocks of Devonshire, and on the
true position of the Culm deposits of
the central portion of that country,’ by

ON THE POSITION OF CULM DEPOSITS IN DEVONSHIRE. 539

Professor Sedgwick and Mr. Mnchison.
— The authors began by observing that
this was a mere outline of a more
detailed memoir on the physical struc-
ture of Devonshire, which they were
about to lay before the Geological So-
ciety of London. In the published
geological maps of that country, the
whole system of the older slate rocks
was represented under one colour, with-
out any attempt at subdivision ; and
one colour also represented different
limestones, without any discrimination.
The object of the authors was, to re-
medy these defects, — to ascertain and
represent the true position of the suc-
cessive deposits and their natural sub-
divisions, so as to compare them with
corresponding deposits in other places.
They also wished to determine the true
place of the remarkable carbonaceous
deposits of central Devon, which had
been previously regarded as belonging to
the lowest portion of the grauwacke
formation. A section was exhibited of
part of that country, from the north
coast to one of the granite peaks of
Dartmoor immediately south-west of
Oakhampton.

\The following is a description of the
Diagram which will he found to art

fi9- 7-]

ascei^ding series of devonian rocks.

Cambrian Hocks, {a) Slaty schists, with some
calcareous courses and
oruauic remains.

(6) Purple, red, and grey-
saiidstoiies, with beds of
iron ore in upper mem-
bers—-peculiar fossils
near tbeii junction iviiU
lire over l> ing limesloiies-
Veins of lead and copper.
Upper Cambrian (c) Calcareous aroupof Combe
Martin 8c llfraeombe —
fossils very abmidani —
slaiey cleavaue.

or Devonian Rocks, (d) Slates with quaitzose veins
and beds-^-incolierent
schists, &c. Mauganeset
mines.

(g) Slaty sandstones and
scbisis - cleavage pass
ing thro’ the beds of
organic remains.
if) Ditto, yviili cuiicielionary
limestones, and many
well kuoyvn Silut ian fos-
sils, chiefly of the lower
pan of the system.

(g) Culmiferous or black lime*
Slone, with poitionsof
stone coal, and fossils
distinct from any 'oimd
in the inferior groups-
Wavelliie occurs in the
beds below this lime-
stone.

Ch) Culm beds with underly-
ing and overlying sue.

cessions of sandstone
and shale often highly
pyritous, with many no-
dules of iron ore, fre-
quently coiiiaininu coal
tiiants.and never iiffect-
ed like the older rocks
by slaty cleavage.

(i) New ted sandstone resting
uiiconfoi mably on the
« at bonaceous detiosits.
(k) Giatiiteof Daitmoor and
Ehan Dyke, Itoiii eiupt-
ed tlirouijh the culm de-
posits.

In the ascending order this section
exhibits —

1. A system of slaty rocks, containing
a vast abundance of organic remains,
generally in the form of casts. These
rocks sometimes pass into a fine glossy
clay slate, with a true transverse cleav-
age; sometimes into a hard, quart-
zose flagstone, not unusually of a
reddish tinge ; sometimes into a reddish
sandstone, subordinate to which are beds
of incoherent shale. In North Devon
they are very rarely so calcareous as to
be burnt for lime, but in South Devon,
rocks of the same age appear to be
much more calcareous.

2. A Series of rocks characterized by
masses of hard thick-bedded red sand-
stone, and red mecaceous flagstone,
subordinate to which are bands of red,
purple, and variegated shades. The red
colour occasionally disappears, and the
formation puts on the ordinary appear.^
ance of a coarse, silicious grauwacke,
subordinate to which are some bands
of imperfect roofing slate. In this series
are very few organic remains. It is
several feet in thickness, occupying the
whole coast from the west end of the
Valley of Rocks to Combe Martin.

3. The calcareous slates of Combe
Martin and Ilfracombe, of very great
aggregate thickness, abounding in
organic remains, and containing in a
part of their range at least nine distinct
ribs of limestone burnt for use. This
limestone is prolonged into Somerset
shiie, and appears to be the equivalent
of that on the flanks of Quantock Hills.

4. A formation of greenish and lead-
coloured roofing slate of great thickness,
and occupying a well-defined zone in
North Devon, its upper bed alternating
with and gradually passing into a great
deposit of sandstones of various colours
and mycaceous flagstones. These sili-
cious masses alternate with incoherent
slates, and are in some places surmount-
ed by great masses of red unctuous

Siluiiaii Rocks.

Culm Deposits
=C«al-field of

Pembroke.

540

SILURIAN AND CARBONACEOUS SYSTEMS.

shale, which, when in a more solid form,
generally exhibit cleavage oblique to the
stratification.

5. The Silurian system resting con-
formably on the preceding, and of great
thickness, on the north-western coast,
containing many subordinate beds and
masses of limestone. In its range to-
wards the eastern part of the county it
gradually thins off, but its characters are
well preserved, and it everywhere con-
tains vast numbers of characteristic
organic remains.

6. The carbonaceous system of De-
vonshire, in a direction east and west
across the county, in its southern
boundary so close to Dartmoor that its
lower beds have been tilted up and al-
tered by the granite. It occupies a
trough, the northern border of which
rests, partly in a conformable position
upon the Silurian system, and partly
upon older rocks, probably of the division
No. 4. Its southern border also rests
on the slate rocks of Launceston. It
everywhere exhibits a succession of
violent contortions. In some places it
is overlaid by patches of green sand, and
west of Bideford by conglomerates of
the new red sandstone. The lowest
portion of this vast deposit is generally
thin bedded, sometimes composed of
sandstone and shale, with impression of
plants, sometimes of indurated compact
slate, containing wavellite. These beds
are surmounted by alternations of shale
and dark-coloured limestone with a few
fossils. Subordinate to these, there are
on the western side of the county thin
veins and flakes of culm or anthracite ;
but this is wanting on the eastern side,
and the calcareous beds are more ex-
pended. The higher beds of this depo-
sit are well exhibited on the coast west
of Bideford. These often contain im-
pressions of vegetables. Though in a
state of greater induration than the or-
dinary coal-measures of England, and
even in many places destitute of of any
trace of coal, still these beds do not
differ from the great unproductive coal-
field of Pembrokeshire. They conse-
quently concluded, that from the order
of superposition. — from mineral struc-
ture— from absence of slaty cleavage
peculiar to the older rocks on which
this deposit rests, and from the specific
character of its organic remains, it may
without hesitation be referred to to the
regular carboniferous series.

In the course of the details, the
authors alluded to a remarkable elevated
beach, occupying two miles of coast on
the north side of Barnstaple Bay, a
more special account of which is being
prepared for the Geological Society.

Mr. De la Beche objected to the con-
clusions of Messrs. Sedgwick and mur-
chison, although he did not dispute the
correctness of the section of the country
which they had exhibited to the meeting.
He conceived that he had traced the
carbonaceous rocks passing into what
had been termed the Cambrian sys
tern, although he was not prepared
to say that it really was that sys-
tem. He was also unable to make that
separation of the contorted rock, sug-
gested by the authors of the paper. He
spoke of the overlying greenstones in
different places, and considered that
those were of different ages ; also of the
changes produced by granite on rocks of
every kind in contact with it. He allud-
ed to the former opinions of the rocks
called by the general name, Greywacke,
which opinions have, of late years, been
totally altered. He attached very little
importance to mineral characters ; un-
less the consideration of the imbedded
organic remains was made of the first
importance, we were sure of falling into
error. Are the organic remains in these
carbonaceous rocks of Devon really the
same as those of the general carbonifer-
ous system ? He stated, that he con-
ceived there was evidence to prove that
there was a regular band of rocks sur-
rounding Dartmoor, which had been
thrust up through the hollow in the
middle. He could nowhere discover any
line of separation between the carbona-
ceous and the older rocks, so that he
was unable to reconcile the deposits of
coal with those of other parts of Eng-
land, and with the age of these older
rocks all were agreed. In the Alps, or-
ganic remains of the coal formation are
found in beds, alternating with oolites,
so that we must not limit too strickly
the range of these organic remains as
we should be certain of all the conditions
under which coal plants can be accumu
lated. We should recollect, that the re-
mains of the vegetation of a mountain
may be entombed at its base, so as to be
shifted from its original habitat ; and
that, although the disposition of organic
remains may hold true for a certain ex-
tent of the earth’s surface, we have no

CARBONACEOUS STRATA OF CORNWALL,

541

right to consider such a disposition uni-
versal— Mr. Sedgwick remarked, that
he could with certainty distinguish four
calcareous strata in North Devon — viz.
one at Linton, a second at Ilfracombe,
and two others at Barnstaple. The dif-
ference of the limestones of South De-
von was also very remarkable ; that of
Plymouth being essentially distinct
from that of Dartmoor. These carbo-
naceous strata also extended several
miles into Cornwall. — Mr. Conybeare
considered that the public had exagge-
rated the difference of opinion then be-
fore the meeting. He was rather inclin-
ed to coincide with Messrs. Sedgwick
and Murchison in considering the strata
in dispute as referable to the general
carboniferous system, and from the ge-
neral resemblance of the formations of
those of Pembrokeshire, the probability
was much strengthened. — Professor
Phillips conceived that it had been satis-
factorily proved, that there existed a
coal basin in the interior of Devonshire,
although, at first sight, from the unpro-
fitable nature of the contained coal, be-
ing the kind called Culm, some hesita-
tion might have taken place as to assign-
ing it its true position. But doubts
must vanish on inspecting the organic
remains: and here he might observe,
that it was a mistake to suppose that Dr.
Smith, the founder of English Geology,
had ever intended to limit the range of
these remains as some had accused him
of. We might readily assume, and ob-
servation has confirmed, that some or-
ganic remains of one stratum may be
found in contiguous strata, associated
with fossils of different kinds, so that
organic remains alone are insufficient to
point out distinctions in strata. But,
the general appearance of the limestones
of Devon was precisely similar to those
of the north of England, in regard both
to mineral character and imbedded fos-
sils. From their appearance, he had
expected their interstratification with
shales, and Mr. Murchison had confirm-
ed this supposition. The Devon lime-
stone corresponded indeed with the up-
per bed of the Yorkshire limestone ; in
the^ former he had detected a shell, a
species of Anodon, which he had not
observed in the latter : but the species
of Posidonia found in both exactly cor-
respond. Perhaps one cause of mis-
take might have been the little attention
paid to the black limestone of Craven,

by Mr. Conybeare, and to this lime-
stone there was a most striking resem-
blance in the black variety of Devon-
shire. He alluded to the extraordinary
anomaly of coal plants having been
found in the Alps, associated with ooli-
tes, but this might be an exception from
the general law, and exceptions there
must be ; still it must be allowed, that
organic life must have a constant rela-
tion to the state of the actual surface.
He came to the conclusion, that the
Devon district would not offer any
anomaly in geological arrangement,
but that it would correspond in ar-
rangement with the other parts of the
country, and that a fruitful source
of error is the hitherto vague term
Greywacke, which has been applied
indiscriminately to a great variety of
rocks, so as to include many of different
ages throughout this country. — Dr.
Buckland congratulated the meeting on
the difference of opinion among the geo-
logists present, such a difference produ-
cing discussion, which was the sure
means of arriving at truth. He con-
sidered, that the true solution of the
question at issue would be in the middle
course ; that, no doubt, it could not be
easily granted, that the series under con-
sideration was carboniferous, when no
true coal was contained in it ; but, were
we to adopt the new term culmiferous,
we should get rid of the difficuty. This
culmiferous series he regarded as the
lowest portion of the coal formation, and
as resting upon the Silurian rocks. He
alluded to the difficulty of making theo-
logical maps ; these must be constantly
modified, according to extent of investi-
gation : errors of omis.sion must be
committed by every pioneer in Geology,
which can only be corrected by the
researches of succeeding observers.

After the discussion was closed, Mr,
De la Beche rose to submit some consi-
derations on the connexion of the Geolo-
gical Phenomena of Cornwall and Devon
with the Mineral Veins of those coun-
ties. He commenced with defining the
local Cornish terms of lode, cross course,
counter, and elvan, the first three refer-
ring to veins of metallic, the latter to a
vein of granitic matter. A number of
these had been laid down in his geological
map of Cornwall with the most perfect
mathematical accuracy. He next men-
tioned the overlying masses of green-
stone, which are of different age, and ijj

542

ZOOLOGY OF NORTH AMERICA.

some are imbedded portions of the slate
rocks. Granite must have been protrud-
ed last of all the rocks, as it cuts off the
greenstone in many places ; but the
phenomena of the veins are still more
singular, as first the elvans, and then
the lodes, cut through everything. He
referred to certain faults in the green-
stand district of Blackdown, and, most
singular to relate, these faults exactly
corresponded in direction with those of
Cornwall, although the latter were high-
ly metalliferous veins, while the former
were fissures destitute of any valuable
content. He therefore laid out the con-
ditions of a profitable metalliferous vein,
as deduced from the experience of prac-
tical miners, that it should be near the
granite, and that the best signs were an
elvan and a cross course. In the parish
of St. Just these phenomena are in the
highest degree remarkable ; and, near
Penzance, where the elvan courses are
traversed, metals are sure to occur.
The lodes of slate rocks are generally
unproductive. Mr. De la Beche was
particularly anxious to impress these
facts on the public in general, as
mining speculations had been of late
so much the rage, that the more theore-
tical knowledge that could be diffused
the better, so as to cause inquiry to be
made respecting the geology of the mi-
ning district about to be entered upon by
a joint stock company, before capital was
invested in a hazardous, and perhaps
ruinous enterprise.

Mr. Hopkins was called upon to make
some observations regarding the direc-
tion of the fissures mentioned by Mr.
De la Beche, but he did not enter very
fully into any discussion, as he proposed,
on the following day, to bring the gene-
ral consideration of fissures before the
Section. He observed, however, that
there must have been one great axis of
disturbance, to which the smaller fis-
sures must either have been parallel, or
have circulated around it — indeed, Mr.
De la Beche had supposed the great
line of fissures from Blackdowm to Corn-
wall had been curved by the intervening
granites. He stated, that there must be
a connexion between the width of lodes
and their mineral contents — also, that
in the production of fissures there must
have been several periods of elevation.

Mr. Fox then mentioned a remarka-
able experiment which he had made
upon the yellow sulphuret of copper.

having changed it by electricity into the
grey sulphuret. In a trough a mass of
clay was placed, so as to divide it into
two portions, in one of which was sul-
phate of copper in solution, in the other
dilute sulphuric acid. On the electric
communication being made by placing
the yellow sulphuret in the solution, and
a piece of zinc in the acid, the change of
sulphuret took place, and crystals of
native copper were also formed up-
on it. — Mr. Taylor bore testimony to
the importance of geological informa-
tion to mining agents, who now were
informing themselves, not only in prac-
tice, but in theory. He spoke of the
exertions of the late Mr. Phillips in
drawing up a geological map of Corn-
wall, so far back as 1800. He suggested
the propriety of tracing the lines of fis-
sures into the coal districts, and also
wished the directions of the lead lodes
of the mountain limestone to be ascer-
tained, as likely to lead to general re-
sults — Messrs. Conybeare and Sedg-
wick made some observations on the
importance of maling use in Geology
of such an agent as Electro-Magnetism.

Section D — ZOOLOGY AND
BOTANY.

Professor Henslow in the chair. — Dr.
Richardson resumed the reading of his
Report on the Zoology of North Ame-
rica. In touching upon the geographi-
cal distribution of the mammalia, he
remarked the great similarity which
existed between them and the European
species; whilst there was the greatest
dissimilarity to those of South America.
The boundary line separating the Fanas
of North and South America, was not
at the Isthmus of Darien, but at the
tropic of Cancer. No Quadrumana
occur to the north of the Isthmus of
Darien ; though in Europe there is a
species which ranges as far north as the
rock of Gibraltar, in latitude 36®.

In the order Carnivora, and family
Cheiroptera, all the North American
species belong to that tribe which pos-
sesses only one bony phalanx in the
index, and two in each of the other
finger, to which tribe also all the Euro-
pean bats belong, except an Italian
speices of Dinops. None of the sixteen
speceis recorded as natives of North
America have been found elsewhere;
two only have been traced over any
great extent of country, and one of

ON THE LONGEVITY OF THE YEW TREE.

543

these (resembling the European Pipis-
trellus) ranges through 24-^ of latitude,
and is the most northerly species in
America. There must be still many
bats to be discovered in that country,
as those of Mexico, California, and the
whole tract of the Rocky Mountains are
entirely unknown.

Of the family Insectv’ora, ten species
i were enumerated ; and it was stated
I that North America differs more from
Europe in this family, than in any other
of the order Carnivora. Three of the
European genera do not exist in North
America, and the three genera found
in North America do not exist in South
America. The North American species
of Sorex, however, closely resembles
those of Europe.

Of the family Marsupiata, inhabiting
the New World, only three species
reach into North America, the rest being
confined to the south of the Isthmus
of Darien. Two of these occur no
higher than Mexico ; but the third (the
Verginian oppossum) range to the great
Canadian lakes on the north, and to
Paraguay on the south.

About forty species of the family
Carnivora have been noticed ; and this
family includes a greater number than
any other which are common to both
North America and Europe ; though
possibly a closer acquaintance with some
which are at present considered identi-
cal, may enable us to discriminate be-
tween them. The generic forms of
North America are the same as those of
Europe, excepting in a very few cases,
which belong to the South American
group. A few of the more northern
forms also cross the Isthmus of Darien
to the south.

In the family Plantigrada, two, of the
four bears of North America, are un-
doubtedly peculiar to the New World;
and one of these, is the most northerly
quadruped it contains. The American
Glutton, or Woverine, according to
Cuvier, is identical with that of the Old
World, Among the Digitigrada, the
range of the Mustelee is limited south,
wards, to the northern or middle^ dis-
tricts of the United States. Whether
any of the American and European
species of this genus be really identical,
is involved in great uncertainty. Of
the three Otters of north America, one
appears to be identical with that of Eu-
rope; and another, if correctly identified

as the Lutra Brasiliensis, has a most
extensive range, from the Arctic Sea
through great part of South America, —
Eight species of the genus Canis are
found in North America; but there is
great difficulty in distinguishing the
species, and in indentifying them with
any of those of Europe. The domestic
dog breeds with the wolf and fox, and
their offspring is prolific.

Eight species of the genus Felis were
mentioned by Dr. Richardson, three
of which, extend from South America
into the south western territories of the
United States, and some of the others
are still doubtful as North American
species.

The nine species of Amphibia found
in North America, are mostly common
to the northern seas of the Old and
New Worlds : the genus Otaria alone
being confined to the North Pacific ;
and even these range to the Asiatic
coast. The specific identity of some of
the seals is involved in very great
doubt.

In the order Rodentia, there have
been between seventy and eighty spe-
cies discovered; and here North Ame-
rica surpasses every quarter of the
globe in the abundance and variety of
form which these animals assume. The
squirrels are not yet satisfactorily de-
termined. The marmots are numerous
excepting in the sub-genius Spermo-
philus. There is only one which may
possibly be common to the New and
Old World. There is only one of the
restricted genus Mus, which is une-
quivocally indigenous to North Ameri-
ca; and these closely resemble the
European M. sylvestris. Other spe-
cies have been introduced from the op-
posite side of the Atlantic.

Mr. Bowman read a communication
respecting the Longevity of the Yew-
Tree ; and mentioned the result of his
observations upon the growth of several
young trees, by which it appeared, that
their diameters increased, during the
first 120 years, at the rate of at least 2
lines, or the one-sixth of an inch per
annum ; and that under favourable cir-
cumstances the growth was still more
rapid. In the church yard at Gresford,
near Wrexham, North Wales, are eigh-
teen yew-trees, which are stated by the
parish register for 1/26 to have been
planted in that year. The average of
the diameters of these trees is 20 inches.

544

THE GREAT AGES OF TREES.

Mr. Bowman then remarked on two
yew-trees of large dimensions, from the
trunks of which he had obtained sec-
tions. One is in the same churchyard
as those above mentioned, and its trunk
is 22 feet in circumference at the base,
29 feet below the first branches. This
gives us a mean diameter of 1,224 lines,
which, according to De Candolle’s rule
for estimating the age of the yew, ought
also to indicate the number of years.
From three sections obtained from this
tree, Mr. Bowman ascertained that the
average number of rings deposited for
one inch in depth of its latest growth,
was 34-23. Comparingthis with the data
obtained from the eighteen young trees,
he estimated the probable age of this
tree at 1,4 1 9 years. The second of these
trees is in the churchyard of Darley
in the Dale, Derbyshire, and its
mean diameter, taken from measure-
ments at four different places, is 1,356
lines. Horizontal sections from its
north and south sides, gave an average
for its latest increase, at 44 rings per
inch nearly, which gives 2,006 years as
its age, by the mode of calculation adopt-
ed by Mr. Bowman. He then pro-
ceeded to state his opinion of the reasons
why so many old yew-trees were to be
met with in churchyards : he considered
that might have been planted there at a
period anterior to the introduction of
Christianity, under the influence of the
same feelings as those, which prompted
the early nations of antiquity, to plant
the cypress round the graves of their
deceased friends.

Mr. Ball exhibited the skulls of a
species of seal common in Ireland, with
the view of eliciting information, as he
considered it to be new to the British
Fauna, and very distinct from the two
already recorded. The present species
was never known to become tame,
whilst the Phoca vitulina, generally con-
sidered the more common species of
our coasts, was very easily tamed —
Prof. Nilsson, of Leind, at once pro-
nounced this species to be his Halio-
chcerus griseus, forming a distinct genus
from Phoca, and described by him in
the year 1 820. It had been previously
recorded by Fabricius, under the name
of Phoca gryphus. It is common in the
Baltic and North Sea, and to be met
with in Iceland, and attained to a size
of eight feet in length. In Sweden it
was emphatically termed the Sea-seal,

in contradistinction to those which in-
habited gulfs. He remarked that the
name of Phoca vitulina had been appli-
ed by Linnaeus, and subsequent au
thors, to three distinct species, to which
he had himself given the names of har-
hata, variegata, and annellata. Of these
he had ascertained that a specimen,
captured in the Severn, and now in the
Bristol Institution, belonged to the
annellata. — Dr. Scouler remarked that
the species which Prof. Nilsson had
identified as his Haliochcerus griseus, [
predominated in Ireland over the Pho- |
cha vitulina, though it had been hitherto |
neglected ; and that the great differ- ;i
ence in the teeth of these species justly j
entitled them to be considered as form- I
ing distinct genera. — Dr. Riley exhibi-
ted the stomach of the specimen al-
luded to, as having been captured in
the Severn, in which he had found from
thirty to forty pebbles, and states that ^
other instances had occured of a similar
nature ; and that it was a popular notion, |
that they assisted the seal in the way of j
l)allast whilst catching his prey, which i
he did by rising vertically upwards, and i
seizing it from below. But Sir Francis i
Mackenzie then asserted, that he had ;
repeatedly seen the seal chase salmon j
into the nets, and that it was not usual
for it to capture its prey in the way des-
cribed. Neither he, nor Professor Nil- |
sson, nor Mr. Ball, had ever found ;
stones in the stomach of this animal.

Dr. Hancock read a paper on a new
species of Norantea, from Guiana,
termed by the natives Corocoromibi,
This grows on the banks of rivers, and
in moist places, and its botanical cha-
racters closely resembling those of the
Norantea Guianensis; he had long con-
founded it with that species. As Aublet’s I
plant is, however, described as a tree |
which grows eighty feet in height, and :
as the present species is a large climber
they must be distinct ; and Dr. Han-
cock then detailed the botanical cha-
racters of the latter.

Mr. Hope exhibited a remarkable ,
specimen of the Lucanus Camelus, Fabr.
from. North America, the right side of '
which had the configuration of the male,
and the left of the female sex. This
monstrosity was analogous to one
which had been observed in the lucanus
cervus, a closely allied species of Eu-
rope. The exhibition of this specimen
led to a discussion, in which Mr. Cuttis

EFFECTS OF LIME AS APPLIED TO DIFFERENT SOILS.

545

Dr. Riley and Mr. Yarrell took part
concerning those principles of develop-
ment, by which monstrosities of the
above description were reducible to the
operation of general laws. Mr. Yarrell
particularly noticed the occurrence of
both male and female organs, on oppo-
site sides of various hermaphrodites, in
lobsters, and birds, which he had dis-
sected, and stated that he had met with
an instance of a fish, which had a hard
roe on one side, and a soft one on the
other. He had met with a very extra-
ordinary example of double sex in a
fowl, which he had not yet made public
and of which he now detailed some of
the more interesting particulars.

Mr. Hope read a communication,
expressive of the probability that some
of the early notions of antiquity were
derived from the observation of insects.
In attempting to account for the appa-
rently spontaneous generation of those in-
sects, which rise in myriads from the
mud left by the waters of the Nile, the
philosophers of antiquity turned their
earliest attention to the operation of the
external influence of the elements, and
Mr. Hope, supporting his opinion by
numerous quotations, showed that they
considered the sun as the chief and
efficacious power in producing this
efiect. The opinion of spontaneous
generation was universally adopted, and
in full force till the middle of the six-
teenth century, and is still retained in
the greater part of Asia and Africa, and
even held by certain eminent naturalists
in Europe. The origin of the doctrine
of a metempsychosis, he considered,
might be deduced from their actual ob-
servation of the metamorphosis of cer-
tain insects. This doctrine is now con-
fined to the Gawrs of Persia, and some
other idolatrous nations of the Asiatic
continent.

Mr. P. Duncan offered a few re-
marks upon the subject of Mr. Hope’s
speculations.

M- G. Webb Hall commented on
the effects of lime as variously applied
to different soils, and considered the
general effects of this substance, with
respect to its value as calcareous earth,
and its septic qualities as facilitating
the decay of vegetable matter. In the
latter capacity it was found to be most
beneficial in a humid climate like that
of Devonshire. He pointed to the ne-
cessity of a scientific inquiry for the

purpose of obtaining more precise in-
formation than we yet possessed, as to
the requisite proportions in which lime
should be furnished to land of different
qualities. He had found that less was
required, and a greater benefit pro-
duced by employing lime fresh from
the kiln, and ploughing it, into the
ground within twelve hours of its being
laid on the surface. He bore testimony
to the value of gypsum as a manure for
lucerne. Mr. Rootsey was sceptical
as to the ill effects so universally attri-
buted to magnesian limestone, and
which had been alluded to by Mr. Hall,
as he knew an instance where very
large crops were obtained from a dis-
trict, where this rock prevailed.

Section E.— ANATOMY AND ME-
DICINE.

Dr. Roget in the chair — The first
paper read was entitled, ‘ Observations
on Remedies for Diseases of the Brain, ^
by Dr. Prichard, of Bristol. — Dr. Pri-
chard remarked, that perhaps all cura-
tive attempts in cases of disease affect-
ing the brain resolve themselves into
the modifications which medical art is
capable of effecting in the vascular
state, of parts within the skull. We
can promote by various means either
fulness or inanition of the blood-vessels
in the brain : whether anything beyond
this is in our power, is very uncertain.
Besides general and local bleeding, all
those means belong to the same class,
which act by refrigerating or heating the
surfaces either of the head or of other
parts. Refrigerant applications to the
head have the effect of contracting the
calibre of the arteries, and thereby di-
minishing the quantity of their contents.
Pediluvia, or other means of applying
warmth to the lower extremities, pro-
duce a similar result by augmenting
the capacity of vessels remote from the
head, and causing a greater quantity
of blood to be determined into them.
All these means plainly owe their effi-
cacy to the modification which they
bring about in the state of the vascular
system of the brain. The only class of
remedies respecting the modus operandi
of which any question can be raised,
are those which produce what is termed
counter-irritation ; and perhaps the doubt
which exists in this instance arises from
the obscurity of the subject. It is very
generally supposed, and perhaps cor-

546

ON REMEDIES FOR DISEASES OF THE BRAIN.

rectly — at least it is very difficult to
find any other hypothesis on the sub-
ject that is more probable — that the
means of counter-irritation, such as
rubefacients, vesicatories, and issues,
produce their eflfect by lessening- an
hypoplethoric state of the vessels in
internal parts, and that they bring this
to j)ass by increasing the fulness
of the vessels in surfaces to which
they are immediately applied. There
are facts which it is very difficult to
reduce under this sort of explanation ;
as, for example, the relief obtained in
cases of pneumonia or of bronchitis, by
means of blisters applied to the parity
of the chest, there being in these in-
stances no continuity of structure that
might render the proposed explanation
in some degree intelligible. On the
other hand, there is little doubt that
such remedies are most efficacious
when they are applied over surfaces
nearly juxta-position with the seat of-
disease ; and this fact, if not called in
question, goes far towards establishing
the notion before alluded to as to their
mode of operation.

A case has lately occurred in my
practice at the Bristol Infirmary, which
strongly exemplifies the efficacy of the
treatment which I have recommended,
and which I have fortunately an opportu-
nity of bringing before the Medical
Section in the most convincing way.
A youth, aged about eighteen, came
into the Infirmary, labouring under
complete amaurosis, which had been
coming on gradually for a week or ten
days before his admission. At that time
it had become so complete, that vision
was entirely lost, and the pupils were
totally insensible to light even when
the rays of the sun were suffered to fall
immediately into the open eyes. At
first he was freely and repeatedly bled
from the arm and temporal artery, had
leeches applied to the scalp, blisters to
the nape of the neck, and took calo-
mel so as to render his gums sore.
Finding that no effect whatever was
produced by these measures, I gave up
the expectation which I had at first
entertained of his recovering sight, but
was resolved to give the remedies a
complete trial. I ordered him to be
bled ad deliquium. This took place
after a small quantity of blood had
flowed from his arm while he was in an
erect posture. After a few days (he

was still perfectly dark) an incision was j
made over the sagittal suture from the j
forehead to the occiput. It was filled !
with peas. In three or four days, pre-
cisely at the time when suppuration
began to take place, the patient declared
that he perceived light, but was scarce-
ly believed, since the pupils were still
widely dilated and quite insensible to a
strong light. In the course of a few
days it was quite evident that he saw —
he could tell when two or three fingers
were held up. For some weeks the iris
was still quite irritable, though vision
had become in a great degree restored.

The subsequent treatment of the case j
consisted chiefly in occasional leechings, j

purging, and low diet. When the issue I
healed, which was not till it had been '
kept open for some months, a seton in
the neck was substituted ; under this
treatment the case has terminated in a j

complete recovery of the blessings of
sight. j

Dr. O’Beirne stated, that treatment I

was perfectly new to him, and he should
feel himself amply compensated if he
derived no other benefit than hearing
this paper from his attendance at the
British Association. — Dr. Carson stated,
rather as an objection, that if an animal
were bled to death, the same quantity of
blood would be found in the cranium,
and that the doctrine of determination
of blood to the head was unfounded, and
frequently led to great errors in practice.

The second paper read was by Dr.
Houston, on a human foetus without
heart or lungs. Several drawings were
exhibited, and the reading of the paper
led to a short discussion, in which Drs.
Prichard, Carson, O’Beirne, Macartney,
and Mr. Carmichael, took part.

The third paper was by R. Carmi-
chael, Esq., on Tubercles. — M. Carmi-
chael commenced with some remarks on
the great prevalence of these formations,
and then proceeded to detail their ap-
pearances according to Laennec and
Carswell. He adverted to the use of term
Scrofula, which he considered a cloak
for ignorance ; and, having stated that
Drs. Todd, Clark, and Carswell, believe
in the identity of Scrofula and Tubercle,
disputed this position, and likewise their
opinion, that tubercles are inorganizable
deposits. Among other objections he ur-
ged the inconsistency of representing
enlarged cervical glands and pulmonary
tubercles as identical, since it is well

REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE OF THE UNITED KINGDOM.

547

known that former may be injected, but
not the latter ; & of maintaining the non-
inflammatory origin of tubercles, together
with the view that these bodies are life-
less matter; since, if such is their nature,
they must excite inflammation in the
tissues which contain them. He allowed,
however that the scrofulous constitution
disposes to tubercles, but only in the
same manner as to cancer.

Mr, Carmichael next adverted to the
generally-re-cognized connexion between
Scrofula and disordered digestion, and
claimed the priority of this observation
by reference to a work which he pub-
lished in 1810. He then proceeded to
argue, at considerable length, in favour
of the parasitical origin of tubercles,
pointed out the absence of vascular
communication between these bodies
and surrounding parts, and observed,
so long as the former retained their vita-
lity, no inflammation takes place. The
author declared his opinion, that Carci-
noma must likewise be arranged among
the Entozoa ; and, having indicated the
division of a cancerous formation into a
medullary cartilaginous portion, assign-
ed to the former an independent vita-
lity, the latter being only a barrier which
nature sets up against the parasite, and
observed, that the containing cyst be-
longs to the surrounding tissue. The
cartilaginous portion he stated might be
injected, but not so the medullary tuber-
cles, which he considered more allied
to Carcinoma than to Scrofula. Having
spoken of a difference between Fungus
Medullaris and Fungus Hsematodes, he
proposed to arrange the formations which
had passed under review, as constituting
four species of Entozoa : — 1. Tubercles
found in the lungs. 2. Tubercles found in
the abdominal organs, 3. Fungus Me-
dullaris and Fungus Haematodes, 4.
Carcinoma.

Mr. Carmichael next considered the
exciting cause of tubercles, and conclud-
ed by urging that practitioners must
direct their attention rather to the pre-
vention than the cure of the disease.

A short discussion followed. Some
objections were brought forward by Dr.
Macartney, and answered by Mr. Car-
michael.

Section F.— STATISTICS.

Mr. Kingsley presented and described
several forms of tables, for more accu-
rately displaying the revenue and expen-

diture of the United Kingdom, and
procuring accuracy in Parliamentary
Returns of the state of Savings Banks,
&c.

Dr. Bowring observed, that those who
complained of the imperfection of par-
liamentary returns, forgot that they
were ordered, not for the service of ge-
neral science, but to serve some special
purpose, or as the foundation o? particu-
lar motion. The means for procuring
an accurate return of the revenue did
not exist in this country. In most con-
tinental nations the whole gross amount
of revenue is paid directly into the Ex-
chequer; but, in England, several de-
partments arrest the amount necessary
to pay their own expenses in transitu,
and the number of these departments ren-
ders the accounts of British finance very
complicated. — Mr. Tiarcks said, that
measures had been taken to remedy the
abuses from the former mode of super-
intending savings banks. Weekly re-
turns were now made to the National
Debt Office of the most minute descrip-
tion. In the savings bank of Moorfields,
the deposits amounted to 520,000/.,
every penny of which was accounted for
weekly.

Baron Dupin addressed the Section
on the subject of a paper he had laid
upon the table, entitled, ‘ Researches
relative to the Price of Grain, and its
influence on the French Population.’
He had extended his survey over a space
of fifteen years, from 1815 to 1832, but
had stopped at the latter year, in conse-
quence of the special derangement pro-
duced by the cholera During this in-
terval, the price of corn in France had
varied from 805. to 345. per quarter, and
he proposed to examine the eflfect of
this enormous disproportion on the
elements of social life, — deaths, births,
and marriages. From a variety of ta-
bles it appeared, that a difference of
more than 100 per cent, in the price of
corn produced an incomparably less va-
riation in mortality than other causes
which are unperceived ; and that the
effect of scarcities in the nineteenth cen-
tury on mortality must be reduced to
the rank of secondary causes, which can
only be evolved by the artifices of cal-
culation, and by grouping together a
great number of years. The effect on
births is scarcely greater — an increase
of 50 per cent, on the price of grain pro„

548 PRICE OF CORN IN RELATION TO THE FUNCTION OF VITALITY,

duced onl)’’ a diminution of 13-1000 in
the births. On inarriao'es the effect was
rather more marked : there were 918
less marriages for every million during
the year of greatest scarcity than there
were during the year of abundance : but
the years of greatest abundance were
not the years of most marriages, nor of
the greatest social happiness. Society
was most prosperous when- provisions
were at an intermediate price. 'fhe
small annual variation in births, deaths,
and marriages, even for years of great
difference of price, induced the Baron
to search for a function of these three
social elements, which would both ren-
der the variations more perceptible, and,
correcting one by the other, would re-
move the perturbations arising from ac-
cidental causes. This function is the
mean between the number of births di-
vided by the number of deaths, and the
number of marriages divided by the
number of deaths. It is sufficiently ob-
vious, that this function is independent
of the amount of population, and the
Baron considered that its magnitude is
a very fair test of social prosperity. He
proposed to name it the Function of Vi-
tality. In the years of extreme scarcity,
the function of vitality averaged 0.5937.
In the years of high prices it averaged
0.609'2. In the years of intermediate
prices it averaged 0.6168. — He then ob-
served, that, according to Dr. Cleland’s
paper, read on the preceding day, the
function of vitality in Glasgowwas about
O.70OO — a clear proof that social happi-
ness was greater in England than in
France. He trusted that this function
would be calculated for the principal
continental nations and for different
epochs, in order to compare their social
prosperity by a precise and identical
standard. As one valuable result, he
showed that this function was far less in
England during seasons of commercial
depression than of agricultural distress.

In illustration of the Baron’s views
respecting the price of corn, and its re-
lation to the function of vitality, Mr,
Porter read the following table:—

Pi ice.

Baptisms.

But iais.

Marti

J80J..

115. 1

237

v04

67

1802..

67.9

273

199

90

180.1..

67.1

294

203

94

IglO. .

10.1.2

S98

•i08

81

1812..

, 122.8

soa

ISO

82

181.7..

, 63.8

3 14

197

69

1822

43.3

370

220

98

Lord Nugent remarked, that, while
the population of France was notorious-

ly increasing, the number of births ap-
peared to be stationary. Baron Dupin
said, that this was owing to the pro-
gress of civilization ; fewer children,
comparatively,, were born, and fewer
died.

Mr. Porter read the following table, -
in confirmation of the Baron’s views : —

LONDON* BILLS OF MORTALITY.

Deaths under 20 years of Age.

I7.'5l— 60 ..<5 J per ceni

J76I 70 ...50| —

17 . .S'T —

1781 - iO . ..49| ■ —

1791 - l.«00.. 493 ■—

l.'-Ol - 10.. ..47|

18 I-V0 . ..451-10 —

IS21-80 ...46i —

IS3t -33 421-3 —

, Diff'*rence beiiveen
V first and last of

I these rlecennial pe-

j riotls, 1| per cent.

DifTerei'ce between
17)1-60 and the

last of these riece
Jiary periods, 7^

per cetit.

Deaths in Christ’s Hospital.

1814- l«t I ill i()0

1819-23 I - 12^

1824 24 I — 1.35

1829—33 1 — 1574

Births M-.irtia'jes- neath.s.
lrtP7 ISnO ...I in 36 ...I ill 18....1 in i23

I80i3 - 1820.. .. I — 32 ...1 — 49 I — l2l

Ir26 - 183i) ..1 - 3l ...1 - — l28

Some inquiry was made respecting
the effects of Vaccination, to which Mr.
Porter replied by producing the follow-
ing table : —

Persons dying of Small Pox within the
London Bills of Mortality.

1 T.-tO - 1760 . .

91 ill luOo

1770-17 0 ..

102 —

1810-1820...

43 -

1820-1830.. .

. .. .15 —

1831 — 1833..

23 —

Mr. Fripp thought it a great anomaly
that a low price of corn should not, of
necessity, produce a high function of
vitality, and he attributed this to a want
of forethought in the labouring popula-
tion, owing to their deficiency of educa-
tion.— Dr. W. C. Taylor said, that the
anomaly was explicable on elementary
principles. A very slight excess of
supply above demand produced a very
disproportionate fall in price. He in-
stanced two or three cases in which the
disporportion had been very great.
Baron Dupin had noticed the great dis-
disproportion between the fall in price
and increase of supply, both in the
essay before the Section, and in his
memoir on National Industry, addres-
sed to the Institute in 1831. Dr. Tay-
lor was of opinion that this was pre-
cisely the case in which Statistics failed
us, for, whether the excess of supply
over demand was small or great, of
course within certain limits, the fall in

A

NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL PRODUCTIONS OP INDIA. 549

price was sure to be excessive. — Mr.
Harman Visger supported Dr. Taylor’s
views. — Colonel Sykes and Dr. Turner
stated, that from the result of their in-
quiries It appeared evident that human
happiness always increased with the
cheapness of the necessaries of life. —
Baron Dupin observed, that when he
said the greatest social happiness ap-
peared at the intermediate price of corn,
he did not intend the mean between the
highest and the lowest, but a price a
little above the lowest. — After some de-
sultory conversation, the Delegates from
the Asiatic Society were called upon to
state the subject of their mission.

Col. Sykes said, that a proposal had
been laid before the Asiatic Society by
the Right Hon, Holt Mackenzie and
Dr. Royle, for establishing a commit-
tee, with affiliated branches, to collect
statistical information with respect to
the natural and artificial productions
and wants of India. The project has
been already explained in the report of
the Asiatic Society, published in this
journal.* Col. Sykes read several ex-
tracts from the communications made
to the Asiatic Society, by Mr. Macken-
zie and Royle, showing that the re-
sources of India were yet comparatively
undeveloped, and that a vast supply of
materials for manufacture might be
derived from that country. He dwelt
particularly on cotton, for which we
were now principally dependent on
America. — Dr. Taylor observed, that
our empire over India was completely
the supremacy of knowledge. He en-
tered at considerable length into the
question of the trade between India and
the ports on the Levant and Euxine,
which he stated to be constantly and
rapidly increasing ; and detailed some
particulars of the markets of Cabul,
Bokhara, and Herat, obtained from
recent publications of the Calcutta
government. He instanced, as a
proof of the benefit that would result
from the proposed series of inquiries,
the advantages which British commerce
had derived from the information col-
lected by recent travellers in the East. —
Mr. Porter confirmed this statement,
and directed attention to the rapid in-
crease of trade between London and
Trebezond. — Mr. Visger stated, that he

• See Aiheuffiuui, No, 447.

was engaged in a branch of manufac-
ture which depended on the supply of
lichens ; and he could assure the Sec-
tion that this branch of industry, al-
most entirely unknown, was rapidly
rising, both in extent and importance.
Lichens were imported to the amount
of lOO.OOOZ. per annum ; but the supply
of the more valuable sorts was already
beginning to fail, and gentlemen ac-
quainted with botanical science had been
engaged to travel in search of them.
Should this part of the subject engage
the attention of the proposed Com-
mittee, he would gladly supply speci-
mens of lichens, with descriptions, to
the Asiatic Society ; for he felt as-
sured, from all the accounts he had read,
that India was likely to be the habitat
of some of the most valuable plants of
the lichen tribe. — Dr. Robison, of Edin-
burgh, said, that there were two pro-
ducts of India likely, when sufficiently
known, to become valuable articles of
commerce ; he meant a pulp for the
manufacture of paper, obtained from
Nepaul, the paper derived from which
was the only one that resisted the action
of worms ; and a wood-oil which, from
its durability and fragrance, was parti-
cularly worthy the attention of house-
painters. — Lord Sandon, after some al-
lusions to our ignorance of Indian sta-
tistics, dwelt very strongly on the ne-
cessity of attending to the cultivation of
cotton in India. The stock of raw cot-
ton, on the manufacture of which so
large a portion of our population depen-
ded for subsistence, was often in a very
precarious state. Of his own know-
ledge, there was a period, about eighteen
months ago, when the stock on hand
would not have supplied six weeks’ con-
sumption. We now depend on the
United States of America for supply.
He would not refer to the possibility of
war with that power. God forbid that
two nations, bound together by identity
of origin, interest, and civilizing influ-
ence, whose bonds of amity were the
strongest this world ever witnessed,
should again engage in what was almost
civil war. But he need not remind the
Section that the Southern States, from
which our supply of cotton is derived,
are in a very ticklish state, owing to the
existence of slavery, and the question
of negro emancipation, which is likely
to precipitate some sudden conclusion
of no very peaceful nature by the Tex-

550

MODIFICATIONS OF THE PILE OF VOLTA.

ian war . — Several gentlemen from the
manufacturing districts professed their
anxiety to aid the views of the Asiatic
Society, in establishing the proposed
Committee.

Section G.~MECHANICAL
SCIENCE.

The sitting of the section occupied
but a short time, during which two pa-
pers were read, one of some interest, by
Mr. Henwood, on Naval Architecture,
and a second by Mr. Coosham on cer-
tain improvements in Napier’s rods.
Dr. Daubeny also exhibited an ingeni-
ous instrument for taking up sea water
from any given depth, for the purpose
of chemical analysis, being an improve-
ment of an admirable invention for that
purpose sent out in the Bonite.

EVENING MEETING.

In consequence of the incessant rain,
the intended promenade and horticul-
tural exhibition at Miller’s Gardens was
abandoned, and notice given that the
Geological, Statistical, and Mechanical
Sections would meet in the evening.

In the Geological Section, Dr. Hare,
of Philadelphia, entered upon a history
of the many modifications of the Pile of
Volta, and in particular drew attention
to a form of it, devised, and long since
described by himself, but which he
conceived had not in a sufficient degree
attracted the attention of European phi-
losophers. His apparatus is compact,
portable,and, what is a capital advantage,
admits in an instant, and by the sim-
plest manipulation, of being put in
action, and having this action suspend-
ed. A prodigious quantity of acid is thus
saved, which would otherwise go to
waste, and the operator is enabled to
avail himself, as often as he chooses, of
that superior influence which is so well
known to be manifested by the pile at
the first instant of its excitation. Dr-
Hare concluded by the exhibition of
some striking experiments illustrative
of the igniting or deflagrating efficacy
of his Voltaic arrangements.

Prof. Philips followed with an account
of the distribution over the northern
parts of England of Blocks or Boulders.
The Association, he observed, had for-

merly proposed a question regarding
this distribution, and the present was a
partial attempt at its solution ; and it |i
was interesting both to the geologist and (
the geographer, as it involved the effects
of running water in modifying the surface '

of a country. In glancing over the north
of England, we find a great variety of
rock formations, from the oldest slates
to the newer tertiary ; the country gene- '
rally slopes to the east, with the excep- j
tion of the group of Cumbrian moun- j
tains, which form a local conical zone, ji
One striking feature in its physical f
geography, is an immense valley running j
north and south, and passing through a j|
great variety of formations; the Wolds
of York being chalk, of Whitby oolite, j
the vale of York new red sandstone, |
while the carboniferous rocks are dis-
played in Northumberland and Durham,

All the country from the Tyne to the ■
Humber is covered with the transported |
boulders, many of which are of rocks |
quite different from any near the spots j
'where they occur, and some even not i
recognizable as British rocks. Could |
Mr. Lyell’s ideas regarding the office of j
icebergs be true, that they had been the |
means of transporting gravel to distant j
places? Boulders of the S hap Fell gra-
nite had been found in the south-eastern
part of Yorkshire? in the interior, there
were great acurnulations of them in many
places ; their directions seemed all to
converge to a certain point, in what is
termed the Pennine chain, but on this
chain no boulders have been observed,
except at one point, from which you
look tow'^ards Shap Fell ; towards the
north they have been drifted nearly as
far as Carlisle, but there is no trace of
them towards the west. We also may
find boulders from Garrick Fell carried
to Newcastle and the Yorkhire coast,
and these have been drifted over the
same point of Stainmoor. Mr. Philips
gave several conflicting opinions of dif-
ferent geologists, to account for this ex-
traordinary transportion ; the bursting
of the banks of lakes; the alternate
elevation and depression of mountain
chains, and the supposition that the en-
tire country had been under the s ea,
when the distribution of boulders had
taken place. — Mr. Sedgwdck then rose,
and remarked that the direction of
transport of the blocks may have been
modified by the surface over which they
were carried ; and that Sir James Hall

STEAM COMMUNICATION WITH INDIA.

55 1

had been the first who had observed the
Sharp Fell boulders. These boulders
Mr. Sedgwick had noticed on the shores
of the Solway Frith, mixed with gravel
from Dumfrieshire. He alluded to the
action of water upon the crests of
mountains, and to the occurrence of
transported blocks at considerable ele-
vations. It was well known that moun-
tain lakes were gradually filling up ;
and he had shown in a paper to the
Geological Society the relation of a lake
to the age of the valley containing it.
With the diluvial gravel over the coun-
try we find the associated organic re-
mains,— a strong proof that the land
must have been dry when the transpor-
tation took place. — Mr. Murchison had
observed these boulders associated with
recent shells atvarious elevations, — con-
sequently, the land must have been at
one time under the sea, and have been
subsequently elevated. There must
have been a relative change of the level
of land and sea; and Professor Esmark,
in Norway, had been the originator of
the idea of the icebergs transporting
gravel. He referred to the valley of the
Inn, in the Tyrolese Alps, as illustrat-
ing this alteration of level : boulders of
granite had been found on calcareous
mountains composing one of its sides,
elevated five or six thousand feet above
the sea level ; and this valley could not
have been scooped out. — Dr, Buckland
was of opinion that the land must have
been dry before the action of the water
that had transported these blocks. There
was a great number of organic remains
mixed with the gravel, derived from ani-
mals existing on dry land ; and this was
not only true in England, but confirm-
ed by observations in the continent of
Europe.

In the Statistical Section, Dr. Lard-
ner delivered a lecture on Steam Com-
munication with India — a subject on
which we have dilated too recently, and
at too great a length, to return to it in the
present crowded state of our columns.

In the Section of Mechanical Science,
Mr. Whewell gave a short account of
the present state of the science of the
Tides. Though there can be no doubt,
he observed, that the tides are to be
reckoned among the results of the great
law of universal gravitation, they differ
from all the other results of that law in

this respect, that the facts have not, in
their details, been reduced to an accord-^
ance with the theory ; and the peculiar
interest of the subject at the present
moment arises from this, that the resear-
ches now going on appear to be tending
to an accordance of theory and observa-
tion ; although much in the way of cal-
culation and observation remains to ba
still effected before this accordance
reaches its ultimate state of complete-
ness. With regard to observation, the
portofBristolofifers peculiar advantages ;
for, in consequence of the great magni-
tude of the tides there, almost all the
peculiarities of the phenomena are mag-
nified, and may be studied as if under a
microscope. With regard to the theory,
one point mainly was dwelt upon. By
the theory, the tides follow the moon^s
southings at a certain interval of time,
(the lunitidal interval,) and this mean
interval will undergo changes, so as to
leave less than the mean when the moon
passes three hours after the sun, equal
to the mean when the moon passes six
hours after the sun, and greater than
the mean when the moon passes nine
hours after the sun ; and the quantity,
by which the lunitidal interval is less
than the mean when the moon is three
hours after the sun, is exactly equal to
the quantity by which the lunitidal is
greater than the mean when the moon
passes nine hours after the sun. And
this equality of the defect and excess of
the interval, at three hours, and at nine
hours, of the moon’s transit, is still true
where the moon’s force alters by the al-
teration of her parallax or declination.
Now we are to inquire whether this
equality of excess and defect of the inter-
val in all changes of declination, &c. is
exhibited by observation. It appears at
first sight, that the equality does not
exist; that is, if we obtain the luniti-
dal interval by comparing the tide with
the nearest preceding transit. But, in
truth, we ought not to refer the tide to
such a transit, because we know that
the tide of our shores must be produced
in a great m.easure by the tide which re-
volves in the Southern Ocean, and
which every half day sends off tides
along the Atlantic. The tide therefore,
which reaches Bristol, is the result of a
tide wave, which was produced by the
action bf the sun and moon at some an-
terior period. It is found, that if at Bris-

552

ACTION OF THE SUN AND MOON.

tol we refer each tide to the transit of
the moon, which took place about forty-
four hours previously, we do obtain an
accordance of the observations with the-
ory in the feature above described, that
although the moon’s force alters by the
alteration of her declination, the defect
of the luntidai interval fora three hours’
transit of the moon is equal to the excess
of that interval for a nine hoars’ transit.

And thus, in this respect at least, the
tide at Bristol agrees exactly with the
tide which would be produced, if forty-
four hours before the tide, the waters of
the ocean assumed the form of the sphe-
roid of equilibrium due to the forces of
the moon and sun, and if this t^e were
transmitted unaltered to Bristol in those
forty-four hours.

THE INDIA REVIEW

OF WORKS ON SCIENCE,

AND

JOURNAL OF FOREIGN SCIENCE AND THE ARTS,

EMBRACING

MINERALOGY, GEOLOGY, NATURAL HISTORY, PHYSICS, &c.

REVIEW.

Sugar, as to the probability of an im-
provement in the cultivation and quality
of, either through Europeans or Natives,
in case of an increased demand, : from
the report of the select commitees of
the Houses of Lords and Commons,
appointed to enquire into the present
state of the affairs of the East India
Company, 1830-31.

BelVs Comparative View of the External
Commerce of Bengal, during the years
1834-35 1835-36, 106.

A Treatise on the Cultivation of Sugar-
canes, and the manufacture of Sugar ;
comprehending instructions for plant-
ing and saving the cane, expressing
the juice, 8fc. 8fc. By W. Fitzmau-
RiCE, many years a planter in the island
of Jamaica, pp. 69, 1830.

The nature and properties of the Sugar-
cane, with practical directions for the
improvement of its culture and the ma-
nufacture of its products. By George
Richardson Porter, Philadelphia,
pp. 354, 1831.

A Dictionary, Practical, Theoretical, and
Historical, of Commerce and Commer-
cial Navigation : illustrated with Maps
and Plans. By J. R. McCulloch,
Esa. Second Edition, Corrected
throughout, and greatly enlarged :

with a Supplement, supplying the
deficiencies and bringing down the in-
formation contained in the work to
October, 1835. Qvo. pp. 1327- Long-
man, Rees, Orme,Brown, Greene,
AND Longman, London, 1835.

(Continued from page 425.^

Having considered the history of sugar-
cane, we proceed to other important par-
ticulars regarding the various parts of the
cane, and their development. Saccharum
officinarum is a genus of the triandria di-
gynia class ; it has no empalement, but a
woolly down, longer than the flower
which encloses it : the flower is bivalve ; the
valves are oblong, acute-pointed, concave,
and chaffy ; it has three hair-like stamina,
the length of the valves, terminated by oblong
summits, and an awl-shaped germen, sup-
porting two rough styles, crowned by single
stigmas ; the germen becomes an oblong,
acute-pointed seed, invested by the valves.
Bruce says that the cane may be raised from
seeds in this country. It is, however, easily
propagated by cuttings, and multiplies itself
surprisingly. The torrid zone is most favor-
able to its production, but it may be cultivated
as high as the 40® lat. The period at which
it arrives at full maturity is from twelve to
twenty months: there is, however, an Otahei-
tan variety, which comes to maturity in ten
months ; this is only in elevatedspots. In vale
and low alluvial soils, where the land has not

554 DEVELOPMENT OF THE VARIOUS PARTS OF THE SUGAR CANE.

been much cropped, the plant is oftener from
12 to 16 months in becoming fully ripe. It
contains three sorts of juice ; one aqueous,
another saccharine, and the third raucous, the
relative proportions of which and the quality
of the two last depend upon particular cir-
cumstances, the knowledge of which is of
great importance as regards cultivation. The
cane, as in reeds,and other gramineous plants,
has a knotty stalk, and at each knot, or joint,
there is a leaf and an inner joint. The stole
is distinguished into two parts ; the first is
formed of several peculiar joints, varying in
number from five to seven, which are placed
very near to each other, having rows of little
points at their surface, which are elements
of roots. These joints are called radicles,
because their function appears wholly to con-
sist in sending forth roots. They are divid-
ed from each other by a leaf called the radi-
cal leaf. The whole of these joints form the
first part, or 'primitive stole. The joints
are endowed with several rows of points,
elements of roots, which develope themselves
when requisite, and form, with the joints
whence they issue, a secondary stole ; they
thus form roots, till the joints are suffi-
ciently strong to put forth and sustain
those which are to follow them, and form
the stalk. The second part of the stalk
becomes very strong, and seems to serve,
alone, for the filiation of all the remaining
joints. The roots issue from the develop-
ment of the sap vessels, which are disposed
in concentric rays, round each point, on the
surface of the joint. The sap vessels of the
root, cut transversely, exhibit a circular sur-
face of a cellular tissue, and are covered with
a skin, which is first white, and then brown
or black. The roots are very slender and al-
most cylindrical ; they are never more than a
foot in length ; a few short fibres appear at
their extremities. The number of joints of
the stalk or cane vary from 40 to 60
in the Brazilian cane ; these are much
fewer in that from Otaheite, its joints being
further apart, some of which are eight or
nine inches long. Mr. Porter says, that —
“ The finer specimens of those of Brazil
are from two to three inches in length. The
joints vary very much in their dimensions ;

they are short or long, large or little, straight
or bulging ; and several of these differences are
sometimes found in the same cane. The
knots of the canes a re not simple enlargements,
as in the greater part of reeds, and the gra-
mineous family of plants. They are rings,
from an eighth to a quarter of an inch wide.
Four or five rows of semi-transparent points
go round their circumference. A circular
semi-transparent line very perceptibly divides
the outer from the inner joint. At the upper
part of this there is a slight circular hollow,
called the neck, which is terminated by the
leaf belonging to the joint. The inner joint
is entirely subordinate to the outer one, both
in its development and growth. It is destined
to perform a most important function ; in it
the juice, after having undergone various
modifications, arrives at the state of its es-
sential salt.* There is on every joint a bud,
which encloses the germ of a new cane.

If the intimate structure of the various parts
of the cane be minutely examined, its sap and
proper or returning vessels will be readily
discovered. The sap vessels are abundantly
large and very numerous, being more in
number than 1500. They are both simple
and compound, and when cut transversely,
one opening appears in a simple vessel ; but
if compound, two, three, or even four open-
ings are distinctly seen by the aid of a magni-
fying glass. The function of the proper
vessels is to separate the peculiar juices, pro-
per to the plant, in the leaves, the rind, and
the interior of the cane. They are symme-
trically arranged, especially in the interior of
the inner joint, in hexagonal cavities, similar
to those of a bee-hive, forming, at equal dis-
tances, cells, placed horizontally, one upon
the other. At a point somewhat raised on
the stalk, each sap vessel divides itself into
two parts, one continues the vertical direction,
the other becomes horizontal ; the latter grows
interlaced with the vertical portion, and after
having formed a partition of about a sixth of
an inch in breadth, they unite themselves into
a bundle or fasciculus, which pierces the rind,
and forms the bud, which incloses the germ
of a future generation. The buds always
grow alternately on the opposite sides of the
joints. The partition formed by the horizontal
vessels separates the joints internally, and
prevents all communication between them,
as far as regards the peculiar function of
each.

The vessels which continue in a vertical
direction have, through the whole extent of
the outer joint, one of their sides convex, and
the other concave, till they again become
round by the meeting of other vessels ; the
points of this union are marked by a semi-
transparent ring, which forms a line of demar-
cation between the outer and inner joints.
This is the part of the cane where it is weakest^
and most apt to break. The space left be-
tween the sap vessels, running from one par-
tition to another, is filled by cells, which
form the symmetrical disposition of the pro-
per vessels.

♦ We denominate by this term, that portion
of the Juice which will crystallize.

THE CULTIVATION OF PLANTS ON ENLIGHTENED PRINCIPLES. 555

The rind of the cane consists of three dis-
tinct parts: the rind, (properly so called,)
the skin, and the epidermis.

The rind is formed of sap vessels, ranged
in a parallel direction, on a compact circular
surface.

The skin, which is very thin, is at first
white and tender; it then becomes green, then
yellow, as the joint approaches to maturity,
the period of which is shown by streaks of
deep red.

'J'he epidermis is a fine and transparent pel-
licle, which covers the skin. It is almost
always white.

At the upper part of the inner joint the rind
divides itself into two parts. The inner part
forms the rind of the following joint. The
sap vessels of the outer part are joined by seve-
ral other sap vessels from the interior, with
which they rise, supported by a reticulated
tissue, and form the leaf, upon which the skin
and epidermis of the rind are continued.

All the leaves, except the three first radi-
cals, are divided into two parts by a nodosity.
The lower part of the leaf is sometimes
more than a foot long; it envelopes the upper
joints, folding itself very closely round them.
Its inner surface is white, polished, smooth,
and shining. Its outer surface is slightly
indented, and bears a great number of very
minute white thorns.

The upper part is four feet, and sometimes
even more in length. After rising out of the
ground it gradually recedes from the cane as it
grows, and forms with it a proportionate
greater angle in approaching to maturity. Its
greatest width is two inches, thence tapering
to a narrow point.

The nodosity is about half an inch broad ;
the texture of its skin is softer, thicker, and of
a darker colour than the other parts of the
leaf. It has, on the inside, a very thin mem-
branous fold, very tightly applied round the
body of the cane. A channel for the rain is
formed by the upper part of the leaf, and this
fold, which is, at the same tine, a barrier
against extraneous bodies, and protects the
young joints, at the time of their development,
from the attack of insects, which might
otherwise destroy them. The leaves are
placed alternately on the joints, and expand
at top in a kind of fan.”

The author, from whose able work we
have just quoted, adds, that the natural
history of plants shows the phenomena of
the fructification and fecundation of the
germ, the laws which this germ follows in
its development, the different revolutions
which the plant undergoes from its birth
to its total decay, and the various accidents
of the different periods betweeen these two
terms.

“ To conduct the cultivation of a plant on
enlightened and rational principles, it is in-
dispensable that the cultivator should have
a thorough knowledge of its natural history.

This will teach him what soil and what
climate agree best with the plant. In under-
standing the most favourable circumstances
of its vegetation, he discovers the causes of
all the accidents to which it is liable, and is
best able to guard against their recurrence,
at the same time that he is necessarily con-
ducted to the better knowledge of the nature
and the quality of its products.

All the parts of the cane form, develope,
grow, and rise, successively, one upon the
other, in such a manner, that each particular
part is a whole, which appears to pursue its
own course, independent of the other.”

We quote the foregoing, because there
are among our readers some who may deem
the description we have given above as not
necessary to the cultivation. Mr. Porter
thus traces the development of the plant.

“ The bud consists of the germ, tightly en-
closed within little leaves. The develop-
ment of this germ is necessarily governed by
the same laws, in every part of the cane in
which there is a bud. The radical knots can
easily be perceived and examined in their first
development, especially upon buds developed
on the upper part of a cane. If the head of
one be cut off, its buds, then receiving the
juices which would have continued to nourish
the head, are sometimes sufficiently developed
to throiv out twenty joints. After having
removed the radical leaves, the first cane
joint is generally discovered under that of the
fifth knot — it is known by the appearance of
the bud ; if it be without this, it must be reck-
oned a radical knot, then the following joint
will have the bud ; but if that, too, be with-
out, which very rarely happens, the bud will
certainly be found on the next or seventh
knot. It is from the centre of the last radical
knot that the germ of the first cane joint
springs. This germ encloses the vital prin-
ciple of the cane, and of the generation of the
joints. The first, in forming itself, becomes
the matrix of the second, — the second of the
third,— and soon, in succession. '1 here is
always a degree of difference in the various
revolutions of each joint, marked by the time
of its generation ; so that the joints of the cane
may be considered as concentric circles, the
centre of which is always occupied by a point,
which, expanding into a circle itself, js re-
placed by a new point ; circles which, rising
successively one upon the other, enlarge, and
arrive, in a’ given time, at their greatest
diameter.

When circumstances are very favourable
for vegetation, it often happens that, im-
mediately after the first development of the
cane joints, which form the secondary stole,
the bud of the first of these joints throws out
its radical roots, and forms a second filiation
on the first , the bud of the first cane joint of
this second filiation also sometimes developes,
and forms a third ; these two last soon be-
come very nearly as forward as the first, and,
like it, form canes.

566 INFLUENCE OF SOIL AND CLIMATE ON THE SUGAR CANE.

Two distinct operations are carried forward
in the cane; the one belongs to the sap ves-
sels, and, leaching to every part, sheds its
vivifying power through the whole plant;
the other belongs to the system of its proper
vessels, and maintains the functions proper
and peculiar to each joint.

It would, perhaps, be tedious minutely to
follow the plant through all the different
shades of its developement and growth. Its
juice is, of course, variously modified in all
its different stages : in its first formation it has
all the characteristics of that of unripe mucous
fruits; after a while, it very much resembles,
both in taste and smell, the juice of sweet
apples; by degrees it loses this, and takes
the smell and taste peculiar to the cane.

The first joint requires four or five months
for its entire growth, and, during this time,
fifteen or twenty joints spring from it in
succession, and the same progression conti-
nues as, by degrees, each joint arrives at the
period of its growth, which is ascertained by
the decay of its leaf: this is the peiiod of its
maturation. When the leaves of the two or
three first joints which appear out of the earth
have died away, there are then about twelve
or fifteen leaves at top, disposed in the form
of a fan. If the cane be considered in its na-
tural state, it has at this period acquired all
its growth, and arrived at the usual epoch of
its flowering if it blooms, the principle of
life and generation passes entirely to the de-
velopment of the parts of fructification ; at
this period, the joints which spring foitli are
deprived of their bud ; and the sap vessels,
with which they were supplied, pass into the
leaf; whence it happens that, as the number
of these vessels are constantly diminishing,
the joints in a similar proporUon become
longer, and their rind thinner. The last joint,
which is called the arrow, is four or five feet
long ; it is terminated by a panicle of sterile
flowers, which are eighteen or twenty inches
high. If the period of flowering is delayed
by cultivation, then the principle of life passes
to the generation of new joints, and this con-
tinues till the sap vessels of the stole become
woody, and do not afford a passage to the
aqueous juices.”

The other particulars, to which we
beg to call the attention of those interested
in this important subject, is the influence
of soil and climate, in the cultivation
of the cane. It is to he understood that
plants containing mucous juices feel most
sensibly the influence of soil and climate.
Porter observes —

* The flowering rarely happens, and never
but to a very small proportion of some very
few fields. Those canes which flower have
very little juice left, which is by no means so
sweet as that of the vest.- Roxburgh.

On some soils, when the cane is planted
early, and a vigorous vegetation is suddenly
checked, it is often found to flower.

“ Their juices abound more in saccharine
matter in light and loose calcareous soils, than in ■
rich and marshy lands. They requirea favour- '
able situation for receiving the influence of '
solar light and heat, as well as air ; most im-
portant agents in elaborating and peifecting '
the saccharine portion of the plants.

Although the cane appears not to differ in j.
kind, thete are great modifications in it, as !
well as in its produce from the same kind of ,

cane : these are marked in the most decided ’

manner, not only in different islands, but in
different parts of each. Rumphius, who has
considered the cane only as a naturalist, re- !
marks three varieties, and, according to this I
author, the Chinese distinguish two. The first, J
they named Tecsia, which has a thin rind, the [
second Gamsia, whose rind is thick. /

The French introduced plants from the i
East Indies into their West India Islands, J
whence they found their way into some of |
our colonies. Sir John Laforey, who plant-
ed some of these, as well as some canes fiom
Otaheite, in Antigua, soon discovered their
superiority over tlie old canes of the West
Indies, lie gives the following account of
tiiem.

One sort was brought from the Island of
Bourbon, reported by the French to be the
growth of the Coast of Malabar.

Another sort fiom the Island of Otaheite.
Another sort from Batavia. |

The two former are much alike, both in |
their appearance and growth ; but that of
Otaheite is said to make the finest sugar.
I'hey ate much larger than the Brazilian, the |
joints ofsome measuring eight or nine inches '
long, and six in circumference.* * * * § They are '
ripe enough to grind at the age of ten months
they appear to stand the dry weather better, ^
and are not so liable to be attacked by that
destructive insect, the borer. § Indeed, these

* Their colour, and that of their leaves, also
differ from ours, being of a pale green ; their
leaves broader, their points falling towards
the ground as they grow out, instead of being
erect like those of our Islands. Their juice
also, when expressed, differs from that of our
canes, being of a very pale, instead of a deep
green colour.- Sir JoAn Laforey,

f A few cut for trial, above twelve mouths
old, were judged to have lost part oftheir juice
by standing so long.— Ibid.

J I observed, that after a drought of long
continuance, when the leaves of our own canes
began to turn brown at their points, these con-
tinued their colour throughout. —

§ A gentleman of Montserrat had some plants
given him in the year 1791 by Mr. Pinnel, one
of the most considerable planters of Giiada-
loupe, who told him that, in the preceding year,
when an exceeding great drought had prevail-
ed, he had, amongst a large field of tbe Island
canes, half an acre of these; that the want of
rain, and the ravages of the borer, had dama-
ged the former so much that he could not make
any sugar from them, but that the latter had
produced him three hogsheads.

In the spring of this year, 1794, a trial was
made of the Malabar canes on one of my plan-
tations; 160 bunches, from holes of five feet
square, were cut, they produced upwards of

THE BATAVIAN AND OTHER SUGAR CANES.

557

are considered so much superior to the old
canes, that their adoption has nearly banished
the original Brazilian plant from our Islands.

The Batavian cane is of a deep purple
colour on the outside ; it is small in circum-
ference, but bunches exceedingly, and vege-
tates so quickly, that it springs up in one-
third of the time that the common cane does.

In new and moist land, such as the colo-
nies of Dutch Guiana, the cane grows to the
height of twelve, fifteen, or even twenty-feet.
In arid calcareous soils, it sometimes does not
attain a greater height than six feet, and one
of ten feet is considered long.

Dutrone mentions five varieties, which he
classes in rather a fanciful manner. Perhaps
these varieties may be merely the effects of
different soils and situations. But even if this
be the case, his observations are made with
so much laborious accuracy and acute com-
ment, that they may be found useful in irn-
parting a thorough knowledge of the cane in
all its beaiings ; he will therefore give a slight
sketch of these varieties. He says, “ After
the numerous observations I have made upon
the changes and modifications which the cane
receives, not only from soil, climate, and
cultivation, but from the influence of the
seasons, from the air, the light and the sun,
from moisture or dryness, 1 believe I am able
to enumerate all the varieties of this plant. I
distinguish the cane as hardy and tender,
and 1 again distinguish in these two states,
particular gradations.” We will not be quite
so diffuse as the author in describing these.

The most hardy kind is firm upon its stole,
resisting the wind which never lays or breaks
it. It supports, equally well, much moisture
or dryness, and goes through its progressions
slowly ; it rarely begins to decay before eigh-
teen or twenty months; This sort of cane is
the best and most rare. The top part has
fifteen or sixteen joints, the leaves of which
are verg long and wide, their colour is of a
fine green, the joints of the cane are very large
and bulging, and about two or three inches
long. They are yellow ; sometimes they have
a green tint, especially when the land is new.
The buds are very large ; the number of joints
is ordinarily from thirty-five to forty-five.

350 lbs. of very good sugar ; the juice came
into sugar in the teache in much less time than
is usually required for that of the other canes,
and threw up very little scum. The produce
was in the proportion of 3500 lbs. to an acre.
The weather had then been so very dry, and
the borer so destructive, that I am sure no one
part of that plantation would have yielded
above half that quantity from the other canes
in the space of ground.—

In April, 1798, two acres and a half of
Bourbon-canes, in. St. Thomas in the Vale,
one of the most exhausted parishes in Jamai-
ca, yielded near eight hogsheads of above six-
teen hundred-weight each, of clear and strong
grained sugar ; which gives above 5,700 lbs.
for the produce of each caue.

A writer from Tobago says, this cane passes
wonder, and renders the appearance of the
old canes unpleasant- I could not, as a plant-
er, have credited on report, what I have wit-
nessed of \i,—Macpherson's Annals of Com-
merccy 1805.

This cane is very little affected by a backward
season. Its juice is abundant. The great
proportion of mucilage which it contains,. ren-
ders it difficult of clarification. It is rich in
sugar of excellent quality, the concentration
of which is very easy especially when the de-
gree of heat does not exceed 230^ of Fahren-
heit. 'J'his cane must never be cut before
eighteen or twenty montbsgrowth. The cane
in the next degree hardy, must be cut at
from sixteen to eighteen months. It has ge-
nerally from thirty to thirty-five joints, not so
large as the hardiest cane. Its juice is very
abundant, and easy to clarify, yielding the
essential salt abundantly. The cane in the
third degree hardy, grows on high grounds,
and requires abundance of rain : it ought to
be cut at fifteen or sixteen months. The top
has from ten to thirteen joints, with short
straight leaves of a yellowish-green. The
cane has from twenty to thirty joints, which
are very little bulged, sometimes quite
straight ; they are only one or two inches
in length, their colour is yellow, a backward
season has a very sensible influence over it.
Its juice is not very abundant, but it is of very
good quality, sometimes it has a great deal of
mucilage, which renders the clarifying diffi-
cult, and impedes the extraction of its essen-
tial salt, especially when it is exposed to a
great degree of heat ; 238° or 239°' of Fahren-
heit is decidedly too high: when so highly
heated, the mucilage is found in the greatest
proportion, and is most prejudicial.

The tender plants are divided into good
and bad, the former is most general ; it grows
in the plains. Its constitution is modified,
but not changed, by the nature of the soil;
much rain still further weakens and renders
it bad. Extreme dryness causes it to wither ;
its maturity is dependent on the season, it
being commonly completed at eleven or
twelve, but sometimes not until fifteen or six-
teen months. The wind often lays and some-
times breaks it. It is frequently bent and
crooked. The top part has twelve or fifteen
joints, with leaves two or three feet long, the
colour of which is a very delicate green. 'J'he
cane has twenty or thirty joints, the thick-
ness of which depends on circumstances ;
they are about three or four inches long, very
little bulged, often straight, and sometimes
even slightly going in. Their colour is a
deep yellow, with streaks of red, which ap-
pear as they approach maturity. The juice,
which is sometimes very abundant, is easy to
clarify. In favourable seasons it is rich in
essential salt of good quality . in a backward
season, the juice is very poor; it requires a
very moderate heat for its granulation. The
bad sort of the tender cane grows in humid
and marshy lands, it also grows iu lands which
have been newly put into cultivation. Ex-
treme dryness is favourable to it, as much
rain always injures the formation and secre-
tion of its saccharine matter. It is weak on
its stole, as the wind always lays, and very
often breaks it. Its period of decay is from
fifteen to sixteen months. Its top has fifteen
or sixteen joints, with long wide leaves, of a
deep green colour. The cane consists of

558

ON THE PRODUCTION OF SILK AT KAMPTEE.

twenty or thirty joints, four or five inches
long, rarely l)ulging. The colour is a pale
yellow, sometimes approaching to green. Its
juice is often very abundant, the clarifying is
always easy, and after a long drought, the
best are rich in essential salt which is very
tine, and easily obtained, if the boiling be well
conducted. After abundant rains, particular-
ly in a backward season, the juice is very poot ,
and contains a gieater or less proportion of
mucous juice, which has been prevented by
these circumstances from forming into essen-
tial salt. Tlie boiling must consequently be
managed with the greatest care, to obtain
the essential salt. The cane is often badly
made and crooked. From all these particu-
lars, it is evident how needful it is, to tlie suc-
cessful cultivation of the cane, that its general
nature and peculiar functions should be un-
derstood, so that we may know how, most
judiciously, to direct and assist the action of
the various agents of vegetation and matura-
tion. Water being one of the most powerful
of these agents in the vegetation of the cane,
the cares of the cultivator should be directed
towards the best means for supplying it, and
for causing the cane to profit, as much as
possible, by all that it receives, either in the
form of rain, or by irrigation. As a principal
means of effecting this, the ground sliould be
very much loosened round the plant, the faci-
lities for which operation necessarily vary
according to the nature of the land, and many
other circumstances.”

Before giving our author’s directions for
diminishing or removing these obstacles, it
will be necessary to allude to his opinion
as to what soil is most favorable to the pro-
duction of the cane ; whence may be deduced
the remedies required to approximate other
soils ; but we must postpone the subject
until our next.

Art. II. — On the production of silk at
Kamptee, By Miss Anna Calder,
with Mr. Prinsep’s Report on the

Raw Silk, from a printed copy forwarded
to the Agricultural Society of India.
By George Norton, of Madras,
Experimental cultivation in Western In-
dia.

Extract of a Letter from Mr. Shake-
spear, on an improved method in
winding silk.

On the Silks of Assam. By Captain
Jenkins. — Trans. Agricultural and
Horticultural Society, 1836.

We shall now proceed to present our
readers with some valuable papers in the

Transactions of the Agricultural Society of
Calcutta, for 1836, in order that the dis-
coveries of zealous horticulturists may be
diffused not only throughout our Indian pos-
sessions, but spread into Europe and America.
We shall first consider the various articles
on the culture of the mulberry plant, mode
of rearing the worm, and the manufacture
of silk. The first article is from Miss Cal-
der, who observes, that the specimen of silk
forwarded by her, was collected —

“ From November, 1827, to August in the
following year, in which month I was oblig-
ed to give them up ; and during the first two
I met with many accidents in i*earing the
insect, being then perfectly unacquainted
with all its enemies, of which I found, by ex-
perience, a host to contend with. 1 had but a
trifling produce, merely sufficient to teach me
the cultui’e and the spinning it off the cocoons,
in which I wasted much, having no instruc-
tion or any thing to guide me but my own
ideas ; after that, my stock increased, and
was generally from three to four thousand,
sometimes not near so many, in the month.

I was however very limited in my means for
keeping them, having only a small bathing
room for the purpose, and in attendance also,
for the care, spinning, and all was performed
by myself and two little girls under the age
of twelve years (natives), one of whom
is with me now', and equally anxious with
me about our industrious little favourites ;
neither had I then one mulberry leaf in my
own compound. The skein which I send is
but the sixteenth part of what I can produ,
besides I have used some and given much
away to my acquaintance, never supfiosing
that I should offer myself as a candidate
for support in the culture of silk ; but 1 find
myself in a station so adapted to the purpose,
that I have no doubt, with a little assistance,

I could make the article an object with every
poor person who had a spot whereon to plant
a mulberry-tree, so simple is the mode I
adopt in the care of it. Here, within the
limits of my own compound, I have suffici-
ent food for millions, large overgrown trees
of the finest description ; and 1 even think
1 shall be able to make the worm feed itself,
after a while ; but as I never had an oppor-
tunity of trying that experiment, I wdll not
be positive ; time will tell. Just now my
object is to see what my own single effort
would be likely to produce from this spot ;
but as I have not the means of accomplish-
ing that, I should require assistance, for the
purpose of raising sheds with chunamed re-
servoirs for water, a couple of men to attend
the trees, bullocks to w'ater them, and women
or girls, whom I would teach to collect and
wind the silk, whilst the insect itself would
require the care of one steady person and
some boys, all of eourse under my own eye.
Now all this I cannot afford to do ; but my
positive belief is, that it would, in the course
of twelve or eighteen months, amply repay

MISS C ALDER ON THE CULTURE OF SILK.

559

tlse trouble and expense. There are other
things, such as wheels, baskets, &c., requir-
ed. It is not many years I believe since the
Government made an allowance for a like
experiment, but without a similar prospect of
advantage to that which I foresee, and my
most anxious wish is, that it should reap one
through the efforts of a female, whose great-
est reward and pride would be to see the
general culture of an article which consti-
tutes her greatest amusement, extend itself
over a country where it has been hitherto
unknown, and where, of all other places, it is
the most suitable. During the short period
1 kept them, they drew my admiration so en-
tirely that I studied them with the most
intense interest, and am now so well ac-
quainted with their habits, that I could detect
a sick one amongst a thousand. Should my
Ian meet your approbation, and the specimen
send be worth acceptance, I shall be most
happy. I must, however, say it is not worth so
much notice now as it has been, having lost
much of its brilliancy during the long time it
has been laid by, and by the many hands it has
passed through for inspection. The thread
has been wound through hot-water, and con-
tains fifteen or sixteen of the cocoon threads.

‘‘ Some months ago I did myself the pleasure
to address the Society on the culture of
silk, although I had not at the time suc-
ceeded in procuring a number of worms,
having since been many times disappointed
by the insects dying on the road and even being
destroyed by ants in the banghy. 1 have now
the pleasure to state that I ultimately suc-
ceeded in having,from a parcel which arrived
on the 31st of December last, about forty-
two, but in a very weak state, and though
I afterwards got a few others, I consider
those as the parent stock. It will serve
perhaps as a proof that on care and good
feeding depends all, when I say that those
sent were wretched bad cocoons and took
39 days to spin, they then remained 14 in
the crysalis state, but from care 1 found them
improve every time, and that they now spin
in eighteen days and remain enclosed but
nine. How much they may improve I shall
be able to say hereafter. The late two
months of hot winds prevented my doing
more than to keep them for stock, and I
have now a number in high health. As I
had so few at first I did not collect the co-
coons until the third generation ; and after
saving a great many for eggs I found to my
surprise I had upwards of twenty-ohe lbs.
weight, when the winds put a stop to them :
though, were proper places erected to keep
the worm, I am convinced they could be rear-
ed at all times as the mulberry is in as firm
a state then as at any other time. I perused
with great interest a letter from Messrs.
Dover and Norton, read at one of your meet-
ings some time back, and the specimens
which accompany this, 1 collected as well as
I could after their directions; 1 also remark-
ed at your last meeting the silk sent from
Bombay. That I now send is, No. 1, the
first ever taken at this place and by myself,
No. 2, also by me, and No. 3, the work of

a native woman who never attempted it be-
fore, and to whom, with a strict injunction
as to care in not wasting it, 1 gave one ounce
of cocoons ; whether the produce be suffici-
ent 1 am unable to say ; 1 labour under sad
ignorance as to gathering the silk, nor can
1 comprehend what the gentleman meant,
whose opinion was quoted on that from
Bombay, by saying it would be better if col-
lected in the Bengal manner, being twisted
by a wheel ere it reached the reel.
Could I be informed on this subject, it
would be the means of forwarding my ob-
ject greatly ; indeed, were a proper apparatus
forwarded to me through your kind inter-
ference, 1 should be most thankful, and gladly
bear any expence that might be incurred as
to the making, carriage, &c. also I should
like much to know in what manner the re-
fuse silk, such as the perforated cocoons, and
so on, disposed of. I submitted this silk,
through the Resident, for the inspection of
His Highness the Rajah of Nagpoor, who
was greatly pleased, and sent it to a com-
mittee of native silk merchants, whose report
was mighty flattering to me, so much so,
that His Highness has kindly volunteered
to assist me by bestowing some ground and
giving people to cultivate it for a year. 1
only now, therefore, require information on
the subject, as even here the natives seem
most anxious about it, flocking in numbers
and offering their services, so aware are they
of what is likely to be the result. As a proof
of the improvement 1 send two or three of
the original cocoons and as many of the last.”

Mr. Prinsep, inforwarding Miss Calder’s
communication to the address of Mr. Robi-
son, observes that-—

“The principal defect in her silk is, its want
of staple, and it is one of most serious con-
sequence ; by this is understood a want of
adhesion of the various fibres which compose
the thread, and I should conceive it to be
owing to its not receiving the usual twist
while being run off from the basin to the
reel. This twist is acquired by winding
always two threads at the same time, each
being composed of its proper number of
fibres or cocoons. They pass in a parallel
direction to an iron director which has two
small holes in it for the threads to run freely
through, and then the two threads should be
crossed round each other from four to eight
times, according to the strength of the
cocoon fibres, before they again pass through
the eyes of the reel- guide on the reel accord-
ing to the following ground plan :

This crossing, while the thread comes
soft from the warm water, gives a consist-
ence to it which can not be acquired by any
other means ; it also serves greatly to clear
it of imperfections which will invariably fly
up from the cocoons during the rapid pro-
cess of reeling. To make the reeling per-
fect also it is necessary that the reel-guide
should have a lateral motion while the reel
goes round, it will then lay the thread cross
ways upon the reel and prevent its becom-

560

EXTENT OF THE IMPORTATION OF SILK.

ing entangled when the skein is taken off;
but perhaps the Society will send her up a
small model of the Italian Novi reel, which
is most approved in the Company’s factories.

In reply to some queries regarding the
process of the w^orm itself, I have the plea-
sure to add some particulars from which
Miss Calder may, by comparison, estimate
the value of the produce of the worms of
Kamptee, which from her description appear
to be of very different character ft-om those
of Bengal. We have two descriptions of
worms, the annual and the monthly one;
of the first the worms are kept in a close
vessel for a twelve-month, at their term of
ripeness, they eat for forty-three days,
they remain dormant one day, and then
complete their spinning in two days. In
fifteen days more they eat their way out,
if not killed in the inside of the cocoon,
by exposure either to the noon-day sun
or to the heat of an oven ; on the same
day that they emerge from the cocoon, they
will, in twelve hours, lay on the average 400
eggs, and they then die. One maund of 80
sicca to the seer of these cocoons will yield
about 3 seers of good silk in the skein.

The other worms, called generally the
small cocoons, which ripen almost every
month during the year, in different parts of
the country, are of very inferior quality.
The egg hatches in eight days, the worm
then eats for twenty-four days, remains
dormant one day, completes its spinning in
one day, and will emerge in eight days, if not
destroyed as above-mentioned. In three
hours after emerging, it lays 300 eggs on the
average. One maund of eighty sicca weight
to the seer, will yield on average about 2f
seers of good silk in the skein. There will
be produced at the same time, from this weight
of cocoons, 25 chittacksof chassum, or waste
silk, the remainder is dirt or dead cocoons.

Should Miss Calder require further infor-
mation regarding any stage of the production
of raw silk, I shall be most happy to make
my experience, or my services in enquiry,
available to her, and I shall be more punctual,

I hope, in doing so. 1 shall be very glad to
see the result of her comparison of our co-
coons with her own, as well as specimens of
her future filature.”

The most important documents, however,
are the following.

RAW SILK, FROM A PRINTED CO-
PY FORWARDED TO THE AGRI-
CULTURAL SOCIETY OF INDIA,
BY MR. GEO. NORTON, OF MA-
DRAS.

“ The immense extent of the importation of
this production from the Eastern part of the
world, and the great probability that it will
still largely increase, and enable the skill and
exertions of our manufactures to make this
country the mart of the world for silk, as it is
for cotton manufacturers, are we think, suffi-
cient reasons to draw strongly the attention of
all those connected with our trade and pos-
sessions beyond the Cape of Good Hope.

We will first attempt, in the clearest man-
ner we are able, to describe the climate best
adapted for the cultivation of the worm,-—
how such cultivation is practised, —and the
aptest method of drawing from the cocoons or
nuts, which the insects spin, sufficient fibres
to form a thread.

The climate best adapted for the cultivation
of the worm, is the borders of a mountainous
or high country, where the air is warm, yet
temperate and regular. Thus, the best cul-
tivated in Europe is in Piedmont, the
Milanese, and the Tyrol ; which countries
boraer on the Alps : and indeed the silk
produced in all patts of the North of Italy,
which are mountainous, is good , for there the
sky is clear, and the air warm, yet temperate
and pure. The worm cultivated in the val-
leys, where the warmth is great, exudes a
looser and more irregular fibre, and the
thread formed from it becomes rather harsh
and sticky.

The manner of cultivation practised in
Italy is as follows: — First, there are the
growers of mulberry trees, who, when the
trees have arrived at sufficient growth to allow
of the leaves being plucked without injury to
them, pluck andsell the leaves hy weight to the
breeders of the worms : of which there are
two sorts ; first, those who breed to sell the
eggs which the worm produces, always re-
serving a sufficient quantity to keep up the
stock; next, those who purchase such eggs,
which are also sold by weight, merely to feed
the animal until it spins its nut (or cocoon as
it is called) — which nut or cocoon, in order
to destroy the worm within (which would
otherwise break all the fibres it had spun in
easing its way out, when in the course of its
various transmutations it would be called by
nature again to life and activity), is either
baked or suffocated by steam. The latter is
by far the better method ; for without great
care in baking the fibres of the cocoons get
burnt, which creates much waste.

These last breeders sell the cocoons, by the
weight, to those who draw the fibres from
them to form the thread ; which is called
reeling, or filaturing, the silk. This is per-
formed in the following manner ; first, the
cocoons ought to be always, and are so, in
regular filatures, carefully sorted into the
vaiious sizes of the fibre upon them ; then the
quantity of cocoons intended to form the
thread is put into a small bason of hot water,
which enables the fibres to run freely from
them : then the fibres from each of the said
quantity of cocoons are passed through an
eye in a small wire, extended above the bason
of water, in order that in joining together they
may receive a slight twist, which gives the
thread an elasticity, and the greater such
elasticity, the more valuable the silk. After
that, they are fastened to a reel, which is
not circular, but should be formed of four
projecting sticks of wood, with even tops to
them about one inch broad and four inches
wide, with borders at each end to prevent the
silk, in reeling, from slipping off ; and the
extent of such projecting sticks should be
such as to form a skein of about 30 inches

AN IMPROVED MACHINE FOR WINDING SILK.

561

diameter. Then the reel is turned round,
and the fibres drawn from the cocoons until
a skein is made. Now, great and particular
care must be taken by the person who su-
perintends the cocoons in the bason of hot
water to brush them properly with a small
birch broom, in order to loosen the fibres, and
keep the cocoons clear of the fluff upon them,
which, if allowed to run into the thread, ren-
ders it woolly and wasty (which is much the
case in all Bengal silks), and also to take care
that never more or less than a given quantity
be running at the same time, otherwise the
thread will become uneven, which uneven-
ness is a very great fault, prejudices the silk
in a very great degree, and essentially spoils it
for many purposes of manufacture, as, in weav-
ing, it will show the unevenness in the cloth.

To sum up all in a few lines, —the valuable
properties of silks are, that the colour be
clear, and the thread clean, even, and
elastic. The clear7iess of the colour is
produced by the pureness of the atmos-
phere in which the worm is bred, and
the care taken to filature the cocoon in a
proper situation, d'he clearness of the thread
arises from the attention of the person who
presides over the cocoons, when in the bason,
to keep the water clean, and to brush away
all the fluff. 'J’he evenjiess of the thread is
owing to the regularity of the number of co-
coons. And the elasticity is acquired by
having pure soft water, and keeping it always
heated to a degree somewhat beyond tepid. ’
Dover and Norton.

Great Winchester S treet, London.

The quantity of cocoons to make a thread
are various j and in Company’s Bengal silk
they are distinguished by letters. '1 hus, A.

1. is 4 to 5 cocoons ; that is to say, the thread
is formed of not less than the fibres of 4, or
more than the fibres of 5, cocoons : A. 2. is
1 to 8 cocoons ; B. 1, lo to l2 cocoons ; B.

2, 12 to 14 cocoons, and so on ; making, as
the thread gets larger, a difference of two,
instead of one, cocoons ; as, from its size,
such a difference will not cause any percepti-
ble irregularity. But, in Italy, in filaturing,
or reeling, some of their finest silks, they are
so particular and attentive to the evenness of
the thread, that they will commence with
three cocoons, and, when they are run towards
the end, they will then add another cocoon ;
as the worm spins its fibre smaller as it draws
to a close.

Next, the situation of the filatures to
reel the silk sliould be particularly attended
to. They should be where the air is pure,
temperate, regular, and d ry ; and in the neigh-
bourhood of good soft water, which is of the
utmost consequence, as none but what is soft,
or made so by some means, would do; for
which purpose, it would be always better, to
have the water drawn into a large cistern,
and stand exposed to the sun for some lime,
in order that it may |>eneirate and soften it.
Indeed, so delicate is the nature of silk, that a
cloudy day will have an injurious effect upon
it ; and the reeling should, if possible, be on
such occasion avoided. In Bengal, where they
have several harvests, those silks which are
filatured in the rainy season; are always much
inferior in the colour, more wasty, and loose
in the thread.

Now, after paying strict attention that the
silk is filatured in the manner we have point-
ed out, care must be taken to keep each
sized thread from the other, to separate the
yellow gum, from the white gum silk, and
haveeach sort, both colour and size, packed
in separate bales. There is a fault which also
attaches to some of the Company’s inferior
filatures, which is, that a larger reel is made
use of than the one we have described, and (he
long and short reels are mixed together in the
same bale. This ought to be studiously avoided.

The next co mmunication to which we shall
allude, is

ON AN IMPROVED MACHINE IN
WINDING SILK.

Extract fi'om a Letter from Mr. Shake-
spear to the Board of Trade, 2d June, 1832.

Reporting on
the new arrant’e-
meni of a coii-
(liiitin or drying
room whereby
to improve ihe
tneans of pro-
tecting Raw Silk
from (lamp and
of getting up .

Ihe Honnnra-
ble CompaM)’s
investment at the
Gonatea Sc Ran-
gamatee Facto-
ries.

Condemned in
1828, by the Ex -
ecuiive Officei.
but retained at
the sniraesiion of
the present Ue-
sident.

1. When last in Calcutta,
I met with a pamphlet of
considerable celebrity on the
subject of the “ Silk trade”
in which there are some very
apposite remarks on the
great advantages arising
from the public drjdng, or
condition rooms, in Lyons,
founded by Government in
1805 *

2. Fully impressed with
an opinion that the princi-
ple, if practically followed
up in these factories, would
be infinitely beneficial in
protecting newly spun Silk
from the sudden changes of
weather in Bengal, and the
extreme humidity of the at-
mosphere acting upon so
absorbent a fibre, especially
during the manufacture of
the cocoons Silk of the rainy
bunds, (which are reeled off
with all practicable expedi-
tion in their green state, or
unovened) I have not hesi-
tated to fit up, with glass
doors, Venetians, and shut-
ters, a large old godown at
Rangamattee (measuring 40
feet by 30) as ” a condition
or drying room,” in which
are placed two pair of my
pottery ghye stoves having

• Dr. Lardner ia his Cabinet Cyclopasdia
does not touch on this material point in the
manufacture of silk.

562

ST. HELENA SILK WORMS.

Simply a water
jar, of about 2 feet
(tiameter, cut into
two parts, which
cap thetwo stoves;
each havinsa valve
or smoke pipe to
draw off the smoke
to the usual circu-
lar chimney shaft
of the pottery
gbje*

Found to ave-
rage between 2
and 3 chittacks
per raaiiiid, Fe-
bruary 1833.

At the trifling
outlay of Rs. 287-
15-4, paid for out
of the profits on
the potteiyghyes.

hemispherical tops (ia sub-
stitution of the cocoon
basins). Thus a moderate
temperature, by no means
oppressive, regulated by a
thermometer and ventilator,
may at all times be kept up,
and the room being glazed,
the process of weighing,
sorting, and packing, will
all be carried on with great
security in the worst wea-
ther, now altogether im-
practicable without the cer-
tainty of the bales being
packed damp, an evil so
much complained of at the
Export Warehouse, and by
the brokers in London.
The injury increasing by
the heat of the ships hold.

3. The new silk of each
day will be hung up in the
usual mosses, or bundles
of skeins, or distributed on
horses and shelves made
for the purpose, and thus
remain 24 or 48 hours, ac-
cording to circumstances,
before being weighed, sorted
and embaled. The decrease
in weight will be very tri-
fling, no factitious practices
being resorted to by the ope-
ratives in Bengal, as in
Europe by the throwsters,
to moisten and increase the
weight by soap and dirt,
which is there paid for as
silk by the manufacturer.

6. I am induced to hope
that the elFect of this ar.
rangement may prove be-
neficial to the investment,
consequently satisfactory to
your Board. And that it
may accordingly be brought
to the notice of Govern -
mentas an expedient hitherto
1 believe never thought
of or had recourse to at
any of the Honourable
Company’s Factories.

“ Quinonproficit, deficit.”

Mr. Secretary Macnaghten^s Reply of the llth
of June, 1832, to the foregoing.

“The Board being persuaded that you
were actuated by the most praise worthy
motives in incurring the expence of Sa. Rs.
287-15-4, as reported in your letter of the 2d
instant in the preparation of a “ drying
room” at the Rangamattee Factory, they do
not hesitate, in the present instance, to sanc-
tion that expenditure.”

(A True Extract.)

Colin Shakespear, Resident.

REMARK.

Of the advantages of this scheme I can
now speak with confidence : many hundred

bales of Raw Silk having been packed in the
past year, in a state of “ dr^agre” and per-
fection hitherto unknown.

\ 5th February , 1833. C. S.

The following paper on disease among silk
worms is important.

TRANSMITTED TO THE SOCIETY
THROUGH GOVERNMENT.

To L. R. Reid, Esq.

Secretary to Government.
Sir, — I have the honour to inform you
that 1 have dispatched from Darwar a fur-
ther quantity of St. Helena silk-worms’
eggs to the address of the Secretary to the
Bengal Government, Territorial Department.

2. I had found that most of the country
worms in and about Darwar were cut off by
disease within the last two months, and that
the portion of the Italian worms already
hatched from the St. Helena eggs had shared
the same fate, I therefore took the liberty of
sending off the remainder to Bengal as the
only chance of saving them.

3. With reference to your letter of the 13th
ultimo, enclosing the copy of a communica-
tion from the Commercial Resident at Soo-
namooky, 1 have to report that I have com-
menced supplying cuttings of the white mul-
berry by the letter post as desired, and that
I shall continue to do so until I receive in-
formation from Mr. Shakespear that a suffi-
cient quantity has been sent.

4. I have to express my thanks to Mr.
Shakespear for his remarks on the cultivation
of the mulberry in Bengal. 'I'he two varieties
which I have sent for introduction to Bengal
are distinct from those of which Mr. Shake-
spear was so kind as to forward specimens.
The “ dasee” or “ indigenous mulberry” is
cultivated about Poona and in the southern
Mahratta country.*

The “ bedasee” I take to be the same as a
third variety 1 received from St. Helena with
entire pointed leaves and a whitish bark. Ad-
mitting the morns alba and moms Indica to be
originally specially distinct, I should say
that the “ dasee” and “ bedasee” are vaiie-
ties oi' morns Indica, and that the larger white
mulberry (entire leaved,) and the “ doppia
foglia” are varieties o^morus alba. However,
the several kinds of mulberry used for feeding
worms have been so modified by cultivation,
as to render the distinguishing marks between
a species and a mere variety extremely dif-
ficult to ascertain. In order to prepare the
way for more correct information on this
subject, 1 herewith forward specimens of
several kinds of mulberry, with an outline of
an arrangement of the genus morns, which I
beg to request may be sent to Bengal for
comment or correction.

5 There are two important points yet to be
established with regard to the several kinds of
mulberry.

* Vide Specimen.

INDIGENOUS MULBERRY ABOUT POONA.

563

IsL Wliat kinds do the worms prefer I
2d. What kinds will grow best as standard
trees, and what are the best adapted for the
field cultivation on the Bengal plan?

6, It is with a view to decide the above
questions that I wish to continue the subject
brought forward by Mr. Shakespear. 1 was
before aware of the system of cultivation
pursued in Bengal so far as it is published in
a work considered as authority “ On the
Husbandry and Commerce of Bengal,” hut as
there are some crude notions abroad in this
Presidency on the subject of mulberry culti-
vation, a decision of ti)ese questions from
competent authority and experience may
prevent much waste of time and capital.

BENGAL CULTIVATION AS DE-
SCRIBED BY MR. SHAKESPEAR.

7. The Indian mulberry plant is not allowed
to rise above a foot and a half or two feet. It
is cut twice a day as required to feed the
worms. The plant is thus exhausted in about
the third year, and it is then rooted out, but is
easily renewed by cuttings, and planted in
rows with just room enough between to admit
of the cultivator weeding, dressing, and
earthing up the roots.

EXPERIMENTAL CULTIVATION IN
WESTERN INDIA.

The mode introduced at Darwar and Poona
about ten years since differs but little from
that described opposite. Tlie mulberry cut-
tings are allowed to grow about three or four
feet high, and as they are always irrigated,
they produce leaves at this height. They are
not rooted out under seven years. I am my-
self convinced that the more frequently this
kind of mulberry is cut down, , the better and
more tender leaves are produced, and that
old trees become straggling, and produce in ■
feiior leaves. But my experience only
amounting to four years, during which time
I have cultivated the plant at Dapooree, my
autho.ity may be thought insufficient. I
therefore beg to submit the proposed Deccan
plan for an opinion from Bengal.

Plantations of mulberries, dasee, and per-
haps also the bedasee, are now forming about
Poona and Ahmednuggur upon the (2) Italian
plan, the cuttings having struck, are trans-
planted, and set from 8 to 12 feet apart, and
trained up as standard trees, the leaves of
which it is proposed not to gather for four
years.

8. The following information is desired
from Bengal.

1st. Has such a plan ever been tried in the
Bengal provinces, and, if it has, with what
success ?

2d. Will the leaves be improved or other-
wise, as food for the worms, in this climate,
by being produced from old trees ?

3d. Provided the trees and the leaves be
improved by age, and produce a larger crop
as they grow older, still will it be possible

with any supposable rate of profit to com-
pensate for the capital of a silk farm lying dead
for four years, and in a country where labour
is dearer than in Bengal and irrigation neces-
sary ? I have to remark with regard to the
two varieties of white mulberry before men-
tioned, that they are of much slower growth
than the common kind, and will probably
make good standard trees. They do not so
readily root from cuttings. I have found
budding them on the common mulberry the
most eligible way of propagating them, as a
single bud inserted into a stock serves the
purpose of fivo or six buds sa'crificed fora
cutting ; besides gaining a year's growth by
the age of the stock. This is of course only a
temporary expedient to facilitate the quicker
introduction of the plant into the country.

I have the honour to be, &c.

(Signed) Charles Lush,
Siqjt. Botanic Garden, Dapooree.
Dapooree, Poona, 3\st January , 1833.

GENUS MORUS.

Species that have been cultivated or propos-
ed to be cultivated for feeding silk worms.

1. FRUIT ROUNDISH.

1. Morns nigra. The common officinal.
Black mulberry (not in India ?), used in some
parts of France and Italy for feeding worms.
The only species common in England.

2. FRUIT CYLINDRICAL.

A. Fruit very long.

2. Morn's latifolia. Leaves rough, various-
ly divided. A large tree common in gardens
in the Deccan. The worms do not flourish
on it.

B. Fruit short.

3. Morns Indica. Leaves smooth, entire, or
divided, heart-shaped, equal at the base ;
fruit deep purple ; stem shrubby and diffuse.

VAR. DASEE.

2. Bedasee. (Is this morns Tartarica of
some Botanists ?)

4. Morns alba. Leaves smooth, entire, or
divided, heart-shaped, unequal at the base ;
fruit whitish or variously coloured, pink or
purple; siem arborescent varieties ; common
simple leaved white mulberry.

2. “ DOPIA FOGLIA.”

The above varieties differ in the form of the
leaves. There appear to be others depending
on the colour of the fruit.

The cause of the confusion that exists in
the nomenclature of species and varieties of
this genus, may be traced to the circumstance
of Botanists having taken their characters
almost exclusively from the leaves. Now
it happens that, in those species which have
not been cultivated for fruit or leaves as the
Morus Mauritiuna M. Scandens* and perhaps
also in the M. latifolia/, the character of the
leaf is sufficiently marked to determine the

♦ Both those are growing in the Botanical
Garden, Calcutta, and at Dapooree-

564

DE VERINNE ON THE MULBERRY TREE.

species, while in those kinds of mulberry on
which silk worms are fed, an almost endless
variety of leaf may be found. This being
the case, it becomes of importance that cha-
racters should be taken from the fruit, stem,
stipula, or parts of the plant To do this
properly every known variety must be pro-
cured for comparison, a task which can
scarcely be completed satisfactorily by any
individual in India.*

The following are the replies of J. M. De
Verinne, to the queries submitted by Dr.
Leish to this Government.

5th Par. of Dr. Leish’s letter. — There are
twm important points yet to be established
with regard to the several kinds of mulberry.

1. Wliat kinds do the worms prefer?

2. What kinds will grow best as standard
trees ?

2. Cont. What are the best adapted for the
cultivation on the Bengal plan ?

8t!i. Par. of Dr. Leish’s letter.

1. Kas such a plan ever been tried in the
Bengal Provinces, and, if it has, with what
success ? I'his relates to the plantation of
mulberry now' forming at Poona and Ahmed-
nuggurupon the Italian plan.

2. Will the leaves be improved or other-
wise, as food for the w'orms in this country,
by being produced from old trees ?

3. Provided the leaves and the frees be
improved by age, and produce a larger crop
as they grow older, still will it be possible
with any supposable rate of profit to compen-
sate for the capital of a silk farm lying dead
for four years, and in a country where labour
is dearer than in Bengal, and irrigation is
necessary ?

The kind with the small leaf of a dark
colour, rather thick, called double leaf, more
difficult to pick and has been found to be the
best cultivated for the nutrition of silk worms
in Italy.

Species Morus alba.

Both the species called Morus alba, of a
white beri'y, and the Morus nisjra, of a black
berry, wdth upright large trunks, dividing
into large branchy very spreading heads ris-
ing tw'enty feet high and more — further
valuable information on this subject may be
gained by a reference to the “Treatise of
Monsr. L’Abbd Boissier de Sauvages, de la
Socidtd Royale des Sciences de Montpellier,
de L’Acaddraie Imperiale Physico-Botanique
et de celles des George Fili de Florence,”
for the treatment of standard trees refer to
pages 35 to 54 inclusive.

* The lately published volume of Dr. Lard-
ner’s Cabinet Oyclopoedia “ on the culture
and manufacture of Silk,” is full of loose
statements and contradictious regarding- the
species used in India, China, &c The infer-
ence is that very little is accurately known
on this subject.

I think the common “ Dasee” Morus In-
dica is the best adapted for the cultivation
on the Bengal plan, (as described by Mr,
Shakespear) which is pretty nearly the same
all over Bengal ; in some places however they
strip the leaves off the stems instead of cut-
ting both together.

I cannot say w'hether it has ever been
tried in Bengal.

In Europe old mulberry trees produce bet-
ter leaves than young trees, and as the trees
grow older, the leaves diminish in size and
improve materially, so that they at last at-
tain a very excellent quality, and 1 should
think the same effect would be produced here.

_ 3. On referring to pages 349 to 361 inclu-
sive, of Dandolo’s Treatise, this question
will be found, in a great measure, to be satis-
factorily answered, and will apply equally to
this country, as it does to the one where it
was written.

The St. Helena silk worm eggs, mentioned
in the 2d par. of Dr. Leish’s letter, were re-
ceived by me in November last, reared and
hatched in January and February last ; spun
their cocoons, became moths, and laid their
eggs ; which eggs have again hatched, the
beginning of this month, and will give a se-
cond crop. The worms w'ere fed entirely on
the common “ dasee” Morus Indica, intro-
duced by me on the farm, and planted and
cultivated on the Bengal method. If I could
procure some cuttings of the Morus alba, I
would give them a fair trial here as standards
according to the best methods adopted on the
continent.

It is astonishing to observe that no ad-
vantage is taken of the wide field open in
this country for the improvement in the cul-
tivation of the mulberry tree, more especially
the species which is known to be the best
adapted for the food of the silk worm either
as standards, half-standards, dwarLstand-
ards, or shrubs, and the breeding and rearing
of silk worms by those who are properly ac-
quainted with the minutiae of this particular
study, and the fact is, that those who do
really understand it, do not meet with the
proper support and encouragement they re-
quire, and when this is wanting, no material
improvement will ever take place in this
branch of Indian commerce.

Mr. Storm states that there are four kinds
of mulberry used for feeding the silk worm
in the districts adjoining Calcutta.

The native names are, saw, bhore, dasee,
and China.

The two first produce fruit (black), but the
last two have no fruit. The leaves of the
saw are very large, but they are not given to
the worm till they have passed two goomes.

The leaf of the bhore is small and jagged.

The leaf of the dasee is small and plain,
and the China leaf is also small, but jagged
at the stem.

The leaves are considered all equally good
for feeding the worm.

JENKINS ON THE SILK OF ASSAM.

665

The mulberry tree is not cut down for 5
years. It is then allowed to grow for 5
years more, when it is rooted out.”

Another communication is
ON THE SILKS OF ASSAM, BY CAPT.
JENKINS.

Muneeram gives me the following account
of the silk of Assam : —

The worm that gives the common fawn-
coloured moonga silk when fed on the most
common plants, gives a whitish silk when
fed on the leaves of other trees : the plants
it feeds upon are named and estimated as
follows : —

No. 1. Champa* — The silk produced from
the worm feeding on this plant gives the
finest and whitest silk, used only by the Ra-
jahs and great people, and is called Champa
pattea moonga-

The thread from 11 to 12 Rupees a seer.

No. 2. Maizankurry ,-f called also Addakur^
ry. — The leaves of this tree also give a white
silk and is called Maizankurry moonga, the
old trees are cut down, and the jungle about
burnt, and the worms are fed upon the tender
leaves of the off shoots for one year, when
the leaves become too old and hard for the
worm.

Silk from 6 to 7 Rupees a seer.

No. 3. Soom.X — This is the common tree
in this vicinity : the silk from the worms fed
on this give the finest sort of fawn-coloured
moonga.

Silk to 4 Rupees per seer.

No. 4. Soahalloo.^ — This is also a brown
silk of inferior quality. This plant is most
common in Dhurumpore and about Russa-
chokey.

No. 5. Dighittee.\\ — Ditto ditto, but the
worms fed on the leaves of this tree increase
much in size.

The moonga worm gives broods five times
a year, and the cocoon is very large, but thin.

Weight from 5 to 6 grains.

No. 6. Pattee hoonda.% — I could only ob-
tain silk the produce of worms feeding on
Nos. 3 and 4, and manufactured into cheap
cloths for the lower classes.

The ara or area pat is the produce of an-
other worm and very inferior in appearanee
to that of the other ; though 1 believe it is
equally lasting ; the worms are fed in the

• Miclielia.

+ Perhaps of the Laurel family, looks mar-
vellously like a willow, though it is most pro-
halily not of that genus.

t A species of Tetranthera or Laurus,

^ Tetranthera macrophylla — iioa?.

11 A plant of the Laurel tribe belonging to
'Tetianthera. Hamilton calls it Tetranthera
diglottica.- W.

Much the same (quality (>f the silk) as the
.foregoing,

H Laurus obtusifolia. - iioar. W.

houses and entirely upon the leaves of the
arund (castor oil plant), if they are procur-
able, and if not, on other trees in the order
following . —

GREEN RED.

1. The Ricinus coramums ov viridis — v. is
a misnomer of Wild : s.

2. Kisseroo, a plant I know not as yet.

3. Rengala aloo, a common plant, divided
leaves like that of the papeeah. I know not
its name as yet.

3. latropha manihot.

4. The common hair, Zizyphus Jujuba.

5. Keora kaura* — This 1 know not.

6. Gooluncha phool, Assamese name, the
Bengalee Bherondo, latropha curcas.

This worm produces broods every month
or every month and a half; its cocoon is much
less than that of the foregoing. It is smaller
in size considerably, but thicker, only about
a grain lighter. The chuddurs made of this
silk are thick and very warm and lasting.

Weight from 4 to 5 grains each.

N. B. This worm and its produce is no-
ticed by Dr. Buchanan in his account of
Dinagepore; vide Asiatic Journal.

Besides these worms they have in Assam
the true silk worm which is fed on mulber-
ries.

This silk is from 6to8Rs. a seer according
to qualities.”

We derive additional information from
the following extract from the Calcutta
Daily Commercial Advertiser.

“ We have much pleasure in answering
the call made on us by Mr. Gaisford, in his
interesting letter on silk, in another column.
After making every enquiry in our power,
we have no hesitation in recommending the
immediate adoption of the plan suggested,
of I’aising a capital of Rupees 30,000 for
the purpose of forming plantations of the
mulberry, and establishments for reeling
silk in the neighbourhood of Yewla (Ahmed-
nuggur). It will be observed that Mr. Gais-
ford recommends the tree cultivation, and
the Chinese reel. — Of the propriety of the
latter, in that district, we have no doubt,
considering that the supply is for native
markets, in which they are accustomed to
the quality of silk and length of skein, which
the Chinese reeling produces. Of the
sufficiency of the capital also we are satisfied,
since Signor Mutti informs us that he
believes the amount proposed would even
be sufficient for an establishment embracing
his own system of reeling, on an ample scale,
which of course would require a greater out-
lay for buildings and reels than the plan of

♦ Sapim schiferuin. It would be S. baccha-
tura, if it were not for the glands on tlie
leaves.— W.

566

ESTABLISHMENTS FOR REELING SILK.

Mr. Gaisford, We hope this gentleman
will lose no time in following up the
proposal with a full prospectus, and for a
want of a better agency we shall, pro tem -
pore, be most happy to receive proposals for
joining this undertaking. It is likely that
this will be only the forerunner of other
establishments formed on similar principles.
— There must be many spots of waste about
Ghats and in this neighbourhood where, if
merassee and other claims could be purchased
out, and compounded for with the sanction
of government, we should in a few years
see a manifest improvement in the resources
of the immediate neighbourhood of the pre-
sidency. In such places, Mr. Mutti’s plan
altogether, for the export trade, would pro-
bably be the favorite, i. e. trees, with the
Italian reel. Mr. M. has lately brought
some very fine silk from Kutroor, in quality
considerably above “ Tsatlee” ; but when
his own account of his progress appears in
print, we shall be the better able to judge.
In the mean time he informs us that he has
made a calculation by weight of the pro-
duce of his St, Helena trees as compared
with the Bengal field planting. The same
quantity of land (an acre), which produces
sixteen seers pucka or 321bs. of leaves per
annum, will,if cultivated with trees, produce
71 pucka seers or 1421bs. commencing from
the 5th year, and for many years progres-
sively increasing. This result we consider
sufficiently important, not merely to induce
persons on our side of India to plant the stand-
ard tree, but to awaken the silk growers of
Bengal to the necessity of experimenting
on this subject.

We shall anxiously await Mr. Gaisford’ s
detail of the plan, and the prospectus of the
first joint-stock purse proposed for agricul-
tural improvement. — Courier^ January 21.

TO THE EDITOR OE THE BOMBAY COURIER.

Sir, — Some years have now elapsed since
the commencement of attempts to introduce
silk cultivation in the Deccan. These at-
tempts have in no case been prosecuted
under favourable circumstances, the Poona
experiments having until lately been retarded
by a conflict of opinions and unfortunate
occurrences, and those at Ahmednuggur, by
want of practical knowledge, and the
proprietor’s unavoidable absence from the
country. Still they have abundantly prov-
ed, not only the capability of the country
to produce this important article of com-
merce, but its superiority over many of
those where it has long been a source of
wealth to the people.

Various species of mulberry grow with
wonderful rapidity and luxuriance. The
white standard tree thrives better than in the

richest silk countries of Europe ; and in
four or five years is fit to afford sustenance
to the worm, by which time it has attained
such size as to be little liable to injury,
and independent of all but the most mode-
rate attention and expense.

The climate is eminently suited to the
silkworm which spins at all seasons ; passes
through its metamorphoses more rapidly
than in the South of Europe ; requires
no costly buildings for its protection, and
no artificially regulated temperature.

The price of labour is very low, and that
kind required for the manipulation of silk
might be performed at their own homes by
the women and childi-en, whose manual
dexterity and delicacy of touch especially
adapt them for it.

All this has been repeatedly brought for-
ward, and most fully by Dr. A. Graham in
his treatise on the amelioration of India, and
all who have had opportunity of forming
a judgment, are agreed on the superior
qualifications of the Deccan in the above
particulars.

Still nothing is done. Year after year
is permitted to pass, leaving all these advan-
tages unimproved. Vast tracts of country
remain waste. A multitude of people are
almost starving in idleness, and silk is all
the while largely imported into the very
parts which are so capable of supplying the
demand of local manufactures, and exporting
the raw material for our own in England.

The government, it would appear, can do
nothing except wish well, and give some
slight encouragement, to the individuals
who make a commencement. Officers are
the servants of government, and cannot
enter into these pursuits. From the natives
nothing can be expected : the wealthy saokar
will not embark capital in an enterprize un-
suited to his habits, and, if he is in any way
connected with the China trade, prejudicial
to his interest : — to hope anything from the
miserable cultivator, is futile.

Is then the introduction of so important
a product to be left to the weak efforts of
two or three individuals, who, if successful
amid their present difficulties, can only
derive a small, and slowly wending, and
scarcely obseiwable rill from a source
which a single vigorous effort might open
at once, and effectually to the whole country ;
for its benefits once palpably set forth, this
branch of trade would rapidly ramify and
extend through the length and breadth of
the land.

I say then, let a Company be formed.
Leaving all considerations of interest out of
the question, there are well-wishers enough
of the people to fill the list of shareholders.

SPECIMENS OF THE SOIL AND SALT OF SAMAR.

567

30,000 Rupees, in three hundred shares of
100 each, would be sufficient capital.
Details of management may be easily ar-
ranged, and there is a vast extent of waste
land on the banks of the various rivers and
streams of the Deccan.

Instance the neighbourhood of Phoon-
tamba, on the Godavery, as excellently
adapted to the purpose. The supply of
water is inexhaustible. Very simple ma-
chinery would raise it in copious streams
from the bed of the river. The ruined
streets of the town afford any required
quantity of building materials ready to hand.
Yewla, the greatest manufactory of silks
on this side of India, lies within 15 miles,
and is celebrated for the beauty and durabi-
lity of its dyes.

Government, which has shewn so much
liberality in the encouragement of sugar and
cotton, would doubtless grant the land on
most favourable terms ; and we have for our
successful guidance the experience of those
who have felled the way before us — So I pray
you, Mr. Editor, stir the good people up.

I am, &c.

T. Gaisford.

Patoda Jungles, Jan. 12, 1837.

Art. III. — Journal of the Asiatic Society

of Bengal, edited hy the Secretary,

December, 1836.

This is the completion of the fifth annual
volume, edited by our talented friend James
Prinsep. Esq. While there is scarcely a
task more difficult of execution and more
meritorious in its object, than that of con-
veying to posterity discoveries in science
and the progress of oriental literature and
researches, there is scarcely one less noticed
or supported by the generality of mankind.
Nothing can be more striking than the
support the nworthy and esteemed editor of
the Asiatic Journal has experienced as the
result of his valuable labours, not only have
they been performed gratuitously, but he has
been actually minus of some thousands of
rupees. We are glad therefore to find him in-
creasing the amount of subscription to his
work, and we are satisfied that they who duly
estimate the value of his efforts will rejoice
that he has done so, and endeavour to remove
a burthen which should never have been im-
posed : the numbers published monthly have

been enlarged from 62 to 80 pages ; the in-
creased rates of subscription therefore, which
is only eight annas per mensem, is not pro-
portionate to the value received. We hope
that our allusion to the subject will multiply
the number of subscribers to this ably con-
ducted work. We turn however from pecu-
niary considerations to a field of matter be-
fore us. An article ON SPECIMENS ofthesoil
AND SALT OF SAMAR, COLLECTED BY LIEUT.
CONOLLY, AND ANALYZED BY MR. STEVEN-
SON, is important. The following is the ana-
lysis, accompanied with the editor’s remarks.
EXAMINATION OF SELECTED SPE-
CIMENS OF THE SOIL.

BV J. STEPHENSON.

A No. 1. — Mud from the bed of Sambhip' Lake.

An average portion digested in distilled
water, and the filtered solution (which appear-
ed of a reddish brown colour), subjected to
the usual tests, gave the following results.
Nitrateof barytes,. . Copious white’, precipitate.
Nitiate of silver,.. . .Ditto flambent grey ditto
Prussiate of potash,.. No change.

Oxalate of ammonia. Ditto ditto.

Litmus pafier, ..... Ditto ditto.

Turmeric ditto,. . . . Ditto ditto.

300 grains exposed to a gentle heat in or-
der to drive off the moisture lost 107=35, 6
per cent,

100 grains of the dry mud were now put
into solution, and the insoluble matter collect-
ed on the filter, washed, dried, and weighed,
gave 70 grains.

The filtered solution treated with nitrate of
barytes threw down a precipitate of sulphate
of barytes, together with the colouring mat-
ter, which, after washing, drying, and weighing,
gave 17 grains= 10.4 sulphate of soda.

The solution now freed from the sulphate
was next treated with nitrate of silver, from
which a precipitate of muriate of silver was

obtained, weighing 42 grains = ig.S muriate
of soda.

Insoluble matter, 70 0

Sulphate of soda, lo 4

Muriate of soda, l9 5

Loss 0 i

100 0

EXAMINATION OF THE INSOLUBLE
MATTER FROM A NO. 1, AFTER
J HE SEPARATION, AS ABOVE. OF
THE SULPHATES AND MURIATES.

Fifty grains of the insoluble earthy matter
now freed from theextraneous salts was treated
with muriatic acid. A strong effervescence
took place, and the digestion was continued
for 12 hours, as there was reason to suppose
that carbonate of lime was present. It was
now repeatedly washed with pure water, and

568

CHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF THE SALT OF SAMAR.

the remaining earthy matter, which the acid
had not dissolved, separated, and collected
on the filter, well dried and weighed: it
amounted to 37 grains.

The muriatic solution was now treated with
oxalate of ammonia, which threw down a
copious precipitate of oxalate of lime. This
being welt washed, and dried, weighed ll
grains = 8.6 carbonate of lime.

The remaining solution contained a con-
siderable portion of loose muriatic acid, which
being neutralized with pure liquid ammonia,
a portion of alumina (tinged with yellow
oxide of iron) was precipitated. I'liis being
separated by the filter, washed, dried, and
weighed, gave 4 grains.

Calculating then for per centage, the com-
position of this earthy matter will stand as fol-
lows :

Matter insoluble in muriatic acid

(silica,) 74 0

Carbonateof lime, 17 2

Alumina and oxide of iron, . . 8 0

Loss, 0 8

lOO 0

A No. 10.— This I found to be chiefly
composed of sulphate of soda, with the car-
bonate and muriate of soda in considerable
proportion.

A No. 15. — This gave a trace of sulphate ;
otherwise good salt ; though the crystals are
small.

A No. 22.— When tested gave traces of
sulphate.

A No. 24.— Crystals of a pink colour, which
disappear in the filtered solution ; the colour-
ing matter appears to be volatile— sulphate of
soua [jicdominatesinthissarnpie ; nocarbonate
of soda present.

B No. \.fro7nan old deep re-operted after 100
years. Exajnbuition by tests.

Nitrate of silver,. .. . Copious precipitate.

Nitrate of barytes, . . Very copious ditto.

Oxalate of ammonia, No change.

Prussiate of potash, Ditto ditto.

Litmus paper, ... . Ditto ditto.

Turmeric ditto,. .. . Ditto ditto.

A fair average sample was taken through the
whole thickness of the lump.

100 grains exposed to a gentle heat lost
5.5 grains moisture.

100 grains treated with nitrate of barytes
gave a precipitate, which, after having been
well washed and dried, weighed 136= 83
sulphate of soda.

I'he filtered solution treated with nitrate
of silver produced a precipitate of chloride of
silver, which, after having been well washed
and dried, weighed 22 grains = 10.4 muriate
of soda.

The composition of this sample rs then as

follows :

Insoluble matter, 1 0

Moisture, 5 5

Sul phateofsoda,(and carbonate?) 83 0

Muriate of soda, 10 4

Loss, 0 1

100 0

A No. 6. — The salt of which got mixed
with scum while forming, appeared very wet.

When tested, this sample appeared to con-
tain a considerable portion of alkali, especi-
ally the reddish coloured part called scum
in the list.

lOO grains dissolved, and the insoluble mat-
ter separated by the filter, washed and dried,
gave 2 grains.

To the filtered solution was added acetic
acid till the alkali became neutralized ; after
which it was treated with nitrate of barytes ;
the sulphate of barytes was precipitated, and
having been well washed and dried, w'eighed
84 grains = 5l sulphate of soda.

Nitrate of silver threw down a precipitate
of chloride of silver that weighed (after wash-
ing and drying) 30 grains = 14 muriate of
soda.

In order to ascertain the quantity of alkali
in this sample, lOO grains were dissolved in
pure water, and treated (diop by drop) with
sulphuric acid of specific gravity 1.116 till
the exact point of saturation was ascertained,
by frequently testing with litmus paper. To-
wards the point of saturation a strong efferves-
cence took place. 'I'he solution was neutra-
lized after 96 grains of the acid test liquor
had been used, which is equal to 10 per cent,
of carbonate of soda.

This sample being very wet, the moisture
was ascertained in the usual way, and amount-
ed to 23 per cent.

This sample, or rather what is called scinn
in the list, is composed of ■

Sulphate of soda, 5l 0

Aluriate of soda,.. l4 0

Carbonate of soda, 10 0

Insoluble matter, 2 0

Aloisture, 23 0

loO 0 ^

Samples A Nos. 25 and 26, called good and
superior salt in the list, when tested, gave
traces of sulphate; with this exception the
crystals are good and pure.

The conclusions to be drawn from the pre-
ceding details are somewliat at variance with
the general impression regarding the Samhhur
salt lakes. At least my own idea, derived
from conversation with natives engaged in the
salt traffic, was, that the lake water was a
deep saturated brine, which left so thick a
cake of salt on evaporation in the hot weather,
that it was cut out in blocks on the margin
and brought away on bullocks.

It would seem, however, that the shallow
lake or inundation, would of itself leave a de-
posit too thin to be profitably worked ; and
that it is customary to dig reservoirs or kiydfs
wherein several feet depth of water, alieadj
nearly concentrated to brine, are allowed (o
deposit their crystals on drying ; or the eva-
poration is aided by the introduction of sticks,
up which the saline incmstaiion rapidly
creepiv

COLLECTION OF PLANTS FROM ASSAM,

569

The vel ocity of the spontaneous evaporation
under the fierce sun and scorching winds of
the western desert, is well exemplified by
specimens A 15, the bacheh or infant crystals
of one day’s growth, through 16, 17, 18, to 19,
the 8th day’s produce ; in the last the crystals
are cubes of full half an inch base. Again
we find crystals of the same size in No. 22,
from the evaporation of 8 out of l2 fingers’
depth of water in 20 days of the hottest season.
In No. 23 the crystals from 6 inches depth of
water are of | inch base. The size, however,
of the crystals depends greatly upon the un*
disturbed continuation of the process, and
does not give us a clue to the quantity of salt
deposited from a given depth of water, whence
we might calculate the saltness of the lake
itself at various periods of the season. The
rate of evaporation itself may be estimated
from the above data tolerably well ; thus — “6
fingers in 8 days” — “ 12 fingers in -0 days” —
will be nearly half an inch in depth per diem !
The pits dug for the reception of the brine
seem sometimes to be very deep, 10 or l2 feet ;
in these when deserted the deposit proceeds
for several years, forming solid strata of salt
separated by a streak of earth washed in dur-
ing the rainy season. The accumulation is
then dug out in mass; but in general the salt
for sale is collected as it forms in the brine
pits in a granular state, by which means it is
freed from the more soluble salts witli which
it is accompanied. The pakkd salt of the
byopdrts or traders (Nos. 25,26), is of a large
grain, -the latter indeed in half-inch crys-
tals,— and not very clean.

A circumstance of chief importancseolicited
by Lieut. Conolly’s specimens, is'the pre-
sence of the carbonate and sulphate of soda
inconsiderable abundance among the saline
products of the Samkhur lake. The greater

frart of the substance described by the manu-
acturers as refuse or scum, which is stated to
be thrown away as useless, turns out on ana-
lysis to be carbonate of soda, contaminated
with sulphate and muriate; and it is well de-
serving of inquiry, whether the discovery of so
•xtensive a store of natron in a state of great
purity, may not be turned to profitable ac-
count. In all the strata cut from the neglect-
ed kiydrs the carbonate is seen overlying the
mixed sulphate and muriate, of an efflorescent
snowy consistence. Sometimes the formation
of the salt is prevented by its abundance (as
in A 4,5,6); No. 5 I find on analysis to
contain 40 per cent, of carbonate, with 30 of
each of the other salts-and a little care in
separating the crystals of these would leave
it nearly pure.

Spicular crystals resembling nitre are seen
in some of the specimens (All); they bear
0 very small proportion to the general mass.
It is but necessary to refer to Mr. Stephen-
son’s examination of other specimens, to form
a clear idea of the conditions best suited for
the separation and collection of the different
salts; thus in the old deserted pits ( B No. 1),
the sulphate is obtained nearly pure ; in A
6, 10, it is mixed with carbonate ; in A 5, the
latter predominates. As for the muriate, from

its inferior solubility, this salt is readily sepa-
rated in a state of purity from the brine.

The small proportion of lime in the earthy
residue of A I, from the bed of the lake,
rather militates against the expectation enter-
tained by Lieutenant Conolly from native
report, of a subjacent stratum of this mineral „

'i’he points now wanted to complete Lieute-
nant Conolly’s description of the Sambhur
salt manufacture, and the questions naturally
induced from the information he has already
given, are :

1. A topographical account of the lakes,
their extent, general depth, position relative-
ly to adjacent plains, sands, or hills.

2. The extent of the manufacture, produce,
possible increase, price, and other statistical
data.

3. Whether the carbonate and sulphate
are worked and used? the quantity and price
of these.

4. The exact process followed by the na-
tive manufacturers or collectors.

5. The specific gravity of the water, both
of the lake and of the brine pits, at different
seasons ; which may be found in the absence
of the means of determining it on the spot,
by bottling off a portion at stated times. This
would also enable us to ascertain whether the
carbonate existed in the water, or whether u
was formed during the evaporation, by the
action of the lime or other eartlis. The pre-^
senceof magnesia, of potash, and of iodine^
also remains an undecided point, as well as
the nature of the pink or amethystine colour-
ing matter remarked in some of the speciioens
(A No. 24).

To conclude this hasty note. I may men-
tion that I have found M. Gay Lussac’s
alkalimeter a very convenient instrument
for examining these mixed salts. By prepar-
ing three standard bottles of dilute nitric
acid, nitrate of barytes, and nitrate of silver,
adapted to his centesimally-divided dropping
glass, the per centage of carbonate, sulphate,
and muriate, is obtained successively from the
same specimen with great ease and rapidity.”

Another valuable paper is from Mr.
Griffith, on a collection of plants from

UPPER ASSAM.

The plants collected amount to about 1500,
which may be considered about one-fourth
of the Flora. The portion of Assam seen by
Mr. Griffith may be compared to an exten-
sive plain, intersected in various manners by
belts of jungle , the breadth of which is not
very great, and towards the eastern boun-
dary the spots unoccupied by jungle
become fewer and less spacious. Between
Kujoo Ghat on the Noa Dehing, and Nun-
groo on the Booree Belling^ and in the whole
of that direction, the country is occupied
with jungle. Mr. Griffith’s collection wait

570

THE BOTANY OF ASSAM.

almost entirely formed at Sadiy&, a plain
intersected by narrow belts of jungle.

“ The peculiar feature of especially

its lovver and central divisions, consists in the
vegetation of its churs, or tracts of sand, very
often of great extent, which are stretcher)
along the Bitrhampootur . The breadth of
these tracts, taken together, is, in some places,
from 8 to 10 miles. '1 hey may be said to be
throughout their whole extent exclusively
clothed with dense grass juaule.

Up to Run^poor the eye meets nothing but
grasses, and an occasional Bombax, a tree
remarkable for its ramificaiion, the branches
being nearly apptoxirnaled in whorls, and
forming right angles with the trunk. About
Bii^gooa Mookh. lielts of. jungle begin to ap-
pear, here and there approaching to the banks
of the river. From this place upwards the
belts increase in extent and number, and from
Seloni Mookh just below the confluence of tlie
Dihong with the Burhamyootur to Sndii/ti,
they preponderate much over the grassy tracts.
Above Sadiy(i^ these tracts recommence at
least on the northern bank, but they disap-
pear soon entirely: the grasses that clothe the
churs are, especially thioughoul Lower and
Central Assam, of gigantic size, some of them
often measuring 20 feet in height. 'I'hey con-
sist of four or five species of Saccharum, the
kuggra, mog, (white,) molaha, (red) and
telee, (blackish,) of the Assamese, and a
species of Ai undo, which is perhaps the long-
est of all, the nul (or podomolee* ) of the na-
tives. Towards however, very large

tracts are covered with Imperata Cylindrica.
the ooloo-kher of Assam^ which grows to the
heightof5to7 feel. As tiie genus Saccharum
far preponderates over the others, and is per-
haps during its inflorescence one of the most
conspicuous genera of the order, the appear-
ance presented by the churs during the flower-
ing of their occupants, can be more easily
conceived than described.

It may perhaps be convenient to consider
the botany of Assam under the following
heads.

1. Botany of the Burhampoolur^ including
the churs.

Of these, Gramineae form, as I have said,
almost exclusively the Flora. Of the imme-
diate banks, the predominant order is,— Com-
posit®, Polygone®, Scrophularine®, Grami-
ne®, (among which is a species of Alopecu-
rus,) Boragine®, have several representatives
from Jorhath upwards to Dihoroo Mookh, a
large annual Ranunculus occurs extensively,
and throughout the same distance large
patches not uncommonly occur of a species
of Irematodon,, (I. sahulosns, mihi.) a species
of Polentilla is also not uncommonly met
with.

IL Botany of the plains.

Predominant plants. Gramine®; of these
the most common about Sadiyd are Imperata
cylindrica, Saccharum spontaneum, Sac-
charum fuscum (Rosb.) in wet places, and
a probably new, large, and coarse species of

See Buchanan’s Diwc/p***** ?• 168 — Ed.

Panicum, Among these may be found two
or three Orchide®, Pnlygone®, Leguminos®,
Cyperace®, one Viola, and a species of Exa-
cum which is particularly conspicuous from
its bright blue flower.s.

Those parts of the plains which have at a
previou-i periorJ been cleared for cultivation,
but are now unoccupied, present the usual
tropical features; and are occupied ciiiefly
by Cyperace®, among which occur one or
two Gramine®, several annual Scrophulari-
ne®, and small Alismace®.

III. Botany of the belts of jungle. •

IV- Botany of the foot of the boundary
hil is-

On this last I a.m not able to offer any re-
marks. It will be found excessively rich in
feins, and next to these perhaps in Cyrthan-
drace®. I hecmly opportunity that has hither-
to been allowed me of visiting any portion of
these boundaries above Gawahatti, occurred
at Giibi 0(1 Purhiit ; and I was then fortunate
enough to meet with an Alsophila 30 feet
higli, a Sollyana, (mihi.) and Kaulfussia
Asamica. Of the thud division, the botany
is very varied ; so much so, that no one pro-
minent feature seems to present itself. It is
to this section that by far the greater number
of species contained in the collection vrill be
found to belong; and 1 shall hence pass in
review tire orders composing it — reserving the
few observations I have to make on the most
interesting plants to a subsequent part of this
paper.

To those o'dets. the presence of which in-
dicates the climate of northern latitudes, or
of a tropical one at considerable elevations, I
have appended an asterisk ; and to those
which, though iisually iiopical, include plants
whi* h have hitireito only been found at com-
paiativeiy high elevations, I have appended

a cross.

DICOTYLEDONES.

• Ranuncu'a< ese, 3

• Magnoliace®, . I

Auonace®, 6

• Umbel lifer®, 7

Araliace®, 3

Ampelide®, 15

Onagrari®, I

Loranthace®, I

Alangie®, I

Metastomace®, 6

Meinecyle®, a

IVlyrtace®, .... 4

Cucurr itace®, 19

Begoiiiac.e®, I

• Crucifer®, 3

Capparide®, 3

• Violarie® 9

Guttifer®, . . . . 2

• Temstr®miace®, 3

Sapindace®, 3

• Hippocastaue®, |

Hercuiiace®, 1

Bythneriace®, l

Ma vac.e®, .• 4

Dipterocarpe®, 9

Ti iace®, 5

El®ocariie®, 1

Lythrarie®, I

tVleliace®, 8

Aurantiace®, 7

Rhatnne®, 5

Euphorbiace®, !5

TWO NEW GENERA OF PLANTS.

571

IJippocrateacetB, l

Malpighiacese, 2

• Conariae, 1

Traiithoxyleas, 5

Balsaminese, 5

Casyophylleae, ; .5

• Rosacea, fl

Leguminosae, 41

Connaraceas, 2

• Cupu iferae, 2

Urticeae, 24

Artocarpege, 18

Stilagiiieee, 2

• Clorantheas, I

•Saurureas, . , 1

Piperaceae, 5

• Thyineleae 1

Proteacese, 1

Laurinese, . , 6

A maranthaceae, 5

t Polygoneae, 1 2

t "Vienispermeae, 19

• Piimulaceae, I

viyrsiaeae, 6

Styraceae, 3

OoiivolvulacesB, 6

Runiaceae, 36

Loheliaceie, 1

‘ Campauulaceae, 2

• Satnbuceae, . . . I

• Viburneai, . . 2

C> rthandraceae, 7

Vert enaieae, 11

Labiatae, 14

Acauthaceae, 8

Scrophulariiieae, 20

Oro'iancheae, I

Compositae, 39

• Plautagineae, •

• Gentianeae, t

Apocyneae, 8

Asclepiadess, ... 9

Oleinae, 5

Jasmineae, 2

• Boragineae, 3

Cordiaceae, l

Bhreliaceas, 4

Solaneae, 6

Giietaceae, . I

Iucert% sedis, including Roydsia .. 3i

Total,.. 523
MONOCOTYLEDONES.

Scitamineae, 9

Cannes, i

Hyposideae, 1

Amaryllideae, I

Hydrocharideae •• .... 4

Arordeae, 3

tSrnilaceae, 7

Dioscoreiae, — 2

Ponledereae, 2

•Orchjdeae, tS

Polarnogeton, I

• Junceae, 2

Palmae, 3

Tupistra, i

+ Butoineae 1

Alisinaceae, 10

Eriocauloneae, 1

Graininese, ^7

Cyperaceae, 28

Total, . 126

ACOTYLEDONES

Equlsetaceae, 1

Lycopodiaceae, 5

Filicest, 34

Total, ... 40

J Chiefly from the foot of the Abor Hills, on
the Dihong-

Of Anoi/acea 1 shall only notice Sphoro-
stemma, Blume. In this genus the connecti-
vum IS highly dilated, and the cells oi the
anthei at a considerable distance from each
other; and yet from the arrangement of the
stamina, bilocular anthers with contiguous
loculi result

It affords another instance of the existence
of the peculiar tissue, until lately supposed
to be characteristic of Gymnospermee. In
addition to this singularity, its medulla is
traversed longitudinally by bundles of dense,
occasionally branched, woody fibre, which
consists of a superposition or “ emboitement”
of several layers.

Cucurbicacece. Among these plants occur
two genera which appear to be new, so far at
least as the Prcdromus of M. De Candolle
is concerned ; in which book the article on
Cucurbitaceae (by M. Seringe.) appears to
me to be very unsatisfactory. Of one of the
above genera, 1 have only seen the male; it
is remarkable for the involute, or rather gyrate
involution of the petals. The second 1 pro-
posecalling Actinostemma : it is chiefly re-
iriarkaole lor the complete separation of its sta-
mina; for the “ dehiscentia circumcisa’* of
the fruit , and, above all, for the pendulous
direction of the seeds. It appioaches in some
points to Zanonia. I am not aware whether
the peculiar nature of the arillus of this order
has been explained or not ; it is a separation
of that portion of the tissue originally sur-
rounding and in close contact with the ovula.
Hence it is a shut sac ; and hence, too, it is
wanting in Actinostemma, in tvhich the ca-
vity of the ovarium is not filled by a produc-
tion from the placentae.

Conariee, In Conaria, of which I have
one species from the Abor Hills, the raphe
is certainly external with regard to the axis.
I have not been able to ascertain whether
this ilepends upon any torsion of the funiculus,
which Mr. Brown has stated to be the case
in oilier instances of a similar anomalous situa-
tion.

Of Saurnreae. Houttuynia is the only
example. This plant, which was originally
described by I’hunberg, appears latterly to
have been more misunderstood than by the
original ciescriber. I have had no opportu-
nity, however, of examining the work of
TnuNBERGin which the plant is described.
And 1 ought, perhaps, to expect M. Meyer,
who has published** DeHouiluynia atque Sau-
rureis,” with which work I am unacquainted.
I find each flower throughout the spike, ex-
cept perhaps the terminal one, to be subtend-
ed by a very small bracte. Of these, the
four lowermost, rarely only three, are highly
developed and petaloid, forming the spatha.

'I he number of stamina to each flower is,
excepting those at the apex of the spike, al-
most invariably three, and alw'ays equal to the
carpella entering into the formation of the fe-
male organ ; and of these the third is always
next the axis. The terminal flower has from
five to seven stamina ; the space between this
and the uppermost friandrous hermaphrodite
(?) flowers is occupied by an assemblage of

bn TWO SPECIES OP GENUS STAUNTONIA IN ASSAMo

male flowers, with a variable number of sta-
mina, but never greater than three, and usu-
ally, think, two. Tliat such is the structure
of this portion is proved by the presence of
bractea, similar to those of the lower portion,
interspersed among the stamina. Dr. Wal-
LicH says, in Flora Indica, I. 362 — “ In the
numerous spadices which I have examined, I
have with Father LounEtno invariably found
three staminas, and as many styles attached
to each ovarium ; the former above the base,
the latter at the apex of its angles. I have
not, therefore, hesitated continuing this most
interesting plant in the very class and order
where it has been placed in the Flora of Co-
chinchina. As there is no reason for consider-
ing it at all different from the original Javan
plant, I am at a loss to account for the diffi-
culty which the celebrated Chevalier Thun“
BERG experienced in determining its station
In tlie sexual system ; nor can there be at
present any doubt of its neither belonging
to Heptandria, Polyandiia, or Monaecia.”
Thunberg was, however, so far as I can see,
right ; for he paid, in ail probability, exciu*
sive attention to the composition of the termi-
nal flower, on which, in certain cases, the
Linnaean rules lay much stress. Taking this
into consideration, Houttuynia may be refer-
red to Heptandria, Polyandiia, or Monaecia ;
most correctly to the latter, and least correct-
ly to Polyandria. But as, — so far at least as
regards the Linnaean system,— the most obvi-
ous characters are the best, it is advisable to
keep the plants still in Triandria Trigynia.
The structure of the seed has been likewise
totally mistaken. In the Flora Indica, loc.
cit* the embryo is placed at the wrong end of
the albumen, and is mistaken for the embryo-
nary sac- The real embryo is a much more
minute organ contained in this, “ the vitellus,”
or membrane of the amnios of Mr. Brown-
Dp. Hooker describes Dr. Wallich’s ac-
count as most correct ; but he does not define
the situation of the embryo otherwise than by
saying that it is situated at one end of the seed-
Lastly, the plant does not belong to Aroi-
de» nor even to Monocotyledones. Not-
withstanding the apparent solidity of true em-
bryo, yet the more important nature of the
structure of the stem is sufficient to pointout
that it is Decotyledonous, or rather Exoge-
nous ; and among these, its true place is, be-
yond doubt, Saurureae.

Of Thymele(B one species only occurs,
which is apparently referrible to no publish-
ed species of the order. To this I have at-
tached the MSS. name of JENKINSIA.in
compliment to Captain F. Jenkins, Agent to
the Governor General on the North-East
Frontier, to whom Botany, among other
sciences, is considerably indebted-

Of Menispermetn the majority are interest-
ing. Cissampeios is the only genus with
which I am acquainted, in which the ventral
suture of the ovarium is anticous, or not next
the axis. 1 am not certain whether the most
correct way of understanding thecuriousstruc-
ture of the female flowers is not to assume the
aggregation of four flowers, which, in the only
species I have examined, appears constant.

as a coin plete quaternary divisionof one only.
It remains to be ascertained whether the sin-
gular reversion of the situation of the ventral
suture is more uncommon in aggregate than
in solitary carpella.

Of the genus Stanntonia, Assam has two
species, but only one is contained in my col-
lection. The anomalous structure of the fruit
has no doubt been explained by Dr. VVal-
LiCH in his Tentamen Florae Nipalensis, in
vyhich it is published under the name Holbbl-
lia. but w hich I am at present unable to con-
sult. I find that the placentaiion of this genus
is similar to that of Flacourtianeae, with which
order 1 am not acquainted, and to that of
Rutonneae ; and hence the anomalous situa-
tion of the seeds. At the peiiod of expansion
of the flower, the ovula are much less deve-
loped than is almost universally the case : they
present indeed the appearance of ovula at the
earliest stages of development. I refer to this
order a plant with long racemes of ternarily
aggregate fruits, notwithstanding that it has
milky juice, and that the Cotyledons are large,
foliaceous, and obliquely situated with regard
to each other.

Among the CyrthandraceasL species occuTSf
(Chiiiaridra obovata, mihi,) remarkable for
the structure of its mature anthers. These
dehisce in a labiate and incompletely bivalvu-
lar manner, the lower and smaller valve being
alone half reflexed. This valve is compound,
and due to the mutual adhesion of tlie origi-
nally distinct inner locellus of each loculus.
To this formation I have adverted in a short
memoir on Rlilzophoreaj, published in the
Transactions of the Medical and Physical
Society of Calcutta, although 1 was at the
time ignorant of the existence of an example.
Assam contains another interesting species of
this family : this, which is remarkable for its
pentangular petaloid calyx, and the“dehis«
centia circumcisa,” of its fruit, in which it
approaches to Aikinia of Mr, Brown, I
propose calling Cyananthus.

Scrophularianece aflTord one new genus,
(Synphyllium torenioides, mihi,) an account
of which will appear in the Journal of the
Madras Literary Society, edited by my friend
Mr. Cole.

AsclepiaHex contain some interesting spe»
cies, of which one constitutes probably a new
genus, unless, indeed, it is referrible to Dr.
Wight’s Heterostemma, from which it would
appear to differ in the valvular aestivation of
the corolla. This species is remarkable for
the aliform processes running along the larger
veins of the under surface of the leaves.

To this order, or to jiApocynese, is to be re-
ferred a remarkable plant, distinguished by
the numerous longitudinal foliaceous alae of
its follicles, and, I speak from memory, its
serrated leaves. This plant, which I have
seen near Mergui on the Tenasserim coast,
seems to have been sent by Captain Jenkins
to Dr. W ALi.iCH, with many others, none of
which appear, however, to have excited much
attention.

Among.the jBoragi«e<s we find one Myoso-
tis and a species which, with the habit of some

> -ROUTE FROM MUSHED TO HERAT. 673

Anchusae, appears to be not referrible to any
genus of the oicier. 'l he‘‘ umuilicus” oc-
cupies the centre of each carpellum, and is
surrounded by an osseous elevated margin.
The origin of this is totally distinct from that
of Myosotis, and is wholly independent of
fecundation. The radicle is in addition in-
ferior.

The Monocotyledonous forms are chiefly
those of other parts of India. Among the Or-
ehidecs two species of Calanthe, and two of
Pogonia occur, as well as one species of Spir-
anlhes. Among the Graminese the most in-
teresting is a Diandrous species of Alopecu-
rus, which genus is, I believe, new to India;
at least to any portion of the plains.

Of the Cyperacese, 1 shall only advert to
the existence of four species of Carex, two of
which are, however, from the Abor Hills; a
third, which was originally sent by Captain
JpKiNS to Dr. VVallich, appears to be
widely distributed, extending from Gnwahati
toJorhdth; thefouith I have Only met with
about Sadiyd.

But perhaps the most interesting plants of
the whole collection are contained among
those “ incertse sedis,” a division, always to a
beginner, of great extent. Most of these are
from the lower ranges of the Abor Hills ; and
the appearance of these is quite sufficient to
ensure their being of great interest”

Art. IV. — Notes on Persia, Tartary, and
Afghanistan. By Lieut. Col. Mon-
TBITH, K. L. S. of the Madras
Engineers. — Madras Journal of Li-
terature and Science, 1836.

Defence of British India from Russian
Invasion. By Captain C. F. Head,
Queen^s Royal Regiment.

(Cvntinued from page 428.^
Captain Head is of opinion that, if any
difficulty exists of an army accomplishing
the march to which we have alluded, it would
be in crossing a bad road from Astrabad, in
ascending the mountain pass, and crossing the
desert beyond it : but these obstacles might
be avoided, if steps were taken at an early
season of the year. It must, therefore, be
admitted that an army, possessing the re-
sources of the country , might be transplanted
from the Caspian Sea to Mushed without any
great privation or delay. At Mushed provi-
sions are in general plentiful and reasonable.
From the ready communication between this
place and the frontier of the Russian empire,
a force would have little difficulty in com-

pleting the necessary arrangements for pur-
suing their route from Mushed through the
fertile valley that extends the greatest part of
the way to Herat. Midway between these
places is a large town, called Toorbutejam,
the chief place of a fertile and well-peopled
district. The only obstacle in this route is a
rocky pass which extends for four miles ;
there is another route between Mushed and
Herat, of about 238 miles, by which a
Russian force can march from Astrabad
to Herat through a country already as prac-
ticable as others in the East, and without
the probability of any material suffering ;
and arrive at the latter station by a journey
of 610 miles. There are other routes from
the Caspian Sea to Herat , which are at all
times frequented by caravans trading be-
tween Russia and the East.

“ The position and resources of Herat
have already been adverted to ; and to con-
template its occupation by a rival European
power, must be a subject for much speculation
and alarm. The vicinity of that city to the
Indus, and its communication with different
places on the banks of that river, by well-
known and perfectly practicable roads of no
more than between 700 and 800 miles, would
produce external and internal agitation, that
could not fail to endanger a government orga-
nized like that of India, It will be much the
safer plan to lay bare the probable conse-
quences of such a contingency, and make
preparations to oppose them while there is
time to do so. There is less objection to this
mode of treating the subject, because timely
attention to it and precautionary measures
may effectually prevent the attempt of Russia
in any endeavour to reach India ; whilst a
longer neglect of the British Government to
establish its influence, if not its power, as far
as the banks of the Indus, must accelerat,©
the execution of a project which, in its most
favourable termination, would be attended
with large and ruinous expense.

The remainder of the distance over which
a force would have to pass from Herat to
reach the Indus, is included in the kingdom
of Cabui.”

The city of Candahar is half way from
Herat to the Indus. The distance is about
370 miles. The interjacent country is a vast
sterile plain, without wood, pasture, corn,
or habitation, and in many places destitute
of fresh water. Around Candahar, the coun-
try is fertile and highly cultivated, the city
wealthy and flourishing, and fruit and provi-
sions cheap and abundant. Arrangements

5,74

ROUTE BY WHICH CARAVANS PROCEED TO INDIA.

would be required to enable an army to effect
this march, but it does not appear there can
be any material obstacle to check their ad-
vance.

“ No tract of country can possess a less
portion of the necessaries of life than the
Desert betvveen Cosseirand the Nile ; and yet
that sterile tract was crossed in l801 t y seve-
lal thousand men oi the British army with
Imt a trifling loss; and when arrangements
were afterwards matuted, a battalion marched
over it in June, the most unfavourable month
in the year, with the loss of only a boy.”

It appears that from Candahar there are
different routes by which caravans proceed
toindia. One to the south crosses the Indus
by boats at Meerpoor, which is near the city
of Moultan, and is at a distance of 350 miles
from Candahar. This presents no obstacle
to an advance, and has been pursued by
former invaders.

“ This is, perhaps, our most vulnerable
frontier, and after the passage of the Indus,
the nature of the country, which is flat, and
abundantly supplied with provisions, offers no
serious impediments to the advance of a large
body of men.” Another route ascends to Ca-
bul, the capital of the Afghan Empire, and
passes on to the city of Attock, where the
Indus is fordable. This route was used by
Alexander, and has been followed by modern
conquerors, of whom Sultan Mahmood, with
an army of 30,000 infantryaud lOO, 000 cavalry,
passed Attock and skirted the mountains of
Cashmere, from whence he descended into
the plains of Hindoostan.

The route from Candahar to Cabul, by a
road of 176 miles, passes over a country in
several parts well cultivated and productive-
At Cabul piovis'.ons are found in considerable
quantities. A river, fordable in dry weather,
passes this place, skiitingthe chain ot moun-
tains, and falls into the Indus near Attock.
The road from Cabul passes through Paisha-
weer, “ a beautiful valley on the Indus. The
town of Paishavseer is still ofsome magnitude,
having 100,000 inhabitants.”* fhe distance
of this place from Cabul is 180 miles, and
fioin Paishaweer to Attock on the Indus is50
miles. The vicinity of Attock is the only
place wherethe Indus can be conveniently
crossed; here the river is of great breadth,
black, rapid, and interspersed with islands,
all of which may be easily defended. t Ano-
ther authority says, “ The Indus indeed was
forded above the junction (at Attock), by
Shauh Shuja and his army, in the end of the
winter of 1809 ; but this was talked of as a mira-
cle wiought in the king’s favour ; and I never
heard of any other ford on the Indus, from the
place whence itissuesfrom the mountains to
the sea.”J

* Elphinstone.

i Macdonald Kinneir.
J Elpbiustone.

The route from Candahar to Attock would
appear to he 406 miles, and to offer little ob-
stacle to the regular approach of an army.
On the east side of ihti Indus at Attock is the
Punjab, or ” five waters,” from the five cele-
brated rivers that flow through it. “ The
climate is exceedingly healthy ; and the coun-
try is highly cultivated and veiy populous.”*
By the information we have been able to
collect, the distance from Herat to Attock is
776 miles, and the whole maich from the
shores of the Caspian to the latter place would
be by a route of 1377 miles.

There is nothing either iu the nature of the
countries to be passed through, or in the dis-
position of their inhabitants to vender this
undeitaking one of insurmountable difficulty,
or of necessary protraction. It ought to be
expected whenever the policy of the govern-
ment of Russia may hold it fit to separate
from its friendly alliance with Great Britain.
At present the European energies of the Bri-
tish government in India aie chiefly confined
to the ports of Calcutta, Madias, and Bom-
bay, and other places near the coast. It will
suffice at this moment to remark that the prin-
cipal dep6t, above mentioned, of these three,
is by the dak, or post route, 1480 miles from
Attock, or agreater distance than a Russian
force would require to march to reach the
same place. Madras is yet farther from the
point of contact than Calcutta. Bombay is
nearer the Indus than either of the other
Presidencies, but its military establishment
is very inferior in numbers. An attempt will
be made heareafter to point out, that through
the medium of steam navigation on the Gan-
ges, and by the western shore of India and the
Indus, effectual steps may be taken to improve
the communication with the probable point
of contact, to remove, in a great measure, or
totally to dispel the danger to be apprehended
from any attempt that might he made by
Russia to subvert Biitish ascendancy in
India.”

{To be continued.)

Art. V. — Narrative of a Residence in
Koordistan, and on the site of Ancient
Nineveh; with Journal of a Voyage
down the Tigris to Bagdad, and an Ac-
count of a Visit to Shirauz and Perse-
polis. By the late Claudius James
Rich, Esq., the Hon. East India
Company's Resident at Bagdad, Author
of ** an Account of Ancient Babylon."
2 Vols. Octavo. James Duncan,
Paternoster -Row, London, 1836.

{Continued from page 430.)

The editor of this work states that the
heat for five months at Bagdad is scarcely

Sir John Malcolm.

VISIT TO THE RUINS OF KARA OGHLAN.

675

paralleled in any part of the world. The
natives are obliged in consequence to take
refuge in cellars under ground, and at night
to sleep on the roofs of their houses, the
rooms of the house during that period being
uninhabitable. The thermometer generally
rises to 115®, in a shady verandah, and it
has been seen as as high as 120®, in the
middle of the day, and 110® at ten at night.
Great are the sufferings from a burning hot
wind, smelling strong of sulphur. To escape
the great heat of a Bagdad summer Mr. Rich
determined to visit the mountains of Koor-
distan. Another inducement for him to
visit these mountains was that they were
little known in Europe. Mrs. Rich accom-
panied the traveller, who was obliged to pro-
ceed in his official character: the former was
obliged to submit, therefore, to the disagree-
able restraint of performing the journey in a
covered litter or takht-revan, attended by
women servants, and all the state of a haram.
Nothing occurs worthy of our notice until
Mr. Rich arrives at Kifri, where he found a
small community of Jews who had a syna-
gogue. The following is a description of a
visit to the ruins of Kara Oghlan.

“ About half a mile S. E. of Kifii, in the
bed of the loi rent, aie some appearances of
low walls or foundations, which were laid
open by the late rains. One of the walls ex-
hibited a piece of plaster of stucco, with or-
naments on it. I was anxious to lay open
more of the ruins, in order to come at some
notion of the design and age of if. By dint of
digging we laid open a small room, or rather
all that remains standing of it, viz., about
four feet high of wall with a door-way ; the
room is very small, say about twelve feet
square ; the walls are built of unshapen stones
(as at Kasri ,Shireen), of gypsum covered
with plaster, on which are wrought ornaments
in compartments. We dug out pieces of plas-
ter, with ornaments of flowers or arabesques
painted on them in fresco, the outline being
black and filled up with bright red, and the
ground being the colour of the plastei ; the
colours were beautifully fiesh. As the sides
bore no appearance of painting, I imagine
these pieces to be fragments of the ceiling.
Some pieces of chaicoal were also found.
We laid open this room and part of another.
This appealed to form part of a range of cells,
extending a short way W.S.W. andE.N.E.,
of which there seem to be traces of five or six :
they are in single file. The north side is
strengthened with small round buttresses.

East of this, under the hills on the margin
of the torrent, (by which its west face has in-

deed been out down,) is a very large high
mound, of a square figure, from which a
quantity of earthen jars have been dug out,
so'tie pieces of whicir were brought to me.
They were of coarse earthenware, varnished
bl.nck in tlie inside, and perfectly resembled
those found at Seleueia ami Babylon. I
have also a small earthen lamp which was
found iheie. It is like the lamp novv used by
the villagers.

Gold and silver coins are also f:eqnently
found here, whicii the villlagers immediately
melt down. I much regret not having f een
able to see any one of these, wiiicii might have
enabled me to form some l etter genera! idea
of tiie age of ih-se luitis. d'he jars or sepul-
chral urns, however induce me to refer them
to the Sassanians. On the top of this mound
are traces of buiUling ; ami all along to the
foot of the hills, and up as far as opposite
Kifri, are also vestiges of buildings, many of
which consist of square basements, something
like ihO'C at Kasr Shireen and Maoush Kerek,
though not standing so high above the soil.
'I'he extent of the ruins in length may be a
mile ; in bieadth about a quarter of a mile.
We (iug in several places, but found notliing.
Tiieie are also some vestiges of a wall on the
western bank of the torrent ; and, crossing it
diagonally about Kifri, are fragments of im-
mense solid buildings, oveiibiownby the floods
which the peasants suppose to have been a
damaciossthe torrent, but which 1 rather
imagine to be the city wall. The style is just
like the other pai ts of the ruins, ol rough stones, -
strongly cemented together with linie. It is
evident, fioni the remains in the very centre
of the torrent, that it could not have flowed
in this way when the city existed. Indeed, in
all likelihood it was confined, and diiected to
cultivation.

The inhabitants attribute these works to the
Gliiaours, or infidels. What place this real-
ly was it would be difficult, from our imper-
fect knowledge of the Sassanian empire, to
say. I doubt its being in any line of the
Roman operations against that empire, by
which alone we know anything about it.

Farther up the torrent, on the N.N.W., are
some excavations in the rock, called Ghiaour
houses. Mr. Bellino went to see some of the
same kind in the hills, ten minutes’ ride from
the S. extremity of the ruins. He found ex-
cavated sepulchral chambers, with very low
doors, and, in the inside, three places to lay
out bodies, but they were of small dimensions,
about five feel long. The plan of these exca-
vations resembled the Achaemenian sepul-
chres at Nakshi Rustam ; but there was no
writing or carving of any description about
them. Faither on, about three miles from the
ruins, on the top of a hill, are some vestiges
of building, which the people ca'l KizKalasi,
or the Gil l’s Castle. Here urns and bones
are found ; Mr. Bellino saw one of the former ;
but the place has nothing else remarkable : it
is nearly opposite Oniki Imaura.’’

Approaching Eski Kifri is an immense
artificial mount, like the Mujelibe, with al-
most perpendicular sides, except where the

576

GYPSOUS CHAIN OF HILLS NEAR KIFRL

rains hav6 made deep cuts or furrows. In
one of these furrows a small vault had been
discovered ; it was of coarse -baked brick, and
contained many sepulchral urns, in some
of which gold coins were found. In digging,
small pieces of human bones were discover-
ed, and fragments of arms, all of which
had a black varnish on the inside ; but the
pottery was of different quality, some
coarse and unornamented ; others of a
finer kind ; and the finest, with figures of
deer or cows in small circular compart-
ments.

“ I had given orders to bring me any coins
or other antiques that might be procurable
among the peasants here. To day Reuben
brought me, from his Israelitish friends, three
coins and a small intaglio : but so far from
throwing light upon the age of the neighbour-
ing ruins, they are as if purposely designed to
obscure and to confuse one : one being Arsa
cian ; another, Sassanian ; the third, Coufic ;
and the intaglio, a Roman victory.”

The following is a curious instance of
Turkish tyranny. At a place called Oniki
Imam, about fourteen miles from Kifri, in
the gypsous chain of hills, there are naphtha
springs.

“ One small spring was discovered a year
ago in the same hills, a few minutes west of
Kifri. The peasant who discovered it was
seized by the Turkish government, and se-
verely bastinadoed, to make him confess if he
had sold any of the naphtha before the disco-
very became public. In consequence of the
persecution which he suffered on account of
this unlucky discovery, he was obliged to
emigrate with his family into Persia, where
he says he is very comfortable. He happened
to be here on business, and told me the story
himself. “ God,” said he. “ did not allow
the Turks to profit by their tyranny ; for the
spring, which was a very copious one when
I discovered it, became dry when 1 was bas-
tinadoed, and now only yields a few drops of
no consequence.”

We observe that the Eastern form of flat-
tery exists equally among the people we are
now describing as in all parts of Bengal and
Hindustan.

** We passed through much cultivation,
principally of barley ; some portion of which
was already ripe, and they were cutting it.
The reapers brought us some sheaves, which
they threw into the road before my horse, ex-
claiming, “May your enemies be thus !” and
they expected a few paras in return. In the
East, everything is seized upon as an occasion
for extracting a bakshish or present-”

Our travellers reach Toozkhoormattee,
which is situated close to the gypsous hills of
Kifri. On this pass is a well of naphtha and
salt ; and further south in the hills, is another
spring of naphta, but no salt. Mr. Rich
reaches the Beiats, and proceeds to view the
curiosities of the neighbourhood, the account
of which will be better described in the lan-
guage of the author himself.

“ I sallied forth this morning to view the
curiosities of the neighbourhood- The naphtha-
pit is in the pass of the hills about a mile S.E,
of the town ; and, being in the bed of the toiv ,
rent, is sometimes overflowed by it, and, for a
time, spoilt, which was the case during the heats
last summer. The pit is about fifteen feet deep,
and, tothe height of ten feet, filled with water;
on the surface of which the black oil of
naphtha floats, small air-bubbles continu-
ally rising to the surface. They skim
off the naphtha, and ladle out the water
into a channel, which distributes it into a set
of oblong, shallow compartments made in the j
gravel, where they allow it to crystallize,
when it bcomes very good salt, of a fine,
white, brilliant grain, without any intermix- |
ture of bitterne-s Great quantities of this
are exported into Koordistan ; and it is worth i
annually about 20,000 piastres, which is *
distributed among the different members of j
the family of the late Defterdar*. The oil i
of naphtha is the property of the village.
Part of it is consumed by the Menzil Kha- j

neh +, or sold for its support, and part for i

religious establishments, &c. About two j
jars, each containing six okasj, or one Bag-
dad batman, of naphtha may be skimmed j
from this well in twenty-four hours. The
spring is at the bottom of the pit or well ;
and once a year they cleanse the well, on i
which occasion the vrhole village turns out ;
victuals are distributed to all the poor, and
sacrifices of sheep are made, to the sound of
drums and oboes, in order to insure the good
flowing of the spring again — a ceremony, in j
all probability, derived from remote antiquity. i
The principal naphtha-springs are in the bills, |
a considerable distance south of this, towards j
Kifri, 1'hey are five or six in number, and !
are much more productive than this pit, but ,
no salt is found there. Indeed, it is probable '
that naphtha may be found in almost any '
part of this chain. Near the naptha-pit in i

the hills are alum (zak or sheb) and chalk |

('^fceheshin), of a very fine, close, white grain ; i
but the natives make no use of these produc- j
tions. An earth is found, which they employ
to give an acid flavour to some of their dishes ;
no doubt it is vitriolic. Sulphur is also j
found, and is used by the peasants to cure
the itch in their cattle and themselves.

• The treasurer of the Porte, father of
Omar Bey.

t Post-house.

I A.n oka contains about two and a half
lith pints.

ROXBURGH’S FLORA INDICA.

677

I oow come to a description of the pass it-
self. It runs nearly E. and 'VV-> and resem-
bles that of Kifri in its composition and ap
pearance. though on a larger scale. On the
west side of the hill, which faces the plain,
the strata are horizontal and parallel. On
the north side of the pass they are inclined
downwards at an angle of about 45^, and
somewhat curved or convex. On tHl south
side of the pass the hills are more more
earthy, and have been furrowed and crumbled
down by the rains ; and in one part some
pillars, as it were, of the hill are left detached.
The naphtha-pit may, indeed, be said to be
situated in these de ^ris on the edge of the
torrent’s bed ; gypsum is apparent in every
part. On the north side is sandstone ; and
at the bottom of all, as I saw in an arch or
cavern in the very foot of the clilf, is clay-
s.iate, or hardened clay of a blue colour. The
determination of the water is all to the north
side of the pass, where it has cut down the
hills into a preftipice or cliff. On the summit
of this clilf are the ruined walls of an old
castle, the age of which it is difficult to de-
termine : it may be Sassanian. At the foot
of this is a little hollow in the rock, contain
ing a naphtha-pit. The top has been arched
over with large square blocks of gypsum, and
is apparently a very ancient work.

I had forgotten to say, that in the great
naphtha-pit is a beam of wood, just above
the surface of the water, fixed at both ends
into the side of the pit. This wood, they say,
is as old as the time of the Ghiaours, and has
been preserved by the virtue of the naphtha
oil. . They also attribute the castle to the
Ghiaours*. In the earth about the foot of
the castie-hill, near the small naphtha-pit, i
saw many stains of a bright yellow, and per-
ceived a strong smell of sulphur. The people
consider this clilf as a great preserver of
Toozkhoorraattee ; they say it turns off the
torrent and gives it an inclination from the
town. On the summit of the hills, on the
north side of the pass, overlooking-the plain,
is a .small kumbet or dome, marking the site
of some foolish story about Ali. They say,
on the eve of Friday, a little lamp is seen to
burn of itself there : it is most probably a
similar phenoznenOn to Baba Goorgoor*.

After having finished our observations on
the naphtha-pits, we rode round the town by
the torrent to the w^est, to see some ruins,
but we found little worthy of observation.
A party of peasants were employed in cleans:
ing a canal, to the sound of the zoorna, or
trumpet, and double drum. The reapers
were at work in some places. On the west

* tihiaour, originally Geber or fire-worship-
per, is now synonymous with Kafer, and is
applied to the people who preceded the Maho-
metans, as well as to Europeans.

♦ Baba Goorgoor is the name given to a
spot three miles from Kerkook, where, in a
little circular plain, white ith naphtha, flames
of fire issue from many places. There appears
to be little doubt, as D’Anville conjectures,
that this is the Korkura of Ptolemy.— See
“ D’Anville on the Euphrates and Tigris.”
Quarto edition, p. 108,

of the town are some mounds of rubbish,
with nothing to .characterize them. I'hey
may possibly be ancient, as antiques are said
to be found here ; but I have not yet been
able to procure any. On a little square
platform of a building is one pier of it stand-
ing, of coarse masonry, apparently not very
ancient. Farther north, are six piers stand-
ing, forming part of an oblong building, whose
direction is east and west, and it appears to
have been composed of a body and two aisles,
or verandahs. The door is west, and ano-
ther corresponding recess or opening on the
east has been supported on each side by a
semi-circular pilaster or buttress. The whole
has been vaulted ; the masonry is extremely
rude. I should conjecture this to have been
a church ; it greatly resembles the ruins of
Chaldean and Syrian churches I have seen.
The mounds are scattered about to a great
extent, and prove this to have been, at some
former period, a considerable place. From
the principal mound the Hamreen mountains
were in sight, in the western horizon ; the
distance is said to be about nine hours We
could also see plainly where the Karatepeh or
Zengabad range strikes off from the Ham-
reen, and pursues a more easterly direction,’

Here we must part with our interesting
travellers for the present. We hope to accom«
pany them in our next. *

Art- — VI. A Tabular View of the Gene-
ric Characters in Roxburgh’s Flora
Indica, compiled by H. Piddington,
Esa.

The above has appeared forming an ap-
pendix to the Journal of the Asiatic Society
for the benefit of travellers. We beg to exhi-
bit them in the following form.

MONANDRIA MONOGYNIA.
GENUS, Canna, Linn. Schreb.
FLOWER — Style, spatulate ; growing
to the tube of the corol. Stigma, linear.
Anthers, single ; attached to the edge of
the petal-like filament. FRUCTIFICA-
TION— Capsule, three-celled. Seeds,
several ; naked.

GENUS, Phrynium, Willd. FLOWER
— Style, growing to the tube of the corol.
Stigma, infundibuliform. Anthers, sin-
gle ; terminal, on a short, erect filament.
FRUCTIFICATION— Capsule, three-
celled ; three-valved. Seeds, solitary ;
arilled at the base. Embryo, uncinate,
and furnished with a perisperm.

GENUS, Hedychium, Kdn. FLOWER
— Anthers, Double ; naked. PERIANTH
— Corol, with a long, slender tube ; both
borders three-parted ; inner resupinate.

578

ROXBURGH'S FLORA INDIUA.

FRUCTIFICATION— Capsule, three-
celled; three-valved. Seeds, numerous;
arilled. Embryo, simple, with perisperm
and vitellus.

GENUS, Ksempferia, Linn. Schreb.
FLOWER — Anthers, double, with a two-
lobed crest. PERIANTH— Corol, with a
long slender tube ; both borders three -
parted. FRUCTIFICATION— Capsule,
three-celled ; many -seeded.

GENUS, Curcuma, Linn. Schreb^
FLOWER — Anthers, double ; base bi-
calcarate. PERIANTH — Corol, both bor-
ders three-parted. FRUCTIFICATION—
Capsule, three-celled. Seeds, nume-
rous ; arilled. Embryo, simple, with peri-
sperm and vitellus.

GENUS, Amomum, Schreb. FLOWER
— Anthers, double ; surmounted with an
entire, or lobate crest. PERIANTH —
Corol, interior border unilabiate. FRUC-
TIFICATION—Capsule, three-celled ;
three-valved. Seeds, many ; arilled. Em-
bryo, simple, with perisperm and vitellus.

GENUS, Zingiber. FLOWER— An-
thers, double ; crowned with a single
horn-shaped beak. PERIANTH — Corol,
interior border unilabiate. FRUCTIFICA-
TION— Capsule, three-celled; three-valv-
ed. Seeds, many; arilled. Embryo,
simple, with perisperm and vitellus.

GENUS, Alpinia, Schreb. FLOWER
—Anthers, double ; naked. PERIANTH
— Corol, interior border unilabiate.
FRUCTIFICATION— Capsule, three-
celled ; berried. Seeds, few, or many ;
arilled. Embryo, simple, with perisperm
and vitellus.

GENUS, Globba, Schreb. FLOWER—
Filament, very long ; base tubular and
winged with a cuneiform lip. Anthers,
double, with an appendix, or naked. PE-
RIANTH— Corol, with the interior border
two-lobed or none. FRUCTIFICATION
— Capsule, one-celled ; three-valved.
Seeds, many ; attached to three parietal
receptacles. Embryo, simple, with peri-
sperm and vitellus.

GENUS, Salicornia, Schreb. PERI-
ANTH— Calyx, Gibbous, like an aril,
lining the inside of the cavities of the fruc-
tification in the joints. Corol, none.
FRUCTIFICATION— Seed, one.

DIANDRIA MONOGYNIA.

GENUS, Nyctanthes, Schreb. PERI-
ANTH—Calyx, campanulate. Corol,
salver-shaped. FRUCTIFICATION— Cap-
sule, superior, obcordate-, compressed,
two-celled, two-valved. Berries, one
or two. Embryo, erect, without perisperm.

GENUS, Jasminum, Schreb. FLOWER
— Germ, two-celled, one seeded. PERI-
ANTH— Corol, salver-shaped. FRUC-
TIFICATION— Seeds, solitary. Ber-
ries, one or two ; superior. Embryo, erect,
without perisperm.

GEJ^US, Phillyrea, Schreb. FLOWER
— Germ, two-celled, two-seeded. PERI-
ANTH— Calyx, four-toothed. Corol, one-
petalled, four-cleft. FRUCTIFICATION

— Berries, or drupe ; superior ; one

or two-seeded. Embryo, inverse, and with
a perisperm.

GENUS, Millingtonia, Roxb. FLOWER
— Germ, two-celled, two-seeded. PERI-
ANTH— Calyx, three -leaved, calycled.
Corol, three-petalled ; nectarial scale on
the inside of each. FRUCTIFICATION
— Seeds, solitary. Drupe, with one or
two-celled, two-valved nut. Embryo, curved
and folded, with little or no perisperm ; a '
curved, inferior radicle. !

GENUS, Olea, Schreb. FLOWER— j
Germ, two-celled, two-seeded. PERIANTH I
■ — Calyx, four-cleft. Corol, four-cleft, j
FRUCTIFICATION— Drupe, superior ; |

one-seeded. Embryo, inverse, and with a j
perisperm.

GENUS, Chionanthus, Schreb. FLOW-
ER— Germ, two-celled, two-seeded. PE-
RIANTH— Calyx, four-parted. Corol,
one-petalled ; segments long. FRUCTIFI-
CATION— Drupe, superior ; one or two-
seeded. Embryo, Inverse, vnthout peri- !
sperm. I

GENUS, Schrebera, Roxb. PERIANTH I
— Calyx, bilabiate. Corol, salver-shaped. ]
FRUCTIFICATION — Capsule, superior;
turbinate ; two-celled, two-valved. Seeds,
several ; membrane-winged.

GENUS, Eranthemum. Lin. Flor. Zeyl.
FLOWER — Filament, four, two of them |
sterile. PERIANTH — Calyx, five-cleft. |
Corol, hypocrateriform ; border cellular, !
or nearly so. FRUCTIFICATION — Cap- I
suLE, two-celled, two-valved; bursting with !
elasticity opposite to the partition. j

GENUS, Justicia, Schreb. PERIANTH . i
— Corol, one-petalled ; irregular. FRUC- j
TIFICATION — Capsule, superior ; two- I
celled, two-valved ; bursting with elasticity j
contrary to the partition. I

GENUS, Gratiola, Schreb. FLOWER
—Filament, two, sterile, affixed to the j
lower lip of the corol. Anthers, double, |
and connected. PERIANTH — Corol, one-
petalled ; irregular. FRUCTIFICATION I
— Capsule, superior ; two-celled, two- |
valved. Seeds, numerous. ,

GENUS, Utricularia, Schreb. PERI- I
ANTH — Calyx, two-leaved. Corol, rin-

ROXBURGH’S FLORA INDICA.

579

gent, and generally calcarate. FRUCTI-
FICATION— ■Capsule, superior ; one-
celled. Seeds, numerous.

GENUS, Lycopus, Schreb. FLOWER
—•Stamina, distinct. PERIANTH — Corol,
four-cleft, with one of the divisions emargi-
nate. FRUCTIFICATION— Seeds, four;
refuse.

GENUS, Salvia, Schreb. FLOWER—
Filament, two-forked. Anthers, on the
superior filaments. PERIANTH — Corol,
irregular. FRUCTIFICATION— Seeds,
naked.

GENUS, Boerhavia, Schreb. FLOW-
ER—Germ, one-celled. PERIANTH—
Calyx, inferior ; gibbous, entire, perma-
nent, and becoming an envelope for the
seed. Corolla, campanulate ; inserted
on the calyx. FRUCTIFICATION—
Seeds, solitary. Ovula, single ; erect.
Embryo, conduplicate ; with inferior ra-
dicle and central perisperm.

GENUS, Fraxinus'^. PERIANTH—
Calyx, none ; or four-parted. Corolla,
none; or four-petalled. FRUCTIFICA-
TION— Samara, one-seeded, with lan-
ceolate wings.

GENUS, Ligustrum. PERIANTH—
Corolla, four-cleft. FRUCTIFICATION
—Berries, superior ; of two cells, with
two seeds in each cell.

DIANDRIA TRIGYNIA.

GENUS, Piper, Schreb. FLOWER—
Germ, one-celled; with a single erect
ovulum. PERIANTH— Corolla, none.
INFLORESCENCE — Ament, filiform ;
imbricated, with peltate scales. FRUCTI-
FICATION— Berry, one-seeded. Em-
bryo, inverse, and furnished with an ample
perisperm.

TRIANDRIA MONOGYNIA.

GENUS, Valeriana, Schreb. PERIANTH
— Calyx, none. Corolla, superior ; one
petalled, gibbous on one side of the base.
FRUCTIFICi^ION— Seeds, one.

GENUS, Olax, Schreb. FLOWER—
Germ, one-celled. PERIANTH — Calyx,
Entire. Corolla, three-petalled. Nec-
tary, of a few abortive filaments inserted
on the petals. FRUCTIFICATION—
Drupe, half hid in the enlarged calyx ;
one-seeded. Ovulum, one, erect. Em-
bryo, inverse and amply furnished with a
perisperm,

GENUS, Loeflingia, Schreb. PERI-
ANTH— Calyx, five-leaved. Corolla,
five-petalled. FRUCTIFICATION— Cap-
sules, superior ; one-celled, three-valved.

* Pol)gain<)Us.

•

GENUS, Hippocratea, Schreb. FLOW-
ER—Germ, three-celled. PERIANTH — ■
Calyx, five-parted. Corolla, flve-pe-
talled. FRUCTIFICATION— Capsules,
three ; one-celled, three-valved. Seeds,
membrane-winged. Ovul^e, a few ;
attached to the axis. Embryo, erect, with-
out perisperm.

GENUS, Johnia, Roxb. FLOWER—
Germ, three-celled. PERIANTH — -Calyx,
inferior; five-leaved or five-parted. Co-
rolla, five-petalled. Nectary, or recep-
tacle of the stamina and pistil sub -globular.
FRUCTIFICATION— OvuLJE, one or
two in each cell ; peltate. Embryo, with-
out perisperm ; direction various .

GENUS, Iris, Schreb. FLOWER—
Stigma, petals four, corolled to bilabiate.
PERIANTH — Corolla, six-petalled. Pe-
tals, unequal, alternate, jointed, and
spreading.

GENUS, Morea, Schreb. FLOWER—
Stigma, three-cleft. PERIANTH, Co-
rolla, six-petalled ; the three inner spread-
ing, and narrower.

GENUS, Commelina, Schreb. PERI-
ANTH—Calyx, inferior ; three-leaved.
Corolla, three-petalled ; often dissimilan
Nectary, or sterile ; filaments three ; with
a cuneiform head. FRUCTIFICATION —
Capsules, two or three-celled. Seeds,
one, or more. Embryo, simple, and fur-
nished with a perisperm.,

GENUS, Sonerila, Roxb. FLOWER—
Germ, three-celled ; cells many-seeded ;
attachment central. PERIANTH — Calyx,
superior ; three-toothed. Petals, three ;
on the mouth of the calyx, alternate with
the stamina. FRUCTIFICATION— Cap-
SULES, three-celled. Seeds, numerous,
and minute.

GENUS, Xyris, Schreb. PERIANTH
— Calyx, or perianth beneath ; three-
leaved. Corolla, three-petalled, equal
waved. Nectary, three ; bifid. INFLO-
RESCENCE— Head, with roundish one-
fiowered scales. FRUCTIFICATION—
Capsules, one-celled ; three-valved.
Seeds, numerous ; on parietal receptacles.

GENUS, Fuirena, Schreb. PERI-
ANTH— Corolla, three-petalled. IN-
FLORES CENCE — -Ament, imbricated on
the sides, with tailed scales. FRUCTIFI-
CATION— Capsule, one; naked.

GENUS, Kyllingia, Schreb. PERI-
ANTFI— Calyx, of two chaffy valves.
Corolla, of two chaffy valves. INFLO**
RESCENCE — Ament, imbricated. FRUC-
TIFICATION— Capsule, one.

GENUS, Tringa, Roxb. PERIANTH
— Calyx, one-valved ; one-flowered. Co-

580

NEW SPECIES OF CARNIVORA.

#

ROLLA, two-valved. INFLORESCENCE
— Ament, ovate ; imbricated on all sides,
FRUCTIFICATION— Seed, naked.

GENUS, Schoenus, Schreh. PERI
ANTH— Calyx, or corol. FULCRA AND
ENVELOPES— Glumes, several. FRUC-
TIFICATION— Seed, one naked.

GENUS, Cyperus. PERIANTH— Co-
ROLLA, none. FULCRA AND ENVE-
LOPES— Glumes, chaffy ; bifariously im-
bricated. FRUCTIFICATION— Seed,
one, naked.

GENUS, Scirpus. PERI ANTH— Corol-
la, none. FULCRA AND ENVELOPES—
Glumes, chaffy; imbricated on all sides.
FRUCTIFICATION— Seed, one.

{To he continued.)

Art. VII. — Indication of a new genus of
the Carnivora^ with description of the
species on which it is founded. By
B. H. Hodgson, Esq. Resident in
Nepal.

Asiatic Researches, or Transactions of
the Society, for enquiring into the
History, the Antiquities, the Arts, and
Sciences, and Literature of Asia, vol.
xix. 213. Calcutta, 1836.

There are some important communica-
tions in this volume, especially on the fossils
found among the Sivalik hills, by Dr.
Falconer and Capt. Cautley, and to which
we alluded in a former number. We have
only space this month to advert to one pa-
per from Mr. Hodgson of Nepal, viz. indi-
cation of a new genus of the carnivora, with
description of the species on which it is
founded.

FAMILY CARNIVORA. TRIBE PLAN-
TIGRADES.

genus ursitaxus. mjhi.

4. 4.

Cheek Teeth of ursine flatness almost,

hut musteline disposition f the tuber-
cular of the upper jaw, smooth-crowned,

• 1 hat IS, a disposition partially transverse,
exhibited in the inner heel of the carnivorous
tooth, and the whole body of the tuberculous
one of the upper jaw. This arrangement of
the teeth appears to be appendant to the true
cutting type, and is not therefore developed
in Ursus, or in other true plantigrades. A-
mongst the digitigrades it is common, and
particularly so in the mustelidae.

harrow, parallelogrammic, and smaller
than the Carnivorous : none in the lower
jaw : two false molars above and three
below on either side : general conforma-
tion of the animal similar to that of the
Badger, but wanting external eai'S : anal
glands as in Mydaus.

Remark. — The natural affinities of this
Genus are with Ursus, Taxus, and My-
daus ; but chiefly with Taxus.

The single animal from which the above
characters are drawn was procured by me
in 1829, since which period I have in vain
endeavoured to obtain another : and, as I
see no immediate prospect of better success
in my search, I shall not longer defer giv-
ing such account of it as my materials en-
able me to supply.* The specimen I ob-
tained was a mature male. It was recently
killed, but had had the intestines removed
before it was brought to me from the vale
of Muckwanpiir , at the southern base of the
last mountainous range towards . India,
whence I infer that its habitat is the hilly
portion of the southern region of Nep&l.
Species — Ursitaxus Inauritus. Ear-*
less Ursitax, Mihi.

See plate VI, figs. 2,3,4,5, 6,7.

This is a low- legged unwieldy massive
animal, with the general conformation and
size of the Badger, from which, however, it
differs most materially in its system of den-
tition, and more obviously in the want of
external ears, the harshness and scantiness
of its single coat of hair, and the disposition
and number of its palmary tubercles.

The Earless Ursitax or Bear- Badger
is thirty-two inches from the snout to
the root of the tail, which is five inches
long, or six and a half if measured with the
terminal hair. The girth of its body, be-
hind the shoulder, is twenty -nine inches, and
the massiveness thence inferrible is main-
tained uniformly throughout its proportions.
It is purely plantigrade and fossorial, dwell-
ing in burrows on the sou||iern slopes of
the hills, and very seldom appearing abroad
by day. The face, though not elongated,
is conic and suddenly sharpened towards a
neat, round, immobile, clearly defined, and
ungrooved muzzle in which the nostrils are
opened to the front, but have a narrow pro-
longation to the sides. The lips are closely
applied to the jaws and entirely void of
mustachios ; nor are there any bristles on
the cheeks, above the eyes, or on the chin ;
the cheeks are full and fleshy; the head
broad, and as much depressed almost as the

® This animal is mentioned by the local name
of Bharsiafi, in the catalogue of Nipalese viam-
mals, ( 83-) ; and its peculiar dentition is
therein summarily described.

:si:a ^e trr.

XJRSITAXUS INAURITUS.

581

Otter’s : the eyes small, round, level with
the cheeks, possessed of a third lid which
may be drawn two-thirds over the cornea,
and of a round pupil ; their position nearly
equi-distant from the snout and ear. The
nude ears are shaped and disposed pretty
much as in the human subject ; but the he-
lix is wholly wanting, being replaced by a
marginal obtuse swelling of the skin merely.
The parallel portion of the anti-helix is
rather more sharply defined ; but the trans-
verse is wholly absent : the tragus distinct,
but the anti-tragus and lobe evanescent.
The coach is elongated vertically like the
rest of the organ, with but a small cavity
and no superior definite limitation : the
opening into the interior simple, apert, and
round : the neck of the animal short and
very thick: the body still thicker; being
as deep almost as the length of the
limbs, which are short and powerful, parti-
cularly the anterior ones. The digits are
5 in all four extremities, blended with the
metacarpal and metatarsal joints so as to
constitute solid pads for the feet, the anteal
half only of the last phalanges being free,
and connected superiorly by a small strong
membrane which is firmly attached to the
nails. The inferior surface of the hands
and feet, to the back of the wrist and to
the os calcis, is perfectly nude, the palms
and soles being full, soft, and fleshy. At
the forward end of each anterior digit is a
very large ball, suitable to keep the huge
nails from embarrassing the animal’s walk ;
but the bases of all the 5 digits rest on one,
undivided, round, pad, behind which is an-
other, as large almost, and of similar shape,
for the metacarpi. The balls of the hinder
extremities resemble those of the fore, save
that the metatarsal pad lies less centrally
behind the termino-digital one, and is some-
what less developed. The gradation of the
anterior digits is thus : the central largest,
then the index, next the annular, then the
external finger, retracted as in our hand,
and with its nail similarly diminished ; last
the internal one, sub remote as with us, but
much the feeblest of all. The hind feet are
considerably smaller than the fore : they
have the external digits less retracted ; the
talons of the whole much less developed ;
more nearly equal in size ; and gradated
upon a different principle — the outermost
being the stoutest, and the rest gradually
but trivially diminished in strength tdwards
the inmost. The nails of the anterior ex-
tremities are typically fossorial, sub-arched,
shallow, stout, obtuse, obliquely compressed
with broad convex backs, and a sharpened
edge below.

The feet and hands of Ursitaxus are pre-
cisely similar to the same organs in the

Bears, except that the digit answering to
the thumb is rather remote in our animal —
not so in Ursus — and that the interval be-
tween the terminal balls of the digits and
their confusion with the palmary mass is
nude in Ursitaxus — clad with soft hair in
the Bears.

The anal glands of the Ursitax differ
considerably from those of the Badger,
agreeing point by point with the same organ
in Mydaus (Horsfield), save only that the
excretory ducts are rather longer in our
animal and have their termination in the
rectum rather nearer to its orifice and to
one another. The tongue of the Ursitax
resembles that of the Badger, being wholly
covered with small papillm, neither horny
nor aculeated backvrards. The covering
of our animal consists of harsh hair only,
and that very scantily furnished. It is about
two inches in utmost length, straight and
adpressed, sufficient in quantity to hide the
skin upon the superior aspect only of the
head, neck, and body ; the face, neck, and
body below, with the limbs internally, being
partially nude. The colours are dirty yel-
low and black, clearly defined by a line
passing from the brows along the flanks to
the edges of the tail, and leaving all above
it of the foi’mer — ^below it, of the latter,
hue. The dirty tinge of the yellow upon
the superior parts is caused by an admix-
ture of yellow and black hairs, of which the
former are more abundant and longer too
than the latter, but both of similar harsh
character. The tail, 5 inches long and
scarcely reaching to the middle of the
buttocks, is cylindrico-tapered and covered
with hair like the back, the point being fine
and a little recurved.

The following are the detailed dimensions
of our animal —

Ft. In,

Tip of snout to base of tail, .... 28

Tail only,. . 0 5

Tail and hair, 0 6^

Carpus (inclusively) to longest

finger, 0 41-

Heel to longest toe,. 0 4§

Length of the head, . . .... .... 0 6f

Nose to fore-corner of eye, 0 2

Thence to opening of ear, 0

Girth of body, behind shoulder,.. 2 5

Longest fore-nail, . . 0 1§

Ditto hind ditto, 0 Of

The skull is 5| inches long, 3f wide, and
2% high. The width is taken, not between
the zygomatic arches but between the aim
of the transverse crista. There the lateral
dimensions are largest owing to the grftat
development of the transverse or lambdoi-
dal ridge of the skull before it sweeps
upwards to join the zygomatic arches.

582

DIMENSIONS OP URSITAXUS.

The scull bears, upon the whole, so great
a similitude to that of the Otter, that
it may be very well illustrated by pointing
out the differences merely between the two.
These consist in the slight arcuation of the
outline along the parietal portion of the
skull in Ursitaxus ; the greater ,develop-
ment of the frontal, nasal, and malar,
bones ; the diminished length of the zygo-
matic arches ; the rather more incomplete
and less advanced orbits ; the very small
size of the infra-orbitar foramina — which
are besides two on either side — and, lastly,
the larger development more) of the
tympanal bones. In respect to the teeth of
the two animals there is no very noticeable
difference in the incisors and canines which
indeed are apt to assimilate in most of the
carnivora.* The canines, however, are
thicker, shorter, and blunter in our animal
than in the Otter. The molars, too, of botli
are formed upon the same ultimately secto-
rial model and have a similar arrangement
in the skulls : but they are fewer in num-
ber in Ursitaxus ; and the trenchant pro-
cesses of the crowns are almost oblite-
rated. And, as if to defy all exclusive-
ness of system on our part, the Otter, with
its sharp processes, has a very large flattish
heel to the upper carnivorous tooth, and an
extremely broad transverse tubercular be-
hind it. On the other hand, the heel of
the same tooth in Ursitaxus, though flat-
ter, is smaller ; and the tuberculous tooth
behind it exhibits a much less, but a smoother
surface. I regret that I have no Badger’s
skull wherewith to compare that of the
Ursitax. Independently, as far as may be,
of all comparisons, the skull and teeth of
our animal have the following characters.

The SkulL — It is very thick and solid,
with numerous rugosities all over its sur-
face ; is rather depressed than compressed,
and very slightly but uniformly arched
along the vertical line : parietes amply de-
veloped, affording a large cerebral cavity
and shallow temporal fossae : the cristae of
medial height, but running unbrokenly
from the bifurcation of the brows to the
zygomatic arches ; their chief development
being at the point where they sweep round
to join those arches : frontal bones of con-
siderable length and width : nasal, short
but wide : both slightly convexed across ;
and, lengthwise, the former convex, the
latter, sub-concave : malar bones uncom-

♦ In the form of the incisor teeth Ursitaxus
diners entirely from Mydaus, with which ani-
mal it has several points of affinity, other
differences occur in the structure of the ears
and of the extremities -not to mention the
cardinal distinction between the molar teeth
of the two.

pressed, with two small infra-orbitar fora-
mina on either side : zygomatic arches,
short, stout, considerably bulged outwards :
orbits medial, very incomplete, there being
no process from the zygoma, and but a
small one from the os frontis : frontal
sinuses medial or largish : occipital bones
dipt vertically from the junction of the
lambdoidal and sagittal sutures, so that the
condyles of the foramen magnum are neither
posteal nor anteal to that junction. There Ij
is a short but strong vertical crista on the
occiput, and a transverse one of much’'greater '
extent, parallel and closely approximated to I
the lambdoidal ridge. The bony separa- j
tion of the cerebrum and cerebellum is very
strong aud much developed, leaving a long, '
elliptic, vertical foramen in the midst, nearly
twice the size of the great foramen : the I
tympanal bones amply developed, semi-
ovoid, and reaching forwards to the articula-
tion of the jaws, which is so complete, in 1
the cylindrical binge manner, that the
lower jaw can be barely removed from !
the skull. The rami of the lower jaw are
nearly straight, very powerful, short, un- i
compressed, or remote, and furnished with '
large subvertical coronoid processes, and
small styloid ones : the condyles nearly on '
a line with the upper ch eek teeth.

The Teeth. — The incisors are all dispos-
ed rectilinearly to the front, erect, strong,
cylindrical in their bodies, and broad- |
crowned ; the crowns of the lower ones I
being horizontal — of the upper, obliquely
sloped inwards. The external incisors are
the stoutest, and the rest gradually decrease
in thickness to the central pairs. These
teeth are all in contact with each other ;
and, in lower range, with the canines also :
but the front teeth of the upper jaw have
a necessary interval from the canines for
their passage. The canines are short,
stout, obtuse, conic, and of equal size above
and below. They are mutually scarped by
friction against each other, but exhibit no i
heel. The upper canines are straight ; the
lower, subcurved. All the molars are in
contact with each other, but not quite with
the canines. They are sixteen in all — four
on each side of either jaw, of which the two
first of the upper, and three first of the
lower range are false molars ; the 3d above,
and the 4th below, the carnivorous tooth ;
and the 4th above the tuberculous one.
Below there is no such tooth. All are dis-
posed lengthwise, save the tuberculars of
the upper jaw which have a transverse ar-
rangement, causing a triangular vacancy
between them and the internal heels of the
carnivorous teeth of the same jaw. The
molars gradually increase in size as they
recede from the canines in the lower jaw ;

PLANTS COLLECTED AT BOMBAY.

583

but, in the upper, the carnivorous tooth is
considerably larger than the tubercular;
which latter is of the form of an oblong,
narrow, parallelogram, with a perfectly
smooth concave crown. All the molars
are fanged and essentially constructed as
in the digitigrade or normal carnivora ; but,
owing to the nearly obsolete development
of the cutting processes of their crowns
they bear a character of greater resemblance
to the molars of the typical plantigrades.

The scissor action or true cutting process
must in respect to these teeth be limited to
the carnivorous ones, and even there be
more than matched by the crushing action
of one crown on another. ,The whole of
the molars are longer considerably than
broad : but they are almost as evidently
broader than high. Heretofore it has been
remarked that in proportion to the diminish-
ed number of the molars is the high deve-
lopment of their sectorial attributes : but
in Ursitaxus we have molars less only in
number than those of the cats proper, which
yet are distinguished for the remarkable flat-
^mess of their crowns.*

• I make due allowance for detrition by use
owing' to the age of my specimen : hut there
still remains a remarkable flatness of crown
in the molars, greatly exceeding that of the

GENERAL

CATALOGUE OF PLANTS COLLECTED
AT BOMBAY.

By John Graham, Esa.

{Continued from page 449.)

172. Datura /as^Mosa. Common.

173. Dracaena /errca. In flower pots only.

174. Dimocarpus In gardens, though
not common. It bears fruit here but not equal
to that obtained from China.*

175. Dalbergia arborea, native name Ca-
runj. A very pretty tree ; leaves deciduous
in the cold weather,

176. Sissoo. Black wood used exten-
sively in making furniture.

177. ,, scandens.

178. Dolichos tuberosus.

179. ,, cultratus. A species of Doli-
chos is much cultivated and eaten like French
beans, the tetragonolohus.

• The Litchi forms the favourite fruii in
Chinese deserts. It resembles somewhat the
fruit of the Maple {Acer Campestre) in exter-
nal appearance. The tree grows in a wild
state in French and Danes’ Islands, Wham-
poa. -Edit.

Deeply imbedded in the cellular mem-
brane at the outlet of .the pelvis and cen-
trally on either side the large anus, the
Ursitaxus has an oblong, spheroidal, hollow
gland, which communicates, by a distinct
tubular canal, with a round pore opening on
the caudal margin of the anus. Each gland
is If inch long and f wide,beinglarge enough
to contain a walnut ; and each has its own
canal and its own pore. These pores or
anal orifices of the glands are about f of an
inch apart. The ducts uniting them with
the glands take a superior direction to open
at the upper margin of the anus, under the
tail ; and they exhibit at either end a mus-
cular ring. The walls of the glands are
about f inch thick, and purely glandular ;
and their lining membrane lies closely in
contact with the walls and is secretory
throughout. But no pores can be traced
on this lining for exuding the secretion
which yet is contained in the cavity of the
glands whence it passes Joy the tubes and
anal pores into the rectum. The secretion
found in the dead subject was dark, thick,
and very foetid.

seraifrugivorous Paradoxuri for example.
Such teeth, being only sixteen in total numi>er,
of which but two are tuberculous, constitute
surely a singular and unique type amongst
the Carnivora.

SCIENCE.

180. ,, pruriens.

181. Dioscorea sa^ira. Common yam.

182. ,, bulbifera.

183. Diospyros Ebenum.

184. Daemia reticulata,

185. Dillenia speciosa.

186. Diospyros montana.

187. ,, hirsuta.

188. Daphne Bholua.

189. Dendrobium, ? On the Ghauts.

190. Dombeya pa/mafa. In gardens only.

191. Exacum /ncoZor.

192. Evolvulus hirsutus.*

193. Euphorbia Tirucalli. Common milk
bush.

194. ,, antiquorum.

195. ,, tithymaloides. Used for edg-

ings instead of box.

196. ,, neriifolia.

197. ,, hirta. A common weed.

198. Eugenia ^am&05. Jambler, rose ap-
ple, •

• Is this not a variety of E. alsinoides^ m
common plant in Chinal—EniT,

584

PLANTS COLLECTED AT BOMBAY.

199. ,, Malacciensis.

200. Erythrina Indica. A deciduous tree.
It flowers in March, and makes a very showy
appearance.

201. Eupatorium Zelonia.

202. Eclypta prostrata.

203. Elephantopus scaher.

204. Feronia elephantum. Wood apple, a
large handsome tree.

205. Ficus Carica. In gardens only.

206. ,, religiosa. Pepul tree.

207. ,, Indica. Banyan tree.

208. ,, elastica.

209. ,, racemosa.

210. ,. pubescens.

I 211. Flacourtia In gardens only

212. ,, sepiaria. Elephanta.

213. ,, inermis.

214. Guazuma MZmi/bZia.

215. Gardenia radtcons. In gardens only,
cultivated for its beautiful, white, sweet
smelling flowers.

216. Gardenia lucida. Elephanta.

217. ,, dumetorum.

218. ,, esculenta.

219. Getonidi. ^ribunda.

220. Grewia orientalis.

221. Gomphrena globosa. In gardens only,
cultivated for its flowers.*

222. Gloriosa super .a. Common during
the rains.

223. Guilandina bonduccella.

224. Gartner a racemosa.

225. Garcinia Covoa. Common in the
Concan.

226. Grewia Asiafica.

227. Gerardia delphinifolia.

228. Gmelina arbor ea.

229. ,, Asiatica

230. Gossypium herhaceum.

231. Glycine Sinensis,

232. purpurea.

233. Garuga pinnaZa.

234. Grislea tomentosa,

235. Hoya carnosa. Cultivated as an or-
namental plant.

236. ,, viridijlora.

237. Hyperanthera Moringa. Very com-
mon.

238. Helicteres ixora.

239. Hibiscus popuZraews. Bhendy tree.

240 ,, rosa Chinensis. Cultivated as

an ornamental plant.

241. ,, mutabilis. Ditto ditto.

242. ,, Sahdariffa. Iropille, used in

making jellies, tarts, &c.

243. ,, esculentus. Commonly cultiva-

ted.

244. ,, surratensis.

245. ,, cannabinus.

246. ,, tricuspis.

247. Hedysarum gyrnns.

248. ,, sir 0 bilifer um . »

249. ,, tuberosum.

250. ,, vespertilionis.

251. Hemidesmus Indicus. .

252- Ixora coccinea.

253. ,, parvijiora.

* Indigenous to China. -Sdit.

254. Ipomoea Quamloquit. Cupid’s flower,*

255. ,, /ragrantissima

256. ». tuberosa.

257. Impatiens Balsamina.f

258. Inula Indica.

269. Jasminum Samhac. Mogrel, native
name, extensively cultivated for its flowers.

260. ,, odoratissimum\

261. ,, latifolium.

262. ,, undulatum,

263. ,, auriculatum.

264. Justicia picta. Common in flower
pots.

265. Justicia nerwoso.

266. ,, bivalvis.

267. ,, montana.

268. Jonesia pinnata. On Salsette.

269. Jatropha curcas. Used for forming
hedges.,

270. ’ ,, manihot. In gardens only,
very rare.

271. ,, multifida. In gardens, as an
ornamental plant.

272. Kydia fraterna.

273. Kyllingia um/)eZZaZc Grass.

274. Loranthus Several species.

275. Lawsonia inermis. Used for forming
hedges.

276. Laurus cinnamomum. In gardens
only.

277. M Persea. In gardens only. '

278. Limonia monophyllum.

279. ,, trifoliata.

280. Lagerstroemia regrina. In the Concan.

281. „ Indica.

282. ,, parvijiora.

283. Lantana purpurea.

284. Lepidagathus cristata. •

285. Menyanthes cristata.

286. ,, Indica.

287. Mussaenda/roudosa. On the Ghauts. +

288. Morinda Indica.

289. ,, citrifolia.^

290. Mirabilis Jalapa. In gardens.

291. Mangifera Indica.

292. Mimusops elengi.

293. „ hexandra.

Both pretty trees
commonly planted
by Musselmen a-
round towns, such
as Aurungaba'd &c.
In gardens only.
Neem tree.

In gardens.

In gardens, rare.

294 Murraya exotica.

295. Melia azidiraltea.

296. Myrtus communis.

297- Maumea America.

298. Michilea champaca.

299. Momordica charambee. Commonly
cultivated as an article of food.

300. Menispermura cordt/oZium.

301. MusaparadZ^aica. Plaintain.

302. Musa, ? On Ghauts.

303. Mimosa pudica.

304. ,, cinerea.

305. „ Araoica. Babool tree; com-

mon : in extensive use as firewood.

• This plant is indigenous to Danes’ Island,
China. — Edit.

t This species occurs in China. ^Edit
% Abundant on I rench Island, Whampoa,
China.— Edit.

5 A native of China.— Edit,

GALBRAITH'S ASTRONOMICAL OBSERVATIONS.

585

306. M scandens. On the Ghauts.

307. ,, Sirissa.

308. ,, glaucit.

309. „ dulcis.

{To be continued.)

ON SOME METHODS OF ASTRONO-
MICAL OBSERVATION.

By William Galbraith, A. M.,
Teacher of Mathematics, Edinbursrh,

(Continued from pat'C 452.)

ON THE METHOD OF FINDING THE VALUE OF

THE DIVISIONS ON THE SCALES OF LEVELS

applied to altitude and azimuth cir-
cles, REGISTERING OBSERVATIONS, &C.

All the more usual astronomical instru-
menis have a level applied to them so as to
insure the verticality of their axis, or to make
the necessary allowance for their deviaiion
from it. The scale of the level is so graduated
as to show single seconds, or some multiple
of the second, and reads most conveniently
from a central zero. In those instruments
that revolve in azimuth, which all the smaller,
and more especially the portable, circles do,
(andeventhe largeeight feetcirde at Dublin,
though provided with a plumb line ratlier in-
conveniently situated, and the most accurate,
perhaps in principle, of any hitherto con-
sti ucted,) the observations are repeated several
times in pairs near the meridian, reading the
divisions at both extremities of the air bubble
on the scale of the level each time along with
the verniers or microscopes. When there are
three vernieis and aliout six observations
made, it is advantageous to have a simple and
convenient method of registering the obser-
vations, tak’ing the means, and allowing for
the effects of the level.

The value of the divisions of the level is
generally got from the maker, or it may be
readily found by an instrument called the
level trier, consti ucted expressly for this
purpose.

If the observer has not had these communi-
cated to him, or if he wishes to satisfy him-
self with regard to the accuracy of the values
given to him along with the instrument, he
may either ascertain these by tiie circle itself,
when the verniers or reading microscopes are
competent to the purpose, or he may have
recourse to the following methods, which, in
the course of my experience, I have found
very convenient.

1. Put up the usual levelling rod of the
best constiuction truly vertical, at such a
distance from the circle as may be most con-
venient, tliough somewhat considerable.

2. Set the level exactly in the direction of
two of the feet screws, or one perpendicular
to the line joining the other two, when there
are three; clamp the verniers, and direct the
intersections of the cross wires of the telescope
to the mark on the sliding vane, which must
be moved up or down till an exact coincidence
takes place.

3. By turning one of the feet screws cause
the bubble to move through a given number

of the divisions of the scale, comprehending
those usually employed in recording observa-
tions, while at the same lime the sliding vane
must be moved till its mark again coincides
with the intersection of the cross wires in the
telescope, still clamped to the circle, and the
number of divisions on the rod which it has
passed over to thoasandths, or, at least, hun-
dredths of a foot, by this motion must then
be recorded.

4. Measure the horizontal distance with
great care between the eentre of the circle
and the levelling rod. These afford data for
computing trigonometrically the value of the
divisions of the scale of the level.

5 To investigate foimulse for this purpose
let R be the length of an arc equal to the
radius in seconds, D the horizontal distance,
d the distance passed up or down by the vane
A" the arc in seconds subtended by d, at the
distance D then by the principles of trigono-
metry,

R" X d

—

If L be the length of a given number of se-
conds. a ’ on the scale of the level, and r the
length of the whole run in the same measure as
D and d,

D X «■' X r

L- .. (2)

R X d

Indeed, if any four of the five quantities, D,
d,r, a", and L he known, the value of the
fifth may be found by transforming the pre-
ceding equation, tlius;

R" X L d

«■ = — T (3)

D X >•

If n be the number of divisions in the run
of the level ,

R" X d

= (4)

D X w

If p be the radius of curvature of the level,

R" X L R' X r

p=—— .. .. (5)

a" A"

Examples for the use of these formulae.

1. Tlie cross wires of the telescope of an
astronomical instrument, at tlie distance of
250 feet from a levelling rod, moved over two
inches in a run of tlie bubble through an inch
and a half, by turning the feet screws in the
flirection of the level and rod, what was the
value of the whole arc A ' passed over by the
bubble, and the length L, of a division of a"
(10 ) on the scale of the level ?

R" X d

By formula (1) A”

D

206264"-8

X 2

=137'

’.5l

3000

By formula (2) L ^
30OO X 10 X 1.5

D X a" X r

R X d

2062G4’8 X 2

:Oa09 in.

686

GALBRAITH’S ASTRONOMICAL OBSERVATIONS.

From this last formula, a scale may he rea-
dily adapted to a level.

2. Let the length L of one of the divisions
of the scale of a level be oue-twentietii of aa
inch, the run of the bubble two indies, the
distance d one inch, and a fifth, and D five
hundred feet, required a the value of one
division of the scale in seconds ?

R'" X L X d

By formula (3) a" — _

D X r

206264”'8x 0-05 X 12
=1 ’*103

6000 X 2

3. At the distance D = 90‘6 feet, the vane
of a levelling rod passed over 0-06 of a foot
in a run of 25 divisions of the level, what was
tlie value a ' of one division of the scale, and
the radius of curvatuie of the level, L being
one-lenth of an inch ?

R’ X d

By formula (4) a '

206264"*8 X 0-06 X n

— =5"*5

90 6 X 25

By formula(5) p =

R'X L

a"

R* X T*(> ^ T 5

5'.5 5-5 X lOX 12

206264-8

=312 5 feet.

C6o

This result 5"-5 is nearly the value of one
division of a level attached to a six-inch
travelling circle ol Captain Kater’s consii uc-
lion, made by Robinson. It is obvious, that
the same method may be applied to determine
the value of the divisions of a level belonging
to larger instruments when required, and it is
susceptible of very considerable accuracy
when sufficient care is taken in performing the
necessary operations.

II. After having determined the value of
the divisions of the scale of a level, it is next
proper to adopt a simple and ready method
of applying its effects to observations.

Let e be the eye end of the telescope next
the observer, o the object end, a' the value of
one division of the level in seconds, n the
numberof observations, and I theii effect when
applied to the zenith distance.

(e — o)a-

l=- (6)

2 n

The sign must be changed when applied to
the altitude.

III. When three or more verniers are ap-
plied to a circle, and the observations are re-
peated and read each time, the mean result
will be readily determined by the following
formula in which X ^ ‘s the sum of the read-
ings of all the verniers or microscopes, n the
numberof observations,?; the number of ver-
niers, and m the mean value of the whole.

n V

These formuise will apply with ease and
ceitainiy to any case likely to occur in prac-
tice. and are more simple than any I have
seen.

ly. The case to which they are now to be
applied is one of a series of otrservations made
by a small circle of Captain Kater’s construc-
tion, to determine theobliquiiy of the ecliptic
at the laie summer solstice, at Edinburgh* in
latitude 55® 57’ 15” 67 N.

It may seem to bean attempt much beyond
the poweis qt so small an instrument, one of
six inches diamelei, fu-nished with three
verniers, each showing 15 and a level, indi-
catinir: by each division only to tlie accuracy
of 5 "5. \ el, the conectnessof the final result,
w'hu'li differs from Bessel’s by about 1 §, and
from mine, qi'tained Iry a comparison of the
late obseivaiion^ made at Greenwich, with
those ol Fiiadley, reduced with the best tables
by I §, shows hovv much may be accom-
plisireo with moderate means. With what
pleasure would modern astronomers have con-
templated the observations of Hipparchus
and Ptolemy had they been made with such
precision !

'i'o determine the obliquity of the ecliptic
intlren.ost accutaie manner, the sun’s de-
clination (daily if possible), near the solstices,
must, it is well known, lie observed carefully
for some time, and tlie results, by means of
appropiiate fortnulre or tables, are_ieduced
correctly to the moment of the solstice com-
puted trom the best solar taldes, or obtained
from corresponding observations.

(To be continued.)

EXPERIMENTS ON THE ABSORP-
TION OF AIR BY WATER.

By Thomas '1 hobtso.v, M. D., F. R. S.
L. AND E., &c.,

Regius Professor of Chemistry in the Univer-
sity of Glasgou).

Not being aware of any direct experiments
upon the sulijects mentioned in the litle of
this paper, 1 amused myself, during the ear-
ly part of the present summer, in making a
few trials to satisfy myself whether the opi-
nions at present entertained on these sub-
jects were enlilied to corffiJence. I shall
state my experiments on each of the different
sui'jecfs in order.

I.-OF THE QUANTITY OF AIR

CONTAINED IN CLYDE WATER.

The city of Glasgow is supplied with water
pumped out of the river Clyde, and convey-
ed to resei voirs in the higher parts of the
town, from which it is conveyed in pipes to
every house. As one of these pipes supplies
my laboratory, I have only to turn a stock
cock to obtain as much river water as I
have occasion for.

1. 1 filled a retort, the belly of which held

168 cubic inches, and its throat and beak 75

ABSORPTION OF AIR BY WATER.

587

cubic indies more, with river water, plunged
the beak into a water trough, and placed
a snaall inveited jar (ull of water over the
extremity of the beak. 1 then boiled the
water till it ceased to give out any air. I col-
lected 5*25 cubic inches of air. Baio-
nieter at ‘29'5 inches. Thermometer 5^^. f

In this experiment 168 culiic inches o
water gave out 5*23 cubic inches (making the
requisite corrections) of air, supposing the
barometer at 30 inches and the thermometer
at 60°. The 75 cubic inches which filled
the thioat and beak of the retort became hot,
and no doubt gave out a little air; but not
much ; because, as soon as the water in the
retort began to boil briskly, the water in the
throat and beak was driven out by the steam,
and never boiled at all. Thus, it appears
that 100 cubic inches of Clyde water contain
3Tl3 cubic inches of air.

'J'he experiment being repeated in precisely
tlie same way, the product of air was so nearly
the same that it seems unuecessaiy to state
the particulars minutely.

II.-COM POSITION OF THE AIR
THUS EXTRACTED.

I let up lOO volumes of this air into a small
jar, filled with water and standing over the
water-trough, and put into it a stick of phos-
phorus of such a 1 ngth that it reached fiom
the bottom to the top ol the jar. and traveised
all the air. In 24 hours the bulk of thi« air
was reduced to 7r48 volumes of azotic gas.
Hence, the air extricated fiom the water was
composed of

71*48 volumes of azotic, and

28 52 volumes of oxygen gas.

The air extricated during the second ex-
periment, analyzed in the same way, was
composed of

70 32 volumes of azotic, and

29 63 volumes of oxygen gas.

If we take the mean of these two analyses,
we get the constituents of the air extracted
from Clyde water by boiling as follows :

Volumes of azotic gas . . . 70*9

A^olumes of oxygen gas . . . 29*1

100-0

ill.-ALTERATlON PRODUCED ON
THIS AIR WHFN LEFT STAND-
ING ON THE WATER-TROUGH.

1. The 5*25 cubic inches of air extracted
by boiling water from the Clyde, were put
into a small cylindrical glass capable of hold-
ing lieu' ic inches, and left inverted over
the water trough. Every 24 iiours I cubic
inch (or iOO volumes) of this air was taken
out, and left till next day with a stick of
phosphorus passing through it. The follow-
ing table shows the composition of the air af-
ter standing over the vvater.

Azotic. Oxygen.

1. Fre.sh extracted of. . 7l-48 -j- 28.52
After one day
After two days
After three days
After four days

2.

3.

4.

5.

2. The 5*25 cubic inches extracted from
he second quantity of water by boiling was

74*43 + -25 57
75 38 + 24*62
77*51 -f 22*49
80 97 H- 19*03

treated in the same way : excepting that tlie
11 cubic inch jar containing the air, instead
of standing open on the water-trough, was
corked tight. The result was as follows ;

Azotic. Oxygen,

1. A ir newly extricated

composed of .70*32 4- 29*69

2. After one day . 72*5 27*5

3. After two days . 73'44 26*54

4. After three days . 73*35 4* 27*65

5. After four days . 77*43 -j- 22*57

Here, as in the first case, the oxygen was

absorbed more rapidly than the azotic gas ;
but the rapidity of this absorption was some-
what diminislied by corking the glas.s in which
the air was kept.

IV. -ALTERATION PRODUCED ON
COMMON AIR BY LEAVING IT
STANDING IN A GLASS VESSEL
INVERTED ON iHE WATER-
TROUGH.

Curious to know whether a similar diminu-
tion in the quantity of oxygen in common air
would take place when left standing over the
water-trotigh, as had taken place in the pre-
ceding experiments with air extricated from
water by boiling, I put ten cubic inches of
common air, collected at the windovv of my
laboratory on a windy day. into a cylindri-
cal glass jar and left it standing inverted over
the water-trough, analyzing every day one
cubic inch by means of phosphorus, til! the
whole was exhausted, d'he following table
shows the result of these analyses.

Azotic. Oxvgea.

1 . After standing 24 hours 79-47 -f- 20 53

2. After two days .. .. 79 27 4-20-73

3. After three days .. .. lost

4. After four days .. .. 79*65 -f* 20*35

5. After five days .... 79-65-420-35
6 After six days .... 82*99 -j- 17-01

7. After seven days .... 8o-7j 19-29

8. After eight days 80 -4-20

9. ilfter nine days 80-84 l9*i6

lO. After ten days 82 26 -J- 17 74

On the ninth day, after analyzing the gas,

1 dissolved some sulphate of iron in the water-
trough. This is the reason of the greater
proportion of azotic gas found in the last cu-
bic inch of the air, which was analyzed on
the tenth day.

If we compare these experiments with the
former ones, we must be struck with the great
difference between them. The air extracted
Iroin water by boiling is much richer in
oxygen than common air, containing rather
more than 29 per cent., while common air
contains only 2o per cent, by volume. But
this excess of oxygen diminishes rapidly ; so
that after four days itdoes not contain more
than common air does.

Common air, on the contrary, may be left
upon the water-trough for ten days without
undergoing any sensible alteration in its
composition, indeed I left nine cubic inches
of air in a tube standing inverted over water,
from the first of May to the 25th of that
month, and found its constituents unaltered.

If we take the mean of the constituents of
sir from the preceding table, leaving out the

588 DISTINCT CRYSTALS OF MANGANATE OF POTASH.

last term, because the sulphate of iron had in ' with the air, as Edwards and Chevillot
created the quantity of oxygen absorbed, we have already shewn. But the green com-
obtain pound may be obtained equally well, when

Azotic gas .. .. 80-32 volumes. the binoxide of manganese is ignited with po-

Oxygen "as .... l9 63 ,, tash in a retort shut up from the aii. Thus

" ** ” lO grammes of binoxide of manganese, heated

lOO-OO

Now this differs very little fiom the compo-
sition of air. If we analyze air without remov-
ing previously the carbonic acid gas and the
moisture which it contains, we always find
the volume of its oxygen below 20 per cent.

CTo be continued.)

ON MANGANIC AND HYPKRMAN-
GANIC ACIDS, ON HYPFRCHl.O-
RIC ACID, AND THE SALTS OF
IHESE ACIDS.

By E. M itscherlich.*

Scheele first observed a part of the pheno-
mena, which, as I shall immediately show,
are produced by two acids foimed from man-
ganese ; and after him chemists of eminence
have repeatedly turned their attention to the
subject. Chevreui, Chevillot, and Edwards,
Forchhammer, Fromheiz, and U nverdorben,
have added mote or less interesting facts to
those pieviously known, although they have
by no means exliausted the subject. 'I he-e
compounds, however, would unquestionably
have been long ago completely investigated,
had not the great difficulty of obtaining the
pure acid in sufficient quantity rendered their
examination almost an impossibility. I'hey
are decomposed very easily by a great num-
ber of circumstances ; their solutions cnunot
be filtered, nor their crystals laid upon paper,
because they are instantaneously decomposed
by organic substances.

Very distinct crystals, which 1 obtained of
manganate of potash, enabled me to deter-
mine their shape, and as it was found to agree
in every respect with that of the chromate,
seleniate, and sulphate of potasii. this circum-
stance, which is particularly interesting in the
elucidation of the connexion of the crystalline
shape of bodies with their composition, indu-
ced me to investigate more closely these acids
and their compounds.

I.-ON THE ACTION OF POTASH
ON THE BINOXIDE OF MANGA-
NESE.

When equal parts of potash and binoxide
of manganese are ignitedtogether, and the igni-
ted mass treated with water, a green solution
is obtained, which contains in solution,
carbonate of potash, caustic potash, and a
compound of potash with manganese in
a higher degree of oxidation, wliile a brown
powder remains undissolved. Oxygen is ab-
sorbed when the mass is ignited in contact

• Poggendorff’s Ann., xxv., '2H7. (The pub-
lication of this interesting paper is rendered
necessary to illustrate that of Dr.Clark, print-
ed in Records, vol. iii. 433, and vol. iv. ‘la.

— Edit.)

with potasli without the access of air, and
treated with water, gave a solution, which,
when the acid was decompostul, and the man-
ganese precipitated and ignited, yielded 1
gramme of the red oxide (oxidum mangaaeso-
maaganesicum.)

In this case, the higher degree of oxidation
of tJie manganese is produced in the same
manner in whicii the biovvn oxide of lead is
formed from red lead, when the latter is treat-
ed with nitric acid, and the brown residue
wiiich is left, when the green compound is
dissolved, consists of hydrated sesqui and hi-
noxides of manganese, but whether mixed or
chemically combined, 1 cannot venture to
decide. I'lie manganic acid is formed by a
pail ot the binoxide giving up a portion of ils
oxygen to the remainder , by vvliicb it is chang-
ed to stsquioxide, but the quantity of manga-
nic acid tormed, sliows that a poition of tlie
binoxide remains undecomposed.

If we pour off the deep green solution, after
allowing the brown insoluble poition to sub-
side. and allow it toevapoiale over sulphuric
acid, under the exhausted receiver of an air
pump, we obtain beautiful pure crystals of
a gieen colour, mixed with abundance of
crystals of hydrate and carbonate of potash.
I'hese crystals must be laid on poious tile or
clay, which absorbs the moisture without
producing decomposition. If the solution be
allowed to evaporate in contact wiili the at-
mospbere, red crysiltals, the composition of
which I shall attend to afterwards, may be
formed by ibe action of the caibonic acid of
the air.

If the green crystals be treated with water,
a red solution is obtained, wliich, by evafjora-
tion, yields red crystals. I'he green crystals
consistoi manganateof potash, whicli is isomor-
phous with sulphate ol potash, while the red
liave tiie same form as the peichlorale of po-
tash. Accurate analyses have shown that
botli the perchloric acid and the highest degree
of oxidation of magnanese, contain 7 propor-
tions of oxygen. It appears to me, therefore,
to be convenient to denominate that degree of
oxidation of manganese which corresponds
with sulphuric, seienic, and chromic acids,
licid, while the highest degiee of
oxidation ol manganese may be called hyper~
rniin^anic add, and that of chlorine hyper-
chloric acid, following the nomenclature of
Gay Lussac with respect to /ir/po-sulphuric
acid.^

( To he contimied.)

t la this investigation I have been greatly
aided in the preparation of the substances
by my assistant, .Vi. WolfiF, a very skilful phar-
maceutist.

STURGEON’S IMPORTANT EXPERIMENTS.

589

ON ELECTRO-PULSATIONS AND
ELECTRO-MOMENTUM.

By William Sturgeon,

Lecturer on Experimental Philosophrj at
the Honourable East India Company's
Military Academy, Addiscombe,

It is very well known to the readers of
the Philosophical Magazine, that I have
long considered electric currents, when
transmitted through inferior conductors be-
tween the poles of a voltaic battery, as the
effect of a series of distinct discharges, in
such rapid succession as not to be individu-
ally distinguished by the senses. Such
currents I have called electro-pulsatory.
See my theory of magnetic electricity in
the London and Edinburgh Philosophical
Magazine, vol. ii. p. 202.

By following up these views of electro-
pulsations, I was about two years ago
enabled to dispense with all acid or saline
liquids, in the employment of galvanic bat-
teries, for the purpose of galvanizing, as it
is called, either to satisfy the curiosity or as
a medical process ; and my plan, which
answers very well, I have found to be pro-
ductive of a considerable saving in the ex-
pense necessarily attendant on the use of
voltaic batteries when excited by acid solu-
tions.

It is well known that a Cruickshank
battery of about a hundred pairs will, by
employing water alone in the cells, charge
to a certain degree of intensity almost any
extent of coated surface of glass that we
please ; and that the same degree of charge
is given to it by a single contact of the con-
ductors, however short its duration. This
being understood, and understanding also
that the shock produced by any discharge
from a given intensity would be propor-
tional to the quantity of fluid transmitted in
a given time, it was easy to foresee that a
series of shocks in rapid succession might
be produced by some mechanical contriv-
ance, and that the degree of force might
be regulated by varying the extent of coated
surface.

My first experiments were made with a
hundred and fifty pairs of three-inch plates,
and about seven feet on each side of coated
glass ; and ray apparatus for producing a
rapid succession of shocks was one of Mr.
Barlow’s stellated electro-raagnetic wheelsf
which was soldered to an iron spindle and
put into rotatory motion by a wheel and

• Communicated by the Author,
t [See Phil. Mag., First Series p. xi. vol
lix, 241. -Edit.]

band ; the points of the wheel touching in
succession a copper spring in connexion
with the positive surface, and thus producing
a discharge at every contact of the wheel
and copper spring.

When the two surfaces are connected by
wires with two basins of salt water, and the
hands immersed one in each basin, the effect
experienced is precisely that of the dis-
charge of a voltaic battery. Tlie discharges
can be made in such rapid succession as to
prevent the sensation of distinct shocks ;
and if the process were to be concealed it
would require some experience to distin-
guish be tween the effects on the animal
oeconomy from this apparatus and those
from a voltaic battery charged with acid
and water.

My views being so far verified, the next
attempt was to simplify the apparatus and
make it more portable ; and as it was rea-
dily seen that if one hundred pairs would
charge glass of considerable thickness,
thinner glass might be charged by fewer
pairs ; this was done ; and eventually the
glass entirely dismissed, and its place sup-
plied with well-varnished Bristol-board.
These boards answer exceedingly well as a
reservoir for low intensities ; they may be
coated to within an inch of the edge all
round, and placed upon their edges either
on a piece of glass or on a board properly
prepared, and arranged to any required ex-
tent like the plates of a voltaic battery, but
when considerable intensity is wanted, it is
better to use thin glass.

From these facts we learn that metallic
surfaces of many acres of extent may possi-
bly be charged to a low intensity in the in-
terior of the earth, by having a thin inter-
vening stratum of inferior conducting mat-
ter sufficient to insulate from each other
their dissimilar electric surfaces.

It may now be understood that the
slightest accident which would suddenly
break through the insulation, such as the
sinking of a mass of metalline matter from
one stratum to the other, would cause a
sudden rush of an immense ocean of the
electric fluid, which might be productive of
subterranean lightenings and tremendous
explosions sufficient to shake an extensive
range of country on every side.

^ Connected with the preceding facts there
are others which may be conveniently men-
tioned in this place, and which would lead
us to similar explanations of the causes of
subterraneous convulsions. Electric cur-
rents of considerable magnitude when sud-
denly checked, or diverted to a new chan-
nel, produce a momentum not very genrally
understood ; but which I will endeavour
to explain. A coil of copper wire excited

590

ON THE POSITION OF THE SOUTH MAGNETIC POLE.

by magnetic action will become a channel
for an electric current; and whilst the
whole circuit is metallic, the velocity of
that current would be considerably greater
than if any, even a small part of the circuit
were of worse conducting materials : and if
the current were suddenly transferred from
a channel of the former character to one of
the latter, by any contrivance whatever, it
would meet a resistance on entering the new
channel, which the momentum it had pre-
viously required would have to overcome ;
and a sudden disturbance of the electric
fluid, previously at rest, would take place,
and a violent rush of the current would as
suddenly follow.

It is in this manner that shocks and
sparks are produced by magnetic electric
machines, where the current, previously in
rapid motion, is suddenly transferred to a
new channel of inferior conducting charac-
ter ; and all the fluid in the revolving coil
rushes through a person properly situated
for the new route, and who experiences the
electric shock, or else through a thin stra-
tum of air at an interruption in the metallic
circuit where the spark is produced.

These, then, are some of the effects of
electric currents, or of the momentum of
the electric fluid in a state of motion, after
the exciting cause is entirely cut off. The
shock thus produced may very conveniently
be compared to the blow given by Mont*
golfier’s hydraulic ram. Electro -momenta
may be produced by any mode of excita-
tion whatever, and the effects will be pro-
portional to the velocity and quantity of the
electric fluid first put into motion ; and the
length of the original channel is also to be
taken into account. If then electro-mo-
menta, capable of producing violent shocks
and vivid sparks, can be produced by a few
hundreds of feet of thin copper wire, what
is it that might not be expected from the
electro-momenta of nature, arising from
currents of many miles in extent, kept in
motion either by heat, saline solutions, or by
other causes, amongst the metalline strata
below the surface of the earth ? A sudden
disruption in the circuit would insure the
blow, and an earthquake might be the result.
— Philosophical Magazine, 1836.

ON THE POSITION OF THE SOUTH
MAGNETIC POLE.

By Edward Rudge, Esq,., F.R.S., S. A.,
L.S. and H.S *

The experiments detailed by Captain
James Clark Ross, R.N. , &c., which led to

• Read before the Royal Society, Feb. 19,
18^5 ; and now communicated by the Author.

the important discovery of the north magne-
tic pole, and which are published in the Phi-
losophical Transactions for the year 1834,
suggested to me as an object of interesting
inquiry, whether any similar affection of the
horizontal magnetic needle had ever been
noticed by any former navigator of the south-
ern hemisphere , from which an approach to
the magnetic pole could be surmised.

No such appearances seem to have been
observed by Anson, or any one after him ;
but prior to his circumnavigation of the
globe, Captain Abel Tasman, who was ap-
pointed for the discovery of southern
countries by direction of the Dutch East
India Company, sailed from Batavia with
two vessels on the l4th of August 1642, in
his account of the voyage, gives the follow-
ing particulars of an observation made on the
22nd of November of the same year, when,
by a prior and subsequent observation of
November the l5th and 24th, he was in
about latitude dSsilS., and longitude from
Paris 160«.

“The needle was in continual motion
without resting upon any of the ei^ht points
of the compass,” which he says, “led him to
conjecture that there were some mines of
loadstone on that spot.”

Tasman’s Journal, written in Low Dutch,
is now an extremely rare book : a translation
of it is given in Dr. Hooke’s Philosophical
Tracts, p. 179, for the year 1682; in Nar-
borough’s and in Correal’s Collections of
Voyages ; and also by Harris, who gives a
new translation of it in the second edition of
his Collection of Voyages, where, although
he notices Dr. Halley’s theory of the magne-
tic poles, which was published in 1683, he
does not seem to suspect that Tasman’s ob-
servation of this very remarkable affection of
the magnetic needle was made in the imme-
diate vicinity of the south magnetic pole, at
that period in that particular situation, as-
certained by the horizontal needle only ;
the dipping-needle, invented by Norman in
1681, being then unknown. Dr. Halley was
of opinion that the north magnetic pole was
not far from Baffin’s Bay, and that the south
magnetic pole was in the Indian Ocean,
south-west from New Zealand ; whether he
ha I availed himself of the observation made
by Tasman in forming this opinion, does not
appear. Euler places the north magnetic
pole for the year 1757 in latitude 76^^ north,
and longitude 96® west from Teneriffe ; and
the south magnetic pole in latitude 58^ south,
and longitude 158^ west from Teneriffe.

It has been ascertained by observation,
that the magnetic poles were on the meridian
of the poles of the earth at London in the
year 1657, being fifteen years after Tasman’s
observations, and that it reached its utmost
degree of variation west in the year 1818,
when it became stationary at 24° 26' west,
and has since in respect of London been re-
trograding towards the east, completing one
quarter of the circle round the poles of the
earth in 16! years at the rate of 11 or 12
minutes of a degree in a year ; so that, pre-
suming Tasman was on the south magnetic

RUDGE ON THE SOUTH M.^GNETIC POLE.

591

pole on the 22nd of November 1642, it would
now be found in or about the forty -third
parallel of south latitude to the south-east of
the island of Madagascar, a convenient situa-
tion, when compared with that of the north
magnetic pole for ascertaining the exact
position of the south magnetic pole, and
where experiments with the horizontal and
dipping-needles to lead to its discovery and
determine the comparative intensity of the
south magnetic power might with facility be
made. In pursuance of this desirable object
the progress of the south magnetic pole might
be accurately ascertained by annual observa-

tions ; whether its distance from the south
pole of the earth is uniform in its progress
and if in an exact opposite direction to the
north magnetic pole ; to trace the point at
which the axis of the magnetic poles, crosses
that of the earth ; and thus by a continued
series of observations and experiments a
wide field mis’ht be opened to enlarge our
hitherto imperfect knowledge of this myste-
rious power, which might be considered of
so much importance in guiding and directing
the motion of the earth on its axis and in its
orbit.

TABLE OF THE OBSERVATIONS ON THE MAGNETIC NEEDLE MADE
BY CAPTAIN JOHN ABEL TASMAN FROM THE BEGINNING TO THE

TERMINATION OF HIS VOYAGE; EXTRACTED FROM HIS JOURNAL.

Time.

Latitude.

Longitude
from Paris.

V ariation of the
Needle.

1642.

October 8 to 22.

40®40’S.

23°24°&2°5°\V

22.

49 47

89'’44’

260 45 w.

Nov. 6.

49 4

114 56

26

15.

44 3

140 32

18 30 W.

21.

158

4 W.

22.

The needle in conti-

nual agitation.

24.

42 25

163 50

The needle pointed to-

wards the land now

first discovered and

called Van Die-

men’s Land.

Dec. 1-

43 10

167 55

3 E.

Frederick Henry bay.

Van Diemen’s Land,

9.

42 37

176 29

5 E.

New Zealand.

18.

40 50

191 41

9 E.

1643.

January 8.

30 25

192 20

9 E.

12.

30 5

195 27

9 30 E.

16.

26 29

199 32

8 E.

19.

22 35

204 15

7 30 E.

21.

21 20

205 29

7 25 E.

25.

20 15

206 19

6 20 E.

March 2.

9 11

192 46

10 E.

14.

10 12

186 14

8 45 E.

20.

5 15

181 16

9 E.

25.

4 35

175 10

9 30 E.

1

April 1.

4 30

171 2

8 45 E.

12.

3 45

167

10 E.

14.

5 27

166 57

9 15 E.

20.

5 4

164 27

8 30 E.

May 12.

0 54

153 17

6 30 E.

18.

0 26

147 55

1 5 30 E.

27.

6 12 S.

1 127 18

1 Returned to Batavia after 10 months’

absence, having sailed round the Australian continent without
seeing any part of it but the extremity of Van Diemen’s Land.

[Philosophical Magazine, for 1836.

592

ON A SPECIES OF THE GENUS MITRA.

PROCEEDINGS OF LEARNED SOCIE-
TIES.

ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY 1836.

Specimens were exhibited of numerous
Shells of the genus Mitra, Lam., and of one
species of Conoelix, Swains., forming part of
the collection of Mr. Cuming ; and an ac-
count of them by Mr. Brouerip was redd,
commencing as follows ;

•• The species of the genus Mitra, Lam.,
which I am about to describe, had been sent
by Mr. Cuming, in whose cabinet they are,
to Mr. Swainson, whose intimate acquaint-
ance with this family renders him so particu-
larly competent to the task of describing them.
I'hey weie named by him, and he also made
notes respecting them before returning them.
In the following account of them 1 have
retained Mr. Swainson’s name in every in-
stance but one : and whenever he has made
any written obseivations 1 have quoted ihem.

Characters, habitats, ike. of the following
species were then given, and are printed in
the “ Proceedings.”

Genus Mitra (Lam. and Swains.). Mitra
fic6w(osa( representing MMbiZa, Type 5, 1, Sw.;,
{Supainsomi (Type 1 , i.), Ahcillides (5,(2?L
mawra (representing Tiara Joraminutu, Tyie
(1. 4.),Julvei>cens (5, 1.), testacea (5, 1. repre-
senting/M/i7aJ,/Mtoa var. (I, 2. representing
Tiarai, chrysostoma (5, ). representing/er-
ruginea), ti-istis (2,4.), ‘eind ejf'usa fl, 5.).

Genus 1 iara, Sivains. (Miira, Lam.) T'iara
foraminata (representing Mitra maura, 1 ype
2, 4 ), luuricuta, mucronuta, catenata (1,3.),
multicostuta, rosea niillecostaia (the

close-set longitudinal ribs and cancel ated
base give this shell, which may not have at-
tained its full growth, the aspect of a Can-
cellaria), lineata (5, 1), nivea (5, 3.), au-
rantia, tereOralis, crenaia (5,3, or 3, 3.), rubra
(1, 2 ), semiplicata, and attenuata (5, 1 )•

Mr. Swainson had wiitten on the pa; er
containing Tiura terebralis, " '1 ype 4,4. This
is one of tiie most extraordinary shells in the
collection, as it so closely resembles the Mitra
Terebralis that, but for its possessing the
generic characters of Tiar t , it might pass for
the same species.

It IS one of the most slender of its genus,
and has very much of the general character
and form of a Terebra ; and its resemblance
to Terebra is increased by the circumstance
of its having one spiral groove, more deeply
impressed than the others, placed at about
one third of the length of each volution be-
fore the suture. The points of contact of the
decussating with the longitudinal grooves
are deeply impressed,

There is a fine specimen in Mr. Broderip’s
collection.

Mr. Sowerby has furnished me with the
account of this species.

Genus Conoelix {Sioains.). Conoelix Virgo
(representing Conus Virgo).

The following observations by Mr, Swain-
son elucidate his notes in relation to the

Mitres, appended to most of the characters of
the shells above named :

“ I'o render my explanation of the notes
and references attached to the different
species of the Mitrance more intelligible to
conchologists, it wdll be necessary for me to
state, in as few words as possible, the result
of my investigation of this subfamily, and the
principles which have regulated these numeri-
cal indications.

” I have already, in another work, charac-
terized the family Volutidee.. which appears to
be that primary division of the Carnivorous
Gasteropoda {Zoophaga, Lam.), which i-epre-
sents the Rasorial type among Birds, the
Ungulata among Quadrupeds, and the Thus a-
nura among perfect Insects (Ptilota) : these
analogies being of course remote, although
founded on the structure of the animal, no
less than on its testaceous covering. It thus
follows that the Lamarckian Mitrce, instead of
a genus, constitute a subfamily, w^hich ap-
pears to be the subtypical group of the circle.
The five genera composing this circle I have
long ago characterized ; and here, for some
years, my analysis of the group terminated.
The inspection, however, of the numerous
species brought home by Mr. Cuming, and
the gradually augmented number in my owm
cabinet, seemed to invite a still further and
more minute investigation, for the purpose
of ascertaining if any, and what, subgenera
were contained in the more crowded groups
of Mitra 'And Tiara. This investigation was
carried on, at intervals, for nearly twelve
months ; and the result surpassed my most
sanguine expectations. It has convinced
me that not only does each of the genera of
the Mitrance represent analogically the corres-
ponding groups of the Volutince, but that
the same relations can be demonstrated
between the minor divisions of the genera
Tiara and those of Mitra : in other words’
that these latter represent all the subfamilies
and genera of the other Volutidee, while they
preserve their own peculiar or generic
character. What I have just said on the
parallel relations of analogy between the
Mitrance and the Volutidee, is strictly appli-
cable, in fact, to the genera Mitra and Tiara,
the [irimary divisions of each of which can
thus be demonstrated subgenera. Nor is
this all : the materials I have been for so
many years collecting have enabled me to
ascertain, in very many instances, that the
variation of the species, in each of these
subgenera, is regulated on precisely the same
principle. Hence it follows that the two
circles of Mitra and Tiara, like the two
divisions of Mr. MacLeay’s Petalocera,
contain species representing each other, so
that if their generic character is not attended
to, it is almost impossible to discriminate
them even as species. Many instances of
this extraordinary analogy might be men-
tioned, independent of that here alluded to,
between Mitra Terebralis and Tiara Terebralis,

“ Selecting this shell to illustrate the
numbers “ Type 4, 4,” I may observe, that
‘ Type 4’ signifies that it belongs to the

PROCEEDINGS OF THE ZOOLOGICAL'SOCIETY.

59;

fourth subgenus of Tiara, in which group it
is the fourth subtype, uniting to Mitramaurn,
which is the fourth stibtype of the first or
typical subgenus. Mitra maura, again, as
representing this latter shell, consequently
becomes the fourth subtype of the first or
typical subgenus, and is therefore marked
“Type I, 4.” The first figure always denotes
the subgenus, and the last the staiion which
the species appears to hold in its own
subgenus,

“ 1 am unacquainted with any group in the
animal kingdom which demonstrates more
fully than this does the law of representation.
It may be mentioned, also, that nearly all the
divisions I had long ago characterized, from
the formation of the shells alone, have more
recently been confirmed by a knowledge of
their respective animals : a knowledge for
which we are entirely indebted to the able
naturalists who accompanied the French
expedition onboard the Astrolabe.’’ — W, S,

Specimens were exhibited of several hi-
herto undescribed Cowries most of which
have been brought to England within the
last few years. They were accompanied by
characters and descriptions, by J. S.
Gaskoin, Esq., which are given in the “Pro-
ceedings” under the following names, viz.

Cyprceaformosa (Cape of Good Hope), rii-
Hnicolor, producta, candidula f'Mexico. Cpp.
approximans, Beck, Cyp. olorina Duclos, but
first described by Mr. Gaskoin), acutiden-
tata ^^Isle of Muerte, Bay of Guayaquil), Pe
diculus, var. labiosa, vesicularis (Cape of Good
Hope), and Bec'<ii.

'I’here was read an “ Extrait du Q,uatrieme
Rapport Annuel sur les Travaux de la So-
ciete d’Histoire Natui-elle de I’lle Maurice :
par M. Julien Desjardins.”

The communications relative to the Mam^
malia read before the Natural History Socie-
ty of the Mauritius in the fourth year of its
existence have comprised an account, by the
secretary, M. Julien Desjardins, of a Whale
which he regards as the Physeter macrocepha-
lus, Linn, , that was cast ashore on an ad-
joining reaf : and some observations by the
same author on several of the Mammalia of
the island, and particularly on the hyberna-
tion of the Tenrec, Centenes spinosus, 111. ;
the lethargy of which animal takes place
when the thermometer is not lower than 20°
Cent., and even when it marks 26°.

In ornithology M. Desjardins has also been
the only contributor. He has described, as
new, two Birds belonging to the island, and
has proposed for them the names of Chara-
drius Nesogallicus and Scolopax elegans.

M. Lienard, the elder, has, in the course
of the year, described many Fishes, including
a new species of Plectropoma. allied to the
Plectr. melanoleuca, Cuv. & Val., which is
of a uniform brown colour, with all its fins
of a still deeper brown, except the pectora
which are orange ; on this latter character
his specific name is founded : a Holacanthus,
La Cep., from Batavia, remarkable on ac-
count of the numerous sinuous silvery lines
which occupy principally the middle of the

body; and having also on its face two yellow
and two black bands, one of which is ocular :
a Cheilinus, Cuv. : an Echeneis, Linn., fur-
nished, on its suctorial disc, with twenty-
five hairs of plates: and a Murana, Thunb.,
the body of which is of an ebony black, and
the dorsal fin yellow ; the trivial name being
indicative of the latter peculiarity He has
also given some account of a collection of
Fishes obtained from the western coast of
M adagascar . and comprising thirteen species,
several of which he regai*ds as new. M. Des-
jardins has described as the hlue-faced Te-
frodon, a species remarkable for two large
blue spots on each side of its face, and hav-
ing the fin-rays as follows ; D. 15 a. A. 12.
P. 14. C. 14. ; it inhabits the seas adjacerlt
to the Isle of France.

In entomology the only communication
made to the Mauritius Society was by M.
Goudot, and related to the Insect described
by Mr. Bennet at the Meeting of the Zoolo-
gical Society on January 22, 1833, (Pi-oceed-
ings, Part i., p. 12 ; Lond. and Edinb. , Phil-
Mag., vol. ii. p- 478,) under the name of
Aphrophora Goudoti. The communication
made to the Zoological Society, of which a
full abstract is given at the page quoted, was
apparently identical with that read before the
Mauritius Society.

The remaining zoological communication
related to the Intestinal Worms, and was
made by the Secretary. Ft gave some ac-
count of the Distoma hepaticum, Cuv., as
found in the stomach of a cow; and of the
Cysticercus Cellulose, Brems., existing in
innumerable quantities over almost the whole
of the head, trunk, and extremities of a sow.

An “ Extrait du Cinqui^me Rap rmrt An-
nuel” of the same Society, by M- Julien
Desjardins, Corr. Memb- Z. S., was also
read.

In the year of which the present Report
gives an account, M. Desjardins has com-
municated to the Natural History Society of
the Mauritius, a list of several species of
Birds that are occasional visitors of that
island ; and has also referred particularly to
the Cotumix Sinensis, Cuv. , and the Nectari-
nia Borhonica, 111., as stationary in the
Mauritius.

M E. Lidnard has brought from the Sey-
chelles a species of Gecko of con.siderable size,
which he has described in a communication
made to the Society: and M- E. Lidnard has
placed on record the existence in the adjacent
seas of the Sphargis coriaceus, Merr-

M- Lidnard, the elder, has again made
numerous contributions to ichthyology. He
has given a detailed description of the Squalus
Vulpes.IAnn. : has described as newaTn-
chiurus, Linn., which he had formerly regard-
ed as the Trich. lepturus, Ej-, but which
has the eye much larger, more numerous
striee on the suhoperculum, and a few more
rays in the dorsal fin : and has also describ-
ed two species of Crenilahrus, Cuv., which
he regards as new; one of them has three
longitudinal rose-coloured bands on the white
ground of the body, others on the dorsal

594

MONUMENTS OF BRITISH IMPROVEMENTS IN INDIA.

fin, a large blood-red red spot on the ventral
fins, and D 12 X 10 A. 3 X 11 ; the other
is banded like the preceding, but is deeply
rOse-coloiired on the back and pale yellow
below, has a black circle surrounding the
base of the pectoral fin, a large red spot
above the anus, the dorsal and caudal fins
red, the anal and ventrals yellow, the pecto-
rals rose-coloured, and D. l2 x 9, A, 3 x H*
He has also given a description of a Murcena,
Thunb,, of a very pale olive yellow towards
the front and brown towards the tail, and
marked on the back by white ocellated spots
bordered with brown.

In the same department M, E. Li^nard
has contributed descriptions, from recent
specimens, of several Serrani described by
Cuvier and M. Valenciennes in their ‘ His-
toire Naturelle des Poissons’ ; and has also
given a description of a Blennius, Linn.,
destitute of appendages on the head. These
fishes were observed in a voyage to the
Seychelle Islands, whence M. E Lienard
brought back with him to the Mauritius a
Chatodon of very varied colours, which M. A.
Lienard subsequently described under the
name of Chcetodon diversicolor. M. Desjardins
has stated, in a note, that the Mango fish,
Polynemus longifilis, Cuv. & Val., is not found,
as had been announced, in the Isle of France.
And he adds that he has prepared an
alphabetical index to the nine volumes of
the ‘ Histoire Naturelle des Poissons’ that
had then reached the Mauritius. M, Magon
has presented to the Museum of the Society
a fragment of a ship’s coppered keel pierced
by the point of the upper jaw of a. Histio-
phorus,C\xv., which still remains infixedin it.

M- Desjardins has contributed the only
notices relative to the Mollusca which have
consisted of short descriptions of three spe-
cies belonging to the island : an Octopus Oct.
arenarius, Desj., found in the shell of a Doli-
um ; a Pupa, of a red and yellow colour ; and
a small species of Helicina. He has also as-
certained the existence at the Mauritius of
the Tornatella fiammea , Auct.

To the same active member the Mauritius
Natural Histoi’y Society is indebted for
the only entomological communication made
to it in the fifth year of its existence ; it is a
detailed description of a large species of lulus
brought from the Seychelles, and charac-
terized as the lulus Seychellarum, Desj.

Specimens were exhibited of various Fishes,
forming part of a collection from Mauritius,
presented to the Society by M. Julien Des-
jardins, and forwarded by him at the same
time with the “ Rapports de la Societe d’
Histoire Naturelle de I’lie Maurice.”
These were severally brought under the no-
tice of the Meeting by Mr, Bennett, who
called particular attention to the following,
which he regarded as hitherto undescribed,
and of which the characters are given in the
” Proceedings” viz.

Apogon tceniopterus ; Acanthurus Desjar-
diniiMuppelii, andBlochii} Labrus spilonotus ;
and Anampses lineolutus.

(To be continued)

THE INDIA REVIEW.

Calcutta: February 15, 1837-

ROADS AND PUBLIC WORKS IN
INDIA.

Much has been recently mooted by the !
press on the subject of roads. As we are in
possession of an official abstract statement
of all important public works which have
been constructed in India or are at present
in progress, such as canals or roads, since
the renew'al of the former East India Com- i
pany’s charter, we proceed to show how far '
our rule has promoted commercial inter-
course by supplying the important deside-
rata, especially the want of roads ; observe for
instance the remarkable work which has, we
believe, been completed, — we mean the con-
struction in 1812 of a road from Calcutta to
Juggurnauth, upwards of .300 miles in length,
with branches to the principal towns near
which it passes. It is rather unfortunate for
those who would plead this work as proof that J
commercial intercourse has been encouraged, |
that this road leads to the foulest sink of '
idolatry ever exhibited in any known part |
of the world. The following however is the j
abstract of the monuments of British im- |
provements from 1813 to 1831. j

1813 :

The excavation of a canal, connecting the I
Ganges and Bugruttee rivers : completed.
Operations for the improvement of the
navigation of the Nnddea rivers, by dredging,
removal of rocks, &c. : still continued in ^
every dry season.

1814: I

The erection of two bridges on the estates i
of Rajah Ram Dyal Sing. |

1 be excavation of a taniv- and erection of a i
bridge in Meerut.

Repair of the Ahmednuggur aqueduct. I

Cutting the western end of the nullah to the '
bridge at Gobra near Moorshedabad ; com- j
pleting the eastern cut, and filling up the road |
across the old nullah. jj

Construction of a building for Divine wor-
ship at Meerut. !

Construction of a pucka road, ten arched ji
drains across certain roads, and a pucka ghaut I
to a tank in the Cooley Bazar. i

The military road from Calcutta to Bena- !>
res restored to its original width, repaired, ,
and several small bridges erected ; the road l
also continued to Range Ghaut. i

Construction of a pucka road from Allaha- j

bad to Burdwan. |

ROADS AND OTHER PUBLIC WORKS IN INDIA.

595

Raising and repairing a road from Puttah
Ghaut, which joins the military road near
Hurripaul.

1815 :

Laying down mooring chains, and construc-
tion of a depdt for marine stores at Saugor.

Completion of the town hall.

Erection of a mausoleum at Ghazeepore,
to the memory of Marquis Cornwallis.

Erection of lighthouses at Saugor Island,
Point Palmyras, and certain floating lights
there ; likewise of one at the island of Moya-
poor. (In 1821 the construction of the light-
house at Saugor was abandoned, and one on
Edmonstone’s Island authorized in its stead ;
which was also afterwards abandoned, and a
second lighthouse on Moyapoor constructed.)

Building a bridge over the nullah at Mee-
rut.

Cutting a road twelve feet wide for beasts
of burthen from Bumouree to Almorah, and
building bridges.

1816 :

The clearing of the island of Saugor, au-
thorised.

Rebuilding the houses of the botanical
garden.

Establishment of a native hospital at Patna

Erection of a lighthouse at Kedgeree.

Repairs and alterations to the government
houses at Calcutta, and in the park at Bar-
rackpore, and erecting guard-rooms and sta-
bling for the body guard : completed in 1827.

1817 :

Repair of an ancient aqueduct in the Deyra
Dhoon.

Restoration of the Delhi canal : completed.

Restoration of a canal in Goruckpore.

Construction of a new road at Moochu-
collah.

Erection of telegraphs between Calcutta
and Nagpore-

Construction of a road from Tondah to
Bumouree.

Completion of the new road from Patna to
Gyah.

The road from Puttah Ghaut to the mili-
tary road near Hurripaul widened.

1818 :

Eight bridges built for the entrances on
the land side of the city of Delhi.

The road repaired between Mahratta bridge,
Calcutta, and a bridge connecting the main
road with the gate of the hospital at Dum
Dum.

Construction of a well in the centre of the
proposed Gunge at Bumouree and Tondah
(this work was in 1820 abandoned, in conse-
quence of the unhealthiness of the situation) ;
road leading from Calcutta to Dum Dum
repaired.

Construction of a road from Puttah Ghaut
to Hurripaul.

The I’oad between Patua and Shehargotty
raised, and drains and watercourses added
for the purpose of promoting cultivation.

1819 :

Construction of a chapel at Benares.

Extension as far as Ruderpore of the road
constructed from Bumouree to Tondah in

Kumaoon, for the purpose of opening a com-
munication between the Plains and Almorah.

Repairing the bridge over the Ramgunga,
and constructing a new bridge over the Soor-
joo rivers in Kumaoon.

1820:

Erection of an exchange by the merchants
of Calcutta on a site of ground granted by
government.

Formation of a botanical garden at Saha-
runpore-

Construction of part of a road from the
Barrackpore cantonments to a spot opposite
the village of Buddee Pautee, where lime-
kilns have been constructed-

Construction of sangha bridges over the
Bulleah and .Soowal rivers in Kumaoon.

Sinking two pucka wells at Deyrah in the
Dhoon.

1821 :

Measures for building a Scotch church (St.
Andrew’s), and a grant of government in aid
of its erection, which was completed in 1824.

Erection of two chapels at Benares and
Dacca ; also.

Completion of a new chapel at Futtyghur.

Construction of a church at Foit William,
and of a new chapel at Calcutta.

Measures adopted for improving the routes
of communication between the principal posi-
tions of the army, by opening and repairing
roads at and between t!ie following stations,
so as to make them available during the dry
season for any description of transport car-
riage ; viz.

From Agra to Mliow via Lakheree and
Mokundiah.

From Mhow to Delhi, by Neemutch and
Nusseerabad.

From Asseerghur to , Hussingabad, thence
to Mhow via Mundlasir, and to Nagpore
via Berhampore and Ellichpoor-

From Cawnpore to Saugor through Bundle-
cund, and thence to Nagpore by two routes,
viz. by Jubblepore, and by Hussingabad.

From Calcutta to Nagpore, through the
Singboom country.

1822:

Excavation of a canal to unite the Hoogh-
ly with the Ganges, through the Salt-water
Lake- ( I'his work was proposed in this
year, and the line surveyed, but the opera-
tions were only commenced in 1829 )

Additional moorings laid down at Kedgeree.

■Measures for the survey and improve-
ment of the port of Cuttack

Arrangement respecting the moorings laid
down off the esplanade for government ves-
sels, sanctioned.

Formation of a teak and sissoo plantations
at Bauleah, Sylhet, and the Jungle Mehals.

Construction of a line of telegraphs from
Fort William to Chunar.

Construction of a road from Chilkea to
Howel Baugh in Kumaoon for mules and ta-
toos for commercial purposes, and more parti-
cularly for facilitating the commerce between
Tartary and the Plains.

596

ROADS AND OTHER PUBLIC WORKS IN INDIA.

Three new sangha bridges built, and a
fourth reconstructed, over the rivers in the
Kumaoon district.

Increased naeans employed for making a
part of the new road from Calcutta to Nag-
pore via Sumbulpore.

Construction to Puttah of the new road
from Barrackpore to Buddy Pautee.

1823 :

Construction of a hospital for the pilgrims
resorting to Juggurnaut.

Excavation of a canal to unite the Damra
and Churramunnee rivers : still in progress.

Re-opening of Feroze Shah’s canal in
Delhi: completed-

Restoration of Zabita Khan’s canal in the
Upper Dooab,

The course of Ali Murdher’s canal drawn
into Delhi.

Works on the Seetabuldee hills-

Construction of buildings on the eastern
bank of the Hooghly, and of pucka pillars as
beacons to be made subservient to telegraphic
communication.

Execution of certain works at Diamond
Harbour ; moorings at the new anchorage ;
bridle chains and spiral buoys for the anchor-
age westward of the Kanacka river.

Erection of a new mint at Calcutta : now
in pi-ogress.

1824::

Wooden bridge built across the river Pabur
’ at Raeen; military road between Nagpore
and Ryepore.

Erection of a chapel at Dum Dum, and
another at Meerut.

Construction of two churches at Cawnpor®.

Erection of a church at Dacca-

Erection of an additional church at Cal-
cutta.

Erection of a church at Burdwan.

The Cutcha sides of the road from Dum
Dum to Shaum Bazar bridge, raised and
turfed ; revetments of timber and planking
as an embankment to the Ganges at Dina-
pore, to preserve public buildings-

Construction of two new tanks at Nussee-
rabad.

Construction of a new road from Mirza-
pore to Saugor, Jubbulpore, Nagpore, and
Omrawatty to Bhopalpore, Mhow, &c.

1825 :

Establishment of a botanical garden at
Singapore ; erection of bungalows and ser-
aies for travellers in the military road from
Calcutta to Benares.

Replacing certain bunds destroyed by the
torrents from the Damooda river, and repair-
ing the damage done to the military roads
between Hurripaul and the eastern bank of
the river.

A road constructed from Cuttack to Pada-
moondy or Aliva ; particularly desirable for
the transit of military stores at all seasons.

Two pucka bridges over two nullahs on
the road to Jaugemow at Cawnpore-
1826:

Erection of a new Madrissa, or Mahomedan
college, in Calcutta-

Erection of a new Sanscrit college in
Calcutta.

Construction of a new dawk road between
the presidency and the new anchorage.

Construction of rope suspension bridges,
known afterwards as “ Shakesperian Bridg-
es,” was first introduced.

Additions, alterations, and repairs to the
Lower Orphan School at Allipore-

Construction of two bridges over the Sing-
hea Khal, and Sodepore Khal nullahs, on the
new Benai’es road.

1827 ;

Improvements of the dawk road, through ,
Shakespeare’s Pass to Channel Creek, and j|
the construction of a Shakesperian bridge
over the Kowar Torrent on the Benares
road. I

A new building for the Madrissa or Ma- I
homedan college.

Erection of the Hindoo college : completed. I
Four Shakesperian bridges thrown over
the Ramgunga,Kummee, and Ramghur rivers.

1828 :

Operations for the removal of the rocks
which obstruct the navigation of the Jumna :
still in progress.

Erection of staging bungalow's on the road
from Shergotty to Gya, and thence to Patna.

Erection of an asylum at Benares for the
destitute and blind, by Rajah Kali Shunker
Ghosaul, the expences of which in part are to '
be defrayed by government. !

Construction of three beacons towards the |
eastern end of the Straits of Malacca.

Construction of a bridge and boundary pil- i
lars at Agra. |

Nine iron chain bridges thrown over the
rivers in the province oif Kumaoon. '

1829 : !

The formation of roads in the districts of
Jounsai and Bhowar. !

Construction of a road from Balasore to
the sea-beach.

1830:

Formation of a new road from Cuttack to
Ganjam via Khoordah, intended as a high ,
road of communication between Bengal and i

Fort St. George : in progress. ,

Construction of the Jyntaroad.

A road to be constructed via Hooghly and i
Burdwan to Bancoorah : now in progress.

Staging bungalows and seraies at Gopee- ‘

gunge, Allahabad, Shajadpore, Futteepore, <

Cawnpore, Koostan, and Gya : now in pro-
gress. j

Telegraphic towers on the semaphore prin- |

ciple at Kedgeree lighthouse, Coverdale’s |

Tree, Mu,d Point, Moyapoor, Fort William,
and at Middle and Diamond Points : now in
progress. |

Two pucka wells constructed at Meerut,
one for the use of the natives, and for water-
ing the roads of cantonments ; and the other '

for the use of the public libraries-

Construction of a small bridge of masonry
over a branch of the Nucteah nullah, near
Bareilly ; also bunds for securing the east
bank of the same nullah.

HINTS FOR THE DISTRICT CHARITABLE COMMITTEE.

597

1831 :

The “ Strand Road” at Calcutta, towards
the completion of which, Court’s contribu-
tion has been requested.’’

In our next we shall notice the public
works in Madras and Bonabay, as well as
the surveys which have been effected.

BORING.— FORT WILLIAM.

A brass plumb by the break! ng of the
string having remained at the bottom of
the tubes used for the artesian spring in
Fort William, among other means adoptejj
to bring it up, a mud shell-augur was used
to push it out of the way or to raise it ;
having laid hold of it, the force required
to bring it up was so great as to break the
shoulders of the instrument. The Sappers
and Miners, we are happy to say, have suc-
ceeded in bringing it up from a depth of
326 feet, by breaking of the valve at B.
(see plate VI, fig. 14 and 15,) and disen.
gaging the plumb by means of a jumper^
after which the conical worm -augur laid
hold of the hinge of the valve of the mud
shell-augur, the cutters of which were bro-
ken off.

The greatest praise is due to the Sappers
who superintended, for their unremitting
attention to the work. It is believed no da-
mage has been done to the tubes, and we
have no doubt, by the same talent and per-
severance which have been hitherto evinced
in this great scientific undertaking, tha^-
they will now get to the depth at which
water will be found.

LIKENESSES OF DISTINGUISHED
INDIVIDUALS.

We have in our possession some very
correct likenesses of distinguished individu-
als who have lately left India, and of others
who are still residing in this country ; we
shall give one or two every month.

There are some persons to whom deep
scientific research and mechanical discoveries
have no particular allurements. By making
ourpublicationinterestingin every particular,
we hope to win them to the love of studies

of not less importance to themselves than
to the community at large.

FLOUR-MAKING RECOMMENDED
AS AN EMPLOYMENT FOR THE
POOR.

We beg to call the attention of the Go-
vernment and the District Charitable Com-
mittee to Hebert’s flour-maker, described in
our present number and illustrated by a
drawing. It appears to us that much good
would be effected, were the prisoners now in
our native jails employed in flour and rope,
rather than in road-making,on which, in our
opinion, proper work people alone should be
employed.

To guard against the imposition of those
who prefer idleness to industry, we conceive
Hebert’s flour-maker might be used by the
District Charitable Committee as profitable
occupation for such as are dependant upon
its bounty, on account of not obtaining
employment elsewhere. Were the society
to which we allude to rent a work-
house, rope-making, cotton -spining, and
other profitable labour might be introduced,
and large returns for their present expendi-
ture secured, and by extending such means
of doing good give a moral character to
the people and enforce permanent habits of
industry and a thirst for improvement.

LORD AUCKLAND’S FOURTH
SCIENTIFIC PARTY.

January 14, 1837.

At this meeting Dr. O’Shaughnessy per-
formed part of the eigth series of Farraday’s
experimental researches, which will be
found described at page 18 of our Review.
He also exhibited, with much better effect
than on the former occasion, his working
model of a machine, producing moving pow-
er by the application of electro -magnetic
influence. Several splendid specimens of fos-
sils were on the table, especially those
considered to be new genera, others which
Captain Cautley and Dr. Falconer have
called sevatherium, found by them in the
S ewalik hills.

598

HIGHLY FINISHED DRAWINGS BY DR. CANTOR.

There were several mineralogical speci-
mens from New South Wales, also some birds
collected by Mr. Cracroft ; among the latter
was a beautiM specimen of the white haw^k .
From Mr. Irwin a fine specimen of the ornitho -

rynchus. Two boxes exhibiting numeroug
kindsof timber collected at TavoybyT. Main-
gy> Esq. Upon the same table were displayed
some highly finished drawings of fishes pecu-
liar to India, by Dr. Cantor.

PROGRESS OF SCIENCE,

AS APPLICABLE TO THE ARTS AND MANUFACTURES; TO COMMERCE
AND TO AGRICULTURE.

TO JOHN HEATHCOAT, OF TIVER-
TON, IN THE COUNTY OF DEVON,
ESQ., FOR HIS INVENTION OF
CERTAIN NEW Ab}D IMPROVED
METHODS OF DRAINING AND
CULTIVATING LAND, AND NEW
OR IMPROVED MACHINERY AND
APPARATUS APPLICABLE THERE-
TO ; WHICH MACHINERY AND
APPARATUS MAY BE APPLIED TO
DIVERS OTHER USEFUL PUR-
POSES.

Sealed 15th May, 1882.

The subject of this patent is, in a nation-
al point of view, particularly as regards Ire-
land, one ofthe most important that has been
introduced to the public. It is principally
designed to afford the means of cultivat-
ing such boggy waste lands as are of too
spongy a character to sustain the feet of
horses.

The apparatus consists principally of a
locomotive steam-engine sustained upon a
platform, which moves very slowly over the
surface of the bog, upon a very broad end-
less band, which is nearly impervious to
water, and presents such an extended sur-
face as to prevent its sinking. From this
machine ploughs and other implements
of husbandry for cutting and turning
over the surface of the moss are work-
ed out and in, to the distance of a quarter
of a mile on each side at right angles to the
course in wdiich the engine is slowly advan-
cing, and the power of the steam impels the
ploughs in place of horse or other manual
labour.

Upon the merits of this invention and its
important advantages volumes might be
written, and no doubt will be ; but our limits
at present only allow us to give the details
of the contrivances as set out in the speci-
fication, observing, however, that we have
withheld our report under the expectation of

being enabled to speak practically of the
effect of its operation.

We have several times within the last
two years witnessed the action of the ma-
chinery upon Red Moss, near Bolton-le-
Moors, in Lancashire, under the super-
intendence of a skilful engineer, Mr.
Josiah Parks, and have now the satisfaction
of communicating to our readers the fact of
its most unqualified success.

The new or improved methods of drain-
ing and cultivating land, consists in the
employment of certain machinery and ap-
paratus to be worked by steam or other
power, for the purpose of ploughing, cut-
ting, rolling, harrowing, trenching, and
draining lands, and for effecting other ope-
rations of husbandry as are or may be per-
formed by traction, which machinery and
apparatus is particularly adapted for use on
lands which cannot be so conveniently
worked and tilled in the ordinary manner
by the agency of horses or other cattle.

This machinery or apparatus consists of
a carriage with a steam-engine, or other
motive engine mounted thereon ; and also
of auxiliary machines or apparatus, sup-
porting and conducting extended ropes,
bands, or chains, at a distance from the
motive engine.

The power of the engine is designed to
to draw ploughs and other agricultural im-
plements to and fro, between the principal
and auxiliary carriages at right angles, or
any other convenient angles, and also to
give locomotion to the principal carriage in
w'hich the engine is mounted.

In order to render my methods more
evident, I shall proceed to describe the
general features of my machinery or ap-
paratus, wdth the objects they are intended
to effect, and some of the variations and
modifications of which they are susceptible.

First, I employ a carriage of large dimen-
sions, designed for the support of a steam-
engine, or other machinery, capable of

DRAINING AND CULTIVATING LAND.

generating or communicating motive power ;
this carriage is mounted on a series of wheels,
w'hich conduct an endless flexible floor rail-
road or way, within and upon which the
carriage travels.

The endless flexible floor, rail-road, or
way, affords an extremely broad and ex-
tended surface, for the purpose of sustain-
ing a carriage of great weight upon soft,
swampy, boggy, or unstable land.

Secondly, in place of the series of wheels
and broad flexible endless floor, rail-road,
or way, I substitute, in certain cases,
rollers or drums, presenting considerable
surfaces to the ground ; I employ carriages
mounted on such broad rollers or drums on
lands or soils which naturally possess or
have acquired sufficient solidity to sustain
their weight.

Thirdly, I modify thecarriageby mounting
it upon wheels suitable for travelling on
land of a sufficiently firm and compact
nature, in order to simplify the application
of the machinery and apparatus to the
culture of such soils.

Fourthly, I employ auxiliary carriages,
which I place on each side of the principal
carriage, at a distance from and parallel
therewith, and by means of ropes, bands,
chains, or other media of traction, issuing
from and actuated by the machinery of the
principal carriage ; and passing round a
wheel, pulley, or barrel, on the auxiliary
carriages, I drag the ploughs or other agri-
cultural implements to and fro between the
said principal carriage and auxiliary car-
riages at right angles, or at any other con-
venient angles, to the line of progress of the
principal carriage. By these means, a wide
extent of land is brought under operation
by my machinery and apparatus.

These auxiliary carriages are mounted on
wheels, rollers, drums, or flexible flooi’s,
rail-roads, or ways, similar to those provided
for the principal carriage, and suitable to
various soils, by which means they are ca-
pable of being made to advance or retro-
grade as circumstances may requrie.

Upon the platform of the principal car-
riage described under the first, second, and
third heads, I fix a boiler and the several
parts of a steam-engine or other actuating
machinery, which, through the agency of
wheels and suitable gearing, I employ for
the purpose of giving locomotion to the
carriage in its longitudinal direction, and
also for driving the drums or barrels, that
work the track ropes, bands, or chains,
which draw the ploughs or other implements
to and fro between the principal carriage
and the auxiliary carriage.

59i>

In the accompanying drawings, see Plate
5, the same letters are used to denote
similar parts in all the figures. Fig. 1, is a
plan or horizontal view of the skeleton or
frame of the principal carriage, showing-
twelve large wheels, a, flf, a, and also twenty-
four wheels, b, b, b, of smaller diameter,
supporting the carriage. These wheels are
fixed upon shafts lying transversely to the
length of the carriage, the shafts of the
larger wheels being mounted on pedestals
standing upon the upper beams or timbers,
of which the framing of the carriage is con-
structed, and those of the smaller wheels
turning in pedestals fixed on the lower
beams of the framing.

Round the six wheels a, a, a, and under
the twelve smaller wheels b, b, b, on each
side of the carriage, an endless flexible floor
is extended, the upper part being removed
in this figure the better to show the parts ;
the w'eight of the upper part of these floors
being sustained in the middle by wheels
placed at suitable distances, to allow the iron
plates of the endless floor, hereinafter de-
scribed, to rest upon and pass over them, as
shown in the side elevation of the locomo-
tive engine at fig. 3, and which wheels are
supported from the platform of the carriage.

This endless flexible floor e, c, c, I pro-
pose to make of painted or tarred sailcloth,
which is stretched transversely by the bars
of wood d, d, bolted at intervals to endless
strips of sheet iron e, e, upon which strips
or bands of iron the wheels run.

The heads of the bolts by which the
stretchers are connected with the iron bands
(excepting those which would come in
contact with the teeth of the spire wheels
m, and n,) are made so long as to project
inwards about two inches ; the space
between the heads of each pair of bolts is
somewhat greater than the width of the
rims of the wheels, and the insides of the
heads are bevelled in order to allow the
wheels to enter more freely between them.
Thus the bolts serve not only to unite the
several parts of the flexible floors, (that is
to say) the endless iron bands and trans-
verse wood stretchers with the sailcloth
held firmly between them, but also to keep
the iron bands in the tracks of the wheels.

In some cases I propose to dispense with
the sailcloth, and in lieu thereof to use a
greater number of wooden stretchers, placed
as near to each other as may be necessary,
in order to bear the weight of the carriage,
and prevent its sinking too deeply into the
land or soil. The construction of the endless
flexible floor is represented in several of the
annexed figures.

600

IMPORTANT INVENTION FOR DRAINING LAND.

Fig. 2, is a horizontal view of the loco-
motive carriage, exhibiting the platform or
floor on which the boiler, the engine, the
gearing, and other machinery, are fixed.

In the side elevation, fig. 3, the boiler and
one of the steam-engines, with its append-
ages, is exhibited ; and in fig. 4, which is
also a side elevation, the mode of mounting
and driving one of the track rope barrels
only is represented. Fig. 5, is an end
view of the locomotive carriage and engine,
exhibiting the endless flexible floors passing
over the wheels.

The auxiliary carriage is shown in a plan
or horizontal view at fig. 6, and in side ele-
vation at fig. 7. It is mounted on broad
rims or rollers, and exhibits the wheel or
pulley round which the cord is passed from
the principal carriage.

Fig. 8, is a plan or field view, upon a
very minute scale, of the relative position
of the principal and auxiliary carriages, as
they are to be employed, together with the
manner in which the power of the engine
is communicated to the ploughs or other
implements, through the agency of the track
ropes, bands, or chains.

I intend, wherever the surface of the land
operated upon shall permit, to make drains
on each side of the track of the carriages, as
represented in fig. 8, which , drains will
serve the double purpose of laying dry the
roadways on which the carriages travel, and
of receiving and discharging the -water
issuing from the drains which may require
to be made between the parallel roadways of
the principal and auxiliary carriages. These
drains, being at right angles to the road-
ways, may be formed in part by the traction
of draining ploughs, or other suitable im-
plements of drainage, by the steam-engine,
and their intersections with the roadway
drains may be completed by hand labour. I
also intend to lay down these roadways in
grass or herbage, which will be benefitted,
rather than injured, by the passage of the
carriages over its surface. This application
of my invention is more particularly suitable
to bogs and mosses, which, from their
extent, will admit of being laid on a plan of
parallel roadways at given distances, cross-
ed at right angles by similar roadways.
These arrangements will prevent the expense
of constructing hard stone roads : no land
will be lost, as I contemplate that the culti-
vation, by my machinery and apparatus, of
such lands, will be more economical and
convenient than the employment of horses
and other cattle, even after they shall have
acquired sufficient solidity to bear horses
or other cattle, and carriages of the ordinary
description.

The steam-engine, which I deem most
convenient for the purposes of this inven-
tion, is constructed upon the high-pressure
principle, with two horizontal cylinders,
which, through their connecting rods, give
motion to the crank shaft.

The steam whereby the pistons are
worked is generated in a boiler a, and
passes from thence through pipes b, n, to
the induction valves and cylinders c, c,
which are furnished with suitable valves,
and the eduction steam is discharged from
the cylinders after each stroke by the pipes
D, D, into the chimney e, e. The boiler is
supplied with water by the force pumps f, f,
worked by rods attached to tlie slides of the
piston rods. The power of the engine is
communicated to the machinery by which
the carriage is moved, and also to the machi-
nery designed to work the ploughs and other
apparatus for draining and tilling the land,
through t he agency of the crank shaft f.

On the crank shaft /, there is a sliding
pinion g, which, when thrown into gear
with the wheel A, gives rotary motion to the
train of wheels and pinions A, i, k, I •, by
which means the large spur wheel m, fixed
on the shaft of the wheels a, a, will be
driven round, and with it the wheels a, a,
also.

Upon an elongation of the shaft of the
pinion I, (which is broken off in the draw-
ing, fig. 2, to avoid confusion, but shown
by dots,) a similar pinion is fixed, which
takes into the other spur wheel n ; and,
consequently, with the wheels a, a, connect-
ed thereto, the endless floors or bands will
be made to revolve simultaneously. Thus,
by the connexion of the sliding pinion g, the
carriage supporting the steam-engine and
other machinery is, when required, made
locomotive.

At each extremity of the crank shaft y*,
there is a small spur pinion o, o, in gear with
the wheels jo, j!?, fixed on the counter shaft
q, q. These counter shafts each carry a
pair of mitre wheels turning loosely thereon,
which take into the teeth of a similar mitre
wheel fixed on the end of the axle for each of
the drums or barrels r, r. To these barrels
track ropes, bands, or chains, are attached,
for the purpose of drawing the ploughs, or
other implements, to and fro between the
principal and auxiliary carriages.

A clutch box s, slides upon each of the
counter shafts between the mitre wheels ;
and when either of the barrels are to be put
into operation, the clutch box must be slid-
den so as to lock it into one of the mitre
wheels, which causes the barrel, by its rota-
tion, to wind or coil the extended rope or
chain, and draw the plough, or other imple-

DRAINING AND CULTIVATING LAND.

601

ments attached thereto, over the ground.
Of course it will be seen that the rotation of
the barrels may be reversed by sliding the
clutches into the opposite mitre wheels.

In order to work the ploughs or other
implements, I first place the auxiliary car-
riages at convenient distances from the
principal or locomotive carriage, and parallel
therewith, as shown in fig. 8, and then
make fast one end of a rope, band, or chain,
to each of the barrels r, r, on the locomotive
carriage. I then coil thereon a quantity of
the rope, band, or chain, sufficient, when
uncoiled, to extend from the principal to the
auxiliary carriages. I then stretch out a
continuation of such ropes, bands, or chains,
to, and pass them round the pulleys or
drums t, on the auxiliary carriages, bring-
ing the ends back to the main carriage, and
there make them fast to the barrels in
such a way that when the barrels revolve,
the rope, band, or chain, may travel round
the pulleys of the auxiliaiy carriages, one
end of the ropes, bands, or chains, coiling
on the barrels r, whilst the other ends are
uncoiling therefrom.

To these track ropes, bands, or chains, I
attach ploughs, or other agricultural imple-
ments, and then (the steam-engine being at
work) I throw the barrels r, into gear by
means of the clutch boxes s, s, which will
cause the ropes, bands, or chains, to travel
over the spaces of ground between the main
carriage, and the auxiliary carriages drawing
the ploughs or other implements through or
over the ground in the line or space com-
prised between the principal and auxiliary
carriages.

When the plough or other implement
shall have been drawn out to the required
distance, it may be turned round by an at-
tendant at the auxiliary carriage, and the
barrel r, be made to revolve in an opposite
direction, so as to cause the plough or other
implement to be drawn back again towards
the principal carriage.

It is evident that the train of wheels and
pinions may be so arranged as to cause the
carriage to be advanced or retrograded
through a space equal to the width of the
land operated upon, and completed by the
plough, x’oller, harrow, or other implement,
during the time occupied in the passage of
such implement between the principal and
auxiliary carriages. Or the principal car-
riage may rest, during the time of perform-
ing such operations, and be put in motion at
required intervals, by thi’owing the pinion
g, on the crank shaft/*, into and out of
gear, with suitable trains of wheels.

The auxiliary carriages must be advanced
or retrograded at rates corresponding with

the progress of the principal carriage, whe-
ther the latter be moved continuously or at
intervals : this may be effected through the
pinion u, shown in the plan or horizontal
view, fig. 6, which pinion takes into the
teeth of a wheel v, on the axle bearing the
broad rollers or drums w, to; and, by turn-
ing the axle of the pinion by a hand spike
a?, the carriage will be moved.

Another obvious mode of communicating
motion, and one capable of giving various
speeds to the auxiliary carriage, is the em-
ployment of a train of wheels and pinions,
actuated by winches, gearing into the spur
wheel on the shafts, bearing the two drums
or rollers. The auxiliary carriages must
be sufficiently heavy to resist the drag or
force exerted upon the cord, when the
plough or other implement is drawn from
the principal carriage towards it. In cases
when a very great power may require to be
exerted, the auxiliary carriage must be
weighted accordingly ; or it may occasion- ,
ally be made fast to stakes fixed at proper
distances in the soil by a cord or chain, so
as to oppose the greatest resistance to the
pull of the track rope : in other cases,
where operations may have to be performed
at considerable intervals or distances, the
one from the other, and draining ploughs or
other implements requiring great force may ,
have to be used, the pulley, round which
the cord passes from the principal carriage,
may be attached to stakes or posts driven
in the soil at proper distances, or a porta-
ble crane may be employed for this pur-
pose.

I do not claim as any part of my inven-
tion,the particular construction of the steam-
engine delineated. I have adopted it, as
well suited for impelling the carriage, and
for accomplishing the various objects of my
invention ; but other forms of engines, as
well as other agents than steam, may be
applicable as a motive force.

Upon mosses or bog lands, where coal or
other fuel may be too expensive, or too dif-
ficult to obtain, I propose to use peat to
work the engine ; in which case, it v/ill be
necessary to make the furnace or fire-box of
the boiler sufficiently capacious, for con-
taining such a quantity of this bulky kind of
fuel as will produce t’ne requisite abundance
and foi’ce of steam ; and as, in such situa-
tion, water is at most times procurable from
the drains, I propose to supply t’ne boiler
either directly from the drains, or from
holes formed at convenient distaxices, by
attaching a hose to the pipe of the pump.

I do not intend to confine myself to the
precise material or construction, arrange-
ment or dimensions, of the parts of the

HEATHCOAT’S IMPORTANT INVENTIONS.

602

principal carriage, or auxiliary carriage or
carriages, or to the distances at which such
carriages are placed asunder, as shown in
these di'awings ; nor to the manner in
which the engine is combined with them.

I propose, in some cases, to make use of a
carriage having only one endless flexible
floor, rail-road, or v/ay ; and to place the
engine on such carriage, instead of placing
it between tv^ro endless flexible floors, as
hereinbefore described ; in which case, it
will be necessary to pass the chimney in a
horizontal direction, in order to clear the
edge of the upper part of the endless flexible
floor, whence it may be raised vertically to
the required height.

I propose also to employ a modification
of the carriage mounted on broad rollers or
drums, and impelled by a steam or other
engine, and serving as a heavy rolling
machine, in order to consolidate the soil, or
to break down lumps or clods.

I sometimes employ a cai-riage mounted
cn three broad rollers or drums, furnished
with a steam-engine of small dimensions and
compact form, as represented in figs. 9, and
10. The power is to be communicated by
suitable gearing to the two drums, and the
machine may be directed into a new path,
and be made to travel over fresh ground,
after having reached the end of an enclosure
or field, by turning the axis of the single
drum at an angle to the axis of the two rol-
lers or drums, by means of a rack and pinion
acting on the bearing of one end of the axis,
the other end being mounted in an adjust-
able bearing, as shown at fig. 10. The motion
of the engine must then be reversed, and one
of the two rollers or drums be disengaged
from the engine, and allowed to turn freely
upon its axis ; while the other is locked into
the gearing of the engine, and turned round
by it. In this manner the machine may be
made to take up fresh ground, without being
tm-ned completely round. This machine
may also be employed to drag ploughs or
other agricultural implements, in connexion
with auxiliary carriages, by adapting to it
barrels fixed and worked in a manner similar
to those already described : for this purpose,
it may be necessary to apply a wheel in
each side of the single roller, in order to
give suflicient stability to the carriag'e.
These wheels are shown, dotted in fig. 10,
as also the barrels. The v/heels are mounted
upon temporary axles bolted to the framing,
so as to be removed at pleasure.

The wheels, a, a, a, of the principal car-
riage, are represented as formed of wooden
spokes and fellies, with naves of cast iron ;
but I propose to make them stronger, in
cases where the weight of the carriage and
©ngines may require it, by filling in between

the spokes with wood, so as to form com-
plete discs ; or it may be still more advan-
tageous to employ wheels of cast or wrought
iron.

In case the wheels should have a tend-
ency to slip round within the endless floor
without carrying it with them, then the
two inner straps of iron e, e, may be made
with teeth or cogs fastened upon them at
proper intervals, which shall take into the
spaces of the wheels m, n.

I have now described my new or improv-
ed methods of draining or cultivating land,
and have shown the manner in which
the machinery and apparatus are to be ap-
plied to the culture of various soils. I have
before stated this invention to be especially
serviceable on lands which cannot he so
conveniently worked and tilled in the ordi-
nary manner by the agency of horses and
other cattle. The cultivation of bogs or
messes, require more numerous drains than
drier and firmer ground ; and, when horses
or other cattle are employed, it is necessary
that most of the drains should be covered,
in order to enable the horses or other cattle
to pass over them ; but by the system of
cultivation by traction obtained from motive
power, combined with the arrangement of
the pi’incipal and auxiliary carriages herein-
before explained, I am enabled not only to
drain, plough, roll, and work the soil by
suitable implements, without its being
poached or injured by the feet of horses or
other cattle ; and also to leave the drains
open, by which they may be cleansed and
deepened, as the water shall subside and the
land consolidate.

If, in the progress of these soils, boggy
grounds become consolidated, all the original
drains, which I propose to make very nume-
rous, should no longer be necessary, a por-
tion of them may be filled up ; and of the
remainder, such may be left open, and such
covered, as circumstances of cultivation
may require.

As regards the utility of this invention in
a national point of view, I anticipate also
that several advantages will result from
the substitution of steam power for horses
and other cattle, and from the use of peat
as fuel for the steam-engines to be employed
in the culture of mosses or bog lands :
amongst the advantages, will he the abund-
ant and profitable engagement of an unem-
ployed population in the raising and pre-
paring of peat for feeding the steam-engines,
and as labourers in reclaiming and cultivat-
ing lands which are at present utterly un-
productive ; and further, that the produce
of the soil will be available as food for
human beings, instead of being consumed

MACHINE FOR DRAINING LAND.

603

by horses and other cattle employed in the
cultivation.

It will be obvious, as the principal car-
riage hereinbefore described is capable of
locomotion, and contains a steam or other
engine of power, that it may be placed in
convenient situations, where the power of
such engines may be advantageously used
for the working of corn mills, thi'ashing
machines, chaff cutters, pumps, or other
machinery. — {Inrolled in the Rolls Chapel
Office, November, 1833.*]

Specification drawn by Messrs. Newton and
Berry.

“ During the Whitsuntide recess of Par-
liament, a numerous assemblage of gentle-
men from different parts of the country at-
tended to witness an exhibition of this novel
and interesting invention ; amongst whom
were Mr. M. L. Chapman, M. P., Mr. T.
Chapman, Mr. H. Handley, M. P., Mr.
J. Featherstone, of Griffinstown-house,
Westmeath (an enterprising and successful
bog-reclaimer), Mr. F. Brown, of Welbourn,
Lincolnshire, Mr. James Smith, of Dean-
ston, near Stirling (well known to the me-
chanical world by his ingenious inventions,
applied both to agriculture and manufac-
tures), Mr. B. Hick, and Mr. P. Rothwell,
engineers, with other experienced judges of
mechanical contrivances. These gentlemen
were unanimous in pronouncing the inven-
tion to be the germ of great improvements
in the science and practice of agriculture,
as well as eminently fitted for the particular
purpose to which it has, in the first instance,
been applied, •'fwo ploughs of different
construction w^ere put in action, to the
admiration of the spectators ; particularly
the one last invented, which is houbie-act-
ing, or made with two shares in the same
plane, so that it returns at the end of a
‘ bout,’ taking a new furrow, without loss
of time. The perfect mechanism of this
plough — the action of the working coulters
and under-cutting knives, which divide
every opposing fibre of the moss — the
breadth and depth of the furrow turned
over — the application of a new and admirable
means of traction, instead of chains or ropes
— together with the facility with which the
machine is managed, and the power applied
to the plough, especially interested and
surprised all present. The speed at which
the plough travelled was two miles and a
half per hour, tuiming furrows eighteen
inches broad by nine inches in depth, and
completely reversing the surface. Each
furrow of two hundred and twenty yards in

• In this instance, eighteen months have
teen allowed for inroUing- the specification.

length was performed in somewhat less than
three minutes ; so that in a working day of
twelve hours this single machine would, with
two ploughs, turn over ten acres of bog
land.

The machine which bears the steam-
engines is itself locomotive ; but as the
ploughs are moved at right angles to its line
of progress, not dragged after it, the ma-
chine has to advance only the width of a
furrow, viz. eighteen inches, whilst the
ploughs have travelled a quarter of a mile ;
in other words, the machine has to be mov-
ed only eleven yards in the time that the
ploughs have travelled five and a half miles,
and turned over a statute acre of land.
This is, in truth, the prime distinguishing
feature of the invention ; it is the contriv-
ance on which the genius of its author is
more particularly stamped, and which seems
to be essential to the economical application
of steam to husbandry ; for it is evident,
that were it requisite to impel the machine
with a velocity equal to that of the ploughs,
by dragging them wuth it, a great propor-
tion of the engines would be uselessly ex-
pended.

Another valuable property appertaining
to the machine, and which conduces great-
ly to its economy as a bogcuitivator, is, that
it requires no previous outlay in the forma-
tion of roads, no preparation of any kind,
further than a drain on each side of it. That
a locomotive machine of such great dimen-
sions and power could be so constructed as
to travel on mere raw bog, was an excellence
the more appreciated, as it was unexpected,
by those persons who are conversant with
the soft, unstable nature of bog. The Irish
gentlemen present also pronounced Red
Moss to be a fair specimen of the great mass
of the flat, red, fibrous bogs of Ireland, and
that neither the machine nor the ploughs
would have any difficulties to encounter in
that country, which had not been already
overcome on Red Moss, the field of experi-
ment. The engines are capable of working
up to fifty horses power ; but the operations
subsequent to ploughing wdll require a small
force compared with that necessary for
breaking up the surface of the bogs, to the
depth and at the speed effected by these
ploughs. The power consumed by each
plough is estimated at about twelve horses ;
and the weight of the sod operated upon
by the plough, from point to heel, is not
less than thi’ee hundred |30uads. The boil-
er is of unusually large dimensions for lo-
comotive engines, being suited to the use of
peat as fuel, so that the culture of a bog will
be effected by the produce of its drains. At
Red Moss, however, coals are so cheap, be-
ing found contiguous to and even undel: it,

604

IMPROVED ENGINE FOR

that they are used in pref erence to turf.
Eight men are required for the management
of the machine and the two ploughs, or at
the rate of nearly one man per acre ; but
it must be understood that this number
of men will only be required for the first
heavy process, and has no relation to any
subsequent operations in the cultivation of
bogs, nor to the application of the inven-
tion to the culture of hard lands.

After passing a sufficient time on the
Moss to witness the exhibition of the
ploughs, and the various other functions
and properties of the machine, the party
expressed to Mr. Heathcoat the extreme
pleasure they had received, and their earn-
est hope that he would extend the sphere of
his exertions by applying the invention to
the culture of stiff clay soils ; and more
especially, to carry into effect those im-
portant operations of sub-soil ploughing
and improved drainage recently introduced
to the agricultural world by Mr. Smith, of
Deanston. To effect these processes great
power is essential ; and it was evident that
Mr. Heathcoat’ s invention vras equally
well adapted to them, and would be attend-
ed with results no less important than
those which will arise from its application
to the reclamation and culture of bogs.” —
London Journal.

TO JOHN ERICSSON, OF THE NEW-
ROAD, IN THE COUNTY OF MID-
DLESEX, ENGINEER, FOR HIS
IMPROVED ENGINE FOR COM-
MUNICATING POWER FOR ME-
CHANICAL PURPOSES. .

Sealed 24th July, 1830.

This invention is a steam wheel or rotary
steam-engine ; it consists of a tight circular
box or chamber, within which another hol-
low circular box is intended to revolve.
The outer box or chamber is made station-
ary, by being mounted upon a frame or
standard. The inner box, called a fly drum,
is fixed upon a revolving axle which extends
through the former, its ends bearing upon
anti-friction rollers. Three radial wings or
partitions, as steam stops, are introduced
within the rotary drum ; but they are in-
dependent of it, being affixed to, and made
stationary with, the outer box,

Plate 5, fig. 11, represents a sectional
elevation taken through the machine in the
direction of its axis ; a, a, is the box or
outer chamber, into which steam is admitted
by the pipe b. The box or chamber a, is
made stationary, being fixed upon a base
with end frame and standard. Through this
chamber a shaft or axle e, is passed, bearing
upon anti-friction rollers at its ends ; and

COMMUNICATING POWER.

to this shaft c, the inner box, called the fly
drum d, d, is attached by flanges. Three
radial partitions or wings e, e, e, shown in
fig. 12, are fixed upon a boss or collar f,
and made stationary, by the collar being
attached to the outer box, and the axle
passing through it. The fly drum encloses
these wings, but is enabled to revolve freely
round them.

Steam being introduced into the external
box a, it passes through slots or openings
into the fly drum, and from thence escapes
by an aperture near the axle into the exit
chamber and eduction pipe g, g.

It is intended that the steam, when in
the inner box, shall press against the sta-
tionary partitions or wings e, e, c, and also
against inclined planes on the sides of the
openings or induction apertures, by the
force and resistance against v/hich the fly
drum is intended to be made to revolve, and,
by the rotation of its shaft or axle, to com-
municate a power capable of driving other
machinery.

The Patentee observes, “ It will be seen
that the wdngs e, e, must have notches or
spaces cut in them, to allow the channels to
pass by them in the course of the revolution
of the fly drum. With reference to these
channels, it is absolutely necessary to ob-
serve, that they must be so constructed,
that the length of the channel shall always
exceed its depth, in such proportion that the
channel itself shall always move at a greater
speed than the steam acting against its
bottom ; for when the length is to the depth
as two for one, the motion of the acting
steam toward the bottom of the channel,
will only be one-half as rapid as the motion
of the channel itself.”

It is unnecessary for us further to recite
the Patentee’s details and comments upon
this invention, as it must be perfectly ob-
vious in what way he proposes to obtain a
moving power. We cannot, however, help
remarking, tliat any means of packing the
edges of the working parts (which consti-
tutes the most difficult feature in all rotary
steam-engines) is not once mentioned in
this specification ; and, upon the whole, the
scheme is of so crude a character, that even
its practicability (not to say any thing of
its usefulness) appears extremely equivocal.
— Inrolled in the Petty Bag Office^ Janu-
ary, 1831. — Ibidem.

DR. CHURCH’S STEAM-COACH.

We have much pleasure in stating that
Dr. Church has at length completely and
satisfactorily accomplished the construction
of a steam- carriage, in every way suited to
run on ordinary roads.

PLATE b

SB^Ui^So

[Viqia

p, f U-. . f.

' - 'tn ccrnim v'm^ali/nq

K^k'j ibo. lit coap

INSTRUMENT FOR ASCERTAINING THE DEPTHS OF RIVERS. 605

The external appearance of the carriage is
made exactly to resemble a stage-coach, and
is about the same dimensions. It consists
of a frame-work with a casing enclosing
the boiler and engines ; the furnace, fuel-
box, water-chamber, and condenser, all of
which hang upon springs, supported by the
running wheels, require no auxiliary tender.

The casing is formed and painted like
an ordinary stage-coach, the conductor sits
for the purpose of steering in the place of a
coachman on the box in front ; the engineer
who attends the fire and the machinery, and
has command of the steam, stands also in
front, in an open compartment, below the
conductor.

There are seats for persons on the roof
before and behind, as in other stage-coaches;
but as this carriage is intended merely
to be the locomotive engine for impelling
a train of carriages connected to it, the seats
upon this are to be considered as of an
inferior class.

Some of the most important features of
the locomotive carriage as now completed,
viz. the peculiar construction of the boiler
and arrangement of the working parts of the
machinery, form portions of the subject of
a patent granted to Dr. Church, on the 16th
March, 1835 ; the specifications of which,
embracing other matters, is too elaborate
for insertion in our present number, but
will most probably appear in our next.

As several partially successful, but, in
our opinion, very unsatisfactory attempts
have been made by other persons, to impel
carriages on ordinary roads by steam-power,
we consider it necessary to point out some
of the peculiarities in Dr. Church's present
carriage, which we consider to be its strik-
ing features of advantage.— Firstly, though
the engines wmrk at high-pressure, the
eduction steam is so effectually condensed
after passing from the working cylinder,
that no visible portion of it escapes into
the air, but the whole is converted into
water, and re-conducted into the boiler in a
heated state. Secondly, the flues are so
constructed and arranged, that no smoke is
allowed to escape from the chimney; and the
consequences of these two novel features, as
regards locomotive engines running on ordi-
nary roads, are very important, viz. that
neither is there any perceptible noise arising
from the discharge of steam, or any offensive
effluvia emitted from the combustion, so
that the carriage proceeds along the road
without, in the slightest degree, attracting
the attention of horses which may pass it.

We have only space to say further, that
the Birmingham and London Steam -carriage
Company, with whom the Doctor is con-

nected in this invention, are perfectly satis-
fied with the carriage as now completed ; and
though alterations and slight improvements
may and will necessarily be adopted in the
future exercise of the plans, yet they deem
the present carriage to be so fully effective
and satisfactory, that they have advertised
for a practical engineer to superintend
the erection of a sufficient number of these
carriages at their works, exactly according
with the model produced.

We understand it to be the intention of the
company to establish three stations between
London and Birmingham for their trains of
carriages to halt at, and to supply a fresh
locomotive engine at each station, in order
that the engines, after running about twenty-
six miles, may be severally examined,
and such little matters as cleaning, oiling,
and adjusting parts attended to : which
arrangement will avoid subjecting passengers
to the inconvenience of delay, and tend
greatly to prevent accidents.

We have only to add, that having wit-
nessed the manner in which this carriage
performs its duty on the public road,we have
no hesitation in saying that we are now
satisfied steam may be safely, and, we be .
lieve, economically employed, in connection
with Dr. Church’s improved machinery, as
an effective substitute for horses, in the
oi’dinary transit of stage-coach passengers
on all the turnpike roads in the kingdom.—"

Ibid.

TO JOHN ERICSSON, OF ALBANY.
STREET. REGENT’S-PARK, IN
TH'E COUNTY OF MIDDLESEX,
CIVIL ENGINEER, FOR HIS IN-
VENTION OF AN INSTRUMENT
FOR ASCERTAINING THE DEPTH
OF WATER IN SEAS AND RIVERS.

Sealed 14th November, 1835.

The invention now before us, is what is
commonly called a sea- gage, and one in
which the principal difficulties that these
gages are subject to are entirely removed.
Some of these difficulties are, firstly, the es-
tablishment of a correct register, to point
out the depth to which the sounding instru-
ment has gone ; little liable to be disar-
ranged by accident, and which will not re-
turn to its former position when the pres-
sure of the water is taken away. Another,
is the graduation of the scales, as the de-
grees must diminish very rapidly when the
instrument is at a considerable depth ; and
finally, the preservation of the instrument
entire, whilst it is subjected to the enormous
pressure of the water at a considerable
depth, and which always proves so destruc-
tive to hollow instruments. The Patentee

606

HEBERrS FLOUR-MAKING MACHINE.

has, in a very ingenious and simple manner,
effectually guarded against all these diffi-
culties.

The invention is shown at fig. 3, Plate 5,
which represents a vertical section of the
instrument, consisting of a glass tube a,
open at both ends, and firmly fastened, by
means of cement, in the cast iron tube h :
c, is the graduated scale of fathoms ; d, is
an air chamber communicating with the
external atmosphere by the short pipe e; f,
is a crooked pipe, fastened on to the top of
the glass tube a, and communicating with it.

When the instrument is to be brought
into operation, the stop cock g, at the lower
end of the glass tube, is closed, so as to
stop up the end of the tube, and prevent the
escape of the water. As the instrument
goes down, the water presses upon the air
in the short tube e, and compresses the air
in the chamber d ; and as the air is com-
pressed, the water rises in the chamber,
and when it reaches the top of the bent
tube/, it will run dovm into the glass tube
fl, and in this manner register the number
of fathoms to which the instrument has
gone. The use of the bent tube /, is to
prevent the water, when it has once got
into the glass tube, from returning into the
air chamber d, except it is literally turned
bottom upwards, which it is not very likely
to be, though it may, by the current, be
turned on one side. It will be evident, that
the pressure of the water cannot have any
destructive effect upon the instrument, as it
is subject to the pressure of the air and
water inside, and by that means the exterior
pressure is neutralised. When the instru-
ment is drawn up, the depth is ascertained
by referring to the height of the water in the
glass tube ; the water is then let out of the
glass tube by means of the stop cock g, and
the instrument is again ready for use. — \_In-
rolled in the Inrolment Office^ May, 1836.]
—Ibid,

HEBERT’S FLOUR-MAKER.

{See Flate vi, Figure 1.)

We fulfil our engagement made in a former
Number (665), of giving a description of the
larger kind of “ Hebert’s Patent Flour-
makers and we adopt for this purpose, the
machine which we stated was in successful
operation at the workhouse of All Saints,
near Hertford, in preference to another ma-
chine on the same principle, which the pa-
tentee assui’cs us is greatly improved — be-
cause, in the first place, we fulfil our pro-
mise to the letter; and, in the second place,
because the practical demonstration of actual
advantages has move weight with us than
any deductions from theory, however plausi-

ble. And until the inventor shall have given
to us equal proofs to those which we are
about to submit to our readers of the success
of his more recent improvements, we shall
rest satisfied with what is before us.

We live in an age when improvements are
occurrences of every day, yet it is singular
that the process of grinding and dressing
wheat is nearly the same as it has been for
centuries. The French burr stones, awkward,
massive, and troublesome, have hitherto
been free from the inventive assaults of enter-
prise and genius ; and when we reflect how
long the miller has been wedded to his upper
and nether millstone, we can hardly expect
this invention to attract his attention, but
we think it a subject wmrthy of consideration
to those who are friendly to manual labour,
either as employment or punishment, to in-
quire how far a cheap process can be intro-
duced in the manufacture of an article of the
first consumption; and should it appear that
England possesses within herself the means
of effectually superseding the French burr
stones, the greater honour will rest on those
who are the means of its introduction.

The engraving fig. \,) exhibits a

perspective sketch of the flour-maker con-
structed by Mr. Hebert, for the workhouse
at All Saints, where it has been constantly
at work, without the slightest deterioration
of the grinding surfaces, for a period of time,
that would, in ordinary mills, have required
a renewal of them many times. For the pur-
pose of ascertaining the efficacy of this new
machine, the followdng questions were ad-
dressed to the Guardians of the Union and
the Master, to which the former replied in
general terms that they were “ satisfied with
the working of the machine,” while the
latter answrede each question categorically in
the w'ords which we subjoin.

1. How/ao men are competent to work the
machine, so as properly to grind and dress 1
— One.

2. How many men can you efficiently
employ in working the same.^ — Fourteen.

3. Can you employ bogs equally as well as
men ? — Yes.

4. What is the opinion of the millers at
Hertford of the quality of the flour produ-
ced ? — Their opinion is, that the quality of the
flour is good.

5. Do you find that the number of persons
at work makes any difference in the quality
of the flour or other products ; or does that
circumstance affect only the quantitg of work
done } — It makes no difference in the quality,
but only afl’ects the quantity.

6. Do you find any difficulty in making the
necessary adjustments, especially as relates
to the means of proportioning the work ac-
cording to the number of labourers employed }
— No difficulty.

7. Do you find the superintendence and
management of the machine absorb much of
your time ? — No.

8. Has your experience in the working of
the new ” Patent Flour-maker” convinced

MR. GREEN’S SUCCESS IN BALLOONING.

607

you that the presumed difficulty of grinding
and dressing simultaneously is in this new
machine completely obviated ? — Yes.

9. Do you consider that the skill and super-
intendence of a regular miller is in this new
machine at all necessary ? — No.

10. Do you consider that the machine works
as perfectly now as when first erected ? — Yes.

The answer to the 9th question appears to
us to be one of considerable importance, as
relates to the economical working of the ma-
chine, especially in a workhouse ; for inall
other mills that we are informed of, the ex-
pense of a professed miller to superintend their
operations is entailed upon the establishment.
This is, indeed, unavoidable with the ordinary
stone-mills, as their surfaces require frequent
dressing or re-cutting, at least once a week
when constantly in use. Besides the stop-
page or loss thus occasioned of one day in
every week, it i-equires great practical skill
(at necessarily high wages) to execute such
work in an efficient manner. The wear and
tear of tools and machinery is also consider-
able ; the repairs amounting in the mill
worked at Giltspur-street Compter to 20L
a year , and this is in addition to a miller and
two assistants.

It has heretofore been deemed impractica-
ble to grind and dress simultaneously ; but
we have been informed, that all the millers
who have seen Mr. Hebert’s machine have
entirely changed their opinions in this res-
pect, the flour produced by it being unexcep-
tionably good ; and it is perhaps worthy of
remark, that, owing to the grinders being
entirely metallic, there is no possibility of
having gritty flour from them, which is
sometimes excessively unpleasant in bread
made from flour produced by the ordinary
mill-stones. It appears, however, from the
specification of the patent, that the invention
does not consist in the material of which the
machine is formed, but lies in the mechani-
cal arrangements, which are defined to be
these, if we recollect rightly : — The grinding
and dressing of wheat, or the reduction and
separation of other substances, by means of
a single machine, in which the grinding and
dressing operations are conducted upon one
continuous surface ; or v;herein the meal, as
it is projected from the circumference of the
grinders, is received into a sieve whereon it
is dressed. The patentee seems to give the
preference to metallic surfaces on the ground
of his having made great improvements thei’e-
in, especially as relates to the easy means
afforded of giving the grinding surface an
unusual degree of truth ; and that kind of
roughness which so nearly approximates to
the french burrstone, as he expects will lead
to the entire abandonment of the latter. An
example of the application of burr-stones to
these patent “ flour-makers” is, however,
given in the specification, as the invention
equally embraces them.

It has long been anxiously desired by phi-
'lanthropic legislators, that a substitute might
be found for the horrid and degrading pu-
nishment of the lash. Now, we are strongly

impressed with the idea, that a machine of
this kind, but of the size described in our
previous Number (665), is admirably adapt-
ed to effect the object in view, as the offend-
er might thereby be easily made to atone
in confinement for his offence, by grinding a
given quantity of corn, as the condition of
his liberation—say, for instance, a bushel
for getting drunk, a sack for insubordination,
and so forth. — Mechanic'' s Magazine.

AERONAUTIC OBSERVATIONS.

Since Mr. Green’s first attempt at balloon-
ing he has travelled through tlie air above
5000 miles, having made 2l8 ascents, and has
had a bird’s-eye view ot every pait ol Eng-
land. On the last occasion, when Lord
Clanricarde went with him, he observed that
surveyors and architects could with greater
facility take plans of noblemen’s estates by
ascending in a balloon, as they could have
a biid’s-eye view of every locality, and if they
only once adopted that method tliey would
never lelinquish it. Since the suggestion an
artist named Burton called on Mr. Green to
obtain him the plan of a balloon constructed
so as to act in the above way, it being con-
nected to the car by a swivel. The inventor
proposes to build a waggon, for the purpose
of fastening a balloon to it, vvhich, when
filled with gas, which can be done in various
parts of the country at gas company’s gaso-
meters, may be conveyed to any place a
surveyor requires, vvheie, on a calm day, he
can take plan.?, carrying with him the proper
instruments. The balloon will then be fas-
tened by ropes to the spot most favourable
for observation, and raised to an elevation of
300 or 400 feet, as necessary. In this way a
bird’s-eye view can be taken of any town or
city. Mr. Green is willing at any time that
his balloon, by way of experiment, may be
made use of in that way.- Globe.

NEW LOCOMOTIVE-POWER.

Mr. Mullins, M. P. for Kerry, has made
a very important discovery in the scientific
world, that of applying galvanism, instead
of steam, for propelling vessels and carriages.
He is now building a carriage upon his prin-
ciple, and several of the first engineers, who
have seen it, say there is every prospect of

success, and that it will supersede steam.

Limerick Star. The Dublin Evening Post
claims the merit of this invention for the Rev.
J . W. M’Gauley, who, it will he remembered,
brought foiward something of this kind at the
meeting of the British Association of Science
in Dublin last August. — Mech. Mag.

CONSUMPTION OF OPIUM IN
CHINA.

“It is a curious circumstance,” says the
Quaiterly Revieiv, “ that we grow the poppy
in our Indian territories to poison the people
of China, in retuin for a wholesome beverage
which they prepare, almost exciusivelv, for

608

M. BIOT— A NEW BRANCH OF SCIENCE.

113 ” From the following statement made by
Mr. Davis, late Chief Superintendent at
Canton, it appears that the money laid out
by the Chinese on their favourite drug far
exceeds wiiat they receive for their tea ; —
Imports in 1833.

Dollars.

Opium n,6l8,l67

Other Imports 11,858,077

23,476,244

Exports in 1833.

Dollars.

Tea 9,133,749

Other exports 11,309,521

20,443,270

The Chinese smuggle all this opium , and
pay the difference between the price of it and
4hat of the tea they export in silver. — Ihid.

TELEGRAPH.

A new telegraphic system, applicable to
nautical purposes, invented by M. Claude
Sala, has just been presented as laying claim
to the Monthyon prize. It is described as
remarkable for its simplicity; for, by the
aid of eight signs, it produces, without diffi-
culty, all the w'ords of the vocabulary, and,
by means of two lanterns, it can carry on a
nightly correspondence. — Athenfeum.

ARSENIC.

M. Schweiger Seidel has invented a very
simple method of ascertaining the presence
of arsenic in food, &c. however small the
quantity may be. He puts a portion of the
matter to be tried, and double its w’eight of
soda, into a little glass tube ; he closes the
open extremity of the tube with blotting pa-
per, and heats the other end with a taper :
the arsenic is sublimated in a few moments,
and adheres to the sides of the tube in the
part which is not heated. — Ibid.

SPONTANEOUS COMBUSTION.

An instance of spontaneous combustion is
reported in the French paper, to have taken
place at Aunay, in the department of Avalon.
A very fat woman, aged 74 years, and ad-
dicted to drinking l^randy at 27 degrees,
lived alone, and one evening returned home as
usual, but, as she did not appear among her
neighbours the next morning, they knock-
ed at her door. No answer being returned
to repeated demands, they summoned the
mayor, who forced the door, and exposed a
hoiTible spectacle, accompanied by an ex-
traordinary smell. Near the chimney laid a
heap of something burnt to cinders, at one
end of whichwas a head, a neck, the upper part
of a body, and one arm. At the other end
were some of the lower parts, and one leg,
still retaining a very clean shoe and stocking.
No other traces of fire were to be seen, ex-
cept a blue flame which played along the sur-
face of a long train of grease, or serous

liquor, which had been produced by the com-
bustion of the body. The mayor found it
impossible to extinguish this flame, and sum-
moned all the authorities ; and, from the
state of the apartment and comparison of
circumstances, it was concluded among them,
that, previous to going to bed, for which she
had evidently been making preparations, the
woman had been trying to ignite some embers
with her breath. The fire communicating
with the body by means of the breath, com-
bustion probably took place, and would ap-
pear! to confirm an opinion enterained by
several learned men, that that which is called
spontaneous combustion of the human frame
never takes place without the presence of
some ignited body near the person predisposed
to combustion. A surgeon, who bled an
habitually drunken person, accidentally put
the blood extracted near a candle, when im-
mediately a blue flame appeared on the sur-
face, which he found extremely difficult to
extinguish.— Mccft. Mag.

M. BIOT.

The learned and scientific M.Biot has been
delivering some very remarkable lectures at
the College de France. He has proved, that,
by means of polarised rays, it is possible to
ascertain the chemical action which takes
place between bodies held in solution, in va-
rious liquids ; an action which has not yet
been discovered by less delicate means. 'J’his
is a new branch of science, created as it were
by this great natural philosopher, from which
the most important and curious results may
be expected. — Ibid.

CORN AND COTTON-PLANTING MA-
CHINE.

A free man of colour, Henry Blair by
name, has invented a machine called the
corn-planter, which is now exhibiting in the
capital of Washington. It is described as a
very simple and ingenious machine, which, as
moved by ahorse, opens the furrow, drops (at
proper intervals, and in an exact and suitable
quantity,) the corn, covers it, and levels the
earth, so as, in fact, to plant the corn as
rapidly as a horse can draw a plough over
the ground. The inventor thinks it will save
the labour of eight men. He is about to
make some alterations in it to adapt it to the
planting of cotton. — Neio York Paper.

DR. ARNOTT’S NEW STOVES.

At a meeting of the Philosophical Society
of Edinburgh, which took place lately, one of
Dr. Arnott’s new stoves was exhibited, it
is an oblong box, about three feet long, two
broad, and two deep, carefully made air-tight
on every side. A partition within divides it
into two parts, apertures above and below
enabling them to communicate with each
other. An aperture is arranged for the free
admission of air, and another for carrying off
the smoke ; an air-tight door admits fuel.

NEW THEORY OF TIDES BY CLARK.

609

A stove made of earthenware, and placed on
one side of the partition, contains all the fuel
required, and the hotair circulates round and
round the partition before it is eventually car-
ried off by the small tubular chimney. An
extensive surface of 32 square feet is thus
presented to the air at a moderate elevation
of temperature, about 212 ; and, accordingly,
scarcely any thing passes up the chimney
which has not been almost entirely exhausted
of its heat. This stove saves equally time,
trouble, and fuel, and is quite free from the
dust of a common fire.

DR. REID’S SYSTEM OF VENTILA-
TION.

At the conclusion of the same meeting,
the Society adjourned to a new apartment,
constructed by Dr. Reid, illustrative of his
arrangements for* ventilation, &c. It is 32
feet long, and 18 broad, the floor being pierc-
ed with 50,000 apertures for the admission
of air. A series of experiments have since
been commenced in it, in one of which, in-
tended to show the working of the flues, lOO
individuals remained in it for upwards of an
hour, the room having been alternately fi^ed
with warm and cold air, and partially charged
with ether and nitrous oxide, at different
times. The air was completely renewed by
a slow and insensible current every five
minutes, and the various changes so gradually
induced, that it was impossible to tell when
they commenced. The plan is equally appli-
cable to public buildings and private dwell-
ing-houses, as well as to hospitals, churches,
public assemblies, and all tho<e places where,
from a crowded apartment, the air becomes
oppressive both from heat and noxious
effluvia. — Scotsman.

A NEW THEORY OF THE TIDES,

by ALEX. CLARK, ESa. ENGINEER.

For the purpose of literal demonstration,
let us suppose that the distance of the
earth’s centre from the centre of the moon
is 240,000 miles, that the diameter of the
earth is 8000, and that of the moon 2000
miles, and that they are dense in propor-
tion to their sizes. Then as globes are to
each other as the cubes of their diameters,
the density of the earth will be sixty-four
times that of the moon, and the centre of
gravity of both sixty-four times nearer the
former than the latter. This pointy is
within the body of the earth, or about 3/o0
miles from its centre. The moon is said to
revolve round the earth, in which saying
there seems no impropriety; but for our
purpose it is necessary to state that, strictly
speaking, these two bodies revolve on the
above point, which is the centre of gravity
both combined. The above numbers are

not correct, but they are sufficient for our
purpose.

The centrifugal force, created by the
revolution of the earth in this small orbit
round the combined centre of gravity of the
earth and moon, will have a constant
tendency to make the earth fly off from
that centre, which she would do if it were
uot for the attraction of the moon acting
with equal force in a contrary direction. The
earth is therefore between two forces, and
being partly fluid, the fluid parts are elong-
ated in the direction of these forces. This
elongation constitutes the double diurnal
lunar tide, which flows in a contrary direc-
tion to the diurnal motion of the earth on
its axis, Now for the solar tides.

According to the law of universal gravi-
tation, every particle of matter of the ter-
restrial globe will attract every particle of
matter in the lunar globe, and vice versa.
The attraction between those bodies may be
compared to a chain binding them together,
every link of which sustains the same strain,
for a chain freely suspended between two
points cannot have a greater strain at one
part than another (barring weight, which in
this case it is supposed to be devoid of). The
attraction at the moon must therefore be
exactly equal to that at the earth, and as
the centripetal and centrifugal forces are
always equal and contrary, they must
produce results on the moon’s surface similar
to the terrestrial tides, provided that lumi-
nary be surrounded with fluids like the earth.
Apply this doctrine to the earth as influenced
by the sun, and the effect must be a double
diurnal solar tide on the earth.

The spring tides are caused by the central
forces acting parallel and in unison at the
fulls and changes of the moon, and the neap
tides by acting at right angles or in opposi-
tion to each other at the quarters.

From what I have said it might be sup -
posed we have four diurnal tides, viz. two
solar and two lunar ; but this is not the
case, the sun’s influence being much smaller
than that of the moon, perhaps in the pro-
portion of 1 to 5. The solar tide combin-
ing with the lunar, becomes evanescent, and
will be best shown by figures as follows ; —
Supposing the lunar tide at any particular
place to rise 15 feet, and that at the same
place the solar tide rises 3 feet, then when the
moon is at the full or change, and her attrac-
tion acts in conjunction with the sun’s, we
shall have 15 3=18 feet, or a springtide ;
but when the moon is at the quarters and acts
in opposition to the sun, we shall have 15 — 3
= 12, or a neap tide. — Mechanic's Magazine,

610

IMPORTANT DISCOVERIES.

THE NEW STEAM-BOAT NOVELTY.

The recent successful experiment of driv-
ing this boat, of the largest class, with an-
thracite coal, against the tide and a strong
current from heavy rains, at the rate of 16
miles in the hour, has caused much remark
in our city, as an astonishing fact of great
importance on the subject of fuel, which may
lead to revolutions in steam navigation. Dr.
Knott, the distinguished President of Union
College, is the well-known proprietor of the
Novelty, which he constructed, we believe,
with machinery modelled after his own inge-
nious invention, so as to adapt it ultimately
to the same economical principles of combus-
tion which have given such deserved celebrity
to his patented stove. The fact of the practi-
cability of using anthracite being now ascer-
tained so as to produce as great a degiee of
speed as pine-wood, will no longer compel
steam-boat proprietors to import tlieir wood
at exorbitant prices from the remote forests
of Maine and the shores of the Cheasapeake.
Nearer by, and almost at our own doors, we
have the anthracite coal-mines of Pennsyl-
vania, of every possible variety, in exhaustless
quantities. In the trips to Albany for one sea-
son the difference in cost between wood and
anthracite for the Novelty, it is ascertained,
would be 19,000 dollars, in favour of coal.
The successful navigation of the Atlantic from
America to Europe is made certain. Among
the other great advantages would be the vast
saving of human life, as it is believed tlie
steady, intense, radiated heat of anthracite
will be in some degree a security against
those sudden accumulations which arise horn
the inflammable blaze of pine-wood. There
is also an entire freedom from the annoyance
of smoke, and the danger of fire from showers
of sparks. Wood is now selling at the Hud-
son at five or six dollars a cord. The cost,
in fact, of pine-wood is about double that of
anthracite. The passage and freight, there-
fore, must soon be reduced to half the present
rates. The Novelty is remarkable for the ease
with which she glides through the water, the
motion being without any jarring.— New;
York Evening Star.

HOME-GROWN FLAX.

We understand the agriculture practice of
sowing flax in this part of the country, for
domestic purposes, is becoming mucli more
general than it was formerly. The returns
from Riga and American seed have, in many
instances, been very great. The Dutch seed
has also been found to answer well ; and
there is every reason to think, if farmers
woulddirect their attention more to the cul-
tivation of this crop, it would turn out a
profitable one, not only for family purposes,
but as an article for sale. The importance
of flax crops in Ireland may be judged from
the fact, that there has lately been brought
into the mhrket in Derry as much as 200 tons
per week, averaging in value from 40/. to 80/.
per ton ; and there has been imported this
season, at Belfast alone, above 9000 hogsheads

of flax-seed, Riga, America, and Dutch.—
Aberdeen Paper.

EMBOSSING ON WOOD. .

A new and ingenious method of embossing
on wood has been invented by Mr. J.
Straker. It may be used eitlier by itself, or
in aid of carving, and depends on the fact,
that if a depression be made by a blunt in-
strument on the surface of wood, such de-
pressed part will again rise to its original
level by subsequent immersion in water, i he
wood to be ornamented having first been
worked to its proposed shape, is in a state to
receive the drawing of the pattern ; this being
put in, a blunt steel tool, or burnisher, or die,
IS to be applied successively to all those parts
of the pattern intended to be in relief, and at
the same time is to be driven very cautiously,
without breaking the grain of the wood, till
the depth of the depression is equal to the
subsequent prominence of the figures. 'J he
ground is then to he reduced by planing or
filing to the level of the depressed part; after
whiclt the piece of wood being placed in
water, either hot or cold, the parts previously
depressed will rise to their former height, and
will thus form an embossed pattern, which
may be finished by the usual operation of
carving.

MAISE SUGAR.

Dr. Balias having sent two specimens of
the maise sugar to the French Academy of
Sciences, M. Biot has submitted them to
certain effects of polarisation in order to
ascertain their precise nature. The deviation
of the polarised rays to the right of the place
of polarisation in an aqueous solution of this
sugar after filtration, and the proportion of its
inversion to the left by the addition of liquid
sulphuric acid, have been found by M. Biot
to agree with the pure sugar derived from the
cane. — Athenceum.

BENEFICIAL EFFECTS OF RAIL-
WAYS.

Some idea of the employment which rail-
ways will find for the labouring classes may
be formed from the fact, that at this moment
between 10,000 and 11,000 men are employed
on the London and Birmingham Railway
only.— Spectator. Taking this number as
data, the average of accidents which occur
in the prosecution of the works, is certainly
under that which happens to an equal num-
ber of workmen engaged in the ordinary oc-
cupations of bricklayers, masons, carpenters,
labourers, and so forth.

TIME AND TEMPERATURE MEA-
SURER IN ONE.

M. Arago announced at the last sitting of
the French Academy of Sciences, that a
Danish watchmaker has invented a watch,
which at the end of the day indicates the mean
temperature of twenty-four hours.

[ fill ]

THE

STUDY OF SCIENCE,

A FAMILIAR INTRODUCTION

TO THE

PRINCIPLES OF SCIENCE AND THE ARTS.

THE PRACTICAL MECHANIC.

ANIMAL POWER.

1. The force of men and animals to put
machinery in motion and to produce me-
chanical effects of various kinds, depends so
much on a variety of complicated circum-
stances, that it is very difficult to reduce
it to a fixed standard of measure. The
circumstances which have the greatest
share in determining the amount of this
force are, the natural constitution of
different individuals of the same spe-
cies, their acquired dexterity or constant
practice, the nature of the performance, or
the muscles brought into action, and the
duration of the labour or the speed with
which it is performed. Few of these points
can be made the direct subject of calculation,
owing to our total ignorance of the divine
mechanism by which the living principle is
made to operate on the animal structure.

2. Definitions.'] The laborious effort
\vhich an animal can make for a few in-
stants, is greatly superior to that which he
can continue to make for the period of a
day’s labour. The momentary effort is call-
ed the absolute force, and the daily effort
Vac, 'permanent force. In performing the
daily effort there is a certain speed or velo-
city of action which produces the greatest
amount of useful effect ; this is called the
maximum effect of the permanent force,
D. Bernouilli considered that the measure
of the permanent force of man is nearly a
constant quantity, and that it does not vary
much either among individuals or in differ-
ent kinds of labour. Venturoli and others
doubt this fact, owing perhaps to the mode
in which this force has been estimated ; but
we think that Bernouilli is right, and that
the proposition may be extended to the
permanent force of other animals ; this
force, of course, varying with the species.

The ordinary method of computing me-
chanical effect or animal power, is by finding
the 'weight that can be raised to a certain
height in a given time ; then, the product
of these three quantities is called the mea-
sure of the labour or force employed in
raising the weight, that is, the mechanical
effect. Force is also measured by d-ynamic
units i thus, a giving measure of water or a

given wieght raised through a given space is
a dynamic unit ; so is the power of an ani-
mal exerted during a given unit of time. In
France, a dynamic unit is the weight of a
cubic metre of water raised to the height of a
metre, or 2208 lbs. raised 3,281 feet. In
England, the most common dynamic unit is
a horse’s power, which is variously estimat-
ed by engineers. There can be no doubt
that a practical man must form a more cor-
rect ideaof the quantity of mechanical power
expressed by this dynamic unit than by any
other that could be proposed : because the
power of the horse is constantly brought
under his observation, both in the impulsion
of machinery, and in the transportation of
loads.

3. The Dynamoyneter is an instrument
for measuring the absolute force of men
and animals. Dynamometers of various
kinds have been invented ; those of the sim-
plest construction are the same in princi-
ple as the spring steel-yard ; others are
either modifications of this instrument or a
combination of levers with the spring. The
Dynamometer of Regnier consists of an
elliptic spring which is bent either by pres-
sing it together at the vertices of the minor
axis, or drawing it apart at the vertices of
the major axis. In both cases, the sides of
the spring are made to approach each other
and thus to move an index which points to
a graduated semicircle, and shows the
amount of force which has been applied to
bend the spring. The semicircle is doubly
graduated ; the one scale indicates the force
applied at the vertices of the minor axis ;
the other scale, that applied at the vertices
of the major axis. For a further account of
similar instruments, see Lardner’s Cyclo-
paedia, vol. V. p. 305.

4. Human Strength.] The absolute force
of pressure with the hands was found by
the dynamometer of Regnier, to be on an
average equivalent to the weight of 110 lbs.
The most advantageous and convenient
position of the arms in pressing, is that of a
line which makes an angle of 45° with the
vertical. The right hand commonly presses
with more force than the left ; and the force
of both together is equivalent to the sum of
the forces of each taken separately.

The absolute force of man in lifting a
'weight 'with both hands was found by the

612

ABSOLUTE FORCE OF MAN IN DRAWING.

dynamometer to be on an average equivalent
to 286 lbs. The best position of the body
in this case is the erect, with the shoulders
slightly inclined. The greatest average load
which a man can support on his shoulders
for some instants, is commonly reckoned
330 lbs. ; and it is supposed that he can
exert the same force in drav^ing vertically
downwards ; but these results are not dyna-
mometrically ascertained.

The mean absolute force of man in draw-
ing or ‘pulling horizontally was found by
the dynamometer to be the same as that
exerted m pressure with the hands, or 110
lbs. The force of the horizontal pull in the
strongest men was found to be only about
20 lbs. more than the average ; while in the
other modes of applying force, much greater
differences occurred. The reason appeal's
to be, that, in drawing, the force depends
more upon the weight of the body than upon
muscular force.

5. Human Labour.'] The permanent
force of men and animals cannot be accu-
rately ascertained by the dynamometer ; it
is only by a series of careful observations on
daily labour, that we can arrive at the ave-
rage useful effect of animal exertion. In
order to compare the different estimates of
the force of moving powers, Dr. T. Young
assumed, as a dynamical unit, the mean
effect of the labour of an active man working
to the greatest possible advantage : this he
considered to be a force capable of raising
10 lbs. 10 feet in a second for 10 hours a
day; or, 100 lbs., which is the weight of 10
imperial gallons of water, 1 foot in a second,
or 36,000 feet in a day; or, 3,600,000 lbs.,
or 36,000 imperial gallons, 1 foot in a day :
this may be called a force of 1, continued
for 3S,000 seconds.

M. Schulze, of Berlin, made a series of
valuable experiments, in order to determine
the accuracy of Euler’s empirical formula,
or rule expressing the relation between the
force and the velocity of animal agents.
From experiments on 20 men, of different
sizes and constitutions, he found their mean
absolute force, in lifting weights, to be
about 250 lbs. ; and in a level pull, about
100 lbs, when standing still, and holding a
silken cord passing horizontally over a pulley
fixed above a pit, into which weights were
suspended at the other end of the cord.

Their mean absolute velocity, that is,
when unencumbered by any load, was next
ascertained by experiments made on a level
plain, where the men marched at a fail-
pace, without running, for a period of 4 or 5
hours. This velocity was found to be about
5, 1-3 feet per second, or 320feet per minute,
or 3, 7-11 miles per hour.

6. Their mean relative or permanent
force was next determined by comparing
their force in turning an upright cylindrical
machine, with that of the weight which
made it revolve, suspended atone end of the
cord above mentioned. This mean force
was found to be equivalent to about 30 lbs.,
moving with a velocity of 2^ feet per second.*
From numerous comparisons, Smeaton con-
cluded that the mechanical power of a man
is equivalent to 3750 lbs., moving at the ve-
locity of one foot per minute : Mr. Tred-
gold estimates from this conclusion, that the
average mechanical power of a man is 31^
lbs., moving at the velocity of 2 feet per
second, when the useful effect is the great-
est possible ; or half a cubic foot of water
raised 2 feet per second — a very convenient
expression for hydrodynamical inquiries.
This estimate is very nearly the same, there-
fore, as that derived from M. Schulze’s ex-
periments. Mr. Tredgold states, that if a
man ascend a ladder vertleally, the velocity
corresponding to the maximum of useful
effect will be one foot per second, and the
load double what he carries horizontally ;
consequently, the average of useful effect is
62f lbs., or 1 cubic foot of water raised 1
foot per second. Dr. O. Gregory states, that
according to the best observations, the mean
force of a man at rest is 70 lbs., and the ut-
most velocity with which he can walk is about
6 feet per second, taken at a medium. He
thence deduces 31, l-9th lbs. as the greatest
useful effect which a man can exert when
in motion ; the velocity being 2 feet per
second, or rather less than 1§ miles per
hour.f

7. Dr. Gregory demonstrates the follow-
ing mechanical theorems, and shows their
applicability to the mean action of men and
animals : — 1 . The absolute velocity of an
animal is to its relative velocity, that is,
when impeded fey a given resistance, as the
square root of its absolute force is to the
difference of the square roots of its absolute
and relative forces. 2. The work done by
an animal is greatest, when the velocity
with which it moves is 1-3 of its absolute
velocity ; or, when its relative force is 4-9
of its absolute force. 3, The greatest use-
ful effect is consequently 4-27 of the pro-
duct of the absolute force and the absolute
velocity.

8. Sir John Leslie, J with his usual tact,
has simplified Euler’s formula, as confirmed
by the above experiments, and we may now
express it in the words of the following

• Philosophical Magazine vol. xxxix. No. 16S.
t Gregory’s Mechanics, vol. i. p 349.

^ Natural Philosophy, p. 281.

POWER OF A HORSE IN DRAWING.

613

rale : — Given the velocity, or rate per hour,
at which a man travels, to find his power
or force of traction : — Square the difference
hetioeen 6 miles and the given velocity in
miles, multiply by 2, and the product will
be the required force in pounds avoirdupois.
This rule gives the following results ; —
Velocities, 0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Forces, 72 50 32 18 8 2 0

From this rule, it appears that the great-
est useful effect is produced, when a man
walks at the rate of 2 miles an hour, his
power of traction being then 32 lbs ; this
amounts to a force of 3,379,200 lbs., raised
1 foot per day of 10 hours — an estimate
which is only about 1-16 part less than that
assumed by Dr. T. Young.

9. In other kinds of human labour, such
as climbing stairs, ladders, and mountains,
loaded or unloaded ; pumping water, sawing
wood and stones, driving piles, working at
a capstan or windlass, wheeling loaded
barrows, digging with a spade, turning a
winch, &c., it is almost impossible to esta-
blish any proper means of comparison, or to
reduce the calculations of the forces em-
ployed in each kind of labour to a common
or fixed rule. For farther illustration of
this subject, therefore, we must refer to the
authors already cited, and to such well-
known writers as Desaguliers, Emerson,
Coulomb, and Hachette. See Gregory’s
Mechanics, arts, 66 — 69.

1 0. Horse Power.'] The absolute force
of the horse, in drawing horizontally, as as-
certained by the dynamometer, is on an
average no less than 770 lbs. ; consequently
the power of a horse in this kind of mo-
mentary exertion, is equal to the force of 7
men. The amount of the permanent force
of a horse, however, is found to be con-
siderably less than this, varying from that of
6 men to that of 5 men according to differ-
ent estimates. Dr. O. Gregory reckons the
power of a horse equivalent to that of 6
men ; but he states this power as equivalent
only to 420 lbs. at a dead pull. Desaguliers,
Smeaton, and Leslie, reckon the power of a
horse equivalent, on an average, to that of
5 men. Tredgold reckons a horse power
equal to that of 6 men, at a medium, and
the rate of travelling about the same as, or
perhaps rather less than, that of a man,
when continued for 8 hours.* On the whole,
it appears, when the period of continuance
is made an element in the calculation, that
the power of a horse, working 8 hours
a-day, is, on an average, not more than
equivalent to that of five men, working 10
hours a-day.

♦ Notes to Buchanan on Mill Work, vol.
i. p. 167.

11. Permanent force of a Horse.] Desa-
guliers reckons that a horse will walk at the
rate of 2§ miles per hour, against a resist-
ance of 200 lbs., that is, at the rate of 220
feet per minute ; a horse’s power is there-
fore equivalent to a force that will raise
44,000 lbs. 1 foot per minute, when working
8 hours per day. Mr. Watt found, from
repeated experiments, that a horse treading
a mill path at the rate of 2f miles an hour,
will, on an average, raise about 150 lbs. by
a cord hanging over a pulley, which is
equivalent to raising 33,000 lbs., 1 foot
high in a minute. His steam-engines were
calculated to work at the rate of 44,000 lbs.
per horse power; but he allowed only 33,000
lbs. in his calculations, considering the
difference due to loss by friction. Boulton
and Watt ultimately estimated the horse
power at 32,000 lbs. Tredgold reckons
it at 27,500 lbs. when continued 8 hours
a-day, and 33,000 lbs. when continued 6
hours a-day. Smeaton estimated a horse
power at 22,916 lbs ; this is generally con-
sidered too low, otherwise the loss by fric-
tion must have been very considerable. It
is coipmon in practice, to reckon that it re-
quires one horse’s power to drive 100 spin-
dles with preparation of cotton water
twist; 1000 spindles with preparation cotton
mule yarn ; and 75 spindles with prepara-
tion flax yarn. See Buchanan on Mill
Work, p. 157.

12. Leslie has elegantly simplified Euler’s
formula, as applied to the power of a horse
in drawing ;* and we may now express it
also in the words of the following rule : —
Given the velocity or rateper hour at which
a horse travels to find his power of trac-
tion:— Square the difference between 12
miles and the given velocity in miles, the re-
sult will be the required power in pounds
avoirdupois. From this rule we obtain the
following results : —

Velocities, 0 l 2 3 4 .7 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
borces, 144 121 I0O8I 64 49 36 25 10 9 4 1 0

Thus it appears that the greatest useful
effect is produced when a horse walks at the
rate of 4 miles an hour, his power of trac-
tion being then 64 lbs. ; this amounts to a
force of 22,528 lbs., raised 1 foot high per
minute — an estimate which agrees very
nearly with that of Smeaton.

13. The power of a horse depending
greatly on his speed, formulae have been
given for the calculation of this element,
according to its duration. The following
rule is derived from Leslie’s formula: —
Divide the square of the difference between
20 hours and the given duration of a horse's
motion in hours by 25, and the quotient
will be his maximum velocity in miles per
Natural Philosophy, p. 283.

614

MODE OF APPLYING A HORSE POWER.

hour when unloaded. Hence, we have
Durations, 1 23 45 6 7 8 &10
Velocities, 14i 13 Hi 10^ 9 71 6i 5f 4| 4.

Tredgold’s formula gives the following
rule for the same purpose : — Divide l4.7 by
the square root of the duration in hours,
and the quotient ivill he the maximum
velocity in miles per hour, ivhen unloaded.
Hence, we have

Durations, 1 234 5678 910

Velocities, 14f 10§ 8f 7i 6f 6 5§ 5|^ 5 4^
These results nearly agree with the
former in the extreme cases, but differ
considerably in the intermediate cases.
Tredgold’s formula foi* the power of a horse’s
traction, expressed in words, is as follows:
— Divide the difference between the maxi-
mum velocity, when unloaded, and the given
velocity, when loaded, at the given dura
tion of labour per day, by the said maximum
velocity, and multiply the quotient by 250 ;
the result will be the horse’s povjer of
traction in lbs. Taking the hours of
labour at 6 per day, the utmost that he
would recommend, the maximum of useful
effect will be 125 lbs., moving at the rate of
3 miles an hour ; considering the expense of
carriage at this rate as unity, the comparative
moving force, and proportional expense at
different velocities, will be as follows : —
Velocities, 2 3 3f 4 5 5§

Forces, 166 125 104 83 62^ 41| 36^
Expense, U 1 UHi li U 2
Thus it appears that the expense, which
is inversely proportional to the effect, that
is, the product of the force and the velocity,
is doubled when the speed is increased from
3 to 5|- miles per hour.

14. According to the preceding rules of
Tredgold, the greatest useful effect of the
horse is 125 X 3 X 6 = 2250 lbs. raised 1
mile per day. In comparing this with fact
Mr. Bevan who made many experiments

on a horse’s power in dragging boats on the
Grand Junction canal, found the force of
traction to be 80 lbs. and and the space
travelled in a day 26 miles ; this gives the
greatest useful effect equal to 80 X 26^
2080 lbs. raised 1 mile per day, the rate”of
travelling being barely 2§ miles per hour.

15. The most useful mode of applying a
horse’s power is in draught, and the worst
is in carrying a load. This is owing to the
structure of the animal. It has been found
that 3 men carrying each 100 lbs. will as-
cend a hill with greater rapidity than 1
horse carrying 300 lbs. When a horse has
a large draught in a waggon, however, it is
found useful to load his back to a certain
extent ; this prevents him from inclining so
much forward as he would otherwise do,
and consequently frees him from the fatigue
of great muscular action.

16. The best disposition of the traces
in draught is when they are perpendicular
to the collar ; when the horse stands at
ease, the traces are then inclined to the
horizon, at an angle of about 15® ; but when
he leans forward to draw, the traces should
then become nearly parallel to the road.
The most proper inclination, however, is
determined from the relation which subsists
between the friction and the pressure, in
every particular case. When a horse is
employed in a gin, or in moving a machine
by travelling in a circular path, the diameter
of his path should not be less than 25 or
30 feet, and in most cases 40 feet should be
preferred ; at all events it should not be less
than 18 feet.

17. The following is a useful table from
Tredgold, showing the maximum quantity
of labour which a horse of average strength
is capable of performing at different velo-
cities, on canals, railways, and turnpike
roads.

Velocities
per Hour.

Day’s Work.

Force of
Traction.

Useful effect per day for a distance
of 1 mile on a

Canal.

Level Rail-
way.

Level Road.

Miles.

Hours.

Lbs.

Tons.

Tons.

Tons.

2^

IH

83i

520

115

14

3

8

do.

243

92

12

5,9-lOths

do.

153

82

10

4

4|-

do.

102

72

9

5

2,9-lOths

do.

52

57

7-2

6

2

do.

30

48

6-0

7

n

do.

19

41

5.1

8

do.

12-8

36

4.5

9

9-lOths

do.

9-0

32

4-0

10

3

do.

6-6

28-8

3.6

ON THE SENSES OF INSECTS.

615

In comparing this table with practice at
the higher velocities, it is reckoned necessa-
to add ^ more than the useful effect, for the
total mass moved. Now, the actual rate at
which some of the rapid coaches travel is
10 miles an hour ; the stages average about
9 miles ; and a coach with its load of lug-
gage and passengers amounts to about 3
tons; therefore the average day’s work of
4 coach horses is 27 tons, drawn 1 mile, or
6| tons drawn 1 mile, by 1 horse. At the
rate of 10 miles an hour, the table gives 3*6
tons, which increased by ^ makes 4*8 tons
drawn 1 mile, for the extreme quantity of
labour of a horse at this rate, upon a good
level road. To this result should be added
the loss of effect in ascending hills, passing
heavy roads, &c., which will make the ac-
tual labour performed by a coach horse
about double the maximum given in the
table. The injurious consequences are well
known. (To be continued.)

SENSES OF INSECTS.

It was well said by the distinguished Da-
nish naturalist, Fabricius, that “ nothing in
natural history is more abstruse and difficult
than an accurate description of the senses of
animals.*” This inherent complexity of the
subject appears to have induced Lehmann to
undertake the investigation of the senses of
insects t- He collected into a focus all that
was known previous to his time, though he
has added very little from his own observation ;
but sincej:hat period much has been done
by Marcel de Serres, Wollaston, xMuller, and
others.

The chief difficulty of the subject arises from
the great physical differences which exist be-
tween animals furnishedwith bones and warm
blood, and insects that have neither, rendering
all inference from analogy much less to be
depended on, than if the physical structure of
each were similar. When we see an elephant,
for example, use his trunk to lift a small
piece of money from the ground, we cannot
doubt but that he feels the coin as plainly as
we should do in lifting it with the hand, and
hence the inference that the trunk of the ele-
phant is an organ of touch follows of course.
But when we see an ichneumon 6y vibrating
its long antennae before the entrance of a bee’s
nest, and sometimes even inserting one or both
of them into the hole as if to explore its con-
insects alluded to may be warnec of the ap-
tents, we are not thence entitled to conclude
that the antennae are organs of touch, for they
may, with as much probability, be inferred to
be organs of hearing employed to listen to
sounds produced by the inhabitant of the nest.
It would also be too hasty, as it appears to us,
to infer that flies, gnats, and moths, are en-
dowed with eyes of very quick sight, because
we find it difficult to approach them without

* Nye Samlingas det Daiiske, &c. ii. 375.

+ De Sensibus Externis Insectorum, p. 1,
4to., Gottiugae, 1798.

putting them to flight; for the earth-woim
(Lumbricus terrestris, Linn.) will retreat
with similar rapidity into its hole when the
light of a candle is thrown upon it at night,*
though no anatomist has ever discovered its eyes
nor believes that it has any ; and the insects
alluded to may be warned of the approach of
danger by smell, by hearing, or by touch, from
slight changes in the currents of air, as pro-
bably as by sight. Analogy, it would thence
appear, is very apt to mislead ; and as we have
little else to go upon in the subject of the sen-
ses in insects, we can seldom ascertain the
tacts with minute accuracy, and must rest
contented with probabilities and approxima-
tions to the truth.

Respecting one point there can be no
doubt,— namely, that an object must always
be present in order to pioduce a sensation or
feeling ; light and colours being in this man-
ner the objects of the sen.se of seeing, and sound
of the sense of hearing. In man the impression
made by light upon the eye or by sound upon
the ear passes along peculiar nerves to the
brain, as the signal from a distant telegraph is
communicated to a metropolis. In insects we
may suppose that such impressions upon the
eye or the ear are only conveyed to the next
nervous centre (ganglion ), since they possess
no general brain similar to ours, but a number
of central points in different paits of the body
where the adjacent nerves unitef. Whether,
also, insects possess one set of nerves for feel-
ing and another set for motion, as Mr. Charles
Bell has recently discovered to be the case
arriong larger animals, remains to be ascer-
tained, though analogy would lead us to con-
clude that they must have something at least
similar. Be this as it may, the most obvious
mode in which we can discuss the subject be-
fore us, is to examine the structure of the
organs, and the probable action of objects
U|:)on these. It appears to be the most con-
venient order to begin with the Sense of
Touch, and then to take up Taste, Smell,
Hearing, and Vision, in succession.

( To be continued.)

THE TAXIDERMIST.

{Continued from page 410.)

OF STUFFING QUADRUPEDS, &C.

Let US suppose the animal which we in-
tend to stuff to be a Cat. Wire of such a
thickness is chosen as will support the ani-
mal by being introduced under the soles of
the feet, and running it thi'ough each of the
four legs. A piece of smaller dimensions is
then taken, measuring about two feet, for
the purpose of forming, what is termed by
staffers, a tail -bearer. This piece of wire is
bent at nearly a third of its length, into an
oval of about six inches in length ; the two
ends are twisted together, so as to leave one
of them somewhat longer than the other ;
the tail is then correctly measured, and the

♦ J. R.

t See Insect Transformations, pp. 400 and ISO,

616

ON THE STUFFING OF QUADRUPEDS.

wire is cut to the length of it, besides the
oval. The wire is then wrapped round with
flax in a spiral form, which must be increas-
ed in thickness as it approaches the oval, so
as to be nearly equal to the dimensions of
the largest vertebrae, or root of the tail.
The thickness can be very nearly imitated
from measuring the bones of the tail which
have just been removed, and for this purpose
a pair of callipers should be used. When
finished it should be rubbed thinly over with
flour-paste, to preserve its smooth form,
which must be allowed to dry thoroughly, and
then the surface should receive a coating of
the preservative. The sheath of the tail must
now be rubbed inside with the preservative.
This is applied with a small quantity of lint,
attached to the end of a wire, long enough to
reach the point of the tail-sheath. The tail-
bearer is then insei-ted into the sheath, and
the oval part of the wire placed within the
skin of the belly, and attached to the longi-
tudinal wire, which is substituted for the
vertebrae or back bone.

Four pieces of wire, about the thickness of
a crow-quill, are then taken, which must be
the length of the legs, and another piece a
foot or fifteen inches longer than the body.
One end of each of these is sharpened with a
file in a triangular shape, so that it may the
more easily penetrate the parts. At the blunt
end of the longest piece a ring is formed,
large enough to admit of the point of a finger
entering it ; this is done by bending the wire
back on itself a turn and a half, by the as-
sistance of the round pincers, On the same
wire another ring is formed in a similar
manner, consisting of one entire turn, and so
situated as to reach just between the animal’s
shoulders. The measurement should be care-
fully made from the animal itself. The re-
maining part of this wire should be perfectly
straight, and triangularly pointed at the ex-
tremity.

Another method of forming the supporting
wires, as practised by M. Nicolas, is to take
a central wire, which must be the length of
the head, neck, body, and tail of the Cat, as
in plate VI, fig. 8, that is from a to h, but the
tail at b is shortened owing to want of room
in the plate ; two other pieces are then taken
and twisted round the centre piece, in the
manner represented in plate VI, c, d, e,/,-
these extremities being left for the leg wii-es.
After the wires are thus twisted together,
the central one is pulled out ; and the feet
wires of one side are pushed through the
legs of one side from the inside of the skin,
and, the other two leg pieces are bent and
also forced through the legs, and afterwards
made straight by a pair of pincers : the cen-
tre piece, having been previously sharpened
at one end with a file, is now forced through
the forehead and down the neck, till it enter
the centre of the twisted leg wires which it
formerly occupied, and pushed forward to
the extremity of the tail, leaving a small
piece projecting out of the forehead, as re-
presented in the Cat, plate VI, fig. 8, After

which, the completion of the stuffing is pro-
ceeded with.

We think this mode unnecessary for the
smaller animals, and that it should only be
adopted for quadrupeds the size of Deer, &c.
These wires are besides much more difficult
to insert by this than by the other method.

All the wires being adjusted, the operation
of stuffing is next proceeded with. The skin
of the Cat is now extended on a table ; and
the end of the nose seized with the left hand,
and pushed again into the skin, till it reaches
the neck, when we receive the bones of the
head into the right hand. The skull is now
well rubbed over with the arsenical soap,
and all the cavities which the muscles before
occupied are filled with chopped tow, flax, or
cotton, well mixed with preserving powder.
The long piece of wire is now passed into the
middle of the skull, and after it is well rub »
bed over with the preservative, it is returned
into the skin. The inner surface of the neck-
skin is now anointed, and stuffed with
chopped flax, taking care not to distend it
too much. Nothing like pressure should be
applied, as the fresh skin is susceptible of
much expansion.

Observe that it is always the inner surface
which is anointed with the arsenical soap.

Take care that the first ring of the wire,
which passes into the head, is in the di-
rection of the shoulders, and the second
corresponding with the pelvis, or somewhat
towards the posterior part. One of the
fore-leg wires is then inserted along the back
of the bone ; and the point passed out under
the highest ball of the paw. When this is
accomplished, the bones of the leg are drawn
up within the skin of the body, and'the wire
fastened to the bones of the arm and fore-arm
with strong thread or small twine. .Brass
wire, used for piano-forte strings, makes it
more secure, and is not liable to rot. These
are wxll anointed, and flax or tow slivers
wrapped round them, so as to supply the
place of the muscles which have been remov-
ed. The common stuffing employed by the
French taxidermists, at the Jardin des
Plantes, is chopped flax ; but it must be
quite evident that for such parts as the legs
of animals or birds, that flax or tow slivers
are far preferable ; and can be wound on with
more nicety, wffiereas, chopped flax or tow
is apt to make inequalities. To give the
natural I’ise to the larger muscles, a piece of
silver should be cut of the length of the pro-
tuberance required, and placed in the part,
and the sliver wrapped over it. This gives it
a very natural appearance.

The mode of fixing the legs, is by passing
one of their pieces of wire into the small ring
of the horizontal or middle supporting wire.
Pursue the same plan with the other leg, and
then twist the two ends firmly together, by
the aid of a pair of flat pincers. For an ani-
mal of the size of a Cat, the pieces left for
twisting must be from five to six inches in
length. After being twisted, they are bound
on the under side of the body wire, with
strong thread : the two legs are then replac-

ON THE STUFFING OF QUADRUPEDS.

61 r

ed, and put in the form in which we intend to
fix them. The skin of the belly and top of
the shoulders is then anointed ; and a thick
layer of flax placed under the middle wire.
The shape is now given to the scapulae on
both sides, and all the muscles of the shoul-
ders imitated. These will be elevated or de-
pressed, according to the action intended to
be expressed. The anterior part of the open-
ing is now sewed up, to retain the stuffing,
and to enable us to complete the formation
of the shoulders and junction of the neck.
This part of the animal is of great import-
ance, as regards the perfection of its form ;
and much of its beauty will depend upon this
being well executed

If the animal has been recently skinned, the
best plan possible is to imitate, as nearly as
possible, the muscles of the carcase ; by
which many parts will be noticed which might
otherwise have been neglected. Even to the
comparative anatomist, I address this recom-
mendation : Copy Nature whenever

YOU HAVE IT IN YOUR POWER.

It must be observed as a general rule, that
the wires for the hind legs of quadrupeds
should always be longer than those of the
legs.

I’he next thing is to form the hind legs
and thighs, which must be done as above de-
scribed for the fore legs ; but with this dif-
ference, that they must be wound round
with thread, drawn through the stuffing at
intervals, to prevent it slipping up when re-
turned into the skin of the leg. They are
then fixed, by passing the leg wires into the
second ring of the centre body wire, which is
situated at, or near the pelvis ; the two ends
are then bent, twisting them to the right and
left around the ring : and to make them still
more secure, they should be wound round
with small brass wire or packthread : the
tail bearer is then attached in the manner
formerly described.

Having completed this part of the iron
work, the skin of the thighs is coated inside
with the preservative, and the stuffing com-
pleted with chopped flax or tow. d he whole
inner parts of the skin wdiich can be reached
are again anointed, and the body stuffing
completed with chopped flax. Care must be
also paid not to stuff the belly too much, as
the skin very easily dilates. The incision, in
the belly is now closed by bringing the skin
together, and then sewred wothin and without ;
while attention is paid to divide the hairs,
and not to take any of them in along with the
thread ; but should any of them be inadver-
tently fixed, they can be picked out easily
with the point. ( Plate VI. fig. 9.) When this
is completed, the hair will resume its natural
order, and completely conceal the seam.

The seam should now be well primed, on
both sides, with the solution of corrosive
sublimate, to prevent the entrance of moths.

The articulations of the legs are then bent,
and tbe animal placed on its feet ; and pres-
sure used at the natural flat places, so as to
make the other parts rise where the muscles
are visible.

1 cannot take leave of this part, without
mentioning a plan which I invented, for giv-
ing full effectto the muscles of the shoulders.
Having skinned a Dog, immediately on re -
moving the carcase, 1 took a plaster of Paris
cast off, from each of the shoulders ; and
from these moulds I cast a pair of shoulders.
After having completed the internal stuffing,
1 applied these casts on the top of the tow>
and on the skin being brought over them ,
they had the best effect imaginable ; and gave
the complete appearance of the shoulder in
the living animal. This method may be ex-
tended to the other visible muscles of the
body with great effect ; and it is very easily
and speedily accomplished. In short, every
legitimate means of this kind should be
thought of and adopted, at whatever expense
and trouble it may be, to obtain the end in
view ; namely, as close an imitation of the living
subject as possible ; for one well mounted spe-
cimen is worth fifty indifferently executed.

A board is now prepared, on which to place
the Cat. But before fixing it permanently,
the animal should be set in the attitude in
which it is intended to be preserved, and the
operator having satisfied himself, then pierces
four holes for the admission of the feet wires,
which must be drawn through with a pair of
pincers till the paws rest firmly on the board.
Small grooves are then made for the reception
of the pieces of wires which have been drawn
through, so that they may be folded back
and pressed down in them, and not be beyond
the level of the back of the board ; wire nails
are now driven half in, and their heads bent
down on the wires to prevent them from get-
ting loose, or becoming moveable.

'I he staffer next directs his attention to
the position and final stuffing of the head and
neck. 1 he muscles of the face must be imi-
tated as correctly as possible, by stuffing in
cotton at the opening of the eyes, as also at
the mouth, ears, and nostrils. To aid in
this also, the inner materials may be drawn
forward bythe assistance of instruments, such
as are represented at plate VI. figs, 10 and
11, also small pieces of wood, formed like
small knitting meshes.

Our next care is the insertion of the eyes,
which must be done while the eyelids are yet
fresh. Some dexterity and skill are required
in this operation ; and on it will depend most
of the beauty and character of the head. The
seats of the eyes are supplied with a little ce-
ment, the eyes put in their place, and the
eyelids properly drawn over the eyeballs ;
but if rage or fear are to be expressed, a con-
siderable portion of the eyeballs must be ex-
posed. The lips are afterwards disposed in
their natural state, and fastened with pins. If
the mouth is intended to be open, it will be
necessary to support the lips with cotton,
which can be removed when they are dry.
Two small balls of cotton, firmly pressed
together, and well tinctured with the arse-
nical soap, must be thrust into the nostrils,
so as to completely plug them up, to prevent
the air from penetrating, as also the intru-
sion of moths ; and besides it has the effect

THE TAXIDERMIST.

(>18

of preserving the natural shape of the rose
after it has dried, 'i'he same precaution
should be adopted with the ears, which, in
the Cat, require but little attention in setting.

We must again recommend the stuffer to
see that he has sufficiently applied the pre-
servative soap ; and the nose, lips, ears, and
paws, being very liable to decay, must be well
imbued with spirits of turpentine. 'I his is
applied with a brush, and must be repeated
six or eight times, at intervals of some days,
until we are certain of the parts being well
primed with it; and, after all, it will be ad-
visable to give it a single coating of the solu-
tion of corrosive sublimate.

The methods of stuffing, which we have
pointed out in the preceding pages, are ap-
plicable to all animals, from a Lion down
lo the smallest Mouse. Animals of a large
description require a trame-work suited to
their dimensions ; these we will point out in
their systematic order. 1 hey are also some
animals, whose pectiliarity of structure re-

quires treatment differing a little from the
ordinai’y course.

(To be continued.)

EXPLANATION OF THE PLATE.

Plate vi, fig. 2, exhibits the manner of
inserting the wires in mounting a Cat.

Fig. 8. — The wires as they are put together
before being placed in the skin ; a, the tail
wire ; b, c, head and neck wire ; d, e, and f,
leg wires.

Fig. l3. — Wire employed for forming a
double ci-oss in the larger quadrupeds.

Fig. 12, exhibits the manner of articu-
lating the joints of the large quadrupeds, in
setting up skeletons, a, an iron plate ; h
is the nut which tightens the screw of the
iron peg ; c is the head of the second iron
peg, the nut and screw of which are the
same as that shown in front, and is placed
behind.

THE

SPIRIT OF THE INDIAN PRESS,

OR

MONTHLY REGISTER OF USEFUL INVENTIONS,

AND

IMPROVEMENTS, DISCOVERIES,

AND NEW FACTS IN EVERY DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE.

RUSSIAN INFLUENCE IN CHINA.

We observe, from the following letter in
the Bengal ITurJcaru, that Russian influ-
ence is extending in a quarter least expect-
ed.

“ You observe, in your paper of to-day, that
the affairs ot tlie Foreign Barbarians in the
celestial Empire, appear to have arrived at a
ciisis. My own impie-sion is, that, although
the present may be a passing cloud, the crisis
will verv speedily come in earnest. But
why ? — whencel- wherefore? Why should
the “ Outside Barbarians” be either more
fiercely dealt upon in person, or more ham-
pered in all their commercial transactions
than heretofore ? Have the Chinese Govern-
rpent suddenly become blind to all the bene-
fits attending their trading relations, with the
Empire ? Have the Barbarians them.‘;elves
been guilty of any greater contempt for the
■^on of Heaven or of any greater violations of
his edicts touching foreign dirt than they have
for the past twenty years? Where then
arises this sudden and loud clatter of edicts,
this more than ordinary activity of respecta-
ble functional ie.s not to he allayed even by
the accustomed bribe ? We .see things, hut

as through a glass darkly; yet a cau.se occurs
to me, and 1 know not how it has escaped
your attention, and that of your contempora-
nes, which accounts for these things. Mv
own Idea, and I should like to see it worked
out by persons more capable, and better in-
foiuned on suen points. is-That Russian
influence IS at the bottom of the lohole. The
eyes 0/ tlm great vulture are never for a mol
ment withdrawn from the affairs of the ea.st.

ink not that her astute Government is so
absurd as to contemplate a “ houra” upon
Bornbay or Calcutta. Russia knows that
whatever she may threaten, and her official
organs do threaten, her advance to the Indus
must be by sap and mine. The creeping
process of a siege with all its zig-zags, and
not a rush after the fashion of Attila or Ti-
moor. But in the meantime she mav make
our Indian Empire too costly to he worth the
hoidtng ; indeed, 1 look upon that as the na-
tuial termination of our dominion in the East.

he may embarrass our Commerce and our
Finances : all that is trouble and loss to us
IS gam to her.

In a memoir addressed to the Emperor by
one of his diplomatic agents, credit is taken
for Russian policy in contributing to those
Commercial disasters in this Country from
which we are but now recovering. Kuissia

ROADS IN INDIA.

619

has a College at Pekin. Do you imagine
that the students who affect to be lost in the
inteni^e delight of studying tlie language of
Tse have no other object in learning that
charming tongue than interpreting at fairs on
the Siberian frontier ? They are withdrawn
into Russia after remaining at Pekin five years
and replaced by new students. It would be
curious to see the information they carry away
as well as the instructions from the Autocrat
of all the Russias to the Freshman ! Be assur-
ed that there is no lack of Muscovite roubles
or Muscovite intrigue at Pekin ; and to what
object on earth is it so likely to be directed as
the embarrassment of the most formidable of
Russia's antagonists in Europe. In the last
number of the Port Folio which has reached
me, the attention of the British public is cal-
led to this very poir^t. Here, in collision as
we may almost say with the wolf of the north,
with only a border and debateable land be-
tween us, it behoves that we be doubly vigi-
lant.

Russia is adding two hundred thousand men
to her army. Prussia is her thrall. Austria
will not oppose her single-handed. France!
alas for France ! Louis Phillippe is her King,
■not by the grace of God. The German states
are ridden rough shod by Prussia andRussia ;
Spain is in convulsions ; Portugal a cypher.
England alone can be an object of fear to
Russia even for a moment. Her embarras-
ment, her distraction, those are the ob-
jects of Russian policy, and Russian policy
weaves its net of mingled perfidy and blood
and gold, from the tropics to the poles. One
great mesh is, to my mind, now looking up
in China. What would not the Muscovite,
no niggard paymaster, award to the fortunate
agents who should shatter the prosperity of
British Indian, and British European com-
merce in that Empire. Yea, shatter it only
for a moment : for in that very moment Nico-
las casts his glance around him, he sees Eng-,
land convulsed by the great contest of the
people and the Peers ; Ireland, her right arm,
paralized or menacing ; India crippled in her
resources through Fvussian diplomacy in China.
He sees these things — he cries march! and
without withdrawing a man from his vast de-
fensive force, two hundred thousand Scythians
defile before him on that ominous road where
.stands Catherine’s prophetic direction post,

To Constantinople!”

While Russia has a College in Pekin, we
should demand at the cannon’s mouth the
same privilege for Great Britain, and make
a similar use of it — well employed, it would be
worth a thousand Amhersts and Macartneys.”

ROADS IN THE EAST OF BENGAL
AND CACHAR.

The Benzal Herald of the 29th instant has
an article, by tire Reformer, on dL road from
Calcutta to Assam through the Cassiah Hills.
'I he information which it conveys is valuable,
but we fear that the locality through which
the route lies, will be found so unfavourable

for the construction of a durable road, that
the project must be postponed till other wants
of more immediate importance are supplied.
The whole of the tract of country vvhich lies
between the Megna and the Cassiah Hills
is so repeatedly intersected with streams, that
the construction of a road will be found an
object of no ordinary difficulty. During the
rains the road even between Dacca and the
Megna is impassable except by water. From
Dacca to Sylhet, during seven months of the
year, the dawk is conveyed in a little dingy,
and it is impossible to traverse that vast lagune
except in a boat. The whole surface of the
country is one sheet of water ; and the villages,
built on gentle elevations, have all the ap-
pearance of little islands studding a wide
ocean. The first instruction given to boys
and girls in that district is in the management
of the paddle ; and in some of the most com-
mercial towns, the passengers cross the streets
in little canoes. For a moment one might
almost fancy himself transported Venice and
surrounded with gondolas. Over a, country
of this, description, no road can be carried but
at an expense, which it would be unwise to
incur until there is a probability of greater
traffic than now exists.

The export of tea from Assam to Calcutta,
will, eventually, furnish the element of a large
commerce; but it is much to be doubted,
whether the tea merchants would not find it
more to their advantage to move down the
tedious and long-winding Berhampootur, than
to traverse the Cassiah Hills, with their bulky
chests. There are also some awkward tor-
rents which cross that route, and the descent
from Chairra to the plainswill of itself be
found a most formidable obstacle to the adop-
tion of this road for commercial purposes. At
present, moreover, those mountains are not
sufficiently peopled, and are too deficient in
draft cattle, to afford any adequate assistance
to any active commerce. But all our ideas
on the subject must for the present be neces-
sarily vague. The provinces on our eastern
frontier have hitherto been famed only for
their lime and oranges, and we are therefore
comparatively ignorant of the state and con-
dition of the country. If the tea trade should
assume any magnitude, a rapid and increased
intercourse will necessarily commence with
the metropolis, and thus constrain us to look
for the most expeditious and safest route to
Calcutta. One thing however is certain, that
if the tea plant be discovered to grow with
ease at Sadiya, and if we once acquire the
mystery of manipulation, the cultivation of
this plant will not long be confined to that re°
mote and almost inaccessible province. The
hills and mountains between Sylhet and
Munipore which lie much nearer to Calcutta
will soon be covered with tea gardens.

It is impossible to revert to these fair re-
gions without being strongly reminded of the
untimely removal of the individual, who re-
ceived charge of Cachar when it was a com-
parative desert, and turned it into a flou-
rishing province. The strict interpretation of
the new military law which prescribed the
number of officers who might be absent at

620

SPIRIT OF THE INDIAN PRESS.

one period from their corps, deprived that
country of the benefit of his services. All
those who were acguainted with its condi-
tion and its wants, felt at the time that
it was an unwise policy, which made the
greater object bend to the less, and re-
gaided the welfare of a whole people
as subordinate to the punctilious ob-
servation of a very questionable rule. The
former superintendent brought all his
energies to bear upon the improvement of this
interesting country ; but just at . the moment
when he might reasonably have looked for-
ward to the full realization of his benevolent
views, he was snatched fiom this scene of
usefulness, and buried in the dull routine of
regimental duty. We offer him many apolo-
gies for thus intruding this painful subject on
public attention, without his permission ; but
the exertions which he made to revive and re-
animate Cachar are historical facts, and as
such are in a measure public property ; and
we may, on this ground, plead an excuse for
this expression of sincere regret at the [pre-
mature termination of his labours. — Friend of
India, Februa ry 2.

IMPORTANT TO MARINERS.

The following is a translation of a notice
issued by the French Government, and is highly
important to Navigators.

Notice TO Navigators. — Navigators fre-
quenting the coasts of Coromandel are aware
that there exists at Porto Novo 10 leagues
South of Pondicherry, a smelting furnace, the
chimney of which is very lofty and throws
out from its summit a light so brilliant as to
be taken at times for a light-house.

They should be cautious of confounding
this light with the one at Pondicherry, or by
such a mistake they might touch the bank of
Coleroon for want of water.

At the northern point of the Bank, in four
fathoms, the chimney bears W. 59° N.

The best way of ascertaining whether they
have reached Pondicherry as Porto Novo is
after they have shaped their course to stand
in boldly to the shore and keep the lead going.
To the East and N. E. of the bank, the

soundings diminish rapidly, in'some places a
fathom at a cast.

In the neighbourhood of Pondicherry on
the other hand the soundings diminish gradu-
ally and uniformly.

The Bottom off the Coleroon bank is of
sand and good for anchorage, if the sea breeze
is not too strong.

Ibid. (SignedJA. Henry,

Lieut, of the Harbour Ship

MR. NIGHTINGALE THE NATURA.

LIST.

We understand that Mr. Nightingale, the
eminent n^tuialist, and Son of Sir John
Nightingale, Baionet, who arrived heie in
the Tigris, has proceeded to Kandy to prose-
cute his scientific researches into the natural
productions of the Island. Mr. Nightingale
is well known to the British public as the
Author of a delightful little volume “ Oceanic
Sketches.” We are informed that the col-
lection which he is at present making is in-
tended to enrich the Cabinet of the Duke of
Northumberland. — ColornboOhserver, Jan. 13.

NOTICE TO CORRESPONDENTS.

Scalpel’s communication will be very ac-
ceptible ; it shall be printed across as desired
and copies furnished. Mr. Hill’s communi-
cation has been mislaid ; we shall esteem it
a great favor if he will kindly send us a copy
for our next number. We have just re-
ceived Mr. Hodgson’s communication, In-
dication of a new genus of Insessores.

Dr. Forbes’ Topographical Report ofHid-
gelee shall appear in the next Medical Jour-
nal. Some valuable meteorological tables
will also appear.

To avoid double postage and the dis-
agreeable necessity of having their copies
returned to us, we shall feel obliged if our
subscribers will, immediately on change of
residence, inform us of their new address,.

THE INDIA REVIEW

OF WORKS ON SCIENCE,

AND

JOURNAL OF FOREIGN SCIENCE AND THE ARTS

EMBRACING

MINERALOGY, GEOLOGY, NATURAL HISTORY, PHYSICS, Ac.

REVIEW.

Memoir on the Geology of the Neelgherry
and Koondah Mountains. By P. M.
Benza, Esa. M. D. of the Madras
Medical Establishment.

On the Granitic Formation, and direc-
tion of the Primary Mountain Chains,
of Southern India. By Captain
James Allardyce, 23c? Regiment
Madras Native Infantry.

On the Tree which produces the Gam-
boge of Commerce. By R. Wight,
Esq., M, D. — Madras Journal of Li-
terature and Science, October, 1836.

We have just received two numbers of
this valuable periodical : they contain matter
of deep interest to the scientific reader and
afford striking proof that science is making
rapid strides in India. Dr. Benza’ s memoir
on the geology of the Neelgherry and Koon-
dah mountains contains matter of con-
siderable importance, of which we proceed
to give an outline. It opens with a de-
scription of the group of hills, called Neel-
gherries, and considered as the southern
termination of the western Ghauts, which at
this place end in abrupt, lofty, and almost
vertical precipices ; the extensive valley of
Coimbatore dividing them from the Paul-
ghaut chain, which, following the same
direction as the Ghauts, extends down to
Cape Comorin.

The Neelgherries form an elevated pla-
teau, projecting in an easterly direction, from
the line of the Ghauts, in the form of a
triangle, the base of which is the continua-
tion of the Ghauts themselves.

They rise abruptly from the table-land of
Mysore, in stupendous cliffs, with an ele-
vation of many thousand feet. Two rivers
encircle them, as it were, running round
their base. The Bowany river, rising in the
western side of the Koondah and among
the hills of that group, runs in an east-
erly direction along the foot of the outside
of the Neelgherries, and, just below the apex
of the triangle, it is joined by the Moyar,
which, together with the Pykarra, having
their origin in the Neddiwattum range pre-
cisely opposite the sources of the Bowany,
and making a sharp curve after leaving the
hills, runs an easterly course, joining the
Bowany at Danikancottah, and under that
name, after running about thirty miles, they
discharge their waters into the Cauvery.

The Neelgherries*, being the highest hills
in the whole of the peninsula, south of the
Himalaya, possess a greater degree of geo-

* “ The Neelgherry Hills are situated be-
tween the parallels of 11'’ 10' and 11® 32' N.
latitude, and 76'’ 59' and '37® 31’ E. longitude
from Greenwich ; their gr^^atest extent in an
oblique direction, from S. W. to N. E. is from
38 to 40 miles, and their extreme breadth 15;
taking in account the great undulations of the
surface, and the breadth above stated being
pretty constant throughout, their superficial
extent may be fairly estimated at from 6 to
700 square geographical miles,”— JSatArie’i Ob-
serrations an the Neelgherries.

622

THE CONTOUR OF THE ROCKS OF THE NEELGHERRIES.

logical interest than any other group in this
extensive region.

Their being almost in the middle of a
district, in which one of the most interesting
rocks in the Indian formations (the laterite)
is found developed in all its characteristic
features, adds not a little to their importance
in a geological point of view. On account
of their superior elevation, they ought to
be carefully e.xamiued by the geologist,
before he extends his researches to the other
parts of the chain, of which they form the
most elevated point. Dr. Benza says
that the experienced eye of the geolo-
gist can easily guess the nature of the
rock composing a hill ora system of hills, by
the simple inspection of its outlines : thus,
spiry peaks show the formation to be pri-
mitive ; rounded smooth outlines are indica-
tive of calcarious mountains ; while the
castellated ruin4ike appearance of a moun-
tain is proper to the sandstone formation.
Although the contour of the rocks
forming the Neelgherries is even, smooth,
rounded, and, as it were, undulating, the
fundamental rocks of which they are
composed belong to the primitive class.
Their outline resembles those hills and
eminences we meet in districts, resulting
from tertiary or alluvial deposits. What t})e
rock is, which gives those hills the rounded
form they exhibit, will be shewm hereafter.
With the exception of some vertical cliffs
and mural precipices, seen in the boundaries
of this elevated plateau, and a few project-
ing masses of the fundamental rocks on the
summits and declivities of these hills, the
whole group is uniformly covered by a thick
stratum of vegetable earth (No. 1*), which,
overlaying a thicker stratum of red earth
(to be described in the sequel), supports
numerous plants, chiefly grasses, which,
growing most luxuriantly in thick contigu-
ous tufts, give the surface a smooth carpet-
like appearance. This vegetable earth in
general is clay, and of a grey colour, and

* The figures refer to illustrative specimens
presented tor deposit in the Mineralogical
Cabinet of the Madras Literary Society -
Editor.

very friable. On this soil we occasionally
see small rounded pieces of the decomposed
subjacent rock, bestrewed particularly on
those spots where blocks of the decomposing
rocks are seen jutting through the soil.
This vegetable soil is replaced in the low
valleys and flats at the foot of the hills, by
a black soil, such as we frequently see form-
ing the peat-bog in swampy grounds, in
which a large quantity of vegetable matter is
being decomposed. This soil is of a black, or
deep browui colour; of tenacious consistence,
when moist ; crumbling into powder, and
often splitting into prismatic masses, when
dry. At first sight it resembles the black
soil of the plains of India. From this
last, however, it seems to differ greatly,
in containing a large quantity of carbona-
ceous matter, and much oxide of iron. To
deprive this black soil of the greater
portion of its humidity. Dr. Benza exposed
it to a heat, sufficient to melt lead, and,
after having weighed a certain quantity
of it, subjected it to an intense heat
for an hour ; after this, it had lost more
than 25 per cent, of the original w^eight, and
had changed into an ochrey red powder.
In many other localities the author
remarked a most luxuriant vegetation of
innumerable ferns, of which the roots
are seen decaying into a black powder.
Our author’s attention was greatly excit-
ed to see (at Kotagherry) those tubular
bodies traversing the thick stratum of black
earth, which overlays the yellow clay, with-
out having a particle of it in their composi-
tion. As if the roots, by a kind of capillary
attraction, sucked up through the black
soil, without mixing with it, the particles
of the yellow clay which, undisturbed by the
vicinity of the black soil, arranged them-
selves concentrically to the root ; and the
latter decaying has left the cavity of the
tube empty.

Immediately below the vegetable soil, in
almost all places, we find a stratum of de-
tritus (in general not above a few inches
thick), which is different in different loca-
lities, according to the nature of the rock

THE CHARACTER OF THE ROCK OF THE NEELGHERRIES,

623

on which it rests. Thus, it is ferruginous on
those places where iron ores are found ;
quartzy and silicious above the thick veins
of quartz, which intersect these rocks.
Below the detritus, in almost all places on
the hills, Dr. Benza found a thick stratum
of an ochreous red earth, which occasionally
assumes both the appearance and the com-
position of lithomarge, and for this reason
the author hereafter indiscriminiately deno-
minates it either lithomargic, or red earth.
In general, this red earth is of a mottled
colour, or streaked with different hues of
red, yellow, crimson, white, and grey or
brown. It feels unctuous to the touch, and
crumbles into dust when pressed between
the fingers. It does not form a paste with
water, but subsides to the bottom of the
vessel. The different colours of this earth
are separate and distinct, having a decided
line of demarcation, so as to show that they
are produced by the decomposition of
separate and distinct minerals. This red
lithomargic mould is evidently the result
of the decomposition of two of the rocks,
which almost exclusively form the Neel-
gherries ; viz. the sienitic granite, and the
hornblende rock, or primitive greenstone.
Dr. Benza, after visiting and examining
the summits of some of the highest hills,
found a variety of pegmatite forming many
of the most prominent rocks on them.
Such are the summits of Doodabetta, Elk
Hill, Kaitee pass, some of the peaks of the
Koondah, and probably many other places
which he did not visit. It is undoubtedly
to some of the erratic blocks and rolled
masses of this rock, or to the decomposition
of those beds of pegmatite, into which the
true granite of the high hills seems to pass,
that the porcelain earth is owing. Of these
blocks, still in an undecomposed state,
many are seen in the valley of Kaitee ;
derived, in all probability, from the
summit of Doodabetta, or from that of
the rock of Kaitee where the pegmatite is
seen in situ. Our author states that the por-
celain earth is not to be confounded with that
which results from the decomposition of the
pure felspar veins, so frequently seen in the

sienitic granite. He found it between two
large blocks of decomposing sienitic granite,
or rather hornblende rock, with garnets,
close to the bund of the lake. Alluding
to magnetic iron ore, he states that the
two places on the Neelgherries, where
he had seen this ore very rich in metal,
are, one near the village of Vartsigiri
(Kotagherry), and the other close to, and
traversing, the lake of Ootacamund in two
places. Tim specimen from Vartsigiri
is very compact and rich in metal. He
took it from a large block, probably the
outgoings of a thick bed at the southern
extremity of the valley, at the other end of
which tlie village stands. The appearance,
composition, and proportion of the ingre-
dients of this magnetic iron ore are very
different in different places ; nay, in the
same vein. Dr. Benza mentions that it
is the belief of some people, that owing to
the similarity of the rocks, of the detritus,
and of the quartz veins, of the Malabar
coast, and of these hills, gold may be found
in this last, as well as in the former. Iron
ores are so common on these hills, independ-
ently of the oxides of that metal contained
in the minerals forming the rock, that many
springs of water are of the chalybeate class=^.
The next species of iron ore on the Neei-
gherries is the hrematitic, forming immense
beds, and sometimes whole hillocks, among
the hornblende rocks, and sienitic granite.
The most extensive formation of this
hsematitic ii’on ore is seen on both sides of
what Sir F. Adam calls Scotland Valley. t

The rock of the Neelgherries is by no
means so cavernous, and has not so many
tubular sinuosities as 'the laterite of the
Carnatic, Northern Circars, &c. ; it seems
also to be richer in metal, and, what appears
to constitute a marked difference, it is en-
tii’ely divested of any quartz, or sandy par-
ticles, which abound so much in the laterite
of other places. Dr. Benza alludes to the
opinion of Dr. Heyne, that in the laterite

* Baikie’s Observations on the Neelgherries,
page 14;.

+ Sir Frederick Adam, Governor of Marlras,
called it i>y that, name, on acco\mt. of a vesf^m-
blance he saw in it to some place in Scotland.

624

VEINS OF TITANIFEROUS IRON ORE.

of the Red Hills, Nellore, &c. a marl or
carbonate of lime is occasionally one of
the ingredients ; no traces of this carbonate
are found in the stone of the Neelgherries.
That this rock of the Neelgherries is to be
classed with hsematitic iron ore, rather than
with the true Indian laterite (an overlaying
rock), is very probable, considering that
rocks similar in appearance to it are found
in Europe, while the last is peculiar to
India. Hitherto no organic remains have
been found in this rock on the Neelgherries,
which appears also to have been the case with
thelaterite ofthe otherparts of the peninsula.
Under the name of laterite two, or rather
three, sorts of rocks are included ; to say
nothing of the common mistake of misap-
plying the name to the decomposed rocks of
the primitive class, or to any other that has
a red, ochreous colour, and softish consist-
ence. The third species, which abounds all
along the intervening land, from the foot of
the western Ghauts to near the sea-shore,
resembles very much the modified haemati-
tic iron ore (not the pisiform), being
cavernous, not tubular, abounding with
quartz pieces and sand ; having not only
the cavities lined with powdery felspar, but,
in the compact portion of the rock, having
small pieces of the same mineral in the
compact state. Dr. Benza is not positive
regarding the existence of manganese on
these hills. Colonel Cullen says, that it is
found mixed in the iron ore near the lake.

Dr. Benza found a straggling piece of this
ore in the valley of Kaitee, which he has
not analysed, but which has the external
characters of one. True granite, composed
of felspar, quartz, and mica, is not of rare
occurrence ; it frequently occupies the sum-
mits of the highest hills : thus it is seen in
some of the Koondah range, and of the
Doodabetta group ; Dr. Benza never saw it,
except in the form of erratic blocks, in the
low valleys. The sieuitic granite varies in the
proportion of its component minerals, and
therefore in appearance ; it sometimes ap-
proaches diabase (primitive greenstone), and
at others, granite. It almost always contains
garnets as one of the minerals composing

it ; and when this mineral is abundant in
the rock, the quartz diminishes in proportion.
In some places, the garnets, instead of be-
ing either amorphous, or in angular crystal-
lized pieces, assume the granular form, re-
sembling colophonite ; in which case, the
rock containing it assumes a stratified ap-
pearance, and at others being lamellar, and
of the dodecahedral species ; in this case, it
resembles cinnamon-stone, or essonite.
Descending from the Kaitee pass towards
the valley, after the second turn of the road
and not a hundred yards from the huge
mass which overhangs the road. Dr. Benza
came upon a thick vein of quartz, intersecting
it nearly in an east and west direction ; and,
on examination, he saw that it contained
numerous veins of titaniferous iron ore.

The rounded oblong hill, on the sides of
which the new road is constructed, and
which is intersected by the vein of titani-
ferous iron ore, is formed of the granitic rock,
which prevails in all the eastern range of
Kaitee ; viz. an unstratified rock, composed
of four minerals in genei’al, hornblende,
granite, felspar, and quartz, occasionally,
in some masses, a few plates of mica.

The vein of quartz appears to extend
from the eastern to the western nullahs ;
and, although protruding in the eastern
side of the hill, it does not reach so high
as the surface of the convex summit of the
hill. Dr. Benza found in the western
nullah some straggling pieces of the same ore.
The breadth of this titaniferous vein is
250 ordinary paces, measured in the cut of
the road ; and, although evidently unstrati-
fied, yet, in some of the masses, particularly
those in which there are many veins of the
ore, it puts on an appearance of stratifica-
tion. In general the composition of the
vein is this — the quartz is granular, and,
when mixed with a great quantity of the ore,
becomes friable, crumbly, and full of little
cavities, the greatest number of which are
full of an ochreous, or yellowish earth.
But the same rock, in other parts of the
vein, assumes a great degree of hardness,
although having the same appearance as
the friable one, but with less metal. The

THE WATERFALL OF KAITEE.

625

titaniferous iron is contained in thin rami-
fications through the quartz; in some
places alternating in laminar plates of cer-
tain thickness with it ; in others in thin
strata by itself. It is sometimes seen like a
black, shining varnish over the surface of
the stones ; but, chiefly, in thin veins tra-
versing the rock not exceeding a few lines’
thickness. Occasionally, between the metal
and the quartz, in the seam, there are little
irregular cavities, the metallic side being
lined sometimes with a most brilliant green,
precisely the colour and brilliancy of oxide
of uranium ; at others, golden, scarlet, red,
or, lastly, it has a jet black, velvety enduit.
The titaniferous iron has a semi-conchoi-
dal fracture — the lustre is adamantine, and,
in some of the specimens, glimmering — it
scratches glass — alone it is infusible before
the blowpipe, but forms with borax a reddish
globule, in which the particles of the metal
are still seen, changed into the same colour
— not magnetic, even after the action of the
blowpipe. These two last qualities, toge-
ther with the probability of its containing
uranium, would make this metal approach
to nigrine or iserine, more than to menacca-
nite. Judging by what we see in the bank
of the road, this metal cannot be scanty in
quantity. In this locality our author also
found two pretty large loose pieces of an
iron ore apparently different ; fracture
scaly — it shines brilliantly — is powerfully
magnetic, and looks like chromate of iron.
Descending into the hollow, at the head of
Kaitee Valley, Dr. Benza found numerous
large masses of a granitic rock, in which it is
interesting to observe some portions of them
entirely composed of sienite, and others of
regular granite ; in both kinds the felspar
being red. Many other masses (loose) were
formed of a fine grained greenstone,
which, when struck, rung powerfully.
To finish the description of the whole
valley of Kaitee, it only remains to say
a few words, regarding the tract which ex-
tends from the farm to the waterfall. This
cascade is about four miles from the farm,
and is formed by a small river, resulting
from the waters of the valley . This valley^
although undulated with numerous eminences

and hillocks, offers a very poor field for the
geologist, their surface being uniformly
covered by a thick stratum of red earth, and
all rocks and asperities in the formations
concealed beneath this stratum, which gives
them all a tame, smooth aspect. Following
the course of the river, within a quarter of a
mile of the waterfall, we meet with immense
tabular masses, slightly convex, of horn-
blende slate, scarcely above the level of the
soil, over the middle of which the water of
the river flows. The strata are nearly ver-
tical at this place, and the water has cut a
passage in them, making a kind of trough.
This has not been effected by the mere
erosion of the rock by the water, but by
its displacement in the following way.
On arriving at the waterfall, the ledges
forming the steps, down which the water
precipitates itself, are clearly stratified ;
there are two cascades, a very romantic
parterre intervening between the two. It
seems that this last spacious ledge is formed
by immense tabular masses, or strata, placed
in a horizontal position ; while those, which
recede perhaps a hundred feet back, and
then rise abruptly two hundred feet or more,
forming the walls of the first fall, are verti-
cal, and in them there is an excavation,
similar to the one already described ; its
depth being ten feet, but its length not ex-
ceeding one half of the former ; specimen
is from its side, which is the usual horn-
blende slate. The rock which prevails in
the Kaitee range, as well as in other places,
is the one which abounds with hornblende
and amorphous garnets. These last some-
times are of a large size, and not dispersed
through the rock, but, as it were, in nests.
Although this primitive greenstone is.
occasionally seen on the summit of some
hills, in general it occupies the declivities
or the lowest parts of them ; and it often
assumes a brilliant, laminar crystallization,
being then exclusively formed of hornblende.
Dr. Benza has seen it passing into horn-
blende slate at the foot of the Neelgherries,
at the bottom of the Koonoor pass. Going
from Ootacamund, towards this Seven
Kairn’s hUl, a few hundred paces before
the junction of these two rivers, a little to

626

KOONOOR— DYKE OF BASA-LT.

the right of the path, our author perceived a
small knoll, forty or fifty feet above the level
of the river, extending from the S. W. On
the uppermost convexity of this knoll, are
erected two enclosures for cattle, now
probably deserted, no human habitation,
for miles round the place, being seen.
The floor of these enclosures is formed
by an immense ledge of rock, which, in their
interior, is level with the soil, and on the
outside, rises a few inches above it. The
rock appears unstratified, at least what is
visible of it, and its composition is the fol-
lowing : lamellar garnets, some of them half
an inch in diameter, which have the
appearance of the dodecahedral species of
that mineral — cinnamon-stone, or essonite.
Of all these minerals it seems that the
cinnamon-stone is the most liable to decom-
pose, or disintegrate ; since we see, in some
parts of the surface of the mass, small cavi-
ties, in consequence of the falling out of
the disintegrated crystals of this mineral.
This rock is very compact, exceedingly
heavy, and takes a brilliant polish.

In the Koonoor pass, not more than a
mile from the bridge down the pass, and just
below the village of Koonoor, in the road,
many of the blocks which have been blasted,
are traversed by a dyke of basalt. This
basalt is very compact ; has a dull, even
fracture ; but, in one portion of the dyke,
Dr. Benza, had the opportunity of observing
that the part which was in contact with the
granite had the appearance of a crystalline
hornblende, which passed into compact
hard basalt towards the centre of the dyke.
Another enormous dyke of this rock is
seen in the chain of hills which connects
Doodabetta with Kaitee pass. The summit
of the hill, which is between’ those two
mountains, is formed of basalt in huge
masses, some of which affect the prismatic
figure. In general the large blocks are not
so compact as the thin ramifications of the
dyke traversing the rock, but the horn-
blende in the former is nearly granular and
shining, somewhat approaching primary
greenstone. About two miles from Ootaca-
mund, along the Neddiwattum road, there

is a small rivulet, close to the road, the
first met in this direction. A basaltic
dyke, like a ledge, half in the water
and half out, is seen in an oblique po-
sition, N. E. and S. W. dipping north.
On ascending to the summit of this hill,
which extends in the usual rounded form
eastward, we see that it is entirely formed
of basalt, in a dyke probably a diramation
of that of the rivulet, and extends all along
the small ridge for nearly a quarter of a mile.
Basaltic dykes are not rare in those pla-
ces, which Dr. Benza had an opportunity
of visiting in the plains of India. He has
seen them through granite and gneiss in
Mysore ; through porphyry, near the euritic
hill of Pallicondah ; through hornblende
slate, near Mateepolliam ; through por-
phyry, near Garabunda (Northern Circars),
and in many other places. Following
the Koondah road, in less than a mile
we come upon the continuation of the
magnetic iron ore, which, intersecting the
lake, extends to this place, very much alter-
ed in appearance and composition, looking
more like a stratified ferruginous sandstone,
than the continuation of the metallic vein
near the lake, many of the strata being con-
torted and waving and containing hardly
any metal. Descending from the eastera
Koondah pass, and crossing the field, a little
knoll is seen, traversed by a basaltic dyke in
an east and west direction ; it is flanked
by, and has burst through, sienitic granite,
crossing the road : on ascending the
ridge opposite to the Avalanche, this land-
slip comes at once to view. There has
evidently been no sinking of the land in the
declivity of the hill; but it seems that a thick
stratum of the rock, lying almost vertically
on the declivity of the hill and between
which and another the present rivulet runs,
whose waters having undermined the stra-
tum (which might have overlaid thick beds
of clay, the result of the decomposed rock),
the w’eight of the superincumbent mass,
together with the almost vertical position of
the stratum, made it slip — hurling rock,
soil, and jungle into the valley below, leav-
ing a deep ravine, bounded to the north by
a mural precipice of undecomposed rock„

llAGNIFICENT SCENERY.

627

some hundred feet high, and to the south by
the remainder of the declivity, which is seen
undisturbed in its place, having the same la-
titude as the opposite boundary. On as-
cending the Ghaut, the view from all points
of the ascent is described as really grand. Dr.
Benza does not recollect having seen any-
where such a wild, yet magnificent, spectacle
as the ravine formed by the tw'o hills — the one
of the Avalanche chain, the other one of the
eastern range of the Koondahs. The thick
impervious jungle, extending its whole
length, occupies also the lower half of the
steep declivity of both the hills, and is then
succeeded by the usual carpet-like covering
of dense turf, which extends to the very pin-
nacles of their prodigious altitudes. While
ascending this pass, at every turn of the
road a most striking and. superb coup
ff’ceeYpresentsitself — the nearly vertical side
of the Avalanche hill, with its precipitous
battlement-like summit — the enormous

prismatic masses, three or four in number,
bursting, as it were, through the turf-cover-
ed soil of the steep declivity of the hill ;
one of which, in particular, looks like a
huge martello- tower stuck to the nearly ver-
tical side of the mountain — while the mag-
nificent ravine to the left completes the
striking view before us. This assemblage
of wild and grand objects cannot but pro-
duce sensations of wonder and admiration.
On arriving at the gorge of the pass, of
course the view’, becoming more expanded
and enlarged, has a superior degree of beau-
ty, particularly that of the extensive undu-
lated tableland, of which the Doodabetta
group to the east, and the Koondah and
Himigala ranges to the west, are the bound-
aries. '1 he expression undulated table-land
is used, because such is the appearance
of that tract of the country, seen from
such a height, although many of these
apparent undulations have thousands of
feet of elevation. The rock composing
the Avalanche hill is hornblende slate in
the declivities, w^hich passes into sienitic
granite, and to true granite at the summit,
with much mica. In ascending from the
bungalow to the gorge, Dr. Beuza observed

basaltic dykes, in more than one place,
and thick beds of pegmatite. But when
ascending from the gorge to the summit of
the Avalanche hill, the greatest number
of the projecting rocks was granite, mica
having entirely replaced hornblende. In
the opposite hill of the Himigala range,
is seen a pretty cascade, which, although
of no great dimensions, j^et, having such stu-
pendous scenery as a back ground, and the
water precipitating itself down eleven steps
formed by the strata of hornblende slate,
making as many cascades, has, if not a
grand, at least a romantic effect. Judg-
ing from the numerous rolled masses of
basalt in the bed of the Koondah river,
into which the cascades fall, trap must be
of frequent occurrence in these hills which
join the Avalanche with the Himgala range.

Descending a mile along the banks of the
Koondah river, the traveller joined the new
road. Itsfoot, facing the Avalanche, is washed
by a small river, the protruding rocks in the
bed ofwhich are granite, are composed of fel-
spar, golden mica, and a little smoky quartz.
It is a fine-grained rock, of a greyish black
colour on account of the dark hue of the
quartz. Half way up the hill are three large
basaltic blocks, implanted in the soil, the
fracture of which is glimmering, on account
of the numerous needle-shaped crystals
of augite entering into its composition. In
more than one place thick beds of black
soil underlay the vegetable mould, on the
declivities of hills, and always in the low
valleys. Five or six miles from the eastern
Ghaut, we come to a round backed hill, all
formed of the lateritic iron ore, precisely si-
milar to that in other localities on these hills.
Descending this hill, the author came to a val-
ley, which, on account of its great length, is
called Long Valley. The greater number of
blocks jutting above the soil (at this side of
the Koondahs the hills have the same round-
ed appearance as those of the Neelgherries),
on both sides of the valley, are schistous
diorite, mixed with many others which are
granitic, composed of the three usual mine-
rals. The rocks from this place to Sispara
are granite, decomposing and decomposed.

628

MOUNTAINS OF CEYLON AND WESTERN GHAUTS.

We have thus given an abstract of Dr.
Benza’s paper and shall resume our notice
of it in our next.

We proceed to give an abstract of the
next article by Capt. Allardyce.

The circumstance most remarkable in
the INDIAN GRANITE FORMATION
is perhaps the great prevalence of that kind
of rock called primitive trap, greenstone,
or hornblende rock ;* * it does not form,
as in other countries, patches of limited
extent, but surrounds and intersects the
whole peninsula ; it seems to have its regu-
lar place among the granitic strata, with
which it is confluent at the line of junction,
passing gradually from green to red and
white felspar rocks : it generally cuts off
and terminates all the other granites. Pos-
sessing this character, it may be considered
the oldest rock here unfolded in the gra-
nitic series ; for if the primitive mountains
are the subverted fragments of a formerly
horizontal crust, which all observation and
experience tend to prove, then, according to
the laws of subversion that prevail in the
more recent formations, the stratum found
encompassing the others will be that which
was earliest formed and originally under-
most in the series.

The primitive trap, together with its as-
sociate the small-grained sienitic granite, is
by far the most extensive and continuous of
the Indian rocksf. On the western coast

♦ The Palaveram rock is a good example of
the primitive trap: being nearly allied to
sienitic granite, it appears to be sometimes
distinguished by the same name ; it has been
called also primitive greenstone, hornblende
rock, and gneiss when distinctly stratified.
The composition is, in most cases, at least two
thirds felspar, of a bottle green colour, or
usually some shade of green, which changes to
a light sandstone hue in decomposition; mica,
quartz, garnet, hornblende, and schorl also
occur, but in minor proportions, the essential
ingredient being felspar. In the western
Ghauts near Goa this trap consists of a paste
of bluish grey felsiiar with scarcely any other
ingredient, perhaps the distinguishing mark
of trap that will apply most generally is its
difiference in texture from granite ; the one
being a compact vitrious paste, the other a
more freely granulated compound.-.in this
sense the term is here used, for any defini-
tion founded on origin or manner of eruption
will not hold good with regard to the primi-
tive traps.

+ If sienitic granites are to be distinguished
by the presence of hornblende, it will be found
that, according to the present unlimited appli-

it seems to extend uninteruptedly from Surat
to Cape Comorin, or rather to Ceylon, for
the mountains there appear to be of the same
character as the western Ghauts, and are
besides nearly on the same line. From
Ootacamund to the N. E., at least as far as
Madras, this rock extends in full character;
but does not constitute the mass of the
eastern Ghauts at Nakanary, which in this
respect differs from the western chain. The
mountains of the Northern Circars are said
to form a very continuous and well-defined
range of trap hills, but elsewhere in the line
of eastern Ghauts, or between Salem and the
Kistnah, the strata appear to be of various
kinds. Connecting the western Ghauts at
Surat with the eastern at Balasore or Ram-
ghur, is the Vyndiah range also of this trap :
so that the trap or green felspar rock appears
to surround the peninsula on every side.
Numerous similar and smaller chains cross
the interior, generally in a direction S. W.
and N. E. Travelling westward from Pala-
veram, where green felspar prevails, we do
not again meet with the same rock until
reaching the western Ghauts on the opposite
coast. The identity of the Palaveram rock
with that of the western Ghauts, the dis-
similarity of the eastern range at Nakanary,
and the non-occurrence of the green granite
in the intermediate space, are circumstances
indicative of a particular arrangement.

The direction of stratification at Oota-
camund, on all the hills near the canton-
ment, is W. S. W.* at Trichinopoly the
same, and at Nakanary not very different.
The lines of stratification cross the Ghauts
diagonally at Nakanary, or, perhaps more

cation of the word, there is scarcely a granite
in this part of India that might not be included
as sienitic : but, if we regard them simj)ly as
intermediate between granite and trap, it is
better at present, for the sake of perspicuity,
to drop the dubious term sienitic granite, and
pass on to the trap, which will include the
granites next to it having a close texture and
vitrious aspect.

• An exception to this occurs on the north
side of the cantonment where the direction of
a piece of gneiss or rather trap more strati-
fied than usual runs N. and S. and has fallen
besides to an angle of 45'^., the dip being to
the westward. This fragment includes at
least three small hills, the convexity and ex-
foliation of which have the usual direction
with regard to the horizon, and are not influ-
enced by tbe oblique position of the rock.

IGNEOUS ROCKS IN THE SOUTHERN PART OP THE PENINSULA. 629

strictly speaking, the line of fracture running
N. and S. crosses diagonally the lines of
stratification. We see from this that there
are mountain ranges having their stratifica-
tion parallel with their direction, and others
having it oblique ; it will follow also that if
disruption take place across lines of subvert-
ed strata, a variously composed ridge will
be the result ; whereas, if the dislocation
proceed parallel with the subverted strata,
there will be in consequence a continuity
of the same rock elevated. This is a rule
that will be found to hold good in most
cases as applied to primitive strata, and,
where secondary ranges occur, the subjacent
rock is more to be considered as the true
mountain ridge than the overlaying crust.
The Gujunder Ghur hills, for example,
although a sandstone range, are based on
granite ; owing their superior elevation to
the rising of the granite underneath : an-
other example is the sandstone of the Nag-
gery hills. It has been remarked that while
the primitive trap ranges, with the exception
of that on the western side (namely, the
Ghauts), have a tendency N. E. and S. W.,
inferior ranges supporting secondary strata
run more N. and S. — it requires observation
to prove how far this is the case.

Throughout the southern part of the
peninsula, igneous rocks greatly prevail,
there being scarcely a trace of aqueous
strata ; and among the primitive rocks
clay-slate is wanting, although it is found
in abundance further north : in certain
places clay-slate and limestone tracts, of
the transition series, are of vast extent, and,
considering the almost invariable presence
of valuable metallic ores in such districts,
they are not the least interesting in a com-
mercial point of view.

In the Konkan north of G-oa the elevation
of the Ghauts is clearly pointed out as sub-
sequent to the formation of laterite ; the
table-land is covered with a thick crust of
this substance, as well as the lower level of
the Konkan ; and hills, which appear rising
from the low ground as detached portions
of the table-land, are flat-topped, with a
crust of the same laterite, while their slopes,

like the general escarpment of the Ghauts,
are covered only with a loose debris.

The Carnatic, and several other similar
tracts, occurring along both coasts, are, as
granitic plains, surprisingly level : the slight
tertiary diluvium with which they are co-
vered, cannot be considered as a principal
cause of this uniformity, for the rock itself
is everywhere found near the surface ; every
appearance here indicates that the granitic
formation has at one time been a great
deal more flat than it is generally understood
to have been. The Neeigherries rise from
a plain nearly as level as the Carnatic, and
their summit bears evident marks of having
been once on a level with the Mysore and
Coimbatore plains. Like elevated regions
in other parts of the world, the Neeigher-
ries shew also traces of a diluvial current ?
that is, the gravel and loam are arranged in
such a manner as could only take place by
deposit from water ; the gravel being lowest
in a thin stratum by itself, with the lighter
loam covering it, to the thickness of several
feet, and without gravel. The carbonaceous
black cotton soil occurs here as on the
plain, and it is found under the general
gravel line as well as above, shewing it to
have been lodged among the broken strata,
before the passage of the later diluvial cur-
rent over the surface : the indications are
that this current has passed before the hills
attained their present elevation, which last
seems an event so recent, as to be only an-
terior to the formation of kankar. As no
secondary strata occur near the Neeigher-
ries, none need be expected on their sum-
mit ; but, on the eastern Ghauts at Naggery,
sandstone is found, and serves to point out
that the hills there have been elevated since
the sandstone period. It is probable that
the other parts of the Ghauts havejbeen
raised about the same time : every thing
tends to show that the elevation of these
ranges is a comparatively recent event.

Geologically viewing these chains in
conjunction with the table-land, it appears
that the surface, nearly as far to the east-
vrard as Salem, has been forced to a con-
siderable height, with the Cauvery ranges

630

THE GAMBOGE OF COMMERCE.

for its boundary ; but beyond this it breaks
short of the trap ranges, and the dislocation
runs north, through the interior of the basin
or compartment, towards Nakanary. The
fracture, in this instance, departs from its
usual course, and excludes the northern part
of the Carnatic from the level of the table-
land. The eastern Ghauts preserve nearly
the same character, until reaching the lati-
tude of the Naggery hills, where green fel-
spar strata again occur. The connection of
these with the Ghauts might be determined
by taking their direction ; as long as the
direction of the strata continues E. and W.,
while that of the ghauts is N. andS., a pro-
gressive change or succession of strata may
be looked for : and different rocks, which
originally had nothing to connect them into
a mountain chain, receive, by cross fracture,
the new character of elevation in a common
line.

Of the Himalayan chain we are told that
the principal valleys are perpendicular to its
direction, running N. E. and that the es-
carpments are generally on the N. W. side,
while the S. E. is shelving ; but we are en-
tirely ignorant regarding the direction of
strata, whether the chain in its progress
crosses many different kinds of rock in suc-
cession, or whether there are continuous
rocks of anyone kind extending from Bootan
to Cashmere. Gneiss is said to be the
most predominant of the primitive rocks, and
strange to say ‘‘ gneiss reigns paramount in
the Andes” : the fact seems to be that all
granite, when fully exposed to view in large
masses, is more or less stratified ; and hence
is as liable to be called gneiss as granite.
Much of this gneiss may on comparison
prove the same as our primitive trap, which
appears to be a very widely extended rock,
for green granite is mentioned as entering
into the composition of the Hindoo Koosh.

The next paper we shall quote is on
remarks on the TREE WHICH PRO-
DUCES THE GAMBOGE OF COM-
MERCE ill consequence of the following
observations on it, by Dr. Graham, Profes-
sor of Botany in Edinburgh, communicated
by him in a letter dated I2th March, 1836.

“In consequence of having received spe-
cimens from Mrs. Walker of the tree
which in Ceylon jnelds gamboge, I have
been attending to the subject lately, and, on
Monday last, read some observations to the
Royal Society (of Edinburgh) about it. I
have been obliged to dissent wholly from
Arnott and you, that it is the Xanthochy-
mus ovalifolius, and Arnott now agrees with
me so far, but he has fallen into at least as
great a blunder. It is undoubtedly, as I
think, the Garcinia (Mangostana Goert.)
morella of Desrousseaux and Goertner.
Arnott now thinks it Garcinia Zeylanicttf
which it cannot be, if Roxburgh describes
this with any degree of truth. In fact the
Garcinia morella, which I have said it is, is
no Garcinia. Murray says the tree is Sialag-
mitis Cambogioides, but his description will
not apply to my plant, from which I have
a great quantity of excellent gamboge. I
have sent a specimen to Mr. Don to request
that he will compare it with the specimens
in the Bankean Herbarium, from which
Murray’s description was taken. If the
same, the generic name Stalagmitis may
yet be retained, and the description only
altered. If not the same, it must form the
type of a new genus, to which I find Garci-
nia elliptica of Wallich also belongs ; it
is especially characterized by the stamens, of
of which 1 send you a figure.”

The point on which Dr. Graham finds it
necessary wholly to dissent from us is thus
briefly stated at page 102 of the Pro-
dromus. “ Thei’e can now be little doubt
of this (Xanthochymus ovalifolius) being
the only plant in Ceylon that yields gam-
boge fit for the arts, and that consequently
the specific name of Gambogia gulta Linn,
ought to have been applied to this species
and not to Garcinia Gambogia)''

The evidence contained in Dr. Graham’s
letter seems so completely to invalidate the
correctness of our statement, that it might
appear useless to attempt any refutation ;
yet I am not satisfied that he is either whol-
ly right, or that we are wholly wrong. I
do not think him right in considering the
tree of which he has got specimens, as the
only one that produces gamboge fit to be
used in the arts, nor do I think it is the one
which produces the true Ceylon gamboge.
I do not think so, because it has been long
and well known, that there are two sorts in
use, one from the eastward, Siam,Cambogia,
China ; and the other from Ceylon : the lat-
ter considered inferior to the former. The
gamboge, from the tree in question, speci-
mens of which I have seen, is apparently of
the best quality, and much superior to the
common Cej^lon gamboge, having a fine,
rather light, colour and glassy fracture. The

THE GAMBOGE OF COMMERCE.

631

true Ceylon gamboge is darker coloured,
and mixed with dark brown spots. The
Ceylon tree which produces the fine gam-
boge is rare, as Colonel Walker informs me
he has only met with it in one place, and
that an old garden near a former Dutch set-
tlement, not far from Negombo, It cannot
surely be supposed that a tree, so exceedingly
rai'e as this is represented, can be the one
which affords all the gamboge produced in
that island, still less so when it is borne in
mind, thatthat obtained from it differs in qua-
lity from that usually produced there, and
known in commerce under the name of
“ Ceylon gamboge.” From thesefacts I think
we are entitled to conclude,that Dr. Graham
has drawn a wide inference from insufficient
data, or, in other words, has attempted to
form a general rule from a solitary example.

1 do not, however, wish it to be supposed,
that I insist on our statement being held
strictly correct, because a degree of uncer-
tainty attaches to the tree or trees from
which this substance is procured, that all
the efforts of botanists for the last century
have been unable altogether to remove ; all
that I have attempted, or indeed wish to
prove is, first — that facts adduced by Dr.
Graham are not sufficient to invalidate our
position, that the Xanthochymus ovalifo-
lius is the only, indigenous plant in Ceylon
that produces gamboge fit to be used in the
arts ; though I fear, from further enquiries,
that we were premature in hazarding so
strong a statement ; and secondly — that the
tree, from which Dr. Graham’s specimens
were procured, is of exotic origin. I shall
now attempt to account for the appearance
in the island of that tree which is- neither a
Garcinia nor Xanthochymus.

About the beginning of the 17th century,
the Dutch first imported gamboge into Eu-
rope from China, and, not long after, they
expelled the Portuguese from Ceylon, and
formed setlements of their own there, which
they retained until near the end of the 18th
century. Is it at all unreasonable to sup-
pose, that, in the course of that long period,
they should endeavour to procure from their
own territories a lucrative article of com-
merce, in place of having to purchase from
others all, of the finer sorts, required for
their European trade t If not, we may
readily suppose they imported the plants
above referred to, and which have remained
unnoticed by the English, until Colonel
Walker accidentally discovered them about
two years ago, in just such a situation as one
might expect to find introduced trees, name-
ly, in a garden close by a Dutch settlement.

A most interesting discovery it is, since it
seems to prove that they are of exotic origin,

that the soil and climate are suitable for its
growth and propagation, and leaves room
to infer, that it might be introduced with
success on the west coast, at least, of India,
the climate of which corresponds in many
respects with that of the south-west coast of
Ceylon ; and, lastly, because, it, in part at
least, sets this long agitated question at rest,
by making us acquainted with the probable
source of the best gamboge used in the arts.

Botanically considei'ed, this plant presents
some points of considerable interest, which
may be the means of directing more of the
attention of botanists to the peculiarities .
of the order to which it belongs, than it has
hitherto received.

Dr. Graham shows that his plant is not a
Xanthochymus., neither is it a Garcinia, and,
unless there is an error in the description,
that it cannot be a Stalagmitis, but that it
forms a new genus, essentially characterised
by its stamens, the filaments of which are
united into a single square column, and the
anthers one-celled, opening at the apex by
a calyptra, or lid, in place of two-celled,
bursting longitudinally, as in all the other
genera of guttiferce ; characters amply suffi-
cient to separate it from every other genus
of the order.

To the conviction expressed that this new
genus is undoubtedly Goertner’s Mangostana
morella, I can offer no objection, as I am
altogether unacquainted with that plant,
except through the figure, and because Dr.
Graham has not stated the evidence on
which he grounds this conclusion ; but if it
should prove correct, I must acknowdedge it
goes far to establish the fact of its being a
native of Ceylon, and, consequently, that the
juice of it, as well as of other trees, maybe
drawn for gamboge as that of Garcinia pic-
tor ea ’^Roxb. Another member of this new
genus is in Malabar.

Here the question must for the present
rest ; as it can only be finally decided by
reference to authentic specimens of the plant
described by the older botanists (who usually
paid much attention to useful plants), as the
“ Arbor Indica Gummi Gutiam fundens,”
and which has now been bandied about from
species to species, till it seems to have multi -
plied itself into about half a dozen different
trees ; but I trust that Ceylon botanists will
now be induced to take up the subject in ear-
nest, and ascertain, by actual inspection and
the preservation of specimens, the tree, or
trees, for there may be several, from which
its gamboge is derived, and further to deter-
mine whether the trees, which have given
rise to this fresh agitation of the question,
are of indigenous or exotic origin.

632

THE GAMBOGE OF COMMERCE

While writing on the subject, I shall avail
myself of the opportunity to offer a few ob-
servations on the essential characters of the
genera, named in the above remarks, name-
ly Garcinia, Cambogia, Mangostana, Sfa~
lagmifis, and ^ant?iochginus ; with, the view
of directing attention to some points of
structure, which, it appears to me, have not
been sufficiently attended to in the construc-
tion of these genera, giving rise, in conse-
quence, to much confusion and uncertainty
as to the species that ought respectively to
belong to them.

In 1737, Linnseus published his genus
Garcinia, formed from Rumphius’ Mangos-
tana, assigning as its essential character 16
stamens (Doclecandria) and an eight-seeded
berry. In 1748, he published, in his Flora
Zeylanica, Cambogia, assigning to it numer-
ous stamens (Polyandria) and a pomacious,
eight-celled and eight-seeded fruit. Pomum
8-loculare, semina (i. e. in each cell,) soli-
taria. In 1789, Professor Murray of Got-
tingen published his genus Stalagmitis, as-
signing to it a quaternary proportion of sepals
and petals, pentadelphous stamens, and
a one-celled, three-seeded berry. In 1791,
G(Krtner attempted, from an examination
of the fruit of three species, to reform the
Linnean genera, and, on carpologicai charac-
ters, united Garcinia and Cambogia under
Eamphius’ name Mangostana, assigning to
his new genus a quaternary proportion of
parts, indefinite stamina, and a four to
eight-seeded berry. This genus, with the
exception of the name, has been adopted by
all succeeding writers. In 1798, Roxburgh
published his Xanthochymus (Cor. PL),
well distinguished from the former by its
quinary proportion of parts ; five sepals, five
petals, five fascicles of (pentadelphous) sta-
mens, and an unequal (three to five) S'Ceded
berry. The characters of all these gene-
ra, it may be observed, are, with the excep-
tion of the last, incomplete, owing to the
authors having overlooked their polygamous
inflorescence, and neglected to avail them-
selves of the peculiarities of the male flower ;
an imperfection not felt, so long as every
plant of the order, with a quaternary propor-
tion of organs, was referred to Garcinia,
but to which, now that a new genus is add-
ed, agreeing in that particular, it is neces-
sary to attend : the more so, as some of
the species of Garcinia approach the new
genus by having their stamens united into a
head ; while others approach XantkocJiymus
by having theirs fascicled, and are only to
be distinguished by their proportion of
parts. It is of great importance to attend
to proportion in this tribe, as we are thus
enabled to discover what Murray’s Sialag-
■mitis really is. We have seen that Rox-

burgh’s Xanthocliymus has a quinary pro-'
portion of parts, pentadelphous stamens y
and an unequal (3-5) seeded fruit. In
Garcinia the quaternary proportion prevails
with an equal ('4-8-12) seeded fruit. In
Stalagmitis both ai-e said to be combined,
an union, which all must acknowledge to be
most improbable.* Petals and sepals are
deciduous, or,' may be carelessly examined ;
not so the fascicles of stamens, they are
small, and must be examined carefully if to
be seen at all, and the number of seeds are
not subject to accidental loss in drying or
examining. The quinary proportion of
stamens and uneven number of seeds afford,

I think, almost irrefragable proof of the
identity of Stalagmitis and Xanthocliymus,
the petals and sepals only being erroneously
described.

This view is confirmed by Mr. George
Don, in his edition of Miller’s Dictionary,
having reduced Roxburgh’s. Xanthocliymus
to Stalagmitis, I presume on the authority
of Murray’s own specimens which he could
examine in the Bankean Herbarium ; an
arrangement in which we, not sufficiently
adverting to his opportunity of determining
the identity of these genera, did not think
it safe to follow him. By thus uniting Gar-
cinia to Cambogia, and Stalagmitis to Xan-
tkochymus, the confused assemblage is re-
duced to two very distinct genera. The
only question that remains to be con-
sidered is, whether or not it is advisable to
leave them as they now stand.”

Art. 11. — Sugar, as to the 'probability of
an improvement in the cultivation and
quality of, either through Europeans or
Natives, in case of an increased demand :
from the report of the select committees
of the Houses of Lords and Commons,
appointed to enquire into the present
state of the affairs of the East India
Company, 1830-31.

BelVs Comparative View of the External
Commerce of Bengal, during the years
1834-35 1835-36, 106.

A Treatise on the Cultivation of Sugar-
canes, and the manufacture of Sugar ;
comprehending instructions for plant-
ing and saving the cane, expressing

* Since writing’ the above I find that Rox-
burgh describes the flowers of XantkochymuH
oraliiolius, as having occasionally four se|)als
and four petals, which identifies it with Mur-
ray’s Stalagmitis Cambogio des, the Ceylon
Camboge plant of that author.

SOIL FAVOURABLE FOR THE CULTURE OF THE SUGAR CANE, 633

the juice, Sfc. Sfc. By W. Fitzmau-
RICE, inany years a planter in the island
of Jamaica, pp. 69, 1830.

The nature and properties of the Sugar-
cane, with practical directions for the
improvement of its culture and the ma-
nufacture of its products. By George
Richardson Porter, Philadelphia,
pp. 354, 1831.

J Dictionary, Practical, Theoretical, and
Historical, of Commerce and Comm.er-
cial Navigation : illastrated with Maps
and Plans. By J. R. McCulloch,
Esa. Second Edition, Corrected
throughout, and greatly enlarged
with a Supplement, supplying the
deficiencies and bringing down the in-
formation contained in the work to
October, 1S35. 8vo. pp. 13^7- Long-
man,Rees,Orme, Brown, Greene,
AND Longman, London, 1835.

('Continued from page 558.J
The soil most favorable for the production
■of sugar-cane, is a mixture of clay and sand,
or what is called brick-mould.

“ Although the effects of rain on this
soil are apparently soon over, its surface
quickly drying, the inner portion retains a
considerable degree of moisture even in the
driest weather, and it has the advantage of
seldom requiring trenches to be made even
in the wettest season.

This soil very much predominates in St.
Domingo; in Jamaica it is confined to par-
ticular districts, and even in those districts
to particular spots.* * * * §

Next to this, black mould of several varie-
ties is favourable for the production of the
cane. There is a species of this mould in
Jamaica, which abounds with limestone and
flint on a substratum of soapy marie. Black
mould on clay is more common, but it is gene-
rally only in a very thin stratum, and the
clay is tenacious and retentive of water : this
last sort of land, therefore, requires great
labour, both in ploughing and trenching, to
render it profitable ; but, properly pulverized
and manured, it becomes extremely pro-
ductive.

The best black mould is found in Barbadoes .
Antigua, and some other of the Windw'ard

• Plant-canes in this soil have been known
in very fine seasons to yield two tons and a
half of sugar per acre. — JSdit’flrdff’s H'est Iiicies.

Islands. But the very best soil for the pro-
duction of sugar of the finest quality, and in
the largest proportion, is the ashy loam
of St. Christopher’s. The alluvial soil of
Guiana is most favourable to the vegetation
of the cane, but not to the elaboration of its
saccharine juice, except in old settled planta-
tions having the benefit of the sea- breeze
without receiving its spray.

Canes will not flourish on a merely sandy
soil : to make them grow there, requires a
great expense for manure, as well as frequent
rains, or the command of water for irriga-
tion.*”

“When land is unproductive, w'^e should
inquire into the cause of its sterility, w^hich
must necessarily result from some defect in
the constitution of the soil.”

“in such cases, the cause can only be as-
certained by chemical analysis ; then the
noxious principle which exists will be easily
discovered, and most probably easily de-
stroyed. If any of the salts of iron be found
present, they may be decomposed by lime.
If any inert vegetable matter be indicated,
this can be removed by lime, paring, and
burning. If there be a deficiency of vege-
table matter, it may be supplied by manure.
If there be an excess of silicious sand, a
mixture of marie will eminently correct it.

In stilf, heavy soils, chalk and sea-shells
are used with great advantage. Low, swampy
grounds, besides the assistance of lime,
chalk, or sand, according to the nature of the
soil, should be well drained, and every facility
given for the escape of the stagnant waters,
and the overplus of those which collect after
storms.”

“ Lime is beneficial to almost any soil,
particularly new and especially w'herethe salts
of iron are found.-h

Where carbonate of lime already exists in
the soil, lime and chalk are useless, inasmuch
as there is little or no undissolved vegetable
matter. J

Marle§ mixed with sandy clay materially
improves the soil, it is understood that the

* There is, however, a peculiar sort of laud
on the north side of Jamaica, chiefly iu the
parish of Trelawney, that cannot be passed
over unnoticed, not only on account of its
scarcity, but its value; few soils producing
finer sugar. The land alluded to, is generally
of a red colour; the shades of which, however,
vary considerably, from a deep chocolate to a
rich scarlet ; iu some places it approaches to a
bright yellow, but it is every where remark-
able, when first turned up, for a glossy or
shining surface, and if wetted stains the fin-
gers like paint. Ibid.

+ Wood sorrel, coarse tufts of grass, and
various sour herbage, indicate the presence
of oxide of iron, in Europe.

i Lime should never he applied with animal
manures, unless they are too rich, or for the
purpose of preventing noxious effluvia. It is
injurious when mixed with any common dung,
and tends to render the extractive matter
insoluble. — Ure'’s Dictionary of Chemistry.

§ Marie, a mixture of clay and carbonate of
lime.

634 KNOWLEDGE OF THE CHINESE IN CULTIVATING SUGAR CANE.

agriculturists of the West India Colonies
are now better acquainted with the advan-
tages they possess, and use these valuable
substances, wherein some of the Islands
abound.*

In a loamy soil (which consists of sand and
clay,) lime may be used with advantage.

Lime acts immediately in producing bene-
ficial effects, chalk not so soon, but it is more
permanent in the advantages it affords to the
soil. In this country about two hundred
bushels of lime are found sufficient for each
acre, and from fifteen to twenty of two-horse
cart loads of chalk per acre.

These are to remedy the defects of soil.
Animal and vegetable manures are to renovate
worn out lands, by supplying new soluble and
gaseous matter, for the nourishment of the
plant. This is not a permanent good, and
requires to be constantly renew'ed ; as it is
found by universal experience, that vegetable
and animal substances, used as manure, are
consumed during the process of vegetation.'!'

The properly manuring of lands is a most
important operation in sugar planting ; even
the best soil requires occasional assistance,
and there is much yet to be learnt by agricul-
turists in the management of this most essen-
tial branch of husbandry.

The Chinese appear to understand the mat-
ter better than most other people : every
animal and vegetable refuse, every thing of
disgusting appearance and offensive effluvia.

• Perhaps Bryan Edwards drew their at-
tention to this matter by asking’, “ Why for
instance are not the manures of lime and
sea-sand, which abound in these Islands, and
have been found so exceedingly beneficial in
Great Britain, brought into use ? Limestone
alone, even without burning, (the expense
of which might, perhaps, be an objection,) has
l>een found to answer in cold, heavy, and m dst
lands ; no other trouble being requisite than
merely to spread it over the ground, and
break it into small pieces by sledge hammers.
Of this the quantities are inexhaustible. Marie
is another manure of vast and general utility
in Great Britain. It enriches the poorest land,
opens the stifFest, and sweetens and corrects
the most rank. Lands have been raised by
the use of this manure from two shillings per
acre to a guinea annual rent- Now there is
no country under the sun. wherein a soft
unctuous marie more abounds than in Jamai-
ca.”-jBt/wards’s West Indies.

In the present day, however the Jamaica
planter takes advantage of the fortunate cir-
cumstance of possessing these substances, and
more or less employs them all.

fThese can only nourish the plant iiy afford-
ing solid matters capable of being dissolved
by water, or gaseous substances capable of l)e-
ing absorbed by the fluids in the leaves of
vegetaliles.

The great object in the application of ma-
nure should be to make it afford as much solu-
ble matter aspossitile to the roots of the plant;
and that in a slow and gradual manner, so that
it may be entirely consumed in forming its sap
and organised parts- lire's Dictionary of Che-
mistry. Art. Manure.

they carefully collect and use as beneficial
agents in vegetation, thus converting the
loathsome and revolting, into the wholesome
and inviting.

The sugar planter might advantageously
follow the example of the Chinese in this
respect. Great improvidence and waste are
too often practised, and the land, as a ne-
cessary consequenee, suflrers.

The cane trash, which is used as fuel,
would make excellent manure, and therefore
it is of importance to be as economical in
fuel as possible.*

The lands are at present imperfectly manur-
ed, and yet very frequently cattle are kept
for the sole purpose of providing manure.
Recourse also is obliged to be had to sup-
plies from England, and much compost is
sent out from this country to the Colonies.

The manure which is used, is generally a
compost made of

1st. The coal and vegetable ashes drawn
from the fires of the boiling and still-houses.

2d. Feculences discharged from the still-
house. mixed up with rubbish of buildings,
&c. &c.

3d. Refuse or field trash, that is, the
decayed leaves and stems of the canes.

4th. Dung obtained from the horse and
mule stables, and from fixed and moveable
pens.

5th. Good mould collected from ravines,
or gulleys, and other waste places.

The first is supposed to be a manure in
itself for cold and stiff clays, and it is the
custom, in some places in which this soil is
found, to carry the ashes out in autumn, and
place them, unmixed in large heaps. VVhen
the land is holed, a quantity of about fifteen
or twenty pounds is put into each hole, and
mixed with the mould, at the time the plants
are put into the ground. But ashes thus
applied cannot be very beneficial, as they
neither afford soluble matter for the nourish-
ment of the plant, nor correct any defects of
the soil. In very wet lands, ashes may
prove advantageous, absorbing the superflu-
ous moisture, but then they should be spread
outside, not be mixed with the earth.

The compost is used in the same manner
as ashes, not being carried to the land till
just before it is required. The moveable
pens are, however, the chief dependence of
the Jamaica planter; in the Windward
Islands manuring is more carefully applied.
From all cares on this subject, the colonists
of Dutch Guiana are at present exempt, as
their soil can be efficiently manured, as well
as irrigated, by admitting the rivers to over-
flow the lands, the deposit w'hich these leave
being very fertilising. But as the process is
attended by the production of unhealthy
miasmata, it would perhaps be to their ad-
vantage to renew the fertility of their front

* Cane trash which we reckon the

richest manure we have, when ]>roj!>erly pre-
pared. - ^ir John huforey.

635

ON PREPARING THE SOIL FOR SUGAR CANE,

lands by manure, rather than by a process so
unhealthy; and we have reason to believe
that this opinion is every day gaining ground.

A moveable pen is made of light railings
tied together, and to posts fixed firmly in the
ground enclosing a piece of ground propor-
tionate to the number of cattle to be turned
into it ; at the end of a week it is shifted, by
leaving one side standing, and moving the
other three sides on the opposite face of the
remaining side, thus enclosing a second piece :
into this fresh enclosure the cattle are turned
for another week. In this manner it is
moved every week till the planter gradually
goes through his whole estate, and follovysit
up by turning up the soil for tillage, i his is
considered a very advantageous practice ;
indeed, some overseers entirely trust to it,
and give the ground no other dressing.*
But it is by no means sufficient on plantations
that have been much worn and exhausted by
cultivation. In Barbadoes the practice is to
tether cattle to stakes driven into the ground.
The spot is covered with good mould, and
then well littered with dry and green vege-
table matter, which, with the animal manure
from the cattle, make a compost heap suffi-
cient for a certain space of ground. When
this is completed the stakes are withdrawn,
and placed in another part of the field, in
which the same process is renewed. By this
system much animal and vegetable manure
is accumulated on the fields to be manured,
but as much labour is required to bring
mould and dry and green vegetable matter to
form successive layers, some planters adopt
the Jamaica plan of moveable pens already
described.

I he common allowance of manure where
this branch of husbandry is best understood,
is a cubic foot to each cane hole, but it is
obvious that no precise rule can be laid down
as to the most beneficial quantity to be used.
This must depend upon the nature of the soil,
and upon the quality of the manure. Much
less of this, properly prepared, and in a fit
State for use, will, of course, be required,
than of that which has the fertilising princi-
ple in an inferior degree.

In employing manure, we must endeavour
to procure for the canes, not the greatest
possible, but the most profitable vegetation,
for a too luxuriant growth is prejudical to
the elaboration of the saccharine juice. If
too little be used, it is unavailing and lost.
The canes are then soon scorched up, the
sun causing the rapid exhalation of those
few aqueous parts, which a too weak vegeta-
tion has only had the power of forming, and
the saccharine juice becomes closely united
to an empyreumatic oil, which entirely viti«
ates it.

• In hilly and mountainous districts, it is
considered impractical ie to manure in any
other manner. Then the pens are made in a
somewhat more durable manner, and the cat-
tle remain in them, till they have furnished
manure for a greater portion of land than that
in which they are enclosed.

It is requisite to allow the lands occasion-
ally to lie fallow'. This is found to restore
them as much as the usual quantity of ma-
nure. But the w^eeds must by no means be
sulfered to gain dominion over them while in
this state, since these exhaust the land as
much as those plants which are useful.*
Much difference of opinion has prevailed
as to the state in which manure ought to be
ploughed into the ground ; whether recent,
or when it has gone through the process of
fermentation. Those who have considered
the subject chemically, entertain no doubts ;
and the great authority of SirH. Davy seems
to be conclusive, that recent manure is most
valuable. As soon as dung begins to de-
compose, it throws off its volatile parts,
which are the most valuable and efficient.
Dung, w'hich has fermented to a mere soft
cohesive mass, has geoeraily lost from one-
third to one-half of its most useful consti-
tuent elements. T Perhaps, however,it would
be advisable to allow a slight degree of fer-
mentation to take place before it is exposed,
in divided quantities, to the scorching heat
of the tropical sun. The Guadaloupe planter,
whom we have just quoted, strongly depre-
cates the pernicious practice (as he terms
it,) of using recent manure in hot climates.
The Barbadoes system of making manure
permits a certain degree of fermentation to
take place previous to its application to the
soil, whilst it is covered with mould until it
be so applied ; thus preventing the action of
air upon it to a certain extent.”

• I have made a num ber of experiments
upon the advantage of allowing the ground to
lie fallow. The successful results of all these
have confirmed me in the adoption of this
method. Among others, I made trial upon
two pieces of ground of the same nature and
quality, the one situated in the highest part
of iny plantation, the other on ihe sea coast.
These two pieces received two ploughings
during the six months they were fallow ; and,
planting them afterwards, without any manure,
I oittained very superior crojjs; Imt the caues
of the sea coast were better than others. This
observation induced me to put into each hole
of a neighbouring piece of ground some sea-
water at the time of planting, and the experi-
ment succeedeil admirably.- I>e i’ Exploita-
tion des Sucrcries.

t To prevent manures from decomposing,
they should be preserved dry, defended from
the contact of the air, and kept as cool as
possible.

All green, contain saccharine
or mucilaginous matter, with woody fil)re, and
readily ferment. They cannot therefore, if
intended for manure, be used too soon after
their death.

If dung cannot be immediately applied to
crops, the destructive fermentation ofitshould
be prevented very carefully.

The surface should be defended, as much as
possible, from the oxygen of the atmosphere;
a compact marie, or a tenacious clay, offers
the best protection against the air; and before
the dung is covered over, or, as it were sealed
up, it should be dried as much as possible. —
Ure’fi Dictionary Chemistry ^ Art. Manure.

^36 CUSTOMS OF THE PERSIANS AND TURKS,

Regarding the culture of the sugar-
cane, in addition to the opinion given by
Fitzmaurice, we shall in our next advert to
that alForded by Porter.

Art. III. — Narrative of a Residence in
Koordistan, and on the site of Ancient
Nineveh: ivith Journal of a, Voyage
down the Tigris to Bagdad, and an Ac-
count of a Visit to Shirauz and Perse-
polis. By the late Cl.\udiu3 James
Rich, Esq., the Hon. East India
Company's Resident at Bagdad, Author
of “ an Account of Ancient Babylon."
2 Voh. Octavo. James Duncan,
Paternoster-Row, London, 1836.

(Continued from page 577.J
Our author states that the population of
Toozkhoormattee is estimated at about 5000
souls. Towards the latter end of April, the
thermometer stood at 6 a. m. at 64*^, at
noon 70«>, and at 3 p. m. 66° ; wind south
east, blowing hard. Our travellers quit
Toozkhoormattee in May. We find nothing
worthy of notice until our author alludes to
the Kifri hills.

“ The easternmost branch of the Kifri hills
(which is, ill fact, the main trunk or artery)
passes by Kei kook, and Altoon Kinpii, thence
runs off l elow Arbil to the iigiis, and is
there called the Karaichukdagh. 'I his east-
ern branch contains gypsum and naphtha.
The VVestein, or Metara hills, are pure sand-
stone and giavel, and resemble in every res-
pect the Hamreen chain most completely,
'i'hey offer many circumstances worthy of
note. On entering them in the pass ot
Jumeila, we lode through a ridge or two
of perfectly vertical strata, looking as if they
had been forced up into their present position.
These are succeeded by some perfectly hori-
zontal strata, also of pure bare sandstone,
large blocks of which have tumbled out, and
are strewed about; the rest look of a
crumbling texture , and indeed the whole
range bears strongly the appearance of a
mountain in ruins. We next came to
inclined strata, and, what is curious, the
inclination of it is exactly as at the Hamreen.
These bills slope to the east, at an angle of
60? from the vertical, or 30 below the hori-
zontal. All the strata, throughout the chain,
are exactly paiallel, and have precisely the
same direction, as if they had been drawn
with a line N. 45 W. The ascent is very
gentle, in an easterly direction ; but winding
in the narrow clefts worn by the rain in the
sandstone.

We reached ai twenty ininules before eight
a dismal plaleau, or wide extent of gravelly
ruins, in heaps, and wild-looking furrowc.
Our load through it was N 50 1'.. At eight
we came to oilier ndves of incdined strata,
answering the former description ; but more
and more covered with gravelly soil as we
advanced. Here ami liiere were patches of
bailey. We met a small Koordisli caravan,
laden with myrtle (mord), packed in bags ; it
gave out a delicious fragrance. It is used, I
believe, in the dyeries.

The soil and gravel now predominated, as in
the east (ace of the Hamreen ; ami at a quarter
before nine we readied a spot, overlooking
tile plain of Leilatj, where the hills slope
gradually and gently down.’’

Capt. Rich relates a custom prevailing
among the Persians and Turks which belong
to the people of this country, that is, of the
villagers keeping their grain in pits or wells
near the village, which, when covered over
and levelled with the soil, cannot always be
discovered, even by the native armies, with-
out some one to show them the spot. The
country between Leilan and Kerlook is a
perfect plain, with several artificial mounts
scattered all over it. Travelling along the
Leilan stream, its course is marked by a suc-
cession of hills, each of which has a small
round tower of stone attached to it, which
makes it look like a little fort. In one, a
miller was crying out ‘Ver, Allah F Give,
God ! — the constant practice when the mill
is empty ; upon which those who have grain
to grind bring it to the mill. Our travellers
reach the mount of Tchemtchemal, from
which Captain Rich surveys the country
and gives the following description of the
Koordish ranges of mountains.

“ The line which we see immediately be-
fore us, extending from N. to S. E. is a nar-
row precipitous bare ridee, which is called
the Bazian mountains. To tiie north of the
pass of Deibenl i Bazian, which, as I have
already remarked, is just before us, the
mountains soon make a turn towards the
west, where they form the mountains called
Khalkhalan, which hound the Pashalik of
Keuy iSanjak on the south. To the south of
the pass of Derbent, the ridge is continued
in a straight line south and a little east.
Here is another pass called Derbent i Bas-
terra ; beyond which the ridge, continuing in
the same line, assumes the name of Karadagh,
and becomes vvell wooded. Here is the third
road intoKoordistan from the plains of Assyria.

It is called Seghirmeh, or ladder, and, passing
directly over the crest of the mountain, has
been esteemed difficult, if not impossible, for
an army.

CAPT. RICH’S ARRIVAL AT SULIMANIA.

63?

Abdurrahman Pasha, the late governor of
Sulimania, fortified all these passes, at the
time he was endeavouring to render Koordi-
Btan independent ; but having been defeated
at Derbetit i Bazian by Kutclmic Suliman
Paslia of Bagdad, his fortifications were de-
molislied. Karadagh is bounded by the
Diala. Just south of the pass of Basterra,
t)ie /englieneh hills come out west from the
Karadagh, and are at fi^st much lower ; but
turning south, as if to form a parallel line
with Karadagh, they become of an almost
equal elevation. J ust behind this part, that
is E. of it, appears a higher summit, belonging
to 1 know not what range, which ispartof the
district of Dilleo. Just before, or W. of the
high part, which to appearance forms the
termination of the Zenghaneh range*, are little
hills, scarcely discernible ; where is Ibrahim
Khanjee, and Ghilli on the Turkish frontier.
Still farther W., the Kifri and Toozkhoor-
mattee line of hills is seen coming up to unite
with, but a little in the rear of. the Kara
Hassan hills we have just left; which are
prolonged a little to the f'lt- They then dis-
appear by turning west ; and leave an open
horizon, as far as the Khalkhalan hills.

There were no villages discernible from
Tchemtchemal mount, they being all situat-
ed in hollows, by the sides of the little streams.
I'he villagers are all now dispersed about, in
little encampments of black tents, for the
convenience of pasturing their cattle, and
attending to their harvest. All cultivation in
Koordistan is watered solely by the rains|,
there being no artificial irrigation.

Thermometer — 5 a.m. 49** ; 2 p.m. 79® ; 10
PM. 59®. During the day, light N .W breeze,
night calm. — I he cold was so great last night
as to be pretty severely felt by our relaxed
frames, though the thermometer at 2 p,m. was
79: it however continued only half an hour
at this height.”

Arriving before Sulimania, Capt. Rich is
visited by the Pasha, a plain, reasonable,
mild, and gentleman-like man. The following
is our a,uthor’s description of his entrance
into Sulimania.

May 10. — This was the morning which the
astrologers seemed to have decided upon as
the proper one for my entering into his
capital, and public reception by the Pasha.
About half an hour before the appointed time,
the celebrated Osman Bey, about whom I
had heard much, the Pasha’s younger and

• Having a lateral view of the Zenghaneh
hills, I could see that the strata of all parts of
that range incline to the E. in the same man-
ner and degree as the Hamreen mountains.

+ The road from Kerkook to Derbent, call-
ed the Ghisheh Khan road, passes over these
hills.

t The kini of cultivation which is carried
on by means of rain is called by the natives
Dem, which is an Arabic word. Rice and
cotton must be artificially watered in conn-
tries where there are no tropical rains.

more dashing brother, came to conduct me
into town, accompanied by all the members
of council on horseback, and an immense
party of Koords on foot. The Bey was mag-
nificently mounted on a very fine Arab horse,
which he got from the Anazee Arabs, and
which is said to have cost him 13,000 piastres.

All the people were gaily clad. 1 was much
struck with the appearance of the Bey. He
was not large, but lightly and well made ; the
outlines of his face were perfectly regular; he
had a crispy or wavy black beard, dark blue
eyes, with black eyebrows and lashes, and a
manly tint ol brown over a fine, clear, and
ruddy complexion. He was altogether a very
handsome young man. In horsemanship,
and all their favourite military exercises, he
is said to be unrivalled among his country-
men. He is likewise famous for his courage
and generosity ; but, on the other hand, he ia
reported to be rather dissolute in his morals,
and tyrannical in his disposition.

He met me with an easy and polite address,
in which was something of frankness but not
the most distant tincture of coarseness. He
was perfectly well bred in his manners. I
could see he was well aware of the advantages
of his person. He was magnificently attiied
in the Koordish taste; his gown was of a
rich, flowered, gold Indian stuff; he had a
superb Cashmere shawl ornamented with
gold fringe on his head, put on in a wild loose
manner; his upper dress was a capot. or
cloak, of ciimson Venetian cloth, with rich,
gold fiogs, or bosses, on it. 'I'he age of Osman
Bey is thuty-two ; that of his brother, the
pasha, thirty-five. Their mother is a sister of
Khaled Pasha, and consequently also of the
principal branch of the Behbeh* * family.

Osman Bey was dis[)Osed to talk rather
more freely of the state of Koordish affairs
than I chose to encourage ; and it was easy
to perceive he was not of the d'urkish party.
He looked at his watch several times in the
course of the interview, and seemed anxious
that we should not miss the precise moment
of mounting. At last, when they told him
it was the appointed instant, we rose together
and set forward in the followingorder : —

Fir.st a guide; then my trumpeter and
.<!tandard-beaiert ; then three led horses,
followed by my imrahor, or master of the
horse; next came my tchaoushes, or running
footmen, fully armed ; after whom marched
tlie sepoys with their drum and fife. I
followed, mounted on Fhivar, with two stir-
rupholders, armed with battle-axes and
shields; then came Mr. Bellino and Dr„
Morando ; then Osman Bey on Ins beautiful
Arab, with a line of about three hundred
Koords after him on foot : after the bey and
his [leople came the members of tlie pasha’s
council: my khaznadar, or .treasurer, and
mounted attendants, closed the procession.

• Tlie name of the pasha of Sulimania’s clan
80 called from their ancestor, Behbeh SulimranT

• The slandard of the cross was home by a
Turk, and English marches were played by a
Persian trumpeter, who was no lad per«»

former.

638

ENTRANCE INTO THE CITY.

We moved forward, in very good order, to-
wards the city, if such it might be called,
which was not above a quarter of a mile off.

"I he crowd assembled to witness the proces-
sion was immense. I did not think the town
could have contained such a multitude ; yet
the most perfect order prevailed. The
police-officers of the darogha’s* train dealt
around,! thought very unnecessarily, sundry
blows with their heavy clubs, each one of
which seemed sufficient to have felled an ox.
Yet I alone appeared to be annoyed at this
mode of opening the march ; the Koqrds,
on whom the blows fell like hail, received
them on their heads and shoulders with as
little feeling as.an anvil. In this manner
we arrived at the palace ; the etitrance
to which is low, mean, narrow, and dirty, to
a degree which I thought ill accorded with
the residence of a governor, or even of a
common individual: but 1 understood that
it is not without its use in a country like this,
and that it renders the seat of government
defensible, in cases of emergency. The en-
trance does not lead to the front of the palace,
but turns round the side of itf, and here I
was obliged to alight, as we could get no
farther on horseback. We advanced up a
handsome flight of steps into the hall of
audience, which, had it been in good repair,
would really have been a superb room. It
was open in front on pillars The pasha
met me at the door, and conducted me to a
chair at the upper end of the room. Mr.
Bellino and the doctor were seated just below
me, on chairs likewise. '1 he members of
council, headed by Osman Bey, sat on a
broad nimmud, or thick felt carpet, on the
opposite side, and my people arranged them-
selves interspersed among the pasha’s officers,
who were in double rows all round the roonr,
in the centre of which stood the Ishik Agassi,
or master of the ceremonies, with his staff of
office in his hand. A crowd of well-dressed
Koords filled the passages and the court
below outside the room. After the introduc-
tory compliments, the pasha saw I admired
the room, and remarked that it was built by
his late father; that it wanted repair ; but,
said he, “Who will repair what he is not
certain to enjoy ; and what may in a few days
afterwards be ruined by the lurks or Pei-
sians?” He told me the palace owed its
elevated situation to its being built on an
artificial mount, of great antiquity. § The
view from it was very agreeable. 1 endea-
voured to keep off politics, and to lead the
pasha to speak upon the economy and anti-
quities of Koordistan ; and I happened to
make a fortunate hit at the outset. I told him

♦ The chief of the police.

t There is a better (but still crookedt en-
trance in front of the palace, which is now
wtider repair.

:t This kind of apartment is called a Talar.

^ Frol ably the f<-llow to those I had remark -
(Pd at Tcbt mcbemal, Ferghezeen, and Tas;u-

I had heard that tlie Vali of Sinna* was of a
Gooran family ; and the Gooran racet were
not so much esteemed as clansmen. A mur-
mur of applause burst instantly ifom all the
attendants and went round the room. My
fortune was now made with the clannisb
Koords; and the pasha, with more than his
usual vivacity, went at once into the history
of his family. He said, in the first place,
that the Vali of Sinna’s family was very
ancient and of an honourable clan. The
name of his clan, he added, was Kermanj ,
Bebbeh being the appellation of his own
particular family, the members of which are
the hereditary chiefs of the clan ; and hence
their whole territory and people are now cal-
led the government of theBebbehs or Babans.
The clan was originally established at Pizh-
der, in the northern mountains near Sikeneh
on the frontier of Persia. An ancestor^ of
his, he said, had rendered important services
to an Ottoman sultan in a war with Persia ;
and obtained in recompense an investiture of
all he could conquer. He and some succeed-
ing chiefs gradually possessed themselves of
districts they now hold, with several others
which have since been retaken by the Per-
sians ; and the whole was then erected into
the banner of Babon, or Bebbeh, and made
dependent on the pashalik of Shehrizoor, the
capital of which was Kerkook. The pasha
could not give me any dates, he only knew
that his ancestors were lords of the Banner
for a long time; and were finally made
pashas of two tails not quite a century ago.
He told me the Gooran race were easily dis-
tinguishable by their physiognomy, and by
their dialect of Koordish. \Ve had much
more conversation of this kind, and i)arted
exceeding good friends ; and all the pasha’s
cousins, that is, his clansmen, seemed to look
upon me with great satisfaction.

At the door I found a handsome horse, well
caparisoned, prepared for me, which 1 could
not dispense with accepting : it was accord-
ingly led before me. And we novv went to
inspect the house which had been prepared
for us : this was close by the palace, and
turned out to be a very dismal place; spa-
cious enough indeed, but ruinous and filthy.
Such as it was, it was the dwelling of one of
the chief officers of the palace, who had been
dislodged to receive us. My repugnance to
take possession of it was, I believe, very
visible. After some whispering between the
Koords and my people, the pasha sent his
prime minister to request I would let my
khaznadar or treasurer go about with one of

♦ The governor of the province of that name
in Persian Koordistan.

+ The people of Koordistan are divided into
two different races : the one consisting of the
trii es, the other of the peasants or Goorans.

± It was Suliman Baba, or Bebbeh. He went
to Constantinople about one hundred and
twenty -five years ago. A- D. 1678, and hecom-
ing celebrated for the services he rendered
the Turks against the Persians, his family
were afterwards called by his name, Bebbeh
or Baban, instead of the name of their tribe,
which, as has been already observed, is Ker-
manj-

DESCRIPTION OF THE CITY,

639

his officers, and chnose any house in the town,
the owner of which should he instantly dis-
lodsed to make room for me: but I could not
bear the idea of this ; and, besides, 1 was
unwilling to give any further trouble. I con-
sidered that the difference in the dwellings
here must, after all, be incon.nderable ; and
that the pasha had, in all likelihood, in the
first instance, done the best for us he con-
veniently could : I therefore resolved to make
a virtue of necessity, and put up with the
proposed house ; and immediately saw that
iny determination gave general satisfaction.

I now, therefore, sent Minas to escort Mrs.
Rich into town, for the Koords had a great
objection to my returning back again to camp
to-day. It was easy to see that tliey had
some superstitious idea of ill luck to their
affairs if 1 left the town ; so I passed, til! M rs.
Rich’s arrival, two or three hours very un-
pleasantly in walking and lounging about,
which confirmed the nervous headache with
which I had been tlireatened in the morning.

The description of our hou«e will serve for
that of ail the beiter sort in Sulimania ; it is
a square building of one story, standing on a
basement of about three feet high, and built
of bricks dried in the sun, having a plastering
of mud mixed with chopped straw over the
whole. One or two rooms inside have been
white-limed over the mud coating. The roof
is flat, and is formed by rafters, reeds, and
a coating of earth . This house stands in a
large open enclosure, or as we would say in
India in a com [,ound : this is subdivided into
ivvo courts by a cross wall, which joins the
house at each side near its centre, leaving tire
front in one enclosure and the back in ano-
ther: this makes the Maram''^ and Divan
Khaneh f; but there is no communication be-
tween them by a door in the house itself, as
in all Turkish Irouses ; you must go round by
a door in tire wall which divides the com-
pound into two : this is peculiarly inconveni-
ent in bad weather. The area of both courts
is coveted with grass, and planted with wil-
lovvs, poplars, mulberries, and rose bushes,
interspersed in little bouquets. A stream of
water runs through the court of every house
in Sulimania, which is supplied from the
mountains by a kaliteez or aqueduct. With
respect to the distribution of the rooms, it
seems regulated by no plan, at least 1 am not
able to discover any order or contrivance in
it; only that in both the harain and divan
khaneh is a talar, or room quite open in the
fr ont, which is the general r eceiving and sleep-
ing room in summer. No one but the poorest
persons, who have not such an accommoda-
tion in their houses, sleeps on the roof. Some,
indeed, in the greatest heats, which only last

* The women’s apartments-

+ .1 hat part of the liouse Avhefe the master
receives his visitors, and in which the men
servants reside.

a month, use a sekoo, or low platform, for
that purpose; and, during summer, many
construct tchardaks, or huts mode of boughs,
over a little tank in their own court-yard, or
else pitch a tent, to escape from fleas, which
are a terrible nuisance all over the East, and
are said to be particularly formidable here.

In the divan khaneh part of the house i.s a
large vacant space or hall, supported by posts,
and almost dark : this is said to be a cool re-
treat in summer, but the pest of the fleas must
still exist, and another still worse, that is
scorpions, which are said to be numerous,
large, and venomous. Centipedes are also
found here, but I believe are not much dread-
ed ; nor are the snakes, which are large and
numerous, said to be venomous.

The winter rooms of the house are entered
by a long dark passage : their appearance
does not render one desirous of a nearer in-
spection ; indeed, 1 keep as much as possible
on the outside of the house.

The ordinary houses are mere mud hovels,
which makes the place look like a large Arab
village: they are perfectly exposed, but the
people do not seem to regard this, the women
going about with the men, and performing
their domestic labours witliout any veil. This
miserable-looking town, however, contains
five khans, two good mosques, and a very fine
bath. The population of Sulimania is esti-
mated by the best judges among the Koords
at ten thousand .souls, including the officers
of government and retainers of princes resid-
ing liere. 'fhe ordinary citizens are of the
peasant race.

As soon as the baggage arrived, 1 pitched a
large two-poled tent for a divan or receiving
room ; and when ornamented with my arms,
and covered with a handsome carpet and nim-
muds*, which the pasha was kind enough to
send me, it made altogether a kind of barbaric
receiving hall of no contemptible appearance
— certainly much pleasanter and better looking
than any room in the town. Thesepoys pitched
tents also in the court; and some of the people,
who did not relish the appearance of their
quarters, followed their example.

In the haram our preparations for the first
night were not so fortunate. We tried the
most airy-Iooking room ; but alas ! the heat,
close smell, and swarms of sand-flies soon
showed us the folly of our attempts, and we
drew our beds out into the talar : here again
we were unsuccessful in our efforts at repose.
We were kept awake till daybreak by these
Koordish tormentors ; -though a few hours’
sleep would have been a real blessing to me
in my state of nervous pain.

* Narrow strips of thick soft felt, handsome-
ly oriiamenfed with various colours, which are
placed round the rooms in Persia and Koordi-
atan, and serve Instead of sofas and chairs.

640

CURIOUS ACCOUNT OP A PARTRIDGE FIGHT.

Thermometer—S a. m. 62°; halfpasttwa
p. M, 75® ; 10 p. M. 68b ; south wind in puffs ;
disagreeable feeling day ; a little rain.”

Capt. Rich states a remarkable fact that
the peasantry in Koordistan are a totally dis-
tinct race from the other tribes, who seldom,
*f ever, cultivate the soil ; while, on the other
hand, the peasants are never soldiers. The
clannish Koords call themselves Sipah, or
the military Koords ; but the peasants have
no other distinguishing name than Rayahs,
or Keuylees, or villagers. The following is
a description of a partridge fight.

"In the aftemoon Mahri'ood iVJasiaf came
to entertain me with a partridge fight. 'I'his is
a very favourite diversion of the Koords ;
and the Masraf, who is a famous sportsman,
when he heard that 1 had never seen a par-
tridge fight, was quite delighted to have an
oppoitunity of showing his collection of game
partridges, which is a very fine one. He came
first, attended hy four of bis sons, all very fine
tall young men. The old gentleman looked
quite respectable amongst his fine family;
and he was not a little pleased at my making
the remark.

" Oh, sir” said he. " I have three or four
more of the lads in the house, who will have
the lionour of kissing your hanrl one day.” I
was surprised to see the vn-eusieryi freedom of
the sons beloie their father. They all put
themselves at their ease, and smoked tlieir
pipes without the least ceremony. From what
I had seen among the Turks and Arabs, I
should not have thought they would even have
sat down in the presence of their fatiier.

After a round of coffee and pipes had passed
the approach of the army, as the old gentle-
man called it, was announced by a prodigious
cackling and crowing of the partridges, which
was audible for a great distance off ; and soon
a party of stout Koords appeared, bearing on
their shoulders thirty two cages, each con*
taining a cock partiidge. The collective and
incessant cackling or crowing of this party
caused a strange noise, .something like the
ticking of a thousand immense watches ; they
were not silent an instant, except when fight-
ing. A number of lads of the fancy followed,
all eagerness for the sight ; and more would
have rushed in, if, to spare the clubbing and
cudgelling, by which alone they could be kept
back, 1 had not ordered the doors to be
closed.

The cages were placed round so as to form
a ring, behind which the spectators stood ;
the old Masraf, his sons, and myself closing
the circle on the side of the tent. The scene
would have suited the pencil admirably ; but
as it would be out of the question to attempt
to sketch on the spot, I must see the sight a
few times before I can attempt to give a gra-
phic idea of it.

One of the assistants now opened the door
of a cage, and let out a bird, who whirled
hitnselt up in the air as if in defiance, and then

fiirulted about. waiting for his adversary. Ano-
ther partridge being let loose, they fell to.
I’he sight was amusingand by no means cruel.
It was highly entertaining to see the little
birds strut about on tiptoe in defiance, jump
up, bite at each other, j)Iay about to seize a
lavourable opening, and avoid letting their
adversary take hold on a bad place. I ob-
served tlie great feat was to get .hold of the
nape of the neck. When a partiidge succeed-
ed in seizing liis adversary in this manner,
he would hold him like a hull-dog, and some-
times lead him two or thiee times lourid the
ring. Sometimes a bird would be frightened
and run away out of the ring. The battle
u as then fairly lost ; and the bird so beaten
will not feel disposed for fighting for two or
three months alterwaid. Every bird had its
own name ; and their wings were not clip-
ped. They were so tame as to allow them-
selves to he handled without re.sistance ; and
when a match was over, the birds would
return to their cages almost of their own
accord. They never spurred ; all tlieir at-
tack was an attempt to seize their adversary.
The Koords looked on with great interest ;
hut after the novelty was over, it seemed to
me but a puerile diversion. The Koords aia
keen sportsmen in horse-racing, partridge,
ram, and dog fighting. Mahomet, like a true
Arab, made it lawful to lay money on horse-
racing; but the Koords carry tire license still
farther, and allow of belting on their par-
tridge and dog fights.

After the exhibition vvas over, two officers
came to report themselves, as appointed by
the Darogha to command a patrole of fifteen
men, who were to keep constantly going-
round the outside of our house all night. To
enat le them to pass our Sepoy posts, they
had made themselves acquainted with " Who
goes there?” and — “ A friend.” ft was really
curious to hear Koords in Sulimania endea-
vouring to pronounce these English words,
which they had learnt fiom Mahometan na-
tives of Hindoostan, and subjects of Great
Britain. They told me they also knew what
the countersign was. having learnt the mean-
ing of it in Persia. Their corps de garde they
established without any ceremony on the roof
of a neighbouring house ; and walked over all
the adjoining tools, and through the families
of the occupants, whenever it suited them.
To have remonstrated against this abomina-
ble tyranny would have been fruitless, nor
would the motive have been understood,
either by the offenders or sufFerers— to so low
a degree is the human species debased by a
long course of savage oppression. Aga
Minas to-day happened to ask one of the
police-officeis in attendance if some sort of a
bedstead could not be procured 1 ” Certain-
ly,” said the man ; and, without more ado,
he went to the first kiian, and seized three
bedsteads belonging to Bagdad merchants,
who happened to lodge there. He brought
them in triumph to tlie house. It is need-
less to say that the bedsteads were immediate-
ly returned to their owners.”

Here our limited space compels us to con-
clude for the present.

THE POLICY OF THE COURT OF ST. PETERSBURGH.

641

Art. IV — Notes on Persia, Tart ary, and
Afghanistan. By Lieut. Col. Mon-
TEITH, K. L. S. of the Madras
Engineers. — Madras Journal of Li-
terature ana Science, 1836.

Defence of British India from Russian
Invasion. By Captain C. F. Head,
Queen's Royal Regiment.

(Continued from page 574.^

It appears that the Court of St. Peters-
burgh have directed their attention to an ap-
proach to India without touching on the ter-
ritory of Persia ; but through nations whose
arms could be turned against the latter if the
policy of the northern autocrat should adopt
such a course of proceeding ; and Capt.
Head shows that any attempt of an Euro-
pean power to oppose the designs of Russia,
by a movement in the west of Persia, would
be totally useless. The whole weight of
such opposition, it is obvious, should be
made on the banks of the Indus.

“ But if the independence and disposition
of Persia were such as to promise, in conjunc-
tion with a European nation, to assume a
strength likely to put at defiance a combined
attack of Russians and Tartars, the reasoning
would be otherwise. More attention would
be due to this subject if Russia did not com-
mand the means that have been pointed out
of an advance to India through Khorassan,
and which route will be seen to be equally,
if not more practicable, as also, under exist-
ing circumstances, it appears the most de-
sirable. There may, however, be advantages
in the eastern routes that will render them
the most advantageous when the localities of
the districts they pass through become better
known. The Russian government may be
presumed to be in possession of the necessary
details on which to determine the best line of
advance, and enough has been divulged by
their officers to create much speculation, and
to demand investigation on this point

Envoys were despatched from St. Peters-
burgh to the principal towns on the river
Oxus, and the reports published of them
have been ably discussed by a military
author,* and by others in this country. From
the Russian authorities the few hints that
have been thrown out tend greatly to illustrate
this inquiry, and there is here added such
information as must shew how desirable it is
to be better informed on the resources the
Russians would have at command, should
they attempt, by pursuing the course of the
Oxus river, to pass from their frontier to the

Indus. History points out the propensity at
all times inherent in the demi-savage nations
of Tartary to overrun and plunder their less
powerful neighbours. And it will be evident
that the tide of prejudice and superior enter-
prise would in this instance flow with Russia
ft-om the north, towards the less warlike
inhabitants of Hindoostan.

Should it be determined to prosecute an
advance to India by this line of route, a
landing would be effected on the eastern
side of the Caspian Sea, where there are
harbours now in use for merchants trading by
caravans with the naiion occupying the terri-
tory bordering on the Oxus river. The Tar-
tar havens best suited to this purpose are
those of IMangushlac Bay, and Balkan Bay,
either of which are within a week’s sail of
Astracan. Mangushlac is the one that
affords the most secure harbour, and is gene-
rally preferred.*

It has already been mentioned that a Rus-
sian force may be broxight into the Caspian
Sea by means of the Volga river; it will also
be found that a force may be detached from
Orenburgh, which city carries on a consider-
able trade with the Turkomans, who inhabit
the countrylying between the Caspian and the
Oxus. At Orenburgh there is a garrison of
10 or 15,000 men. andthat city communicates
by means of the Oral river with the Caspian,
from whence it is distant about 300 miles.
At either of the specified havens a force would
assemble and prepare for further operations
in the direction of the Oxus. The country
to be crossed over is included in the province
of Khaurizm. It is that already named as
lying to the north of Khorassan, and inha-
bited by tribes of Turkomans. They are
not united, or strong enough to become for-
midable, but possess a predatory disposition,
that causes them to be considered trouble-
some neighbours. These tribes are often at
war with each other, and acknowledge no
power but that of a patriarchal chief, whose
territory comprises steppes and meadows,
covered with prodigious droves of cattle
which belong to his clan.”

” A high authority, whom we have fre-
quently quoted, remarks on the inhabitants
of this country. ” Although the hostility of
these barbarians was a serious evil to the
districts which they visited, they had no col-
lective strength that could render them for-
midable as an enemy to Persia.”'!' The
situation, the importance, and even the name
of these tribes, often change, and prevent any
estimate being formed of their real strength \
about 60,000 families of the Kirgees hordes
swear fidelity to the Emperor of Russia.

If a Russian force assembled at one of the
harbours on the east side of the Caspian,
and thereby threatened the kingdom of
Khaurizm on the south, while a demonstra-
tion to the same effect was made from Oren-
burgh and the Russian territory that borders

Colonel De Lacy Evana.

• Coxe’s Travels in Russia,
t Sir JoUu Malcolm.

612

THE ROUTE PROM BALKAN TO KHIVA.

the country on the north, there can be little
doubt but the people who occupy the inter-
mediate space will be disposed to unite in
designs so perfectly in accordance with their
restless spirit. A force would at once be
collected from among them to form an
.advance guard, and collect other adventurers
for a crusade against the idols of Hindoo-
stan. It is therefore presumed that the Rus-
sians will find allies, and have the territorial
resources at their disposal. Abundance of
•carriage animals would thus be supplied for
the purpose of transport across the desert
which intervenes between the Caspian Sea,
and Khiva on the border of the Oxus, or
Amu river, and the next place of rendez-
vous for the army. Pallas, an intelligent
traveller, was informed that some individuals
of the middle horde of Kirgees had 10,000
horses, 300 camels, 300 or 400 sheep, and
more than 2000 goats.

The city of Khiva bears the name of a dis-
trict, containing about 300,000 inhabitants,
and stands in a cultivated space or oasis,
about 100 miles square. This section of
country is wmtered by canals from the Oxus,
and is highly productive. The Russian
envoy^ who visited it by the route from Bal-
kan Bay in 1819, reports, that he considers
the road between the Caspian and Khiva
quite practicable, and that the latter place
may be occupied without difficulty ”

“ The route from the Bay of Balkan to
Khiva goes over a country but scantily sup-
plied with water, and the march was made
by the Russian mission in the month of De-
cember; the time occupied was sixteen days
by caravan. They did not proceed more than
twenty miles a day, but the regular march of
trading caravans may be estimated at twelve
or fourteen hours’ travelling, or at thirty or
thirty-six miles per day. The distance from
Mangushlac Bay to Khiva may be one-third
more than from the Bay of Balkan to the
latter place. Mr. Fraser says of the route, t
(from Mangushlac to Khiva), “ five different
persons, well acquainted with the country and
trade, agreed in estimating it to me at about
ten days’ journey of six farsangs each, or
about 240 miles.” — “ The country is inha-
bited by tribes of wandering Toorkomans.
who pasture their flocks upon the steppes,
and caravans continually pass and repass
between Khiva and Mangushlac Bay ’’X

A Russian force, marching by either of
the above routes from the borders of the
Caspian, would reach the Oxus in less time
than a month, and it will be admitted, that,
with proper arrangements, there is nothing
in the performance of this march by detach-
ments of troops to. render it impracticable,
when it is considered that carriage animals
may be procured to any required extent.

On reaching Khiva, the army would have
water communication with the Oxus,
which passes fifteen miles from the city, and

• Captain Mouravief.

t Journey into Khorassan, by J. B. Fraser.

t niid.

by means of that river, intercourse would be
opened with fertile countries that lie on its
banks, and also with the sea of Aral, into
which the Oxus empties itself about 150
miles below Khiva. The traveller, from
whom we have so often quoted in treating
of the district of Khorassan, offers some
remarks on the report of the Russian envoy,
and thinks a force might not only capture,
but retain Khiva. He says, “The Russians
have long entertained commercial relations
with Khiva, which they have sought to
strengthen in various ways, and with various
objects. The conquest of Khiva by the Rus-
sians would, if they were to resolve on it, be
an affair of no serious difficulty ; and, accord-
ing to the present line of policy, the attempt
will probably be made at no very remote
period.’’*

The performance of this march deserves
every consideration, as will be seen when the
remaining part of the route is investigated.
If a Russian force should establish itself at
Khiva, they would be enabled to pursue
their further operations with the advantage
of water carriage for the greatest portion of
the way to India. On the sea of Aral,
“ there are numerous large fishing boats
employed by the natives/’f It does not appear
from any account we can find of this territory
what facility there may be of opening a com-
munication to make these boats applicable to
the operations under consideration. Boats
and rafts are used on the Oxus for the pur-
poses of traffic ; and it is mentioned by tra-
vellers, whom we shall hereafter quote, that
wood may be had on parts of this river. A
want of correct information on these import-
ant points must render the enquiry into this
route one of much doubt, and prevents the
possibility of our coming to a satisfactory
conclusion as to its accomplishment in a
definite time. Like the Indus, and other
rivers that have their source in high moun-
tains. the Oxus must have a considerable
current. Its navigation is said to be carried
on by tracking ; but it must vary at all sea-
sons, find be liable to the uncertainty that has
been stated to govern the progress of boats
on the Nile.”

“ Balkh lies on the north side of the range
of mountains that divides Tartary from Hin-
doostan. The time taken to perform the
voyage from .Bokhara to this place is said
to be five days, making the voyage from
Khiva to Balkh to be altogether one of thir-
teen days. It has already been remarked that
the distance by the river is but imperfectly
known, but it is not likely to exceed a line of
700 miles, which, at the rate of advance that
has been set down for an army, would take
about two months.

Before we leave the banks of the Oxus, it
will be proper to observe that the imperfect
knowledge we have of that stream, in all
probability, leads to our selection of a route
far less advantageous than some other that

* Journey into Khorrassau, by J. B. Fraser,
t Evans.

THE MULBERRY WORM IN ASSAM.

643

niight become obvious with abetter acquaint-
ance of the country. There is a branch of
the Oxus running from opposite Bokhara
towax'ds Herat ; and in the same direction
there is said to be a practicable road between
those places of about 600 miles, through a
fertile and watered country. This uncer-
tainty obliges us in this enquiry to follow
the line of march in constant use by caravans,
and proceeding through Balkh in progress
towards the Indus.

The town of Balkh is situated about thirty
miles from the point where the Oxus is navi-
gable ; and it will be necessary to examine
the capabilities of this province, w'here the
army would be obliged to abandon their
water carriage, and have recourse to baggage
animals.”

(To be continued.) ^

Art- V, — On the production of silk at
Kamptee, By Miss Anna Calder,
with Mr. Prinsep’s Report on the
specimens forwarded.

Raw Silk, from a printed copy forwarded
to the Agricultural Society of India.
By George Norton, of Madras.
^Experimental cultivation in Western In-
dia.

Extract of a Letter from Mr. Shake-
spear, on an improved method in
winding silk.

On the Silks of Assam. By Captain
Jenkins. — Trans. Agricultural and
Horticultural Society, 1836.

Remarks on the Silk Woryns and Silks of
Assam. By Mr. Thomas Hugon,
Sub. Asst. Nowgong. — Journal of the
Asiatic Society, for January, 1837.

(Continued from page 567.)

We are able to give additional valuable
information from the following valuable
papers by Mr. Hugon.

The following worms producing silk are
found in Assam. The mulberry worm (large
and small), the ma, the mooga, or moonga,
the Jcontkuri, the deo mooga, and the haum-
pottonee. The five last are indigenous to
the country, but there is no reason to
suppose that the first is likewise so. The
mulberry is scarce, and none is found in the
wild state. The time of the introduction
could be, perhaps, ascertained in some of

the Assamese booronjees or chronicles —
(which Mr. Hugon was unable to procure
immediately to ascertain the point) ; some of
them extending several centuries back — as
the Assamese got religious instructors from
Bengal, it is very probable they also got
from there the mulberry tree and worm.
The use of the silk being confined to the
raja and grandees, and the rearing of the
worm to but one caste, are additional proofs
that its introduction did not precede that of
Hinduism.

“ MU LB ERRY WORM.— The manage-
ment of these worms in Assam is nearly simi-
lar to what it is in Bengal. They are reared
within doors, and require the same care and
attention as are bestowed on them there ; a
separate hut is used, which is fitted with
bamboo stages with a passage between them
and the outer wall — these huts are built
north and south with a single door on the
east side. This is generally the case, but by
no means a fixed rule amongst the Assam-
ese. Only one female of the family goes
into the house, and previous to doing it al-
ways washes her hands and feet. The large
and small mulberry worms are reared in
Assam. The rearing of those which produce
only one bund a year, are described (the
larger), they being more in use than the
others in this district. The moths are made
to deposit their eggs on pieces of cloth —
these are packed up with the household
clothing ; w^hen the time of hatching ap-
proaches (December), they are taken out
and exposed to the air. On being hatched
the worms are fed the first three or
four days on the tender leaves cut up, in
new earthen pots ; then on a bamboo tray.
After the first moulting they are removed to
the mutchang (mach&n) or stages. When
they are about beginning to spin, they are
put on bamboo trays fitted up with pieces of
matting fixed perpendicularly at intervals of
two inches ; these in the first afternoon
are exposed for half an hour to the side
where the sun is shining, and afterwards
hung up in the house. After leaving as
many as are required for breeding, those

644

THE ASSAMESE SELECT COCOONS.

that are to be wound off, after having been
exposed to the sun for three or four days,
are put over a slow fire in an earthen vase
full of water. One person winds off the
silk with an instrument made of three pieces
of stick joined together thus : the perpendi-
cular one is held at one end w/ith

the right hand, and the left

directs the thread over the cross

bars ; taking care in doing this

to make it rub against the fore-
arm to twist it, whilst another person at-
tends to the fire and the putting on new
cocoons. When a sufficient quantity for a
skein has thus accumulated it is taken off
the cross bars.’'

“It appears there are not many plantations
of mulberry in AssAm^ on such a scale as
to be worth mentioning ; a few men of rank
have small patches of it, sufficient to pro-
duce silk for their own use ; — the few ryuts
that sell the silk generally have not more
than a seer to dispose of in the year, — the
produce of a few plants round their huts or
in the hedges of their fields. The leaves
are not sold as in Bengal, and when a ryut’s
own supply fails, he obtains it from neigh-
bours who have a few trees merely for the
fruit. The worms are reared by alone,

people of an inferior caste : those of the
highest can cultivate the plant and do all the
out-of-door work ; but none but d,joogee
can, without degradation, attend to the
w’orms or touch the silk whilst reeling.
These prejudices do not exist in Bengal.'^

“ Mr. Scott, a few years ago, introduced
from Rungpoor,xeQ\evs, reels and plants of the
morns alba, and established a factory at
Darang, with a view to extend the culture of
mulberry silk, and improve the reeling of the
mooga. Several causes rendered the experi-
ment abortive, the want of European super-
intendence and Mr. Scott’s untimely death
being the principal ones*.

• From the opinions given liy several ineichnnts
of Calcutta on samples of Assam mnlneriy si'k.
reeled on l(aliai! reels from ivoinis pioperly fed
and attended to, I am led to believe this province
exceedingly favnralile to the production of veiy
superior silk. — The samples sent doun would
have fetched the highest prices in the Cnlcuita
market, and they were got up under the unfavora-
ble circumstances of a rude experiment.— F.
J£NK1NS.

ERIA SILK — The eria worm and motfe
differ from the mulberry worm and moth in
every respect, as will be better understood by
the accompanying drawings and insects (plate
1 X :) like it, however, it goes through four dif-
ferent moultings, but its sickness in doing it
lasts only twenty-four hours ; the last stage
takes eight days, the others four. The dura-
tion of its life varies according to seasons r
in summer it is shorter, and the produce both,
greater and better; at this season, from its
birth to the time it begins its cocoon, twenty
to twenty-four days expire, in fifteen more
the moth comes forth, the eggs are laid in
three days, and in five they are hatched, mak-
ing the total duration of a breed forty-three to-
forty-seven days : in winter it is nearly two
months ; the number of breeds in the year
are reckoned at seven.

This wmrm is, like the mulberry worm,
reared entirely within doors : it is fed prin-
cipally on the hera or palma christi leaves; it
eats the mulberry leaf also but is said to pre-
fer the former : when the palma-chvisti leaves
fail, they are also fed on those of several
other trees known in this part of A'ssam by
the following names : —

1. Kossool.

2. Hindoo gass.

3. Meekeerdal.

4. Okonnee

5. Gomarree.

6. Litta Pakoree.

7. Borzonolly.

The worms thrive best and produce most
when entirely fed on the palma-christi : it is
the only plant which is cultivated purposely
for it. there is hardly one ryut who has not
a small patch of it near his house or on the
hedges of his fields ; it requires little or no
culture. The ground is turned up a little with
the hoc and the seeds thrown in without
ploughing ; whilst the plant is young it is
weeded once or twice, but it is afterwards
left to itself. The plant is renewed every
three years. On the leaves of Nos. 1 and 2,
worms can be reared entirely, but they do not
thrive well upon it; many die even after hav-
ing begun the cocoons, and the few of these
that are got are small and yield but little.
These and the others are only used in the
fourth or fifth stage, when they are considered
to answer quite as well as the palma-christi^
leaves. The kossool (No, 1) alone can be
given alternately with the palma-christi.
The whole of these trees are found in the
forests, but not cultivated.

To breed from, the Assamese select cocoona
from those which have been begun in the
largest number on the same day — generally
the second or third day after cocoons have
begun tq be formed ; those that contain males
being distinguished by a more pointed end.
These cocoons are put in a closed basket
and hung up in the house out of the reach of
rats and insects. When the moths come
forth they are allowed to move about in the
basket for twenty- four hours; after which
the females (known only by the larger body)
are tied to long reeds or canes, twenty or

THE PROCESS OF DYEING SILK,

645

twenty five to each, and these are hung up
in the house! The eggs that have been laid
the first three days amounting to about two
hundred are alone kept, they are tied in a
piece of cloth and suspended to the roof until
a few begin to hatch ; these eggs are white,
and of the size of turnip seed : when a few of
the worms are hatched, the cloths are put
on small bamboo platters hung up in the
house, in which they are fed with tender
leaves ; after the second moulting they are
removed to bunches of leaves suspended
above the ground, under them upon the
ground a mat is laid to receive them when
they fall ; when they have ceased feeding
they are thrown into baskets full of dry
leaves, amongst which they form their co-
coons. two or three being often found joined
together.

Tne caterpillar is at first about a quarter
of an inch in length, and appears nearly
black ; as it increases in size it becomes of
an orange colour, with six black spots on each
of the twelve rings which form its body, i’he
head, claws, and holders are black ; after the
second moulting they change to an orange
colour : that of the body gradually becomes
lighter ; in some approaching to white, in
others to green, and the black spots gradu-
ally become the colour of the body. After the
fourth and last moulting the colour is a
dirty white or a dark green : the white cater-
pillars invariably spin red silk, the green
ones white. On attaining its full size the
woi*m is about three and half inches long :
unlike the mooga caterpillar, its colours are
uniform and dull : the breathing holes are
marked by a black mark : the moles have
become the colour of the body; they have
increased to long fleshy points, without the
sharp prickles the Mooga worm has. The
body has a few short hairs, hardly percep.
tible.

In four days the cocoons are complete ;
after the selection for the next breed is made,
they are exposed to the sun for two or three
days to destroy the vitality of the chrysalis.
The hill tribes settled in the plains are very
fond of eating the chrysalis ; they perforate
the cocoons the third day to get them ; they
do the same with the mooga and sell few
cocoons imperforated.

The cocoons are put over a slow fire in a
solution of potash, when the silk comes
easily off : they are taken out and the water
slightly pressed out ; they are then taken one
by one, loosened at one end, and the cocoon
put overthe thumb of the left hand. With the
right they draw it out nearly the thickness of
twine, reducing any inequality by rubbing it
between the index and thumb : in this way
new cocoons are joined on. The thread is
allowed to accumulate in heaps of a quarter
of a seer, and is afterwards exposed to the
sun or near the fire to dry ; it is then made
into skeins with two sticks tied at one end
and opening like a pair of compasses ; it is
then ready to be wove unless it has to be
dyed.

The dyes used are lac, munjeet, and indigo,
and the process of dyeing is as follows.

RED DYE. — The lac, after ba%dng been
exposed to the sun to render it brittle, is
ground and sieved as fine as possible : it is
steeped twelve hours in water, after v/hich
the thread is thrown in with the leaves of a
tree, called by the Assamese Lit akoo C— Pier-
ardia sapida ? F. J.) When it has absorbed
most of this mixture, it is taken out, put
over two cross sticks, and shaken a short
time, to detach the threads well from each
other : it is dried in the sun and the same
process again gone through twice. When
it is wished to increase the brightness of the
colour, it is again dyed with munjeet : the
latter is dried in the sun and ground in the
same way ; it is steeped for forty-eight hours.
The threads are put in and boiled in the same
way, but with the leaves of a different tree
(the Kolx) : the thread is dried in the sun, and
is ready for use. Nearly the same process
is gone through for the blue : instead of the
common indigo, they sometimes use the
Room, which plant is, I believe, Ruellia
callosa ; also the leaves of a very large tree
found in the forests, called by them Ooriam.
The thread is wove as cotton. The different
prices of the cloths and their use will be
found in an annexed table : their clothes are
mostly used for house consumption ; a few
are bartered with the Bhotias and other hill
tribes. Large quantities were formerly ex-
ported to Lassa by merchants, known in De-
rung as the “ Kampa Bhotias.”

“ MOOGA SILK. — Although the mooga
moth can be reared in houses, it is fed and
thrives best in the open air and on the trees.
The trees w'hich afford it food are known in
Assawi by tlui%llowing names : —

1. Addakoory.

2. Champa, (Michelia.)

3. Soom.

4. Kontooloa.

5. Digluttee, (Tetranthera digloifica,
Ham.)

6. Patteeshoonda, ( Laurus obtusifolia,
*• Roxb.”) •

7. Sonhalloo, (Tetranthera macro-
phylla, “ Roxb.”)

SILK FROM No. 1. ADDAKOORY.—
The Addakoox-y, the worms fed on which,
produce the Mazankoory mooga, is a middle-
sized tree, used for rearing worms only when
under four years. It sprouts up where
foi-ests have been cleared up for the cultiva-
tion of rice or cotton. The worms that are
put on the tree on the first year of their ap-
pearance above the ground produce the best
silk. The second year the crops are inferior
in quality and quantity, and the third it is
little if at all superior to the common mooga.
The Mazankoory silk is nearly white, and its
value fifty per cent, above that of the com-
mon fawn-colored.

The tending of the worms on this tree is
much more laborious than on any of the
others : young trees only being usdd, they

646

ON TriE NUMBER OF BREEDS OF THE WORMS.

have«to be constantly removed to fresh ones ;
the smoothness of the bark also renders it
necessary to help them in moving from
branch to branch. This tree is more abund-
ant in Upper than in Lower Assam ; last
year it was for the first time found to exist
in the forests of the Morung, on the eastern
boundary of this district. The Upper
Assamese, who are settled throughout this
district (they form one-fourth or one-fifth of
our population here), have never met with it
in any other place.

No. 2. CHAMPA. — The Champais found,
as the Addakoory, where forests have been
cleared : the silk of the worms fed on it is
cSiWedL Champa pootia mooga^ It is held
in the same estimation as the “ Mnzan-
koory]^' I do not know whether it is also
used when young : the tree is not met with
in Loiver Assam.

No. 3. SOOM is found principally in the
forests of the plains and in the villages,
where the plantations of this tree are very
extensive. It attains a large size and yields
three crops of leaves in the year: the silk
produced by it is of a light fawn colour, and
estimated next to the Mazankoory : the
plantations are most abundant in the eastern
half of this distiict.

No. 4. KONTOOLOA.— This is a large
tree found both in the hills and the plains ;
also a few in the villages : the leaves are too
hard for young worms/, which are reared on the
preceding (No. 3^, till the third moulting,
and then put on this tree ; by which process
the silk obtained is stronger than that from
worms reared entirely on the Soom.

No. ,5. DIGLUTTEE.— A tree of a small
size not much used on that account : the silk
equal to that obtained from No. 3.

No. 6. PATTEE SHOONDA.— Middle-
sized trees, found principally in forests ; few
to be met with in the villages of Loioer Assam ;
used when the leaves of No. 3 are done.

No. 7. SONHALLOO.— The Sonhalloo is
found in the forests of the bills and plains,
where it attains a very large size : it is also
found in the villages, where in six years it
attains its foil growth (thirty feet) ; it is very
abundant in the western portion of this dis-
trict, Rora, Jamna, Mookh, Jyntea, and the
valley of Dhurmpoor. At the latter place,
where the hill tribes of Mikirs and Kachnris
clear dense forests, for the cultivation of rice
and cotton, numbers of the plants spring up
spontaneously. After three or four years,
when the land getting poorer requires more
tillage and the use of the plough, these
tribes who only use the kar, or hoe, remove
to new forests, and leave behind them plan-
tations of these trees, which they have used
during the short period they have remained.
To them the ryuts of the more settled parts
resort in the spring to rear up worms. The
silk of the Sonhalloo-fed worm is considered
inferior to the preceding; more I believe
from its darker colour than any other cause.

There are generally five breeds of mooga
worms in the year : they are named after the
months at which they generally occur.

1. arooa. in January and February.

2. Jeytooa, in May and June.

3. Aharooa,m June and July.

4. Bhodia, in August and September.

5. Khotia, in October and November.

The first and last are the best crops as to

quality and quantity. Nos. 3 and 4 yield so
little and so inferior a silk, that they may be
said to be merely for the purpose of continu-
ing the breed. Were the Assamese acquaint-
ed wuth the process of retarding the hatch-
ing of the eggs as is practised in China^ in
regard to the mulbery silk- worm, they would,
I think, find it more advantageous to have
only three or four crops.

The same rule is followed in the selection
of cocoons to breed from, as in the Eria.
They are put in a closed basket suspended
from the roof ; the moths as they come forth
having room to move about after a day, the
females (known only by their larger body)
are taken out and tied to small wisps of thatch -
ing grass, taken always from over the
hearth ; its darkened colour being thought
more acceptable to the moth. If out of a
batch there should be but few males, the
wisps with the females tied to them are
exposed outside at night : the males thrown
away in the neighbourhood find their w’ay
to them. These wisps are hung on a siring
tied across the house to keep them from the
lizards and rats. The eggs laid during the
first three days (about 250) are the only ones
thought worth the keeping : those laid on
the two or three subsequent days are said to
produce weak worms. The wisps are taken
out morning and evening, and exposed to
the side where the sun is shining : ten days
after the laying of the eggs, a few of them
are hatched ; the wisps are then hung up to
the tree, the young worms finding their way
to the leaves : care must be taken that the
ants have been destroyed, their bite proving
fatal to the worm in its early stages. To
effect this they rub the trunk of the tree with
molasses, and tie to it fish and dead toads.
When large numbers have been attracted to
one place they destroy them with fire :
this they do several times previously to the
worms being put on. The ground under the
trees must be kept clear of jungle to make it
easy to find the worms that fall down : young
trees are preferable until the second moult-
ing.

To prevent the worms coming to the
ground, fresh plantain leaves are tied round
the trunk, over the slippery surface of which
they cannot crawl. J hey are removed to
fresh trees on bamboo platters tied to long
poles.

Bats, owls, rats, are very destructive at
night: in the day the worms require to be
constantly watched ; crows and other birds
being so fond of them, that they lie in wait
in the neighbouring trees. An old lady’s
4oze over her morning canee” (opium,)

ON THE DURATION OF THE BREED OF WORMS.

647

however short, is sure to be fatal to several
worms : the goolail which is always at hand
often punishes the thief ; but the mischief is
done.

Numbers are destroyed in the more advan-
ced stages by the sting of wasps, and by the
ichneumon insect, which deposits its eggs in
their body. These are hatched when the
cocoon is half formed : they perforate it at
the side and the chrysalis is found dead : the
W'orms which have thus been stung are
hnown by black marks on their body. Were
the people more careful in their management,
this would be of little consequence : by mak-
ing these worms spin apart, the cocoon being
formed before the chrysalis is killed, the silk
could be saved.

The worms thrive best in dry weather : but
a very hot sunny day proves fatal to many at
the time of moulting. At these periods rain
is very favorable : thunder storms do not
injure them as they do the mulberry worm ;
continual heavy-rains (which are rarer in
Assam than in Bengal) are hurtful by throw-
ing them down : showers, however heavy,
cause no great damage, they taking shelter
under the leaves with perfect safety, d'he
worms during their moultings remain on the
branches, but when about beginning to spin
they come down the tiunk; the plaintain
leaves preventing their going further down,
they are collected in baskets, which are
afterwards put under bunches of dry leaves
suspended from the roof : they crawl up into
these and form their cocoons ; as with the
Bm, several are often joined together, d ue
silk of these they spin instead of winding:
above the plantain leaf a roll of grass is tied
for those that come down during the night
to begin spinning in. After four days the selec-
tion of cocoons for the next breed is made
and the rest wound oif.

The total duration of a breed varies from
sixty to seventy days. Tlie period is thus
divided ; four moultings, with one day’s illness

attending each, 20

From fourth moulting to beginning

of cocoon, 10

In the cocoon, 20

As a moth, 6

Hatching of the eggs, 10

66

On being hatched the worm is about a
quarter of an inch long; it appears composed
of alternate black and yellow rings : as it
increases in size the former are distinguish-
ed, as six black moles, in regular lines on
each of the twelve rings which form its body.
The colours gradually alter as it progresses ;
that of the body becoming lighter, the moles
sky-blue, then red. with a bright gold-colored
ring round each. When full grown, the worm
is above four inches long ; its colours are most
brilliant and varied in shades ; the body
appears transparent, and is of a very light
yellow or dark green colour, with a brown
and yellow streak at the sides ; in the latter
the breathing holes are distinguished by a

black speck. The moles are red and have each
four sharp prickles and a few black hairs ;
the head and claws are of a light brown, the
holders green, and covered with short black
hair ; the last pair have a black ring on the
outside. On being tapped with the finger
the body renders a hollow sound ; by the
sound it is acertained whether they have come
down for want of leaves on the tree, or from
their having ceased feeding.

'J’he chrysalis not being soon killed by ex-
posure to the sun, when they have many co-
coons they put them on stages, cover them up
with leaves, and burn grass under them : the
cocoons are then boiled for about an hour in a
solution of the potash made from the dried
stalks of rice ; they are then taken out and
laid on cloth folded over to keep them warm :
from this they are taken as required, and
thrown in hot water (not over the fire) after
the floss has been removed with the hand.
The instrument used for winding off the silk
is the coarsest imaginable. A thick bamboo
about three feet long is split in two, and the
pieces driven equally in the ground two feet
apart ; over the interior projection of one of
the knots is laid a stick, to which is fixed,
a little on one side, a round piece of blank
about one foot in diameter. The rotary mo-
tion is given by jerking this axle, on which
the thread rolls itself : in front of the vessel
holding the cocoons a stick is fixed horizon-
tally for the thread to travel upon. 'I'wo
persons are employed : one attending the
cocoons; the other jerks the axle with the
right hand, and w’ith the same hand directs
the thread up the left forearm, so that it is
twisted in coming down again towards the
hand ; the left hand directs the thread over
the axle. Fifteen cocoons is the smallest
number they can wind off in one thread,
twenty the number generally ; even the last
is often broken from the coarseness of the
instrument used, although the fibre is much
stouter than that of the mulberry silk.
When nearly a quarter of a seer has accumu-
lated on the axle, it is dried in the sun and
made into skeins of one or two rupees weight.
This is done with a small bamboo frame set
in motionby the common spinning machine of
the country : if it has to be dyed, the same
process is followed as with the Eria, The
cloths are usually made of moo^a,and their use
will be found in the annexed table : besides
those, I have seen it used as the warp with
cotton, and the cloth so made is a little
lighter colour than nankin and much stronger;
but this is seldom done, from the trouble
of spinning the cotton fine enough. Cotton
twist adapted to that purpose would, I
think, meet a ready market,

'J he exact quantity of silk, which an acre
of mooga trees can produce, could not be
ascertained without a trial. Fifty thousand
cocoons per acre*, which makes upwards of

• All Assamese Poorali of land is a hiile more
than an Englisli staiutc acre, and such laiuis liiilier-
to have luu oeeii taxed, or ai a very low rate, if
cultivated with other crops beside^ the mooga.

648

EPIDEMICS AMONG THE WORMS.

twelve seers, are considered by the Assamese
a good yearly return. Sixty rupees, the value
of twelve seers, must be a very profitable one,
for there is little laborer expense to the ryut
in making or keeping up a plantation ; whilst
the trees are young, the ground is availuble
for cultivation, besides reavingworms; sugar-
cane, rice, pulse. See. are cultivated with
benefit rather than injury to the young trees.
The tax is fourteen annas the acre in this
district. The great value of the mooga is,
that it enables the weaker members of a
family to contribute as much as the most
robust to the welfare of the whole. Besides
attending to the worms, most of them weave,
spin, or make baskets, while watching them.

From causes which I have been unable to
ascertain, and of which the natives are igno-
rant, the mooga some years failed so com-
pletely in particular districts, that none was
left to continue the breed. There being very
few hauts or markets to resort to, to procure
cocoons for breeding from the more fortu-
nate people of other districts, a failure of
this kind in one place is sensibly felt for two
or three years after in the production. The
time of the ryut, who has at most half or a
quarter of an acre of mooga trees, is too valu-
able to allow of his being absent for a month
and more, going from village to village, and
bouse to house, to find out the people who
have cocoons for sale. This last season in our
Jumna ?nukh ( Cachar) pergunnah the mooga
was a complete failure ; theVe are no worms
on the trees now, from inability to procure
cocoons, although there was a very abundant
crop in two pergunnahs at the opposite end
of the district.

The mooga plantations are principally
round the ryuts’ houses, and are included in
bouse-lands. By this year’s measurement
of the Barree lands in the three divisions of
the Nou'gong zillah, w'here the land tax
obtains, the quantity in actual occupation
(exclusive of those which being unclaimed
have reverted to the state) amounts to
5350 acres : the proportion of mooga planta-
tions is upwards of one-fourth or 1337 aci'es.
In the five other divisions of the same zillah,
which are three times the area, and have
more than double the population, but of
which we have no accurate measurements,
I will only venture to estimate the quantity
of mooga plantations, at half that of the other
three, or about 600 acres, but on this low
calculation there would be a total of 2000
acres for Noivgong. Estimating the planta-
tions of the Derung and Kamrup zillahs at
only 1500 acres each, there would be a total
of 5000 acres of those plantations in Lower
Assam, exclusive of what the forests contain
of them : this quantity is capable of pro-
ducing in one year 1500 maunds. In Upper
Assam I understand! the plantations are more
extensive than ours.

4. KONTKURI MOOGA.— This worm
feedson many trees besides the “moopa trees;”
it is found oftener on the bair (Zizyphus juju-
ba) and the seemul ( Bom baxhepfaphy Hum), hut

notin great quantities. The worms, moths,
and cocoons are considerably larger than any
of the others ; indeed the cocoon is the size
of a fowl’s egg. Several Assamese told me
they had vainly attempted to domesticate
them ; the eggs have been hatched, but after
observing the worms for a few days on the
trees they have at once disappeared. They
attributed this to its being a dewang.” or
spirit; the real cause may probably belts
being fond of changing its food, and gifted
with greater locomotive powers than the
generality of the silk worms. I have been
told by some Bengalees that it is found in
Bengal in the wild state on the “ bair” as in
Assam, and called ” Gootee-poka ;” it is
there reeled off like the mulberry silk, and
much valued for fishing lines, but not wove,
probably from its scarcity. The fibre is
stronger than that of the mooga and of a
lighter colour.

5. DEO MOOGA. — I accidentally became
acquainted with this worm.whicli is very little
known to the natives, and entirely in llie wild
stale, 'ritree years ago being employed m
Jumna-miikh {Cachar), 1 had occasion to take
some bearings, for whicl) purpose 1 had a white
cloth put up on a large “ bur” tree (Ficws
Indica). The year after, being near tlie spot,
the ryuts came and told me that two months af-
ter I left ( April), they observed that the tree
had lost all its foliage ; they went to it and
found in the surrounding grass and dry leaves
a large number of small cocoons : these they
spun like the m’a out of curiosity and used
it with the latter. They took no further
notice of succeeding breeds, finding the thing
of little present use. I lost a few cocoons
wliich I procured at the time, but have lately
seen both the worm and the cocoon : the
former is quite different from any other ;. it
is more active, its length is under 25 inches,,
the body very slender in proportion to its
length, the colour reddish and glazed. I could
not observe them more particularly, as they
weie brought tome one evening at dusk : 1
put them in a box, with the intention of exa-
mining them the next morning, but they dis-
appeared during the night, although it vva&
open very little to admit the air. The moth
is very much like that of the mulberry, so is
the cocoon also in appearance, colour, and
size : 1 have questioned many of the natives
about this worm, hut none had ever seen it
before; their opinion of it is that it is a
“dewang” (spirit), brought there by the
prismater compass and the white flay. I'his
made them call it deo mooga.

The havmpoltonee, a caterpiller very com-
mon in Assam (and elsewhere perhaps), may
also be mentioned as one of the varieties of
the species, although it forms but a very im-
perfect cocoon : it feeds on most leaves. I
have had no opportunity yet of observing it
myself; but am told by the natives that it
goes through similar stages to the others. The
worm is about two inches long, of a brown
colour, and covered with hair ; the moth of the
same colour as the mooga moth, but only half

JX

l/u. J^u, moM'

^omAtfoo rcC<-<noj i*

AyjauJ

-ev SloC^Caan^i

'm^tA

■■'S*

»■

(

.V

f

r ■,

MU'

NEW SILK WORM DISCOVERED ON THE PIPUL TREE.

649

the size : the cocoon has this peculiarity, that
it is quite transparent, so that the chrysalis
can be seen inside. Atone end of it a small
opening is left : the cocoon is of a yellow co-
lour; it can be spun like the eria cocoon,
but the Assamese do not use it, on account of
its silk causing a severe itching in wearing.

I have questioned several Bengalees settled
in Assam, and who have been at Midnapnr,
regarding the identity of tlie mooga and tus-
sur s they say that the w'orm is the same, but
that at the latter place they are fed on a
different tree. I’he point could be better
ascertained by a comparison with the draw-
ings and pjcserved worms rvhich accompany
these remarks. The Burmese envoys who
have just left Assam told me that the moog^a
was unknown in their country previous to the
conquest of but that it had since been

introduced by ih.e Assamese who were carried
off and settled in the Burmese territory. I'he
Cachoris also admit that it is not many years
since it was introfluced into Cachar (south of
the hills). In Cooch Behar, both it and the eria
are almost unknown to this day : the prevail-
ing opinion amongst the natives of these patts
is, that both species {mooga and eria) are in-
digenous to Upper Assam, and were introduced
from thence. It has always appeared to me
that the production of these silks is greater as
one advances to the east : it is to this day pro-
curable more abundantly in Upper Assam xlmn

anywhere else, especially in the district of
Lukinpoor on the north bank of the Burham-
pooturd’

“ In the within Mr. Hugon has said no-
thing of another silk worm which was lately
discovered on a pipul tree {F. religiosa), and
of the moth of which a drawing accompanies,
with three or four cocoons, a chrysalis, and
two moths, d his looks very like the mulberry
moth, but I am not able to say whether it is
or not. The silk looks very fine, and it may
be considered a curiosity, even if it be the
produce of a mulberry worm, for the question
arises on what was tiie worm fed?— it on the
F. religiosa, it is, I believe, a discovery, that
the silk worm would feed on the leaf ot any
tree butthe mulberry; if the worm is distinct
from the Bombyx mori, it is a still greater
curiosity.

Mr. Hugon has been unable to determine
whether the worm now alluded to, is the
same as tiie deo mooga mentioned within : he
is inclined to think not, from the colour of tlie
cocoons and the slight observations be was
able to make on the latter ; but from both
feeding on the leaves of two trees so nearly
allied, I should suppose it likely that the
worms were identical. It would be a dis-
covery of some importance to find worms
affording any tolerable silk, that fed on these
species of Ficus which are so abundant here.
— F. Jenkins.”

LIST OF THE CLOTHS MADE IN ASSAM OF MOOGA AND ERIA SILKS.

Names of
Cloth.

Size in
Cubits.

Weight.

Price of
Thread.

Cost of 1
Weaving.

1

Total.

Seer.

Chk.

R.

A.

P.

R.

A.

P.

R.

A.

P.

Mooga.

Soorias, . . . .

7

by

0

6

1

14

0

0

3

0

2

1

0

Ditto

16

5 y

2

1

0

5

0

0

0

8

0

5

8

0

Mekla

5

yy

0

4

1

4

0

0

2

0

1

6

0

Rhia, ... . . . .

12

yy

U

0

8

2

8

0

0

4

0

2

12

0

Gaurshan, . . .

8

yy

1

0

2

0

10

0

0

1

0

0

11

0

Joonta Bor

Cappor, . . .

12

yy

1

0

2

0

0

0

6

0

2

6

0

Eria.

Bor Cappor . .

16

by

3

1

8

3

0

0

0

8

0

3

8

0

Meklas, ..

.5

yy

2

0

6

0

12

0

0

2

0

0

14

0

Rhia,

10

yy

H

0

8

1

0

0

0

2

0

1

2

0

Gaursha, ....''

8

yy

h

0

4

0

8

0

0

2

0

0

10

0

Remarks.

i Dlioties.

Petticoats.

Scarfs.

Worn as turbans, or
round the vraist.

Made of the floss &
worn in winter.

Worn in winter and
used as a blanket;
also made into coats.

I Used only by the
I poorer class.

MEMORANDUM UPON THE SPECI-
MENS OF SILK, AND SILKWORM
FROM ASSAM.

By W. PnrNSEP, Esq.

The mooga or tussur cocoons are very fine,
particularly those fed from the soom and the
sohaloo trees, which are superior to the pro-
duce of the jungles about Bankoora.

The thread from these worms is quite equal
to that which is used in the best China tussur
cloths.

The specimens of cloth wove from these
threads are not equal, however, either to the
Bengal tussur cloih, or to the C/iina cloth
of the same description.

The eria cocoon, thread, and cloth, are all
new to us : I have never seen them in Bengal

650

MR. HODGSON’S COMMUNICATION.

except now and then a few pieces of the cloth
imported from Rungpur ; it a[)p8ars to be
more cottony than the tussur, and to make a
web warmer and softer than the tussur cloth,
but it is not so strong.

The cocoons called haumpottonee are un-
known to us in Bengal^ and appear to be of
small value, both as to quantity and texture :
moreover, 1 imagine it would be very difficult
to reel them into thread.

The dco mooga cocoons are very small, but
are fine and soft, and when fresh would yield,
1 doufit not, a very delicate white thread :
they are smaller than our desee (country)
cocoon.

The specimen of country worm silk is very
fair, and if dressed would he quite equal to
our Patna thread, from which korahs and
other silk piece goods are made.

The specimen of iron reel (or station me-
thod) is very good, indeed, equal to our best
native filatnie letter A: the thread is even,
soft, sound, and remarkably strong, so that
it may be w'ell ranked with our best second
quality fronr the filatures of Bengal.”

ORIGINAL COMMUNICATION.

INDICATION OF A NEW GENUS OF
INSESSORES, TENDING TO CON-
NECT THE SYLVIAD^ AND MUS-
CICAPIDJ5.

By B. H. Hodgson, Esa.,
Resident in Nepal.

(For the India Review.)

DENTIROSTRES, SYLVIADiE, SAXICOLIN^.

Genus Niltaya nobis. Niltau of Nepal.
Bill Phoenicornian, equal to the head,
stout, subdepressed, conico-subtetragonal.
Culmen half carinated, and so far hid by a
subsetaceous thick porrect frontal zone con-
cealing the advanced nares. Legs and feet
Sylviadan. Tarsi sufficiently elevate, | longer
than the central toe, smooth, not feeble.
Toes compressed, hard, slender, unequal ;
laterals and hind approaching to equality :
fores basally nect, the exterior one as far as
the joint : sole flattish but not dilated.
Nails slender, largish, acute, simple. Wings
medial, round-acuminate, firm ; 5th quill
longest, 1st and 2nd considerably, 3rd and
4th trivially, and both subequally gradated.
Tail medial, firm, even. Caudal and alar
plumes finely pointed. Rictus rather wide
and bristled ; chin and nares furnished with
curling hairs.

' Habits, forest-haunting, arboreal and
terrestrial, but chiefly the former, exploring
foliage. Food, various sorts of soft and hard,
perfect and imperfect, insects. Bugs, fire-

flies, tiny coleoptera, caterpillars, ants, pulpy
berries, and hard seeds, the latter chiefly in
winter. Solitary. Never seize on wing.
Habitat central region of the hills.

1st species and type. Niltava Sundara
nobis. Nos. 142, 422-3 of the specimens and
drawing apud Zoological Society of London.

2nd species. Niltava Fuligiventer nobis.
Nos. 143, 714 ut ante.

3rd species. Niltava Brevipes nobis.
Nos. 137-8.

Phoenicura Rubeculoi’des of Gould’s Cen-
tury.

1st species. 7 inches long by 10 wide
and I oz. Bill f. Tail 3. Tarsus 15-16ths
Central toe 9-16ths, blind. 6-16ths. Closed
wing 3^, whereof the 1st quill is If, the 2nd
2f , the 3rd 3, l-16ths, the 4th 3,3-16ths,
and the 5th 3,4-16ths. Wings to mid-tail
or If inches less its tip.

Colour. Mas. intire cap, spot on either
side the neck, shoulders, rump, and caudal
plumes externally, brilliant, filaceous, coeru-
lean : lores, frontal baud, chin, throat, body
above, and wings, black ; the two last with
a vague dark blue gloss or superficial tint :
whole body below and fining of the wings,
brilliant rusty : bill black, legs plumbeous,
iris brown. Female subolive, paler below,
and fading to sordid white at the vent ;
wings and tail externally, chesnut brown ;
frontal zone, ochreous ; cheeks and chin,
shaded with the same : white gorget on the
top of the breast ; blue neck spot as in male,
margining the gorget on its superior lateral
edge. Sexes of equal size. Young at first like
the female, but wanting the gorget and neck
spot; chin greyish ; neck, breast, and sides
gradually suffused with ferruginous.

2nd species, fif inches long by 8 wide; f
oz. Bill 9-16ths. Tail 2f. Tarsus 13-16ths.
Central toe 8-lf)ths. Hind, 5-16ths. Bill
shorter and less armed at the point than in
the type : frontal zone more produced ;
lateral toes less equal.

Colour. Mas. above with the head and
neck purpurescent dark blue, paler and
richer on the shoulders and rump : lores and
frontal band black, and margined above by
filaceous cerulean, which also forms a spot
on the neck, as in the last : alar and caudal
plumes internally black : breast dusky,
fading into sordid white lower down : fining
of wings, white : bill black : legs fleshy
brown : iris dark. Bill shorter than the
head and more than half concealed by the
frontal plumes. Female, as in Sundara; but
the white gorget on the breast of the latter
transferred in this to the chin and front of
neck, which are white, with a black margin
proceeding from the gape ; no blue spot on
neck : bill dusky horn : legs fleshy grey.
Young like female.

NEW GENUS OF INSESSORES.

651

3rd species. Brevipes. Less typical than
either of the foregone. Distinguished for
the shortness of its tarsi, hardly exceeding
the elevation in Muscicapa. Bill equal to
the head, rather more cylindric than in the
type, and having the frontal band more re-
stricted but still concealing the nares. The
lateral and hind toes are distinctly unequal,
and the feet similar to those of Muscicapa
Melanops. Size, 6 inches long by 9 wide, and
^ oz. in weight. Bill ll-16ths. Tail 2-|.
Tarsus 11-16'ths. Central toe 8-16ths.
Hind 5.16ths.

Colour. Mas. above, with the head and
neck, dark blue, as in the last, but not pur-
purescent. Lores and frontal band, black
as before, and similarly margined above by
a cerulean zone. Wings and tail internally
black: bottom of neck, breast, and flanks
rusty : lining of wings, paler : rest of body
below, white : shoulders and rump hardly
more brilliant than the general hue : no
spot on neck: bill black: legs bluish, fleshy
grey : iris dark. Female, above, subolive,
passing into chesnut on the wings and tail,
as in both the precedent : lores, front,
cheek, neck below, breast, and flanks, rusty
like the breast and flanks of the male ; the
rest of the body below, w'hite as in him :
bill dusky horn ; legs and iris, as in male.
Young, at first, like female, but with the
upper parts blotched with buff ; bill brown
and legs white. In youngish males, the
flanks are white like the belly, and the chin
and throat black, wanting the blue supralint
of maturity. In this state, Gould has figur-
ed the bird. The whole cap is not light
blue, but only a zone round the brows from
behind the eyes.

Remarks. — From the uniformity of co-
louring in these three species, it seems pro-
bable that the peculiar tints of both sexes
are generically significant. The general
structure, like the habits, seems borrowed
equally from the Muscicapidee and Sylviadee.
In the type or Sundara, the strength and
form of the bill are quite Phoenicornian,
with a slight leaning towards Saxicola, to
which genus this bird is most closely allied
by the structure of its feet ; as also to Sylvia
as typed by Hippolais, the Reed wren, and
the Grasshopper Warbler. In fact, the
diagnosis of the genus is the union of
Sylviadan feet with a Muscicapidan bill,
and the manners expressly pourtray this
osculant character and position. These
birds are as much more terrestrial than the
typical Flycatchers as they are less so than
the typical Warblers, but taking structure
and habits together, I conceive their affini-
ties to lie with the latter family ; their
analogies with the former. There is a gra-
dation of characters both in the bills and

feet leading from Niltava to the next form
or Siphia which, for the present, I propose
to consider a subgenus of Niltava, though
I deem it very possible that our Siphia
Strophiata may prove to be the type of the
genus, as exhibiting the fullest development
of the Flycatcher bill with the Sylvian feet.
I confess some surprise that any person
having access to the Libraries and Museums
of Europe should have ranged our third
species of Niltava under the genus Phoeni-
cura, an eminently terrestrial group ap-
proaching to Motacilla and consequently
almost antipodaIVto Muscicapa. Mr. Gould’s
specimen was a young bird evidently, from
his description of its colours ; and perhaps
also one under the incipient influence of
moult ; and hence the porrect subsetaceous
frontal zone at the base of the bill, so cha-
racteristic of Niltava, may have been wanting,
as well as the hook and tooth at its point.
But the legs and feet, so strictly Muscicapan
(Melanops), and which, in despite of con-
formity in other parts of organization as
well as in manners with Niltava, induce me
to hesitate in classing the species under
Niltava, at all events demonstrate that it is
any thing but a Phoenicura.

Generis, Niltavse, subgenus ?

Siphia nobis.

Siphya of Nepal.

Bill shorter than the head, shaped as in
Muscicapa, but less broad and less armed at
the point. Nares extremely advanced, par-
tially exposed, and more shaded above by
the membrane. Tarsi, elevate, slender,
smooth. Digits and claws as in Niltava ;
thumb rather less, but not depressed nor
broad. Plumage long, lax and soft. Wings
and tail as in Niltava, but the wings scarcely
so acuminate, having the 4th and oth quills
frequently equal. Habits and food as in
Niltava ; but perching and questing lower,
chiefly in thick brushwood.

New species and type. Siphia Strophiata
nobis. Nos. 424-474. Structure and size,
5^ by 8^ inches, and ^ oz. Bill Tail 2^.
Tarsus 13-16th. Central toe 8-l6th. Hind
5-16. Bill to head as 7 to 9. Muscicapan,
but narrower, more cut out by the nasal
fossae, and less armed at the tip.

Frontal zone, close, velvety, not con-
cealing the nares, but putting off curling
hairs over them. Rictus short of the eye,
and provided with long but slender hairs :
Closed wing 3 inches, whereof the first quill
is 1:|^, the 2nd 2^, the 3rd 2f , the 4th sub-
equal or equal to the 5th, and longest.
Tertials f inch less. Wings to mid-tail or
more. Tail medial, firm, and even, with the
caudal and alar plumes finelypointed, thread-
wise, as in Niltava and in several of the

652

GRAHAM’S CATALOGUE OF PLANTS.

Sylviadae. Legs and feet longer and slender
than in Niltava. Tarsi more than a third
longer than the central digit. Toes com-
pressed, slender, unequal : fores basally
nect ; the outer more so'and larger than the
inner fore, which scarcely exceeds the thumb.
The latter, however, is not bordered nor
broad. The digits are not dissimilar in
form from those of Muscicapa Melanops,
but they are longer and slenderer, with
longer thumb, and the legs are conspicu-
ously longer and slighter.

Colour. Mas. above, dusky slate colour,
overlaid by olive, brighter and browner on
the external webs of the closed wing. Alar
feathers dusky : caudal black, with all the
laterals whitened obliquely in the basal half.
Lores, a narrow frontal band, with the
throat, head, and neck, as far as the eyes,
black, limited towards the breast by an
orange gorget occupying the top of the
breast. Above the black frontal band, a
narrow white one as far as the eye, and both
margined towards the superior surface of
the head and neck by that deep slaty blue
which covers the breast and flanks. Rest
of the body below, sordid white. Bill black:
legs fleshy grey : iris dark brown.

Female, rather less than her mate ; her
colours duller ; her chin and throat un-

blackened, being uniformly blue with the
breast ; and her gorget paler, and sordid
orange yellow. In both sexes the superior
tail coverts are black like the caudal feathers,
and there is sometimes a white band across
the croup of both.

The young are at first subolive on the
neck and breast as well as above, each plume
being blotched with buff, — the common
sign of immaturity. In them the gorget is
wanting ; the legs are bluish ; and the bill
imperfect black : but the tail soon exhibits
the appropriate hues of puberty.

Closely allied as the Siphige
are by the bill to Muscicapa, the elevation
and slenderness of the tarsi indicate that
leaning towards Sylvia which is confirmed
by the food and manner of taking it, as
well as by the muscularity of the stomach.
These birds never seize on the wing, and
they partake freely both of berries and seeds.
In these respects they agree with our type
of Niltava, between which and our type of
Siphia there is a various gradation of form,
through Brevipesand Fuligiventer, seeming
to indicate the circular affinities of but one
genus, — a genus composed almost equally of
the attributes of the Flycatchers and War-
blers.

GENERAL SCIENCE.

CATALOGUE OF PLANTS COLLECTED
Al’ BOMBAY.

By John Graham, Esa.

{Continued from page 585.)

309. Moraea chinensis.

310. Mentha, perilloides

311. M arsilea 4 -folia

312. Morus Indica.

313. Milhavia In gardens only.

314. Mesembryanthemum. ? Ditto.

315. Nyctanthes Arbor tristis.

316. Nicoiiana Tahacum,

317. Neriura Oleander.

318. ,, coronarium, T All cul-

319. M coccineum. Rare. 1 tivated as

320. ,, anfidysentericum. j ornament-

321. ,, tinciorium. J al plants.

322. Nymphea lotus.

323. Nelumbium specioszim.

324. Nauclea orient alis.

325. Oryza sativa. Common rice.

326. Ocimum sanctum. Planted at temples.

327. Ochna lucida.

328. Piper nigrum. In gardens.

329. Pladua virgata,

330. Plumbago rosea.

331. ” Zeylonica.

332. Physalis angulata.

333. Plumeria acuminata.

334. Periploca esculenta. A very pretty
twining plant ; flowers during the rains.

335. evSWa. ocymoides.

336. Polyanthus tuberosa. Cultivated in
gardens ; worn by native women in their hair.

337. Parkinsonia acw/ea/a. In gardens.

338. Poinciana pulcherrima. Common in
gardens. It grows in abundance close to the
caves of Ellora, near Aurungabad. but 1 sup-
pose it has all been planted.

339. Portulaca oleracea.

340. Psidiump^/n/erw/n. Grown in gardens.

34 1. Punica Granatum. Ditto.

342. Premna integrifolia .

343. Phlomis Indica.

344. Pedaliurn Mur ex.

345. Passiflora fcetida.

346. ,, laurifolia.

347. ,, minima.

348. ,, alatacoerulea.

349. Pistia Stratiotes.

350. Pentapetes phoenicea. In gardens.

351. Pterospermum aem/oZmm.

352. Phaseolus Mungo.

353. Polygonum pZafirujn.

354. Phyllanthus bacciformis.

355. Pandanus odoratissimus.

^ In gardens

GRAHAM’S CATALOGUE CONTINUED.

653

356. Prenanthes sarmentosus.

357. Quisqualis Indica. Iji gardens.

358. Bhizophora Mangle.

359. Rosa. } Several specitss in gardens.

360. Ricinus communis.

361. Ruellia Zeylonica.

362. Rottleria tinctoria.

363. Saccharura officinarum. Cultivated.

364. Smilax aspera.

365. Santalum album.

366. Solanum tuberosum.

367. ” lycopersisum,

368. ” melongina.

369. ” nigrum.

370. ” jacquini.

371. Sterpulia colorata.

372. ” urens.

373. ” foetida. Poon tree. Grows

to a great height in Malabar ; masts are
made of it.

374. Sphaeranthus Indicus.

275, Sansevcera Zeylonica.

376. Sapindus emarginatus.

” tetraphyllus.

377. Spondias Amra.

378. Sesamum Indicum.

379. Sida populifolia.

380. Smithia sensitive.

381. Spilanthes

382. Salvadora persica.

383. Stemodia

384. Tectona gmndis. Teak tree,

385. Tamarix Indica.

386. Turnera ulmifolia. In gardens.

387. Tradescantia discolor. Ditto.

388. Tradescantia cristata.

389. ,, annua.

390. Thunbergia grandijlora. In gardens.

391. Taraarindns Indica.

392. Tagites patula. In gardens ; vjovxx
by native women in their hair.

393. Trichosanthes Anguina.

394. Trophis aspera.

395. Terminalia Catappa,

396. ,, alata.

397. ,, Bellirica.

398. Tabernaemontana dicZioZoma.

399. Utricularia stellaris.

400. Ulmus integrifolia. Salsette.

401. Vnona longifolia.

402. Vitis vinifera. In gardens.

403. Vitex trifolia.

404. Vernonia arborea.

405. Vernonia anthelmintica.

406. Verbena saliva.

407. )» dicJiotoma,

408. Viscum compressum,

409. Vangueria spinosa.

410. ,, edulis.

411. Titmaama elliptica.

412. Yucca gloriosa.

413. Zingiber o^cZnaZe.

414. Ziziphus Jujuba.

415. Zinnia elegans. In gardens only,

416. Zea Mays. Indian corn ; extensively
cultivated.

417. Zapania nod^om.

Records of Science.

ON SOME METHODS OF ASTRONOMICAL OBSERVATION.
By William Galbraith, A. M.

Teacher of Mathematics, Edinburgh.

{Continued from page 586.^

All the formulae* vrith which I am acquainted, and most of the tables are adapted to
the sun’s distance from the solstice reckoned on the ecliptic, or the difference between
the sun’s longitude, at the time of observation, and 90° or 270°. Now, by those possess-
ing an ephemeris giving the sun’s longitude at apparent noon, with differences to reduce
to any given meridian, this is readily found. The sun’s longitude, however, in the new
Nautical Almanac for 1834, and succeeding years, is given to mean noon without dif-
ferences or proportional parts, consequently, the distance of the sun, at apparent noon,
from the solstice is not so easily obtained in terms of the longitude, as in those of the
right ascension. Besides, in an observatory, the sidereal time is generally known by
observation, and, therefore, on the whole, arguments depending on the right ascension
are the more convenient for obtaining the reduction of the sun’s observed declination
to the solstice.

A very convenient formula for this purpose may be obtained in terms of the right
ascension as follows :

Let & be the right ascension at the time of observation, $ the declination, w the

obliquity of the ecliptic, and x the connexion necessary to reduce the observed decli-
nation to the solstice.

♦ There are, ! have since found, formulse, though stiil requiring simplification, in
works on Astronomy for this purpose, and not free from obliquity.

654

GALBRAITH’S ASTRONOMICAL OBSERVATIONS,

By spherics, sin. k tan. w — tan. ^ = tan. (w x)*

But tan. {w - — x) =

tan, w — tan. x

therefore,

tan. w tan. x
tan. w — tan. x

sin. k tan. w ~

1 4* tan. w tan. x

which by reduction becomes,

(1 — sin. &) tan. w

tan. X — .. .. ., (8)

1 4* sin. h tan.2 vj

This equation would give the reduction to the solstice, but it is not in a form to'be
readily applied. It admits of a transformation, however, from the following considera-
tions, which renders it remarkably simple. Since k does not in this case differ much
from or 18h let — kr k — 18i> — k — 18^ , and ^ being small

cos. fc = 1 4- .

2 24

stituted in formula (81 it becomes,

, A® A*

(1 _ 1 +

2 24

tan. X— —

A**

720

A®

4 —
720

&c. If this value of cos. k be sub-

&c.) tan. w

2

H-

(9)

A'^

720

&c.) tan. 3 w

0*1883608,

1 (_4..

2 24

Now taking w = 23^1 27' 40'', tan. iv = 0*4340056, and tan. 2 to
By introducing these values into equation (9) it becomes,

0*2170028 — 0*0180836 A^ 4* 0*0006028 a®^

tan, X —

1*1883608—0*0941804 A^ 4“ 0*0078483 a'* —0*0002616 a®
tan. 0;*= 0*18260684 a^ — 0*0007454 a^ — 0*00075777 A® (10) in which a is the
length of the circular arc to radius unity.

It is new only necessary to adopt the co-efficients of formula (10) to degrees of arc
or minutes of time, as these are the terms in which the right ascension of the sun is
generally given, while tan. x may in like manner be converted into seconds of arc.
This is accomplished by applying the logarithms of R‘^, R", &c. to the logarithms of
the co-efficients of formula (10), and they become those for a expressed in degrees and
X in seconds.

I. II. HI.

Const, logs. 1*0596970, 5*154114, 1*64523, . (A)

Similarly are obtained the logs, of the constants for minutes of time when the right
ascension is given in time, and the distance from the solstice is known in minutes of
time and decimals.

I, II. III.

Const, logs. 9*8555770, 2*745874, 8*03287* . ^)

To render these co-efficients generally applicable, it is necessary to find the variatiom
of X corresponding to a change of one second in w.

For this purpose from formula (9) we get
A^ tan. ic

tan, X

1 4*’ tan. 3 w
5

X — — A ® sin. 1" tan. w
12

Differentiating equation (H) and
x‘~ 5 ^ w

“ — A® ^

12 cos. 3 to

— A ^ ^ nearly, and thence,

12

(H)

— — A sin. 1" tan. co. cos.
12 3

® O”.7170955 a2 - 0»Vo0000005570i4 A4 - &C.

GALBRAITH’S ASTRONOMICAL OBSERVATIONS.

655

cos.

since tan, cos. == R3 = 1. But == cos. therefore

sin.

5 cos. w. V) X sin. 1" ^ w

^ X = — ^2 sin. l"^tan. to X X

12 sin. w cos. 2 zp sin. w cos. w

and since the sin. 2 w = 2 sin. vj cos. we have
2 sin. T' a? ^ w sin. 2"

^ cc = — . . . . (12)

sin. 2 sin. 2 w

Taking ^ w — I’ , substituting for sin. 2 w its value when w =: 23® 27’ 40",
formula (12) will become

^x = 0-0000132748a? . . . (13)

Log. of 0’0000132748 is 5-1230279

By this means the correction for the variation of w from 23® 27' 40" may be readily
obtained, by adding this constant logarithm and the log. of § tc in the given case to the
sum of the logs, under I, the sura will be the log. of the correction of x.

Example 1. Let w = 23® 27" 43' *76, ^ = 60“ § 3' *76, required the re-

duction to the solstice.

I. 11. III.

Const, logs. . . 9-8555770, 2-745874, 8-03267

A = 60m log. A ^ = 3-5563025, a ^ = 7-112605, a® = 0-66891

1— 4. 43 1"-54 log. 3-4118795 9-858479 8-70178

2- — 0-72 C. L 5-123 2d = — 0‘'-72 3d == --O' -05

3= — 0-051og.^;^0-575

4= + 0-13 9-110

-I- 43 0-90 4th=*-{. 0"-13

Cor. —

00 OOOOiL(«h4h^

<J

ooooioooomo

When A does not exceed 30 or 40 minutes, which will in general be sufficiently dis-
tant from the solstice, the operation by the formula, even in natural numbers, becomes
remarkably simple, because in that case, the second and third terms are insensible.

To render the first term applicable to every case, the sum of parts 11 and HI may
be taken from the small table in the margin, and is always to be subtracted.

Example 2. Let the sun’s right ascension be 7^ 16“ 36^ , the obliquity of the
gcliptic 23*^ 27' 32"-8 and, consequently, A = 36s ^ ^ w = 7 '-2, required the

reduction to the solstice ?

In this way, the computation assumes the following very simple form :

Const, logarithm. . .. .. .. ., .. 9-855577

A = 111 16“ 36s = 76“-6, log. X 2 .... .. — 3-768458

lstcor.== + 1« 10 '7''-6l0g.. .. .. .. .. .. 3-624035

2d cor. = — 2*2 from this small table, ^ w ~ — 7' *2 log 0'857

3d cor. = 0-4 ^ X from calculation. Const, log. 5-123

x:=:-^ 1 10 5-0 = red. to solstice. ^a?log, . .. —9-604

Hence, it appears that by this formula, the reduction to either solstice is a very easy
operation. From these preliminary formulae it is now proposed to show their general
application to one day’s observations, consisting of six sets or three pairs, made on the
5th of July last, at Edinburgh, in latitude 558 57' 15 '•67.N,

656 GALBRAITH'S METHOD OF RECORDING OBSERVATIONS.

1834, July 5th, Chronometer fast for mean time, . .. .. .. 2' 40"

Equation of time with a contrary sign. . .. ^ . . .. .. .. 4 16

Chronometer fast on apparent time. . .. .. .. .. ..656

Barometer, 30^“- 17, attached thermometer, 70® F., detached, or that in the open air,
68® F. Or, instead of making the 6“ 563 the error to each, it may be applied to 121*
by substraction, thus giving 111* 53m 4s for the time of apparent noon by chronometer,
a method rather more convenient.

METHOD OF RECORDING THE OBSERVATIONS.

Time by

Observed

Face of

Obs. <

Chronometer. Level.

Limb.

Ver. Altitude.

Circle.

Ji.

m. B.

e.

0.

1

11

50 50 1

fA 56®

32' 15 "

Er.

6 56

r

16

O’s

1.

lA B

30 15

E.

11

43 54 J

I

Ic

31 0

2

11

53 141

fA 57

1 30

E.

6 56

r 13

21

O’s

u.

iAb

3 45

W,

11

46 18 J

1

Ic

0 45

3

11

55 58-^

1

fA 56

36 45

E.

6 56

1 23

11

O’s

1.

iAb

34 45

E.

11

49 2 .

1

Ic

35 30

4

11

58 41-

1

f A 57

5 15

E.

6 56

r 13

16

O’s

u.

lA B

3 0

W.

11

51 45.

1

Ic

4 45

5

12

2 31i

f A 56

40 0

E.

6 56 I

^ 20

13

O’s

1.

iAb

37 45

E,

11

55 35 J

I

Ic

39 0

6

12

5 39 ]

1

f A 57

6 45

E.

6 56

1 10

23

O’s

tt.

lA B

8 45

W.

7T7

1

Lc

6 0

11

58 43 J

I

e=: 103o

= 100

Mean

of

Deg. 56

30 0

(

5= 100

357’ 45”

— —

—

= +

19 52*5

n V

6 X

3

(e-

— 0) a"

3 X 5*5

e-

-0= 3 & -

= -

=

— 1*38

2 n

2X6

Correct mean of the whole, . . •• •• •• •• 56 49 51*12

REDUCTION TO THE MERIDIAN.

Times.

11

Dist. from Mer. m

n

m. s.

m, s.

'

43 54

16 6

508*77

0*62

46 18

13 42

368*46

0*30

49 2

10 58

236*10

0*14

51 45

8 15

133*63

0*05

53 35

4 25

38*30

0*01

58 43

1 17

3*23

0*00

1288*49

1*12

Mean, . .

0*1867

L to the Meridian.

Refraction.

' cos. 9*748123

0. "

i

cos. 9*964560

Z

== 33 10 log. a 0 1*5818

’ sec. 0*261952 tan.

0*1847 B

= 30*17 log.

0*0025

9*974635 X 2=

=9*9493 »*

70a log.

9*9991

ASTRONOMICAL OBSERVATIONS.

65/

m =214 751og. 2-331 933» log. 9-2711 t = 68o log, 9-9840

4- 202”-57 log.2-306568c’ log. 9-4051 r = 36 -93 log. 1-5674
e- = 0”-25

E.M=202-32=3 22' *32.

REDUCTION TO THE SOLSTICE.
h. m. s.

O’s R. A, at app. noon = 6 56 8-19 at Edinburgh, w — 23^^27 40"'
Solstice, . . . . . . 6 . 0000

or distance from, solstice 6 56 8-19 = 56'“-1365.

Now by formula (B) page 10.

Constant logarithm, .. .. 9-855576

^ = 56m 1365 log. X 2, •• 3-498490

1 — 37’ 39”-78 log., .. .. .. .. •• 3-354066

2 = 0‘61 by small table.

E. S. = 4- 37 39-17 = reduction to the solstice.

Apparent altitude of the sun’s centre, . .
Refraction,

Parallax,

Reduction to the meridian,

,, to solstice, .. .. ..

Latitude of the place of observation,

Sun’s latitude south,

Solar equation and reduction to January 1st,

Lunar equations I

1 ??

g '

56 49 51-12

— 36-93

4" 4-67

-I* 3 22-32
4* 37 39-17
55 57 15-67
-4- 0-10

4” 0-70

— 0-73
4* 0-10

Mean obliquity, Jan. 1st, 1834=Sum* — 90®= 23 27 36*19
Bessel gives, . . . . . . . . 23 27 39*26

Error of one day’s observations, . . , , . . — 3-07

By a mean of ten days observations reduced in this manner, the obliquity was 23® 27’’
41”*64, and the difference of this from Bessel’s is 4- 2”|:, and from the author’s,
derived from the Greenwich observations, 1”^, a very small error, considering the na-
ture of the problem, and size of the instrument.

CTo be continued.)

• When the declination is of a contrary name to that of the latitude, the sum is the polar
distance of an opposite name, and must be subtracted from 90*.

IMPORTANT FACTS DERIVED MA.
THEMATICALLY FROM A GENE-
RAL THEORY, EMBRACING MANY
RESULTS IN CHEMISTRY, WHICH
ARE DENOMINATED ULTIMATE
FACTS.

By Thomas Exley, a.m,
{Communicated to the Chemical Section of the
British Association, Aug. 23rd, 1836.)

It is not for one man to build the temple of
science, many must be employed.

You, veterans in science, you have collect-
ed an immense mass of materials. Many
have digged for a foundation, but every one
yet examined has proved sandy. It has
been my lot, through the guidance of the

Great Architect, to find the rock on which you
may safely build.

My object is to place chemistry under the
domain of mathematical science, and to esta-
blish my new theory by easy calculation and
mathematical proofs.

The two principles, which form the foun-
dation, are these ; viz.

1st. Every atom of matter consists of an
indefinitely extended sphere of force, which
varies inversely as the square of the distance
from the centre ; and that this force acts
towards the centre, and is called attraction
at all distances, except in a small concentric
sphere, in which it acts /rom the centre, and
is there called repulsion.

658

IMPORTANT FACTS BY EXLEY.

2. That there is a difference in atoms,
arising from a difference in their absolute
forces, or in the radii of their spheres of repul-
sion, or in both these respects.

The theories of Newton and Boscovich
agree perfectly with this, as far as regards
the attraction in the first principle : after
that Newton and Boscovich go together in
conceiving a series of alternate spheres of at-
traction and repulsion governed by unknown
laws, but, as regards change of direction, the
forces graduate into each other. Boscovich
reaches the centre with a sphere of repulsion
which varies inversely as the simple distance,
making the force at the centre infinite ; while
Newton closes with a solid nucleus, wjuch is
only an infinite force long before we reach the
centre. I'he new theory rejects all these
hypothetical, unsubstantiated forces, and their
feigned alteration ; and, with the utmost pos-
sible degree of simplicity, admits of but one
sphere of repulsion, in which, without inter-
ruption, the law of gravitation in the attractive
sphere is invariably continued down to the
centre itself, where it terminates with the
infinite force of Boscovich lepeated an infi-
nite number of times. The direction chang-
es to the opposite one, per saltum, at the
surface of tlie sphere of repulsion: and why
not ? It is quite as easy and more natural to
conceive that it thus changes at once, tiian
that it is always changing continuously back-
ward and forward ; but, vvliich is a matter of
great moment, the continuity of the quantity
and of the law of force remains unbroken,
preserving the delightful harmony of nature.

The inductive philosophy requires and de-
mands this continuity in the law ; unless the
contrary could be shown in any instance, we
have as much right to say that the law of
gravitation does not exist in the infinity of
places where no observations have been made,
as to say it does not exist in the sphere of
repulsion, that important space in which clie-
mistry and its connate sciences produce all
their phenomena.

Thus since the 1st principle as to attraction
has long been established completely, by in-
duction, and beyond the power of contro-
versy, and since we know from facts that a
central repulsion exists, the same induction
obliges us to admit the same force in the sphere
of repulsion, especially as not a single instance
of repulsion acting according to any other
law can be shewn to exist, as belonging to
any atom of matter.

The 2nd principle is perfectly simple and
natural, and is established by means of the
first principle and induction from facts ; for
it is known that atoms do differ from each
other, and the difference stated is in complete
unison with the first principle, and quite suffi-
cient to furnish all the variety of atoms yet
observed, and an infinitely greater variety.

The material will of course be allowed, and
we readily admit that the Creator originally
brought into existence, according to number,
weight, and measure, a quantity of every sort
of atoms requisite for the purposes of his grand
design in the structure of the universe.

Every variety of atoms may, according to
th« theory, be assumed ; but to find what
sorts really exist, phenomena should direct
the assumptions.

In my “ New Theory of Physics,’’ it was
stated that nature presents two classes of
atoms; the one comprehending the element-
ary substances most generally known, such
as oxygen, hydrogen, carbon, &c., which,
adhering with great tenacity, may (till a bet-
ter name be found) be termed tenucions
atoms. 'J'he other included such matter or
atoms as manifest their existence by motions
and actions, under a form which has been,
denominated ethereal, and hence they may
be called ethereal atoms; to this class was
assigned the electric fluid, caloric, and light.

In the same work the atoms of electric fluid
were considered as having a much greater
absolute force, than those of caloric and light ;
and this has been abundantly confirmed by
subsequent observations, entitling the electric
atoms to the rank of an intermediate class,.
Hence, vve have three classes of atoms, viz.,
tenacious, electiic, and ethereal atoms. Of
the 1st and 3id classes there are many sorts,
but probably only one sort of electric atoms ;
this division and arrangement will at least
serve our present purpose.

The distinction of the classes is founded in
a very great difference of the absolute force;
that of the sorts in a moderate difference:
thus, if the absolute force of an atom of oxy-
gen be l6, and that of hydrogen 1, they will
be two sorts of tenacious atoms; an electric
atom must be considered very much less in
absolute force than that of either of the
former, and the several atoms of light and
caloric perhaps many millions of times less
than that of an electric atom.

In this paper the atomic w'eight of oxygen
is 16, that of hydrogen being i, as the unit
of comparison. Itappears to me exceedingly
unfortunate that the British chemists have
adopted 8 instead of l6 ; they tell us, which
shews a want of confidence in their own
arguments, that it is of no great consequence
which of these opinions be adopted. This is
indeed true as it regards many experimental
determinations, but in theory it is exceedingly
important. Is it of no consequence to know
whether a compound contain in each particle
2, 3, 4, &c., atoms ? If oxygen be 8, a par-
ticle or atom of ether contains lO simple
atoms, but, if oxygen be l6, it contains 15
atoms : would not such a difference alter all
or most of its properties? A question so
deeply scientific ought not to be treated with
indifference.

I have not seen one argument in favour of
8 which has any great point or weight : in
favour of 16 only one has met my notice
which is a good one : it is this; the simple
gases hydrogen, nitrogen, and chlorine, con-
tain an equal number of atoms in equal
volumes, and oxygen is as much entitled to
the character of a simple gas as any of them t
hence, it is reasonable to conclude it is not
an exception to the rule, but this would require
16 for its atomic weight.

IMPORTANT FACTS IN CHEMISTRY.

659

The following arguments appear to me
decisive.

1. Sulphurous acid is the sole gaseous
product, when sulphur is burnt in dry oxygen
gas, and the resulting volume is the same as
that of the oxygen consumed.

2. Carbonic acid is the sole gaseous pro-
duct when carbon is burnt in oxygen gas, and
the resulting volume is the same as that of the
oxygen consumed.

3. Steam is the sole gaseous product when
oxygen is burnt in hydrogen gas, and the
resulting volume is the same as that of the
hydrogen consumed.

4. Sulphuretted hydrogen is the sole gase-
ous product when sulphur is burnt in hydro-
gen gas, and the resulting volume is the same
as that of the hydrogen consumed.

Besides, these substances have all been
obtained in the form of gases and liquids ;
now the striking analogies before us prove,
that they are formed after the same manner :
but, in the opinion of all parties, the first two
contain three atoms each ; hence, the others
contain three atoms each, and 16 is the atomic
weight of oxygen.

Again, take sulphurous and hypo-sulphur-
ous acids on the one hand, and water and
deutoxide of hydrogen on the other; tlien,
1st, Sulphurous acid is formed by burning
sulphur in oxygen gas, and the volume of
oxygen is not changed ; and new gas may be
passed through red hot tubes without decom-
position : but, several substances which have
a strong affinity for oxygen, as potassium,
•carbon, &c., decompose it: also by a slight
pressure it becomes a limpid liquid. 2nd. Hypo-
sulphurous acid contains twice as much
sulphur as the sulphurous acid; it is easily
decomposed, and cannot remain permanent
common temperatures.

Now the same sentence, with scarcely any
variation, may be read for the analogous

Name.

Atomic

Thomson.

Weight by
Berzelius.

'Oxygen,

16

16.026

SulphuT'f ..... . .

32

32.239

Nitrogen,

14

14.189

Phinvine,

18

Chlorine,

36

35-470

Rrominfij

80

79.263

Inriinfi,- ... ^ * . .

126

123.206

flplfitiium j

80

Phosphorus,.. ..

16

31.436

Berzelius has, with great propriety, set
down the results of his very accurate experU
ments without correcting them by theory;
it would be well to give also the results thus
corrected. From the calculated and experi-
mental specific gravities of 57 compounds in
the table appended to the 8th proposition, it
appears to me, that the numbers, as given by
Dr. Thomson, are nearer the truth than those
given by Berzelius; and this more particu-
iarly seems to be the case in respect to two

substances, water and the deutoxide of hydro-
gen, by merely substituting the names of these
compounds and their elements. But sul-
phurous acid consists of two atoms oxygen
and one sulphur, and hypo-sulphurous acid
of one of each, whichever view of the subject
betaken; hence, water must be allowed to
be two atoms hydrogen and one oxygen, and
rleutoxide of hydrogen consists of one of each ;
hence, 16 is the atomic weight of oxygen.

The same sentence will nearly apply to the
following couple of compounds, viz., sul-
phuretted hydrogen and bi-sulphuretted hy-
drogen : these then must agree in composi-
tion with one of the former couples, which
confirms the conclusion. Many similar com-
pounds exist and testify the same thing. One
additional instance will be abundantly suffi-
cient, taken from carbonic and nitiic oxides,

1. A volume of carbonic oxide is double
that of its oxygen, and combined with an-
other volume of oxygen, it becomes carbonic
acid, without change of volume.

2. A volume of nitric acid is double that
of its nitrogen, and combined with another
volume of nitrogen it becomes nitrous oxide,
without change of volume.

It follows from these analogies, that the
substances before us are composed after the
same manner: now, according to both views,
carbonic oxide is one atom oxygen and one
carbon ; hence, nitric oxide is one nitrogen
and one oxygen; but by weight the consti-
tuents are in the^ ratio of 14 to 16, and 14 is
the atomic weight of nitrogen, therefore, 16
is that of oxygen.

The other atomic weights used in this paper
are taken from Dr. Thomson’s determinations,
doubling some of them on account of using
16 for oxygen. They are inserted in the
following table, and the numbers of Berzelius
are annexed ; the substances in Italics are
double the numbers given by Dr. Thomson.

Name.

Atomic

Thomson.

Weight by
Berzelius.

Arsenic,

38

75*329

Boron,

16

21*793

Carbon,

12

12- *250

Tellurium,

64

129 243

Titanium,

52

62356

Silicon.

16

44-469

Hydrogen,

1

1

Mercury,

100

202*868

Tin,

116

117*839

or three, which 1 have examined more at
large, as may be seen in respect to carbon
from the ten compounds in the following table.
The specific gravities are calculated by a rule
drawn from the 8th proposition, namely to
multiply the sum of the atomic weights of the
elements by the specific gravity of hydrogen,
when the elements combine in single groups,
and by half that sum when they combine iti
double groups.

660

CHEMISTRY AND MATHEMATICS.

Name.

Atomic
wt. of
carbon.

Specific
By calcu-
lation.

Gravity
By experi
ment.

Authority and result.

Carbonic oxide.

12

.9721

.9732

Thenard and Berzelius, mean; 1st

12| .

.9895

*0011 defect, 2ad '0163 excess.

Carbonic acid .. .

12

1.5277

1.5213

Thenard and Gay Lussac, mean; 1st

12|

1.5451

•0064 excess, 2nd *0238 excess.

Light carburetted

12

.5555

.5590

Thomson; 1st '0035 defect, 2nd *0138

hydrogen . . . .

I2i

.5728

excess.

Alcohol

12

1.5972

1.6133

Gay Lussac; 1st *0161 defect, 2nd

12f

1.6319

•0l86 excess.

Etherine

12

1.9444

1.9100

Faraday; 1st *0344 excess, 2nd -0691

12f

1.9791

excess.

Ether.

12

2.5694

2.5830

Gay Lussac and Depretz, mean ; 1st

12i

2.6388

•0l36 defect, 2nd *0558 excess.

Naphtha

12

2.8472

2.8330

Saussure; 1st -0142 excess, 2nd *0063

12f

<2 8993

excess.

Naphthaline. . . .

12

4.4444

4.5280

Dumas ; 1st -0836 defect, 2nd '0032

12i

4.5312

excess.

Paranaphthal. . .

12

6.6666

6.7410

Dumas; 1st *0074 defect, 2nd ’iseo

12|

6.9270

excess.

Camphene . .

12

4.7222

4.7670

Dumas; 1st *0348 defect, 2nd .0420

I2i

4.8090

excess.

In ail these ten substances, if 12| be taken
for the atomic weight of carbon, the calcu-
lated specific gravity exceeds that found by
experiment. In three of them it is so even
when 12 is taken, and in the rest delect is very
much less than the excess, except in naph-
thaline, which shews that 12 is much
nearer the true atomic weight of carbon than
12i’

Prop. 1. To determine the general effect
of one, two, or more tenacious atoms placed
in a vessel, in which ethereal atoms ate com-
pressed hy a given force, so that of any two
contiguous atoms, the centre of one is within
the sphere of repulsion of the other ; the
tenacious atoms being separated by interven-
ing ethereal matter.

Let the ethereal matter be compressed in a
spherical vessel RTN ('see plate IX. fig. 1) as
by a given force on the piston T, and let c, a
tenacious atom, beintroduced. Now, for a mo-
ment,suppose the attraction of this atom not to
act ; on this supposition, the ethereal matter
will continue to be uniformly diffused through
the vessel, quite to the suiface of the sphere
of repulsion h k, within which the centres of
the contiguous atoms are supported against
the given pressure: let now the attraction of
this atom have its full and proper effect ; evi-
dently the surrounded ethereal matter will be
attracted towards it ( 1st prin.), and condensed
on thesurface of repulsion h k, and the change
of terision in the neighbouring parts of the ves-
sel will be quickly restored to its former state
by the given pressure aiT : hence, an atmos-

• I have shewn from considerations con-
nected with its specific heat, that the atomic
weight of carbon must be ■ 75 or 19* and cannot
be 'Tei. — ecord#, vol. it. 38. — Edit.

phere of ethereal matter, diminishing in den-
sity from thesurface outward, will be accumu-
lated, and retained on that suiface, more or less
dense, as the absolute force of the atom is
greater or less, or the radius of its sphere of
repulsion is less or greater.

When there are several sorts of ethereal
matter in the vessel, those sorts which have
the greatest absolute force, or the least sphere
of repulsion, will occupy the lower strata of
the atmosphere ; because, whenever the equili-
brium is disturbed, such atoms will be most
easily moved among the rest, by the action of
c ; hence, electric atoms, if present, will form
the lowest stratum.

When there are several tenacious atoms in
the vessel, each will similarly retain an at-
mospherule on its surface.

Next, let there be two tenacious atoms,
a and 6, in the vessel, and let their forces on
an ethereal atom at g be each resolved, into
two, one in R N, passing through their cen-
tres, the other in g d, perpendicular to R N.
When d is between a and />, the forces in R
N. oppose each other, and act hy their differ-
ence; but in other cases by their sum; again,
the forces in g d. always act according to their
sum ; and, as these forces are supported by
equal forces on the opposite side, the constant
effect is to condense ethereal matter on the
line R N, where the most powerful ethereal
atoms, and especially the electric atoms, will
be chiefly collected, for the reasons assigned
above.

Hence, there will be an atom, as s, in a. b,
undisturbed in the middle, w'hen a b, are equal,
in other cases, nearer to the less powerful
atoms : and the atoms condensed in the line
a 6 will be equally pressed and suppoited or
all sides by the contiguous atoms.

EXLEY’S PROPOSITIONS.

661

€o>\ When electric atoms are in the ves-
sel, they also will retain small atmospherules
el' ethercdl matter, which, although lessdense
than those of iiie leiiacious atoms, vvill have
considerable densitj, if the spheres of repul-
sion of the electiic atoms he very small, which
is probable. It is also manifest, that the at-
mospherules of both the tenacious and elec-
tric atoms will be more dense, when tlie ethe-
real atoms are more compressed or ciowded
together.

Prop. 2. Things being as in prop. 1, the
actions of any two atoms on each other, com-
bined with the mutual actions of the whole
mass on each of the two, will be a repelling
force between them, inversely proportional to
their distance.

Let sbe the centre of the vessel in which ethe-
real atoms of one sort are compressed by a
consideratiie force : then, since the absolute
force of the ethereal atoms is very small, the
distance between their centres vvill also be ex-
ceedingly small, constituting points in a sphere
such as in Newton’s 73rd Prop. B. I. Prin.,
and by that proposition any corpuscle or
atom r?, placed at any point of this sphere,
will, by tlie mutual actions of the whole mass
be attracted by a force proportional to its
distance from the centre s; hence, if the
atom a were left to the action of lliis resultant,
undisturbed by any other influence or obstacle,
it would move to the centie by a velocity
determined by this law. The same reason-
ing applies to any other atom h, in the sphere ;
therefore, both would, in the absence of all
obstacle, or other force on eachother, approach,
and at the same time meet in the centre, and
always their distances from each other would
be ptoportional to that of either from the
centre: but this measures their accelerating
force, which is, therefore, as tlieir distance.

But, besides the mutual actions, which
alone would produce the above motions, the
atoms a and h act independently, and directly
on each other, by an accelerating force,
inversely, proportional to the square of their
distance, (1st prin.); this must, therefore,
be compounded with the former ; thus, the
force between them varies as the distance,
directly, and as the square of the distance,
inversely ; that is, as the distance inversely.

Again, since one of the centres of every
two contiguous atoms is within the sphere of
repulsion of the other; riie force, here in-
vestigated is a repelling force ; which also ap-
pears from this, that if the compressing force
were removed, f^the atoms would separates
hence, the proposition is true when the ethereal
atoms are of one kind. But, it any number
of these be removed, and ilieir places supplied
by other atoms, in such manner, that exactly
the same equilibrium may be maintained, we
shall still have the same conclusion.

Prop, 3. If the absolute forces or spheres
of repulsion of ilie tenacious atoms be in-
creased or diminished, the resultant repelling
force, as determined in the last proposition,
will not be altered : provided that none of the
atmospherules of tenacious atoms are pene-

trated by the centres of others, so as to dis-
place the atmospherules on the contiguous
sides ; that is, on the parts between the two
tenacious atoms.

For their tendency to separate depends,
not on their absolute forces, or spiieies of
repulsion, as is evident from the last proposi-
tion ; but on tiie law of force, and the given
pressure, and these remaining, the repelling
force between the atoms a and b v/i!l also
remain unaltered.

Or thus ; let one of the atoms be mcreased
in its absolute force in any ratio; then the
force between it and every other atom in the
vessel is increased in the same ratio; but the
repulsion between it and contiguous atoms,
and, consequently, between all contiguous
atoms, is increased in that ratio : therefore, the
equilibrium continues ; that is, a variation
in the absolute force produces no change of
equilibrium, and their tendency to separate
remains as before. The truth of the proposi-
tion is manifest, when the sphere of repulsion
only is changed.

Def. 1. A single group of atoms is a collec-
tion of tvvo or more tenacious atoms, such,
that all tlieir centres are within the sphere of
repulsion of some one of them, as in fig. 4.

Def. 2. A double group of atoms is two
tenacious atoms or two single groups, or one
atom or single group connected by a third
atom or single group, such that the connect-
ing atom or group displaces the greatest part
of the ethereal and electric atoms between
the two atoms or groups which it connects,
and the parts of their atmospherules on the
contiguous sides, as in fig. 5 and 6.

Cor. 1. Considering a single group as one
atom, there will be always in equal volumes
of different gases an equal number of atoms,
the pressuie being given.

For, 1st, when the tenacious atoms are
distinct, and separate, and of the same kind;
this follows from the 2nd and present pro-
positions ; since, being in the’ gaseous form,
they are kept apart by intervening ethereal
mailer; and, since they are of the same kind,
they will be uniformly arranged in the vessel ;
therefore, on the other hand, if two gases of
two given sorts occupy equal, volumes, and
contain an equal number of tenacious atoms,
the centres will be equi-distant ; therefore,
the separating forces (by this and the pre*
ceding proposition) will be equal ; and
hence, they will sustain the same pressure;
tlierefore when the pressure is given, the num-
ber of atoms is equal.

2nd. It is manifest from the same propo-
sitions, that a single group will occupy a
volume equal to that occupied by a single
tenacious atom; for, since the centres of all
the atoms in the group are within the sphere
of repulsion of one of them, the centre of
gravity of the group may be considered as the
centre of a single atom, and the contour of the
spheres of repulsion as a surface of repulsion
of greater magnitude ; hence, it will have a
single distinct aimospherule, and will act as a

GS2

FLORA OF CASHMERE.

single atom, and occupy (by this;,;and tlie
preceding proposition) liie same volume;
hence, the cor. is noanifest.

Cor. 2. When two tenacious atoms are
connected chemically, yet so as not to form a
single condensed group, they will occupy,
in a gaseous body, tlie same volume as they
did before the connexion took place.

For, according to this and the last pioposi-
lions, they are kept apart by the same force,
as that by which they were before separated.

The connecting link will be considered
afterward^ : such may be called cohesive
cornhioaiions.

C'or. 3, A double group will occupy in a
gaseous body exactly twice the volume of a
single tenacious atom, or of a single croup.

For the atom or single group connecting
two others, as in def. 2, displaces ilie ethe-
real atoms, and tire parts ofihe atmnspheiules
between tiiem ; and. because of the given
pressure, tire same equilibrium will be main-
tained ; so that the connecting atonr svill per-
form the effects of the displaced ethereal mat-
ter, and, tlrerefoie, will not alter the distance
between the connected atoms; the .same argu-
ments apply to single groups as to single
atoms.

Cor. 4. When gases are mixed, and no
chemical union, or only cohesive corrrbination
occurs, the volume is not changed.

This is manifest from the proposition, since
an alteration in the absolute force or sphere
of repirlsion drres not alter the distance between
the centres of the atoms, so that each .still
occupies the same volume.

Iiemc,rk.-~]J zn objection be made to this
proposiliorr and its cors. by an appeal to f.ct,
that the .specific gravity of sulphur vapour i.s
96, that of hydrogen being 1. while the aloirric
weight of sulphur is only 32; itis easily ob-
viated ; for there will be perfect agreement,
if the vapoui- of sulphur consists of single
groups of two atoms each ; and this is ii.'cely,
since sulphur has two fusing points, and the
liquid is less limpid after the second than
after the first, besides other peculiarities.

If the atomic weights of phosphorus and
arsenic be l6 and 38. their vapours are in
single gioiqts oi four atoms each, probably
rn tetr.ahedroits, rendering them isoinorpliou.s.

It is well known that experiment bears out
these mathernalicai conclusions.

( To be continued.)

ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE EOT .-l NY.
AND OTHER BRANCHES OF THE
NAIURAL HISTORY OF THE HI-
MALAYAN MOUNTAINS, AND OF
THE FLORA OF CASHMERE.

By J. F, Roylb, Esq., f. l. s,, f. g. s., &c.
of the H. E, 1. C, Medical Estahlishmerd.

“ The Convolvidacerz are well known for
the purgative properties of the roots of many
of the family, as of Jalap, Scanamony, &c.

Convolvulus panduratus is substituted in the
United States for the former; so, in India,/
Ipomaa Turpethum, toorhud of the Arabs,
supposed to be a corruption of the Sanscrit
trivrif, Hindee nusof, is accounted a power-/
ful cathartic, and by Dr. Wallich an excel-
lent substitute for Jalap, (v. Gordon, in
Roxb, Fi, ind, ed. Wall. 2, p. 58) ; so the
seeds of Ipomoea ecerulea. liu^^ool-nil, kala^
dana, are accounted purgative in India, as
are several others of this family, The
annual shoots not having secreted the due
proportion of resin, are inert, and even edi-
ble ; as the stalks of C. edulis and repens.
The tubers of Batatas edulis, or sweet potato,
have long been employed as food.

“ Convolvulus Scammonia^ of which the
dried resinous juice forms scammony, suk~
moonpa,of the Arabs, is chiefly produced near
Smyrna and Aleppo ; but only inferior kind.s
find their way to India, though there is little
doubt that it might be produced of the best
quality in Northern India. The Jalap ex-
ported from Vera Cruz was supposed to be
produced in that neighbourhood, or in that
of Xalapa, by Macrorhiza ofMichaux.
But it was known to Humboldt (New Spain,
vol. iii. p. 36), and also to Dr. Coxe (v.
Thomson. Elem. of Mat Med. ii. p. 289). to
be the produce of a different plant. 'I'he lat-
ter calls it I. Jalapa, and the former says,

‘ that the true Purga de Xalapa delights only
in a temperate climate, or rather an almost
cold one, in shaded valleys, and on the slope
of mountains.’ The true plant has been fully
described by Professor Don, in a paper
read before the Linnean Society, from spe-
cimens grown from seeds sent by Dr. Schiede^
which he procured from Chiconquiera, on the
eastern declivity of the Mexican .Andes, at
an elevation of 6,000 feet, Mr. Don retains
for this the name I. Jalapa, instead of
Schiedeana Purga, given it by Zuccarini and
Wenderoth. The discovery of the true loca-
lity is important, as shewing that the Jalap
requires a cool climate, and may no doubt
therefore be cultivated in the Himalayas.”
Page. 308.

“ The genus Rheum, or Rhubarb, so
irnportant in a commercial point of view, is
more interesting than any other in its geo-
graphical distribution. R. Rhaponticum is
found in several parts of Russia on the shores
of the Bosphorus and of the Caspian Sea,
eastwards in Siberia, and the lower moun-
tains of the Altai range: R. Si'^ericum and
xindulatum of Pallas are considered by Lede-
hour to be only varieties of this. 11. Leucor-
hizurn {nanum Sievers) is also found in the
Altai mountains and the deserts of the
Kirgliis, Neither of these afford the rhubarb
of commerce, which is not found within the
Russian territories, but well known to be
brought by the Chinese to the Russian
frontier town of Kiakbta, according to the
treaty formed between these powers in 1772.
'i'he Chinese obtain the rhubarb produced in
China Proper, from that part of Shensee, nOw
called Kansu, situated betweeen N. lat. 35®
and But the best, according to the Mis-

ROYLE’S BOTANY OF INDIA.

663

sionapies. who say, it is c?u\e^Tai hoang, in the
province of Setchuen, from the mountains call*
ed Sue-chan, or of snow, which extend from
N. lat, 26^ to 33*% and .from about 100^^
to 105*^ of E. longitude. 'I hat, from the lat-
ter province probably forms much of what
is called China rhubarb : the hiissionaries
met large quantities of it brought down in
the months of October and November. That
from Kansu may afford some of what is
called Russian rhubarb ; but both Pallas
and Rehman have ascertained that the
greater portion, if not the whole of this, is
obtained in April and May, fi’om the clefts
of rocks in high and arid mountains sur-
rounding lake Kokonor. Bell also learnt
that it was the produce of Mongolia, and
Marco Polo, of Succuir, in d'anguth. Dr.
Rehman ascertained that the trade is in the
hands of one Buchariaii family, who farm
the monopoly from the Chinese government,
and reside at Si-ning, a Chinese town on
the very frontiers of Tibet, 3,000 verstes
from Kiakhta, and twenty days' journey
from Kian-sin and Schan-sin, d'angutian
towns, where the Buchavians go to purchase
rhubarb. I'his would bring the rhubarb
country within 95® of E long, in 35^ of N.
latitude, that is, into the heart of 'i’ibet. As
no naturalist has visited this part, and nei-
ther seeds nor plants have been obtained
thence, it is as yet unknown what species
yields this rhubarb. Pallas thinks it may be
R, compacturn, as the leaves are said to be
round and toothed ; the rhubarb merchants,
to whom he showed the plant, did not know
i2. palmatum. Both these were obtained from
China and i'artary, as well as R. tataricum
and undulatum. It is probable, therefore,
that some of these yield a portion of the
rhubarb of commerce, as they have some of
very good quality, when cultivated in England
and France. But as it is improbable, from
the nature of the country, that the best rhu-
barb is confined within very narrow limits, it
becomes interesting to ascertain how near it
approaches the British territories in India,
in order to share in the trade, or attempt the
cultivation.

“That this might very reasonably be un-
dertaken within the British territories, will
be apparent from the distribution of rhubarb
in the Himalayas. Passing from Hindoo-
khoosh, where is found Rheum Rihes
of the Persians), mentioned by Chardin, &c.,
more recently by Lieut. Burnes, who also
met with rhubarb at Caubul and Bokhara,
■we find rhubarb common in the Himalayas,
as on Choor, near Jumnotree, onjochoin
Kemaon, Gossainthan in Nepal, and near
Tassisudon in Butan, that is, from30® to
27®, and from E. long. 79oto89®, and at
elevations of 9,000 and 10,000 feet. Mr.
Moorcroft discovered rhubarb at Niti, and
next day between Niti and Gotung, that is,
at elevations of 12,000 feet. His companion,
Major Hearsay, thought he saw three kinds,
and has described two of them to me, one
ro'und-leaved and long- stalked, and the
other short-stalked, but large and broad-

leaved (R. Moorcroftianum, nob.), with the
root more purgative than that of the former.
'I’hese are called doelooh or dooloo by the
Bhoteas, and tanlara (Webb), rantra
(Hearsay). One of these appeals to be the
rhubarb described by Dr. Meisner under the
name R. Einodi R .Webl iannni, nob.), which
diifers from the original R. Emodi, described
by Mr. Don, urrder the name, .ff, Australe, If
we turn our attention to the northern face of
the Himalaya, which has so many features
of a Tatarian climate, we find R, spiciforme,
nob., discovered by dir, Inglis on the Khe-
rang Pass, and at several places beyond. Dr.
Gerard describes the table-land of 'I'atary as
covered with rhubarb, at elevations of l6,O00
feet. Mr. Moorcroft sent some rliubarb,
which, for com[»actness of texture, colour,
and .properties, was as fine as any 1 ha ve
ever seen, from near Ludak, in N. lat. 34«,
and E. long. 77i°.

“But these are only the western bounda-
ries of the elevated, cold, and bleak regions,
known under the names of Tatary, Mongolia,
and 'Fibet, of which Kunawur is essentially
a part, participating in the same great phy-
sical features, climate, and vegetation ; al-
ready possessing one, if not two species of
rhubarb, and having the best growing in its
immediate vicinity. There can therefore be
no rational doubt about the successful cul-
tivation of the true rhubarb in territories
within the British influence, as in Kunawur,
or the Bhoteah pergunnahs of Kemaon, and
that with little more labour than placing the
roots or seeds in favourable situations, and
this in a country where little else can be pro-
duced fit for export. The only difficulty will
be to obtain specimens or seeds of the true
rhubarb. But it must be considered, that
even the eastern boundaries of the country
producing the best rhubarb, and which, to
make their purchases, the Chinese reach,
after a journey of twenty days, is only one
half the distance from the British territories
in Upper Assam, that it is from the Russian
town of Kiakhta. Also, that there is reason
for supposing rhubarb may be found much
further to the westward, and consequently
still nearer to the Himalayas. It would
not therefore be difficult from Kuna’.vur,
or Upper Assam, or for such active and
intelligent officers as Messrs. Traill and
Hodgson, in Kemaon and Nepal, to obtain
some of the seed or roots. They might at
the same time succeed in establishing a trade
in rhubarb with 1 ibet or Western Mongolia,
by means of the Tatars who resort to the
hill fairs. 'I'his trade might easily be en-
couraged by the government purchasing all
the rhubuab it requires, which might thus be
employed for hospital use after crossing the
frontiers, instead of, as now, after making
a journey of 20,000 miles, or nearly the cir-
cuit of the globe.

“ Even this would not probably be so
difficult as at first sight appears; for the whole
of the Tatarian rhubarb trade is not engross-
ed by the Russians, as much of it takes a
western ' direction, and has always formed

664

BOTANICAL PRODUCTIONS OF INDIA.

one of the imports from China into Bokhara,
whence passing to Smyrna, it is known in
Europeas Turkey rhubarb. Chardin, treat-
ing of that known in Persia, states — ‘La
meilleure vient du pais des Tartares Orient-
aux qui sont entre la Mer Caspienne et la
Chine’ (Voyages, ii. p. 12). Rhubai’b, also
of the best quality, and closely resembling the
Russian, is to be purchased in the bazars of
N. India, under the name rewund-khitaij
from the old name Cathay ^ of Northern China.
This is sold for ten times the price of the
Himalayan rhubarb, which makes its way
into the plains of India through Khalsee,
Alraora, and Butan, and is probably, from its
usual dark colour and spongy texture, the
produce of either or both B.. Eniodi and Weh-
bianum* 'I'he roots of R. specif orme and
Moorcrofti'inum are lighter coloured and
more compact in structure. Rhubarb is, in
India, commonly denominated rewundcheenee
(rivend tchini in. Persia, Chardin), with, raw-
und assigned as its Arabic, and reon as its
Greek name. I he above are evidently the
rewund of Avicenna, nd the rawed seni of the
tran-^lators of Mesue. 'I'hree kinds are de-
scribed in Persian works on Materia Medica,
1. Cheenee ; 2. Khomssanee : 3. Hindee.

“ 'J'he roots of rhubarb we have seen to
be pretty uniform in secreting the peculiar
principle, called Rhabarbarin, possessing
properties which ma ,e them useful as pur-
gative medicines ; but these are also accom-
panied by astringent properties, while -the
stalks secrete acid, chiefly acetic and tartaric
•with oxalate of lime (Fde) oxalic acid
( I'urner) ; this is most fully developed in
Sorrel [Rumex Acetosa and Acetosella), while
the astringent principle, dependent on the
presence of gallic acid and tannin, in many of
the roots of the Poly^onsoe, is most fully
secreted in Coccoloba uvfera, and ‘ so power-
ful as to rival gum kino in its effects.’ (Lind-
ley). Some of the Poh/gomms are, however,
acrid, as P. Hydropiper and acre ; and others,
as P. tinctorium, chinense, and barbatum,

• “ That the rhubarb of this species is not willi-
out some valuable propel ties, we may learn fiom
Dr- Twiniiig’s report on expeiiinenis made on
foily-ihree cases in the general liospital, Calcitiia,
of which (lie following ate extracts; -Dr. I', states,
that it has* less aroma and more asiringency to
the taste than the best l uMtey rhuhnib; in doses of
2 or 3 dis. it has a good purgative clfect, operating
three or four times, nearly as fieely as the best
l urkey rliubaib, 'I be eftecls of small doses of the
remedy, as a tonic and astiingent, are iiigliiy satis-
factory, as far as four or (i ve cases can be relied
on. In Ibis respect its efficacy appears to be
snpeiior to corresponding quantities of the best
rlmbaib. On the whole, it appears not an eligible
remedy in obstinate cosiiveness, on account of its
aroma and asti ingency ; ‘ it is not apt to giipe,"
but it is very etiicacioiis in moderate doses for such
cases as rhubarb is generally used to purge ; and its
cultivation at tlreViussooree gaiden may be expected
to afford a very valnalde remedy, which is less disa-
greeable to lake ihau the best Tim hey rliubai b,neai ly
equally efficacious as a purge, and veiy supei ior in
small doses as a tonic and astiingent in piofluvia ”
— Trans. Med, and Physic Soc.'of Calcutta, vol.
iii. p. 44!.

yield a blue dye, like indigo, in Cochin-chins,
China, and Japan, 'i'he albumen of Polygo-
nece being farinaceous, and in some consider-
ably developed, has been used for food, a»
buckwheat, Pigopyrum esculentum, and ta^
taricum, cultivated in many parts of Europe,
and in the Himalayas with P. emarginatum.
The two first are no doubt originally in-
habitants of the mountains of Central Asia,
and were first known in Europe under the
name of ‘frumentura Sarracenicum.’ Both
are much cultivated iu Russia and Siberia ;
the first is usually preferred in other parts of
Europe, but the second grows in every soil,
and requires less time. Professor De Con-
dolle says it is preferred to F. esculentum in
Piedmont in the Luzerne valley, because it
ripens quicker, and therefore in late years,
and at higher elevations in the Alps. In
the Himalayas, Fagopyrum esculentum fpha-
phra and kooltoo of the natives) is also most
commonly cultivated, frut F. emarginatum
(ogla) which comes very near the Linnean
specimens of F. tataricum, is preferred in
higher and drier climates, as in Kunawur.
Thus the more closely we examine the
distribution of plants and the agriculture
of different countries, the nearer do we ob-
serve the correspondence m practical results
among those which participate in the same
peculiarities of climate ; and we cannot but
admire the bounty of Nature which affords
even in what appear sterile wastes, some
article fitted for the food of man. and suited
to the climate, with others which are adapted
for commerce, as buckwheat, borax, musk,
and rhubarb, from the three kingdoms of
Nature, in the cold, bleak, and arid plains
and mountains of l atary.” Page 314 to3l7.

“ The herbaceous parts of many of this
invn\\y,{f'henopodi<B) as spinage, &c. being
insipid and mucilaginous, have been used as
vegetable food in many parts of the world j
so, in India, are several species of chenopo-
dium (bhutwa, &c.), Beta hengalensis (gnlnxig
andpaluk). Spinacia tetranda (isfanaka), and
also Basella rubra (poee). I'he roots of beet
and mangel wurzul also afford food : the
successful extraction of sugar from the for-
mer is one of the triumphs of science. 'Fhe
seed of some are considered aromatic and
stimulant, as Chenopodium Botrys, and
Ambrosoides. C. vulvariu is said by Mr.
Chevalier to exhale ammonia during the whole
of its existence (Lindley, Nat. Ord. p. 168).
The loose cellular texture of many of this
family is supposed to favour the absorption
and deposition of soda in their substance,
when growing in the vicinity of the sea; and
this in such considerable quantities, as to
afford, by the incineration of several species
of Salsola, Sdlicornia, Sueda, &c., the chief
supply of the barilla of commerce on the
coasts of Spain, the S. of France, and of
Arabia. Dr. Roxburgh has already sug-
gested (Flor . Ind. 2. p. 62), that Salicornia
indie a nnd brachial a, with Salsola nudiflora,
are so abundant on the coasts of India, as to
be able to supply barilla sufficient to make
soap and glass for the whole world. A
coarse kind of barilla is procurable in I ndian

VALUABLE PAPER BY ROYLE.

665

bazars, under the name sejjee muttee {soda-
earth). This is procured by the incineration
of plants (unknown) growing not in the
neighbourhood of the sea, but on the shores
of the salt lakes scattered through the Indian
deserts. It seems worthy of inquiry, whether
the Salsola. so abundant on the banks of the
Jumna, would yield soda, and, also, whether
it would be possible to grow any of these
soda-secreting plants in the saline and barren
country to its westward, where nothing else
will now grow.” Page 319.

“ The Myristicee, usually placed near
Lr.urinecE, are considered by Dr. Lindley
more closely allied to Anonacecs. They are
natives exclusively of the tropics of India
and America. In the Old "Woi’ld, they extend
southwards from the tropical islands to New
Holland, and northwards along the Malayan
peninsula to Silhet, where is found M. longi-
folia, Wall., and in the mountains of that
district M. floribunda, Wall., with M. ungus-
tifolia, Roxb. Other species are peculiar to
the peninsula.

“ Nutmeg forming the albumen, and Mace
the arillus of the seed of Myristica moschata,
are well known for their grateful and aroma-
tic properties. 'I'hey are produced in the
largest quantities in the Moluccas, but have
been succesfully cultivated in Penang and
Bencoolen, but especially in Sumatra. 1 he
trees thrive and bear fruit even so far north
as the Calcutta Botanic Garden, and might
no doubt be successfully cultivated in Tra-
vancore and the J innivelly district, as well
as on the Malayan peninsula. The nutmeg
is called juephul in India, with jouz boa
(fragrant nut) as its Persian name ; and
mace — miountree, P. bisLaseh with amakhun
assigned as its Greek name. Other spe-
cies yield aromatic nuts, as M. tomentosa,
perhaps the M. dactyloides of Geertner; M.
ojficinalis, according to Dr. Martins, in Brazil,
and M. Oloba, in Santa Fe. The plants of
this family, like those of the following, have
a volatile as well as a fixed oil, contained in
their nuts. The latter is so abundant in
Virola sebifera, as to be extracted for econo-
mical purposes. Like many of the Laurmece,
the Myristicece exude an acrid reddish-co-
loured juice from incisions in their bark.”
Page 323 to 324.

“ The properties of Indian Euphorbiacece
correspond with those which have been ob-
served in plants of thisfariiily in otlier parts of
the world. All a-bcrund in a milky juice,
which contains Caoutchouc, and is generally
united with a highly acrid principle of a very
volatile nature, and tlierefoie easily dissipated
by heat. According to the degree of concen-
tration of this principle is the innocuous or
deadly nature of the substance with which it
is combined. Thus the seeds of some Euphor-
biacece, in which it exists in small quantity,
are eaten ; as those of Aleurites ambinux. and
of A. triloba, in India: the fruit of Cicm
disticha is acid, as is that of Emblica officinalis,
iotm’itig Emblic myrobolans. Though united
with fecula in the roots of Jatropha Manihot
or the Cassava, so that they are poisonous

when raw, it is so effectually separated by
heat, as to afford an abundant and nourishing
food to thousands in S. America, the West-
Indies, and Mexico, The plant succeeds
completely in India, but it is remarkable that
it should have been made so iittle use of,
tliough Sir W. Ainslie has mentioned making
Tapioca from it when in India. This acrid
and stimulant principle is combined with fixed
oils in many of ibe seeds of Euphorbiacece,
which are well known for their uses as pur-
gative medicines, as the castor oil plant,
Ricinus communis, khiroa or cherua of
tlie Arabs, arunda of the Hindoos, and
of the Greeks; and also several species
of Jatropha, as J. Curcas, physic-nut
(H. bagk-burinda) J. glandulifera is used
as an escharolic to remove opacities of
the eye in India (Roxb.) The most
active, being at the same time safe and
which is perhaps the most extensively used in
India, and also considered emmenagogue, is
the Croton Tiglium, Grana iVlolluccana anti
d'illi of old Pharmacopoeias, jumalgotta of
the Hindoos, dund oi the Arabs and Avicen,
na, for which, in N. India, those of C,
polyandrum are substituted, and called by the
same name. Species of P/q/ZZawf/iits are con-
sidered diuretic, others of the order sudorific,
and some emetic. 'J he best substitutes for
Ipecacuanha are said to be some species of
Euphorbia, as E. Ipecacuanha, Gerardiana,
&c. ; also Pedilanthus tithymaloides. Space
would fail, if we were merely to enumerate
all those to which useful properties have
been ascribed, but they may be seen in the
Essay of M. Adrien de Jussieu, Lindley, Fee,
Roxburgh, and Ainslie. The acrid and
stimulant piinciple is united with essential
and fragiani oil in some barks and woods,
as \n Croton Cascarilla, Eluteria, and grutis-
simuiu. The wood-cutters of the Delta of the
Ganges stale, that no Atcallochutn is afforded
by Exccecaria Agallocha (Roxb.). A peculiar
principle {cereo-resine, Fee), called Euphor-
biuni, furfiyoon , (Gr. afrbiyoon) of the, Per-
sian works on Materia Medica, and said in
them to be a produce of Soudan and Africa,
is considered by botanists to be yielded by
Euphorbia officinarum, Cun iriensis, and anti-
quorum, 1 doubt whetber the last, at least
llie species so called in India, yields any, as
in some experiments 1 made on the subject,
1 found the juice comparatively inert. The
leaves ofFJ. nereifolia are considered purga-
tive and deobslruent ( Ain,slie) ; the root of
E. ligularia mixed with black pepper, is
employed for the cure of snake-bites. Some
of this family are violent poisons, as Hippo-
mane Mancinella, Hura crepitans, Hycenanche
glohoiu, Exccecaria Agallocha, Sapium aucu-
pnrium and indicum. Seeds of the latter
intoxicate fish, as does the bark of Fluggea
virosa (Roxb.), and the hairs ofsome species,
as Tragia cannubina and involucrata, sting as
violently as nettles. Some species yield oil
useful for burning, as Elcecocca {Bryandra,
Thunb.), verrucosa, and Vernicia, the oil and
varnish trees of China, Aleurites triloba, Ri-
cinus communis, &c. ; while Stillingia sebifera^
or tallow-tiee of China, yielding a vegetable
fat, is now common about Calcutta, but it is

€66

IMPORTANT TO COMMERCE,

only (lurins; coM weather that this substance
becomes firm (Roxb.). Ihe most useful
product of the family, however, and that
which has lately become so important an
article of conunerce and of great utility in a
variety of arts, is Caoutchouc, so well known
as India-ruhf er, and exported principally
s'lomPara. This is chiefly yielded hy Sipho-
niu. elusticd (Hevea guianensis. Aubi.), a
tree of Guiana and Brazil, which would no
doubt thrive in Bengal. Caoutchouc is also
impofted iioiu Penang, the produce of Urce-
•ah elastica (As. Res. v p. l57 and 167),
but 1 hope it will be also from the continent
of India,

The expressed oil of the seeds i f
Curcas, boiled with oxide of iron, is said to
form tire varnish used by the Chinese for
covering boxes (Lir.'dley). The juice of this
plant is of a very tenacious nature, and when
Irlown into, forms very large bubbles, pro-
bably ow'ing to the piesenceof Ctoutchouc;
this is also afforded by an African tree of this
order.

“ The dye. called Turnsol, is yielded by
Crozophora (Croton) tinctoria, as it is a color-
ing nratter by C. pUcata(v. Roxb. FI. Ind.
iii. p. 68) ; also by Rottleru tinctoi ia, of which
the stiigose pubescence, like that of Mucuna
pvuriens, is adrninisteredfor expelling intestinal
worms. Several of this family yield hard and
valuable timber in India, as EniLlica offici-
nalis, Rottlera tetriicocca.Adelia custanicurpa,
species of Briedelia, Cluytia, &c. African
oak or teak is supposed by some to belong
to this family.

" Though belonging to so dangerous a
family, the leaves of Plukenetia corniculata
are said to be eaten as a vegetable ; and the
domesticated Arindy si 1 kworm (P/ir/Zrena^ ’.«/«♦
thin,,) is fed upon the leaves of Ricinus commu-
nis. (Roxb.)” page 327 to 329.

“ The tribe of Peppers is well characterized
by the warm, pungent, and aronratic pro-
perties for whicli some of the species have
ueen celebrated from the eailiest to the pre-
sent times, eitlitr as condiments, or for their
uses as stimulant and stomachic medicines.
Of these, Piper nigrum, affording the black
and white pepper (Peis, pilpil) of commerce,
is, no doubt, the most celebrated. That of
Malabar has long been considered the best ;
but that of Sirmatra, and many of the islands,
is reckoned nearly as good. INIr. Ciawforri
states, ‘ the pepper countiies extend from
above the longitude of 96* to that of ll5“ E,,
beyond which no pepper is to be found, and
they reacii from 5^^ S. lat. to l2* N., where
it again ceases. Within these limits, we
have Sumatra, Borneo, the Malayan Penin-
sula, and certain countries lying on tire east
coast of the Guiph of Siam.’ It is cultivated
all along the Malabar coast, and also near
Courtallum. Dr. Roxburgh describes it as
being found wild in the hills of the Rajah-
uiundry district. But this may be the specie.s
which he describes under the name P.
cum, of which 1 liave seen no specimens ;
but the pepper Dr. R, states to be ‘ exceed-
ingly pungent, and by merchani^ at Madras

reckoned equal, if not superior to the best
pepper of the Malabar coast or Ceylon.’

^ “ The betle-Ieaf, P. Betie. p-m of the
datives, Sans. Tumboolee, Peis, tumhol, so
well known for its moderately pungent and
aromatic properties, is culiivaied iliroiiehout
tropical Asia, and over a great paitof India.

I have seen it as^ high as Bundlecund and the
southern parts of the Doab, though it requires
a rich moist soil, and shady situation. These
are obtained in Northern India by irrigation,
and covering the plants around and above
willr a light thatch of grass or reeds. P,.
longum, pippnl oi the natives, and the root
pippula moo'la and peeplamoor is cultivated in
Bengal and the Circars, both for its pep-
per and its roots : the former in use as a con-
diment, and tire latter extensively so as a sti-
mulant medicine. P, c/uiba (As. Res. ix.
39l) is called mugpeepul, and similarly used.

'l ire root of P. i>.ethpsticum is that employed
in the Society and Friendly Islands, under
the name of Avaor Kara, to produce by fer-
mentation a pungent and stimulant leverage,
P,inehrians is sursiitnted for it. P. nnisa-
tum, as its name implies, smells of Anise ;
other species possess the general pungent and
stimulaiitpropeities of the family. P. Cubeba,
grown in Java and Penang, affords the well
known Cuhebs, which are the kubaheh of the
Atabs, hubah-cheenee of the Hindoos; for
these kurjiyoon is assigned as the Greek name,
intended probably for Corpesium, as tlris has
been supposed by some authors to be cuirebs.

1 he seeds of tezhul, Xanthoxylum hostile, p,
157, are said to he one kind of cubebs. They
have much the same warm, pungent, and
stimulant pioperties.” Page 332 to 333.

“The Ht.MP (Cannabis sutiva), so well
known in Asia, from affording an intoxicating
drug, and in Euiope the strongestfihre for rope-
making, is cultivated for the foimer product
in small quantities every wliere in the plains
of India, near villages: but in the Himalayas
it is extremely abundant, at elevations ofG OOO
and 7,000 feet, and of vei y luxuriant growth,
rising sometimes to a height of ten and twelve
feet. Here, though it likewise affords an intoxi-
cating drug, it is also known for the tenacity of
its fibre, which is employed by the moun-
taineers in Gurhwal and Siimore for making
a coarse sackcloth, and strong lopes for cros-
sing their rivers. Considering tliat this fact
was early made known by Col. Kiikpatrick
inliis account of Ne['a!, ascertained by Gen.
Hardwickein iiis journey to Srinuagur, and
repeated by Dr. Roxburgh in his account of
experiments on substitutes for hemp ; it
is remarkable that no one should yet have
attempted to obtain it for commercialpurposes,
particularly, as during the late vvar so many
attempts weie made to find an efficient sub»
stitute for this impoi tant plant; and so many
others are cultivated in India for the product
which this yields of so superior a quality. It
may be mentioned, that 1 have seen it abund-
ant in theDeyra Doon and plains of North-
ern India, especially in the upper part of
the Doab Canal ; of these only a small portion
is employed for making bhang ; but this might ,

RECENT DISCOVERIES.

667

probably be obtained from the leaves, even
while the stems yielded the fibre.

“ The hemp is supposed by some to be a
native of India; it no doubt is so of some part
of Asia, It appears to be wild in the
Himalayas. The Arabic name Idnnuk is
thought to have been corrupted into the Dutch
hennep, whence we no doubt have owhemp;
kinnabis is given as its Greek name by tlie
eastern writers on Materia Medica ; hunj as
Peisian and and bhang as Hindee. It is
said by Herodotus to liavebeen made into clotli
by llie Thracians, and is now well known to be
extensively cultivated in Italy, Poland, and
Russia to the sou'h of Moscow, with a small
quantity only in England. It lequiresa rich
soil and moist situation ; is pulled when in
flower, if the fibre alone be required, but if
the seed also, then the male plants are pulled
as soon as they have shed tiieir pollen, and
the others when the seed is ripe. These yield
oil, which is employed by painters, or they
are used for feeding poultry, so that every
part of the plant is turned to some account.
The leaves are sometimes smoked in India,
and occasionally added to tobacco, but are
chiefly employed for making bhang, and subzee,
of wliicli the intoxicating powers are so well
known. But a peculiar substance is yielded
by the plants in the hills in the form of a
glandular secretion, which is collected by the
natives pressing the upper part of the growing
plant between the palms of their liands, and
then scraping off the secretion which adheres.
'J'his is well known in India by the name
cherris, and is consideicd more intoxicating
than any other preparation of this plant,
which is so highly esteemed by many Asiatics,
serving them both for wine and opium ; it has
in consequence a variety of names applied to
it in Arabic, some of which weie tianslated to
me, os ‘ grass of fuqeers,’ — leaf of delusion,’
— ‘increaserof pleasure,’ — ‘ exciter of desire,’
— ‘ cementer of friendship,’ &c. Linneuswas
well acquainted with its ‘ vis narcotica, phan-
taslica, dementens.’ It is as likely as any
other to have been ilie Nepenthes of Homer.
Besides kinnabis, it has dejroonus assigned as a
Greek name.

“ It is inteiesting- to find in the same family
with the hemp, the Urtica tenacissima of
Calooee ofMarsden, of the Malays, a

native of Sumatra, also of Rungpore, where
at is called kunkomis, and which Dr. Rox-
burgh found one of the strongest of all the
vegetable fibies, which he subjected to ex[)e-
riment. Average weight with which lines
made of the dift’erent substances broke,
were, Asclepias tenacissima, Jetee ol the
Raimahl mountaineers, 248 ; TJrtici ten<i-
cissima, Calooee, 240 ; the strongest Sunn,
Crotol'iri^'' juncea, l60. Hemp, Canna bis sativ r,
grown in the year l80O. in the Company’s
Elemp Farm near Calcutta, 158, but
much stronger when tanned. Europe hemp,
however, was always found stronger than
Sunn, though not more so than the others.
Dr. Roxburgh speaks of the beauty, fineness,
and softness of the fibre of this plant, and says,

he learnt from a friend resident ai Canton,
that grass-cloth of China is made of this
material. It is cultivated in Sumatra for the
fibres of its bark. The Malays use it for
sewing-thread and twine, and for making fish-
ing-nets. It is as readily cultivate*! as the
willow from cuttings, grows luxuiiintly in
the northern, a.i in the southern parts of India,
throws up numerous shoots, as soon as they
arecutdown, which may be done about five
limes a-year. 13r. Roxburgh, however,
found some difliculiy in cleaning the fibres of
this plant, nolvviilistanding his anxious de-
sire to succeed will) this substitute for both
hemp and flax. Urtica heterophylla is another
Indian nettle, which succeeds well in every
pait, and of which the bark abounds in fine
white, glossy, silk-like strong fibres, (Roxb.)
'Hie stinging propevties of the nettle are well
known, but they are all exceeded by the Isi:
mentioned plant, as well as by U. crenulata
and stimnlnns.

“ 'I’be Mop (Hamulus Liipulas) is another
plant of this family, which aflbrds fibre fit
for rope and cloth-making, and which vvould
be a valuable acquisition to India, as many
situations at moderate elevationsare admira-
bly fitted for the brewing of beer. In one
establishment which 1 visited several times,
the temperature within tlie buildings never
varied much from 60°. The hop is also a
remarkable instance of the change of preju-
dice with regaid to the same thing. Thus,
atan early peiiod, in the petition against it,
we hear of it as the ‘ w'icked weed called
hops in a subsequent age we find it noted as
a subject of admiration, that ‘ on Kent’s rich,
plains green liop-giounds scent the gales,
and now, many ilii’.ik, that no beer can be
made without it. The plant grows wild in
most parts of Europe, and is described furtheir
south by Bieberstein, in bis Flora 'J'auro-
Caucasica, as ‘ copiosa in dumetis et sepibus.,
It requires a rich strong soil, especially if it
be rocky a few feet below the surface. It is
planted in October or Blarcli, shoots up about
the middle of Apiil, flowers in July, and ripens
its seeds in September. Warm seasons, with*
out wet, are required for good crops; great
heat after rains, and high winds, are destruct-
ive. Itrnijjbt be cultivated in Nepal, or,
perhaps, the Deyra Doon ; but it is feaied that
the rainy season would interfere much with
the proper growth of the plant. 'I'lie subject
is well woi ihy of experiment, and a few plants
would suffice to ascertain the effects of the
seasons.” Page 333 to 335.”

CONSIDERATIONS ON A NEW
FORCE ACTING IN THE FORMA-
TION OF ORGANIC COMPOUNDS.,
By M. Berzelius.

(Jahrbuch de Schumacher, for 1836.

When new compounds are produced in
inorganic nature as the result of the re-action
of different bodies, it is in consequence of a
mutual tendency of those bodies to satisfy the
laws of their affinity, in a more complete man-

668

BERZELIUS ON A NEW FORCE.

ner. First, the substances possessing domi-
nant affinities enter into combination, and then
tiioseof feeble affinities which were excluded
from the first combination. Before the year
J800, the existence, in these phsenomena, of
any otlier determining cause than the degree
of affinity, heat, and, in some cases, light, was
scarcely suspected. The influence of electii-
city was then discovered, and we soon saw
ourselves in danger of confounding the electri-
cal with the chemical lelationsof bodies, and
of considering their affinities only as the
manifestation of asiiong electrical contrast,
increased by light and heat. Ttris system
ofieied no other means of explaining the origin
of a new compound, than by the supposition,
that, by the approximation of bodies which
are present, their electrical states become
neutralized in a more perfect manner.

Setting offfrom these ideas, deduced from the
effects which occur in inorganic nature, and
studying ihe chemical re-aciions presented by
organized bodies, we perceived iliat in the
0) gans of tlie latter substances the most various
were elaborated, while the brute matter,
whence they proceeded, consisted, in gene-
ral, of but one liquid circulating in vessels with
more or less velocity. I’he vessels ot the
animal body, for example, pump blood from
their origin without interruption, and, never-
theless, secrete milk, bile, urine, &c. at their
extremities, withoutadnsitiing any other liquid
capable of producing, by double affinity, any
decomposition whatever. A fact here evi-
dently occurs, which the study of inorganic
naiuie was then unable to explain.

At this period M. KirckhofF observed, that
starch, dissolved in diluted acid, became con-
verted, at a certain temperaluie, first into
gum, and afterwards into grape-sugar. In
conformity with tlie principles then received
with regard to effects of lliis kind, an eri-
deavour was made to ascertain what the acid
had removed from the starch to reduce it into
sugar; but no gas had been disengaged, the
acid re-appearing by means of the alkalies in
its primitive quantity, had not been combined,
and the liquid contained only sugar in an
equal, or even a larger, quantity than the
starch which had been employed. The cause
of this alteration was as pioblernatical as that
of the secretions in the organic body. M.
Thenard then discovered the peroxide of hy-
drogen, a liquid, the elements of which are
retained in combination by a very weak affi-
nity. Tlie acids do not produce any altera-
tion in it ; the alkalies, on the contrary, pro-
duce in it a tendency to decomposition, a
species of fermentation, which re-produces
water, in consequence of a disengagement,
of oxygen. But the most interesting circum-
stance is, that the same effect takes place from
the action of differentsolid bodies insoluble in
water, organic as well as inorganic; for ex-
ample, from the presence of peroxide of man-
ganese. of silver, platinum, and also the fib-
brin of animal blood. The body whch deter-
mines the decomposition does not undergo
any alteration, it does not act as an element
of a new compound, but by virtue of a

peculiar force inherent in its mass, the ex
istence of which, though unknown in its
essence, is demonstrated by its effects.
Shortly before M. Thenard, Sir H. Davy re-
maiked another phaenornenon, the analogy of
which with the one just described, was not
immediately perceived- lie had proved that
platinum, heated to a certain degree, and
brought into contact with a mixture of the
vapour of alcohol, or ether, and atmospheric
air, possessed the power of determining and
sustaining the combination of these todies,
while gold and silver were devoid of this pro-
perty. Soon after, iMr, E. Davy discovered
a preparation of platinum in a stale of very
great meclianical division, having, at ordi-
nary temperatures, and after being moistened
witli alcoiiol, the property of becoming incan-
descent by the combusiion of alcohol alto-
gether,in converting it by oxidation into acetic
acid. Tlien lollowed the discovery of Dd-
leiner, the most important of all. Me proved
tliat it is the pioperiy of spongy jilatinum
to inflame spontaneously a current of hydio-
gen gas projected in tlie air; a phaenornenon
which the researches of M. M. 'I'lienard and
Dulong proved, is produced by several other
bodies, simple as well as compound : with
this restriction, however, that, wliile platinum,
iridium, and some other affinal metals, act at
temperatuies below zero, other bodies, such
as gold, and more especially silver, require a
much higliei temperature, and glass a heat
even of af ove 300". Thus what was at first
considered as an exceptive mode of action,
appeared to be a general propeity though,
variously graduated, of all bodies, and from
the application of which, advantage might be
derived. We know, for example, that in the
act of fermentation, in the conversion of sugar
into alcohol and carfionic acid, the action
exercised by the insoluble substance named
leaven, and which maybe replaced, though
vvitli less success, by animal finrin, albumen,
and gaseous substances, &c. cannot be ex-
plained by any chemical re-action of the
affinities of the sugar and the leaver!, and
that no effect in inorganic nature approaches
it so neaily as the action of platinum, silver,
or fibrin, in the decomposition of the peroxide
of hydiogen into oxygen and water. It was
natural here to suppose an analogous mode of
action. The conversion of starch into sugar,
by means of sulphuric acid, had not yet been
co-ordinated with the preceding facts; the
discovery however of diastase (announced in
the Annual Report for 1833), a substance
acting upon starch in an analogous manner,
only with more energy, directed attention to
this analogy, which was definitively proved
by the ingenious researches of IM. Mitscher-
lich upon the formation of ether. Among
the numerous theories upon the formation of
ether one, we know, makes the propeity of
sulphuric acid to convert alcohol into ether, to
depend upon its pow’er of absorbing water,
granting, that the alcohol, considered as a
compound of one atom of etherine (C4 H3),
and of two atoms of water, is reduced into
ether, by ceding the half of its water to the
acid. This theory, equally simple and inge-

THE CATALYTIC FORCE OF BODIES.

669

nious, was in perfect agreement with our
knowledge of the re-action of the affinities of
bodies; it did not, however, explain why
other bodies not acids, having equal avidity
for water, could not be employed in the same
manner ; why soda, potash, chloride of potas-
sium, anhydrous lime, &c., if the transfotma-
tion really <lepended only upon an affinity
for water, did not equally produce ether.
The researches of M. Mitscherlich proved
thatsulphuric acid, sufficiently diluted, and
tal^en at such a temperatuTe that the refrige-
ration produced by the addition of the alcohol
compensated for the heating which arose from
the mixture, decomposed the alcohol into ether
and water, which, because the temperature
exceeded the temperature of ebullition of
water, were both separated by distillation
from the mass, and, as soon as the condensa-
tion was complete, presented a mixture of the
same weight as that of the alcohol employed.
The manner of performing this experiment,
as well as the fact of the distillation of water
conjointly with alcoliol, was, it is true, known
before M. Mitscherlich, but to him belongs
the merit of having predicted its consequen-
ces. in fact, he piovecl that, at this tempera-
ture, sulphuric acid must act upon alcohol by
virtue of the .same force which determines the
action of the alkalies upon oxygenated water,
since the water being entirely separated from
the mixture, did not obey an affinity for the
acid; whence he conchided, that the action
of sulphuric acid and diastase upon starch,
from which resulted the sugar, must be of the
same nature.

It is then proved that many substances,
simple or compound, solid or in solution,
have the property of exercising an influence
upon compound bodies essentially distinct
from chemical affinity, an influence which
consists in the production of a displacement
and a different arrangement oftheir element.s,
without participating in it directly and neees.
sarily, except in a few special cases. Certain-
ly a force such as this, capable of producing
chemical re-actions in inorganic nature, as
well as in organized bodies, though at pre-
sent too little understood to be well explained,
must exercise a more important function in
nature than has hitherto been supposed. In
defining it as a new force, I am far from
wishing to deny that a certain connection
exists between it and the electro-chemical
relations of matter. 1 am. on the contrary,
strongly disposed to recognize inita decided
manifestation of these relations ; nevertheless,
till we have penetrated into the real nature
of this force, it will be more simple in our fu-
ture reseaiches to consifier it as independent,
and to give it, for facility of recognition, a
name peculiar to itself. According to an ety-
mology well known in chemistry, I shall con-
sequently name it the cata/j/tic/orTe of bodies,
and the decomposition which it determines
catalysis, in the same manner as the separa-
tion of ihe elements of acompound, by rneans
of the usual chemical affinities, is called
analysis This force may be defined to be a
power of bodies to bring into activity, by their
simple presence, and without participating in

it chemically, certain affinities, which at that
ternperatuie would remain inactive, so as to
determine, in consequence of a new distribu-
tion of the elements of the cotnpouud, a new
state of perfect chemical neutralization. As
this force acts in general in a manner analo-
gous to heat, it may be inquired whether be-
ing variously graduated, sometimes by em-
ploying differently the same catalytic body,
sometimes by the introduction of various
catalytic bodies in the same liquid, it will cause
as IS often ob.sei ved in the action of heat at
different teraperauiies, different catalytic pro-
ducts,— whether the catalytic force of a body
can be exerted over a larger number of com-
pounds, or whether, as our experiments appear
to indicate, only over certain bodies, to the
exception of certain other bodies'? Butin the
present state of our knowledge itisimpos.sibie
to decide these questions, and many others
t.hat might be proposed upon the subject:
their solution roust depend on tlie results of
future investigations. Jt is enough for the
present to have shewn, by a sufficient num-
ber of examples, the existence of this force,
which, defined as it has been, diffuses a new
light over the chemical re-actions of organ-
ized bodies. Weshall cite but one example.
There is an accumulation of diastase around
the eye of the potatoe, wiiich is not found in the
tubercle or in the developed germ ; we per-
ceive in this point a centre of catalytic action,
at which the insoluble starch of the tubercle
is converted into gum and sugar, and thi.s
part of the potatoe will become the secretory
organ for the soluble sustances, which are
to form the juices of the growing germ. It
is not probable that the action mentioned is
the only one of its kind in vegetable life ;
on the corrtrary, it may be presumed, that in
vegetables, as well as in the animal body,
a thousand catalytic effects take place between
the tis.sues and the liquids, whence results the
great number of different chemical com-
poumls.the production of which. from the same
brute matter, which we call blood, or vege-
table juices, cannot be explained by any other
known cause.- BihnotkequeUniverseile,Nouv .
Ser, Tome 376.

PROCEEDINGS OF LEARNED
SOCIETIES.

ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY, 1836.

(Continued from page 594.)

Jan. 12, 1836. — A note addressed to the
Secretary by Sir Robert Heron, Bart. M.P..
was read. It referred to the writer’s success
in the breeding of curassows in the last sum-
mer at Stub ton.

From two individuals in his possession,
the male of which is entirely black, and the
female of the mottled reddish brown colour
which is regarded as characteristic of the
Orax ruhra, Linn., Sir R. Heronhas hatch-
ed in the last year six young ones in three

670

PROCEEDINGS OF THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY, LONDON.

broods of two eggs each : the eggs were
placed under turkeys and common hens.
Respecting one of them no notes were made ;
but the other five were all of the red colour
of the female parent. Two of these, which
were at two or three weeks old very strong,
being still in the flower-garden, were killed
in the night by a rat that had eaten its way
into the coop in which they were. Two
others were sent to the Earl of Derby, who
wanted hens. The remaining one is now
nearly, if not quite, full growm ; and Sir R.
Heron proposes to place it with the old pair.

“There is one great peculiarity, Sir R.
Heron remarks, “ attending the old pair.
Their principal food is Indian corn and
greens, both which they eat in common :
but whenever any biscuit is given to them,
as an occasional treat when visitors are here,
the male breaks it and takes it in his mouth ;
waiting, however long, until the hen takes
it out of his bill, which she does without
the slightest mark of civility, although on
excellent terms with him. This proceeding
is invariable.-^

Mr.Yarrell, on behalf of T. C. Heysham,
Esq., of Carlisle, exhibited the egg, the
young bird of a week old, one of a month
old, and the adult female of the Dottrell,
Charadrius Morinellus, Linn., obtained on
Skiddaw in the summer of 1835. Several
pairs were breeding in the same locality.

He also stated that a specimen of the
grey Snipe, Maeroramphus griseus, Leach,
a young bird of the year, has been obtained
near Carlisle in the past year. This is the
third recorded instance of the occurrence of
the species in England.

Some notes by Mr. Martin of a dissection
of a Vulpine Opossum., Phalangista Vulpina,
Cuv., were read, and are given in the “ Pro-
ceedings.

A notice by Dr. Riippell, For. Memb.
Z. S., of the existence of canine teeth in an
Abyssinian Antelope, Antilope montana,
Riipp., was read. It was accompanied by
drawings of the structure desci-ibed in it,
which were exhibited.

The following is a translation of Dr.
Ruppell’s communication.

In several Mammalia of the order
Ruminantia the adult males, and even some
females, possess canine teeth, which are
more or less developed; to these teeth,
no other use has been attributed than that
of a weapon of defence. The Camels
{Camelus), the Musk Deer {Moschus), and
the Muntjak of India {Cervus Muntjak),
possess these canine teeth in both sexes.
J.rL ihG red Deer (Census Elaphus), and in

the rein Deer {Cerv. Tarandus), the adult
males alone are provided with them.

I have just ascertained that there is a
species of Antelope which possesses these
canine teeth ; but in which, by a singular
anomaly, it is only the young males that
are furnished with them. In these too they
can only be considered in the light of half-
developed germs; for the cartilaginous part
which covers the palate and the upper jaw
entirely conceals them. •

It is the ant. montana, which I discovered
in 1824 in the neighbourhood of Sennaar,
and of which I published in my ‘ Zoological
Atlas’ the figure of an adult male, that is
provided, in its youth, with these anomalous
canine teeth; the adults of both sexes, and
the young females, are destitute of them.
I observed, in my last journey in Abyssinia,
many individuals of this species in the val-
leys in the neighbourhood of Gondar : it is
far from rare in that locality, but the jun-
gles mingled wuth thorns, which are its
favourite retreat, render the chase of it
extremely difficult.

At the time of the publication of my de-
scription of this new species, in 1826, 1 was
possessed of only a single adult male, and
there were consequently many deficiencies
in my account of it. I am now enabled to
add to this notice that the females of this
species are alw^ays destitute of horns : that
both sexes have, in the [groins] two rather
deep pits covered by a stiff bundle of white
hairs , and finally that the species live in
pairs in the valleys of the western part of
Abyssinia, where it takes the place of Ant.
Saltiana, an animal which it exceeds in size
by nearly one half. These twm species are
called by the natives Madoqua, by which
name the Abyssiuians also designate the
Ant. Grimmia, which equally constitutes a
part of the game of that country, so rich
in different forms of the Ruminant order
— E. R.

A note by Mr. Martin was subsequently,
read, in which it was stated that it had once
occurred to him to observe a rudimentary
canine tooth in the female of a species of
Deer from South America, the body of
which had been sent to the Society’s house
by Sir P. Grey Egerton for examination.
Having noticed an enlargement of the gum
of the upper jaw, in the situation in which
a canine tooth might possibly be supposed
to exist, he cut into it, and found the germ
of a canine tooth, about 3 lines in length,
imbedded in the gum, and destitute of
fang.

Jan. 26. — Specimens were exhibited of
numerous Birds, chiefly from the Society’s

THE IMPORTANCE OF LORD AUCKLAND’S SCIENTIFIC PARTIES. 671

collection ; and Mr. Gould, at the request
of the Chairman, directed the attention of
the Meeting to those among them which
he regarded as principally interesting either
on account of their novelty or for the pecu-
liarity of their form.

They included the following species of the
genus Edolius, Cuv., which were compared
with numerous others placed upon the table
for that purpose.

Edolius grandis, Rangoonensis, Crishna,
and viridescens.

Of Edolius Chrisnn a very curious charac-
ter is furnished by the long, hair-like, black
filaments which spring from the head and
measure nearly 4 inches in length.

CTo be continued,)

THE INDIA REVIEW.

Calcutta: March 15, 1837.

LORD AUCKLAND’S FIFTH SCIEN-
TIFIC PARTY.

Tuesday j \Ath April, 1837.

On this occasion Dr. O’Shaughnessy
showed the properties of cax'bonic acid, and
its effects on flame and animal life. Carbonic
oxide, carburet of hydrogen, and the olefiant
gas or heavy carburetted hydrogen came under
explanation, which led to the consideration
of Davy’s safety lamp which was exhibited,
its defects pointed out, and merits substan-
tiated.* Df. O’Shaughnessy explained the
principles of the new galvanic battery, by
Mullins.t The party then arose and pro-
ceeded to Mr. James Prinsep’s department,
who, by a small working model of a steam
engine, traced the origin and described the
progress of our knowledge in the power of
steam and its application to mechanical
purposes.

Mr. William Grant exhibited a contriv-
ance of his own, which consisted of a little
metallic drum, open for inspection at one
side, turning upon an axis, between which
and the diameter of the wheel are introduced

• We beg to refer those of our readers -who are
anxious of becoming thoroughly acquainted with
this question, to the report of the committee of
the House of Commons ix\ o\xr Review , page 181.

+ This will be found fully described and
illustrated by drawings at page 469.

metallic segments of a circle made to fit
close and move round with ease, having but
little friction. Between each pairs of these
(two or three of w^hich are sufficient) is in-
troduced a moveable bolt, made like the latch
of a door, catching at the end on one side
and sliding back when pushed the contrary
way. By this contrivance a constant and
even motion is given in one direction by the
introduction of steam between tv/o of these
segments just beyond the catch of the bolt
arrives to be caught and detached like the
first. A steam engine on this principle is
deemed by the inventor extremely simple,
and it is said that Mr. Grant had found it
in England economise steam very much in
comparison with other engines.

There were some beautiful specimens of
drawings of raollusca by Cantor, and some
fine oil paintings exhibited. Besides models of
guns and carriages as attached to the artii-
lei'y, at the three presidencies, we observed
several models of semaphores and tele-
graphs. The stuffed birds from the Asiatic
Society gave evidence of the increasing value
of that sciciety’s museum. We cannot con-
clude our notice of HisLordship’s interesting
and instructive parties without conveying to
him the expression of a general feeling ap-
parently pervading the whole of those enter-
tained, that a continuance of them will not
only be promotive of the objects of science,
but encourage also the mechanical art^. We
are ourselves convinced that many have been
excited to study and research on scientific
subjects who never felt their importance be-
fore His Lordship gave the impulse : such
ever has been, and ever will be, the mighty
influence possessed by the ruling power.
May a similar impulse be given by the heads
of the governments at the other presidencies!

ROADS AND PUBLIC WORKS IN
INDIA.

The following is an abstract statement of
all important public works which have been,
constructed at Madras and Bombay, or are at
present in progress, such as canals, roads,
&c. since the year 1813,

672

PUBLIC WORKS AND ROADS AT MADRAS.

MADRAS.

1815 :

“The clearing of the drain passing through
the esplanade, and the new street on the
beach, were completed.

St. George’s church on the Choultry
Plain, also finished.

Construction of a bridge over the Mara-
daroota river, between Cannanore and
Cootaparamba ; necessary to keep open the
communication throughout the year, between
the new road from the Western Ghauts and
Cannanore.

1816:

Improvements of the internal communica-
tion in Canara.

Construction of abridge over the Parain-
boor nullah, and of a new road between the
Black Town and the north-west approaches
to Madras.

1817:

Formation of wells in the vicinity of Ma-
dras.

A chapel built at Arcot capable of contain-
ing 300 persons ; and one at Poonamalee of
the same size.

1818:

Construction of a stone bridge across the
Madras river at the village of Cbindrapettab,
and sundry improvements connected there-
with.

Erection of a new observatory

St. Mary’s church at Fort St. George
reformed and repaired.

1819 :

Formation of a road in the Neilgherry
Hills.

Repairs to the bridges across the Cauvery,
at Seringapatam.

1820 :

Rebuilding of the lighthouse at the Presi-
dency, completed.

1821;

Building a church for the Missionary So-
ciety.

Erection of a chapel at St. I^omas’s
Mount and of a church at Vepery.

Erection of a stone bulwark at Fort
St. George, to protect the fort and the
Black Town from the inroads of the sea.

1822 :

Erection of bridges at the island of Samoo-
dra, in Coimbatoor.

The course of the river Vellaur straight-
ened, with the view of securing a village.

Reconstruction of the bridge near St.
Mary’s burial ground, and of the one by the
hospital gate of the Black Town.

Construction of a bridge over the swamp
atMasulipatam ; one half at the expense of
government, the other at that of the inhabi-
tants.

Scotch church (St. Andrew’s) finished.

Completion of the stone bulwark, and
addition of an iron railing.

1823 :

A new cut for the Votary nullah; also a
new bridge, and other works connected
therewith.

New laminating rooms for the mint.

1824 :

The opening of a canal at Chumnapore.

Several wells sunk in the northern division
of Arcot for the purposes of irrigation.

Erection of a church at Tellicherry.

Excavating and removing the shoals in the
Coorm river, from the bnrying-ground bridge
to the Chepauk Bar ; and thence to the N.
W. angle of the burying ground wall at Fort
St. George ; also securing the bank opposite
the centrical course of Clive’s Canal near
the burying- ground bridge, with a bulwark
of stones.

Great road from Secunderabad to Masuli-
patam. (This work w'as continued until
the year 1831, when, in consequence of its
expense, the government limited themselves
to the repair of such part of the road as
might be impassable for wheel carriages.)

Great road from Madras through the
Northern Circars, to the Bengal frontier.
(In 1828 this work was discontinued, owing
to the natural and local obstacles of its dura-
tion; that portion only of the road between
Bezwarah and Ellcre was to be completed.)

1825 :

Construction of a tunnel from the N.
E. angle of Fort St. George to the sea, for
the purpose of carrying off the filth from
the Black Town.

1826 :

A bridge built across the Bonally nullah,
the boundary of the Bidtish and Mysore
territories, on the high road from Cannanore
to Mysore and Madras.

Continuation of the excavation of the
Coorm river, from the old Female Asylum
to Anderson’s Bridge.

A drain of two arches constructed on the
west esplanade of Black Town near the
Basin Bridge.

A bridge built over the Coorm river, and
tbi'ee roads leading to the bridge raised and
new laid.

The road across the swamp from the fort
to the pettah at Masulipatam, repaired.

1827 :

Erection of a monument, of a choultry
and tank, at Goote, and the sinking of
wells at Putteekondah, in honour of Sir T.
Munro’s memory : in progress.

Construction of a bridge across a nullah
between Alliporam and Ganjam, in the main
road through the Northern Circars.

PUBLIC WORKS AND ROADS AT BOMBAY.

673

Erection of a stone bridge over the Jacldee
nullah, to secure a permanent communi-
cation between Kamptee and Nagpore.

1828 :

Formation of a new road from the Walla-
jah bridge, to the bar on the south side of
the beach at Madras, annexing safety
railings and poles, and fortifying the bank
of the river.

The mission chui’ch in the Black Town
enlarged and improved.

The lighthouse in Fort St. George repair-
ed.

Repairs made to Anderson’s Bridge.

Construction of a causeway over the ditch
at the drawbridge of the Mysore gateway,
and one over that at the Bangalore gateway
of the fort of Seringapatam.

Formation of a road from Madras to
Bangalore. (This work has been completed
to Poonamallee, but beyond that place the
work has been restricted to the object of
making it passable for carts and ordnance
carriages.)

1829 :

Military road through Coorg.

Construction of a cutwal’s choultry at
Jaulnah.

Erection of a bridge over the Wootary
nullah, at Fort St. George.

The bar of the Coorm river partially
opened at Chepauk, with a view of obtaining
a supply of water from the sea by filtration.

Erection of a wall and cast-iron railing
round the church at St. Thomas’s Mount.

1830:

The construction of an anicut across the
Kendalseroo river in Nellore.

The reform of a portion of the grand
anicut in the bank of the Cavery at
Trichinopoly.

The repair of the Bistee Ghaut in Canara.
BOMBAY.

1814 :

The formation of a new road from Ban-
coote to Mundgaum.

Repair of the old docks ; the completion
of the slope in the dockyard for raising
timber ; the rebuilding the slip in the dock-
yard; the removal of the dam; and the
forming an ordnance wharf.

Erection of a church at Surat : finished
in 1823.

1815 :

Formation of a road from Bandorah to
Gorabunder.

1816:

Erection of a Scotch church : completed
in 1818.

Construction of a chapel at Colabba
authorized ; is now in progress on a new and
more simple plan than was at first designed.
1817 :

Excavation of a tank at Bohur.

A chapel proposed to be substituted for
an unoccupied barrack at Tannah, as a place
of worship : completed by Government in
1826.

1820 :

The Committee aqueduct for supplying
the lower part of the Black Town with
fresh water, and the Byculla tank, under-
taken; finished iivl824.

Captain Hawkins’s plan for draining the
flats of Bombay by the Woorlee channel,
adopted.

1821 :

Rupees 20,000 expended by a native on
a quarry near Byculla, to increase the sup-
ply of water ; also a building for the ac-
commodation of travellers ; and a large
tank at Bandreah in the island of Salsette :
undertaken and sanctioned by order of
Government.

A chapel at Poonah authorized in 1823.

1822:

A new wharf constructed at the port of
Bombay.

1824 :

Construction of a town hall undertaken :
not yet completed.

1825 :

Military road from the South Mahratta
country to the coast.

A church erected -at Dapoorlee ; also
churches in the east zillah north of the My-
hee, and at Baroda, and a Roman Catholic
chapel at Colabba.

Road from Nassick to Bhewndy : in pro-
gress.

1826 :

Improvement of Sion causeway.

A chain suspension bridge over the Mol-
la river applied for by Government; a wood-
en bridge at less cost substituted in 1830.

Construction of a new obseiwatory sanc-
tioned : finished in 1830.

Construction of a church at Mhow
authorized.

1827 :

Improvement of the Shore Ghaut pro-
posed ; Captain Hughes’s plan for con-
structing a road up it to Poona accepted :
the work in progress.

A church built at Kirkhee.

Road from Malligaum to Surat, finished,

1828 :

Construction of bungalows at Malabar
Point, and formation of a botanical garden
at Dapooree, undertaken : not yet completed.

674

SURVEYS IN INDIA.

1831 :

Sanction and subscription of Government
for a church to be erected at Byculla by the
inhabitants of Bombay.”

The following are the surveys since 1813.
TRIANGULATION.

“ Since the year 1814 the Meridional Arc
has been extended from Daumergidda to
Seronj by Colonel Lambton and Captain
Everest, being in distance north and south
six degrees of latitude.

A tract of country has also been triangu-
lated in the Nizam’s dominions, of the ex-
tent of about 30,000 square miles, by Colo-
nel Lambton and Captain Everest.

A chain of triangles has been carried from
Seronj to within 50 miles of Calcutta, a dis-
tance of about 12“^ of longitude, for the
purpose of connecting that place with the
Meridional Arc; the position of all the
principal towns in the line of route has
also been determined.

TRIGONOMETRICAL SURVEYS
which are connected by Triangulation with
the Meridional Arc :

Madras Presidency :

Square Miles-

Travancore and Cochin .... 10,000

South Coimbatoor 4,000

Dindigul 1,800

Trichinopoly 3,000

Koorg 2,200

Soonda and Balgy 2,400

Guntoor 5,000

Masulipatam 5,000

Rajahmundry and Elloor. . . . 7,000

Vizagapatam 6,000

Part of the Nizam’s dominions 13,000

Bombay Pi'esidency ;

The Deccan Survey as far as ■]
it is finished comprehends
Dharwar ; the rajah of Sat-
tara’s dominions ; the I’ajah
of Kolapore’s dominions, ; ’

&c. ; the N ortheim and Sou-
thern Concan ; partofPoo-
nah, Bombay, &c ,

Bengal Presidency ;

Bhopal 7,000

Bundelcund 16,000

The country between Bundel-
cund and Palamow 9,000

Benares 3,000

The Dooab 2,500

Burdwan 4,000

TRIGONOMETRICAL SURVEYS ;
but which are not connected with the Meri-
dional Arc ;

Square Miles.

Mountainous Districts 16,000

Ajmere 4,000

Hurriana 3,500

Part of the Sunderbunds .... 800

Assam 15,000

Sylhet 4,000

Munnipoor 5,000

Chittagong 4,000

Cuttack 6,000

Part of Kattywar and Gujerat 9,000

Bhoj 4,000

Kandeish 7,000

RECENT INVENTIONS MERITING
THE ATTENTION OF THE PEOPLE
OF INDIA.

The first of these is the successful con-
struction of a steam carriage. Hancock’s
‘‘ automaton” is described in our present
number and illustrated by a drawing. If such
a one was constructed here, and suspension
bridges were thrown over the different
rivers, passengers might be conveyed with
safety from Calcutta to Benares in 48 hours,,
and from this capital to Bombay in about
three days and a half. It is said that Dr.
Church has built a locomotive carriage, to
which we alluded in our last, which is also
considered fully effective and satisfactory ;
the specifications of which, embracing many
important matters, will appear in a future
number. We have only to add that the
fact is now established, that steam may be
safely and economically employed as an
effective substitute for horses, steam coaches
being now employed in the ordinary transit
of stage coaches on the turnpike roads in
England. The next point to which we
would call the attention of our readers is
the great improvements in aerostation :
one article will be found in our present
number on this subject, which states, on
grounds extremely plausible, that this
country affords peculiar facilities for the
management of balloons. In our last num-
ber it was shown that surveyors and archi-
tects could now with great facility take cor-
rect plans of noblemen^s estates by ascend-
ing in a balloon.

IMPORTANCE OF ACTIVITY IN COMMITTEES.

675

BRETT’S AND THE FEVER HOS-
PITALS.

It is now nearly two years since it was
projected to establish a Fever Hospital
uniting the advantages of medical advice
and of attention to the personal comforts
of the native population of Calcutta. In
May 1835, the subject was brought
forward at a meeting of the governors
of the Native Hospital, and subsequently
a committee was appointed at a public
meeting at the Town Hall, to carry the
objects into execution. But the public
are ignorant of the plans adopted and
of what has been effected, saving the
success of collecting Rs. 30,000 towards
that laudable end. Thus, while the commit-
tee have been deliberating, many poor
have suffered from such affections as
tumours, cancers, stone, affections of
the eye, and numerous other ills to
which the human frame is subject. It pro-
bably never did occur to the committee
that every day they postponed their
determination there was some poor fellow-
creature lingering in pain and agony ; while
many families were losing their only sup-
port by the death of a parent, a husband, or
a friend.

Surely with such innumerable plans of
other institutions before them in other coun-
tries and in other situations in India, found-
ed by our benevolent medical brethren, there
were not so many difficulties as to occasion
this extraordinary procrastination. We must
confess that it is unaccountable to us, and we
can only ascribe the delay to what is asserted
to be the case in all public committee at-
tempts within the Mahratta ditch, to promote
the public good, that there is something per-
vading this locality which tends to blight
success on all occasions. Under these cir-
cumstances we are glad of an early opportu-
nity of introducing to the notice of the public
the effort of a mofussilite coming among us.
In the short space of one month, Mr. Brett
has effected by his laudable and spirited ex-
ertions what has been attempted and unac-

complished in nearly two years by the com-
mittee to whom we have alluded.

We present our readers with an account
of a public meeting convened at the Town
hall, which shows that ’ Mr. Brett has suc-
ceeded beyond ail doubt in establishing a
Hospital, which has not only awakened a
lively interest in the minds of the native com-
munity in its favour, and promoted exten-
sive relief to the physical miseries of the poor,
but we have no doubt will give an electric
shock to every member of the Fever Com-
mittee to spur them on ; telling them
each and all to ponder no longer, but to
work. The sentiments of Lord Auckland on
Brett’ sHospital will be read with pleasure as
the testimony he bears to Mr. Brett’s acti-
vity of mind will be encouraging others to
emulate that bright example.. What was
it but a similar activity of mind which
enabled Astley Cooper, John Bell,
Liston, Louis, Dupuytren,&c. to raise sur-
gery in Europe to a science.

HisXordship’s high opinion and approba-
tion of Mr. Brett’s exertions is evident, and
His Lordship’s benevolent disposition to
support what is good is also obvious. But he
thinks that Mr. Brett’s propositions do not
possess more merit than other plans which
have been projected. We would, with defer-
ence, observe however, that there is a wide
difference between projected plan, and one
actually brought into operation by individual
exertion. There is a great difference be-
tween deliberation for years about doing
good and at once setting about that good ! —
Much must be said also for tried profes-
sional attainments, for experience, for
ingenuity in all the circumstantials which
are indispensable to render an enterpiize suc-
cessful in its issue ? Much is to be said
also for qualifications in the native
languages. It is by these means that
Mr. Brett has obtained that knowledge of
the customs, habits, prejudices, and so forth
of the natives, which, united to a bene-
volent deportment and successful pi’actice
in all departments of his profession, have
enabled him to obtain that confidence in

676

A VISIT TO MR. CROSSE AT HIS RESIDENCE.

so short a time, and to establish that cele-
brity of his hospital which now exists, so
that patients come actually from several
marches distant for relief. Mr. Brett’s suc-
cess, alone, owing to his extraordinary zeal, is
sufficient to entitle his measures to the highest
support, patronage, and confidence of the
exalted head of the Government.

A VISIT TO MR. CROSSE, AT HIS RE-
SIDENCE ON THE QUANTOCK
HILLS, SOMERSET.

We extract a valuable communication
from Sir R. Phillips to the scientific institu-
tion lately established at Brighton, descrip-
tive of a visit to the celebrated mineralogist
Mr. Crosse. The imperfect notices hitherto
given of Mr. Crosse’s extraordinary experi-
ments will render the present communica-
tion valuable, as it will e.xcite the wonder of
our scientific friends.

“ On reaching the handsome mansion of
Mr. Crosse, situated in an undulating park,
studded with trees of great bulk and age, I
was received with much politeness, and
found that I was the first visitor from Bris-
tol. As I was preparing to retain my
conveyance to convey me back to Bridge-
water, I was requested to return it, and
pressed to stay to dinner and take a bed.
Breakfast being well served, Mr. Crosse
then conducted me into a large and lofty
apartment, built for a music -room, with a
capital organ in the gallery, but I could
look at nothing but the 7 or 8 tables which
filled the area of the room, covered with
extensive voltaic batteries of all forms,
sizes, and extents. They resembled batta-
lions of soldiers in exact rank and file, and
seemed innumerable. They were in many
forms, some in porcelain troughs of the
usual construction, some like the couronnes
des lasses, others cylindrical, some in pairs
of glass \essels, with double, metallic cylin-
ders ; besides them, othei's of glass jars,
with stripes of copper and zinc. Altogether
there were 500 voltaic pairs at work in this
great room, and in other rooms about 500
ready for new experiments. It seemed like
a great magazine for voltaic purposes.

“ There are also two arge workshops,
with furnaces, tools., and implements of all
description, as much as would load two or
three waggons.

“ In the great room there is also a very
large electrical machine, wuth a 20 -inch
cylinder, and a smaller one, and in several
cases all the appai’atus in perfect condition,
as described in the best books on electricity.
The prime conductor stood on glass legs,
two feet high, and there was a medical dis-
charger on a glass leg of five feet. No-
thing could be in finer order, and no private
electrician in the world could, perhaps,
show a greater variety, both for experi-
ments and amusement.

“ Beneath the mahogany cover of a
table, on which stood the prime conductor,
&c., was enclosed a magnificent battery of
50 jars, combining 73 square feet of coat-
ing. Its construction, by Cuthbertson, was
in all respects most perfect. To charge it
required 250 vigorous turns of the wheel,
and its dischai'ge made a report as load as
a blunderbuss. It fuses and disperses wires
of various metals ; and the walls of the
apartment are covered with framed impres-
sions of the radiations from the explosion
taken at sundry periods. Mr. Crosse struck
one while I was present, and he has pro-
mised me one as an electrical curiosity ^and
a memento of my visit.

“ But Mr. Crosse’s greatest electrical
curiosity was his apparatus for measuring,
collecting, and operating with, atmospheric
electricity. He collects it by wires, of
the 16th of an inch, extended from elevated
poles to poles, or from trees to trees, in his
grounds and park. The wires are insulated
by means of glass tubes well contrived for
the purpose. At present he has about a
quarter of a mile of wire spread abroad, and
in general about the third of a mile. A
French gentleman had reported to the sec-
tion at Bristol, that the wires extended twen-
ty miles, filling the entire neighbourhood
with thunder and lightning, to the great ter-
ror of the peasantry, who, in consequence
left Mr. Crosse in the free enjoyment of
his game and rabbits. This exaggeration,
Mr. Crosse laughed at most heartily,
though he acknowledged that he knew that
no small terror prevailed in regard to him
and his experiments.

“ The wires are connected with an appa-
ratus in a window of his organ gallery,
which may be detached at pleasure, when
too violent, by simply ttxrning an insulated
lever; but in moderate strength- it maybe
conducted to a ball suspended over the
great battery, which, connected with it, is
charged rapidly, and is then discharged by
means of an universal discharger. He told
me that sometimes the current was so great
as to charge and discharge the great battery

PERFECTION OF CROSSE’S APPARATUS.

677

20 times in a minute, with reports as loud
as cannon, which, being continuous, were
so terrible to strangers that they always
fled, while every one expected the destruc-
tion of himself and premises. He was,
however, he said, used to it, and knew
how to manage and control it ; but wlien it
got into a passion, he coolly turned his in-
sulating lever, and conducted the lightning
into the ground. It was a damp day, and
we regretted that our courage could not be
put to the test,

“ Every thing about this part of Mr.
Crosse’s apparatus is perfect, and much of
it his own contrivance, for he is clever in all
mechanical arrangements, and has been
unwearied in his application, almost night
and day, for 30 years past. I learned, too,
that in the purchase and fitting of his ap-
paratus, he has expended nearly ^3,000,
although in most cases he is his own ma-
nipulator, carpenter, smith, copper-smith,
&c.

•‘About 12, Professor Sedgwick arrived*
and in the afternoon one or two others, besides
seven or eight gentlemen of the neighbour-
hood, who had been invited to meet us at
dinner, for Mr. Crosse unites to the rank
of Esquire that of a country magistrate, in
the duties of which he is respected alike for
his humanity to^the poor, and for his libe-
ral opinions in politics. Mrs. Crosse I had
not the pleasure of seeing, one of the sons
being ill. Mr. Crosse himself was educated
at Oxford, and his second son holds the liv-
ing of Broomfield. He is master of all his
father’s experiments, and, in spite of the
complaints of an Oxford education, I found
him to be a very expert mathematician, well
read, and variously accomplished. At seven
o’clock we enjoyed a dinner as well served
as I ever saw any state-dinner in London, and
beds being reserved for Pi’ofessor Sedgwick
and myself, we next morning renewed
our survey, previous to fresh arrivals ; and
I took notes of every thing connected with
his aqueous voltaic batteries, in the following
order, errors excepted : —

“ 1. A battery of 100 pairs, of 25 square
inches, charged like all the rest with water,
operating on cups containing 1 oz. of car-
bonate of barytes and powdered sulphate of
alumine intended to form sulphate of bary-
tes at the positive pole and crystals of alu-
mine at the negative.

“ 2. A battery of 11 cylindrical pairs, 12
inches by 4. This, by operating six months
on fluate of silver, had produced large
hexahedral crystals at the negative pole,
and crystals of silica and chalcedony at the
positive.

“ 3. A battery of 100 pairs, of 4 square
inches, operating on slate 832, and platina
3, to produce hexagonal crystals at the
positive pole.

“ 4. A battery of 100 pairs, 5 inches
square, operating on nitrate of silver and
copper, to produce malachite at the positive
pole ; at the negative pole, crystals already
appear with decided angles and faces.

“5. A battery of 16 pairs, of 2 inches,
in small glass jai's, actingon a weaksolution
of nitrate of silver, and already producing a
compact vegetation of native silver.

6. “ A battery, esteemed his best, of 813
pairs, 5 inches, insulated on glass plates on
deal bars, coated with cement, and so slightly
oxydated by water as to require cleaning
but once or twice a year, by pumping on
them. I felt the effect of 458 pairs in
careless order and imperfectly liquidated,
and they gave only some tinglings, but this
power in a few weeks pi-oduces decided
effects.

“ 7. A battery of 12 pairs, 25 inches zinc
and 36 copper, charged 2 months before
with water, and acting on a solution of ni-
trate of silver, poured on green bottle-glass
coarsely powdered. It had already pro-
duced a vegetation of silver at the positive
pole.

“ 8. A battery of 159 galley-pots, with
semi-circular plates of 1§ inch radius placed
on glass plates, and acting for five months,
through a small piece of Bridgewater po-
rous brick, on a solution of silex and potash.
I saw at the pole small crystals of quartz.

“ 9. A battery of 30 pairs, similar to No.
8, acting since July 27, on a mixture, in a
mortar, of sulphate of lead, of white oxide,
of antimony, of sulphate of copper, and of
green sulphate of iron (205 grains), and
three times the whole of green bottle-glass
(615 grains). The result has been in five
weeks, a precipitation, on the negative wire,
of pure copper in two days, and crystallized
iron pyrites in four days. It had been ex-
pected to produce sulphurets of lead, cop-
per, and antimony, by depriving the sul-
phates of their oxygen. On August lOth
and 28th, 25 grains and 40 grains of sul-
phate of iron were added.

“ 10. A battery of 5 jars, with plates of
different metals, as two copper and platina,
one of lead and lead, and one silver and
iron, and one copper and lead. — Experi-
mental.

“11, 12, and 13. About 200 pairs, in
three batteries, working in a dark room, of
which I took no note.

“ While I was an inmate with Mr Crosse,
•we had various conversations about the

678

TERRESTRIAL GALVANISM.

power which he employed. I bad in some
degree anticipated his dtout by hazarding
in the last edition of rny ‘ Million of Facts,’
1835, an assertion that, inasmuch as metals
are found in only a mixed or confused state
in different rocks, among which a galvanic
action on air or water would necessarily
arise, long time would generate the com-
pound matrices of metals ; but 1 did not
regard this public anticipation as any infer-
ence with his original merits, and I was
deeply penetrated by the view of his labours,
and the expense and zeal with which he had
prosecuted his experiments. Yet he had a
round conductor for a minimum of power,
instead of a combination of flat or parallel
ones for a maximum. And he could not
help talking about the fluid, and some other
fancies of the elder electricians, who invent-
ed their doctrines before it was suspected,
that air was a compound, and that such
active powers as oxygen, nitrogen, hydro-
gen, and their definite numerical co-mix-
tures, conferred mechanical character on
the most refined operations of nature.

He instructed me in the fact that his
batteries performed four times the duty in
those hours in the morning, from 7 to 11,
when the great laboratory of nature is evolv-
ing the most oxygen, than in the same pe-
riod in the evening, when we may imagine
the contrary effect takes place. He consi-
dered the air as so non-electric in damp
weather, that no plate of air, lying between
the coating of a cloud and the earth, could
then be disturbed, and he stated to me as
a general fact that the earth is always posi-
tively electrified.

“ On my part I enlarged to him and his
son on the universality of matter and mo-
tion in producing all material phenomena,
independently of the whimsical powers in-
vented in ages when he would have been
burnt for a magician, and in this way I
endeavoured to return the various informa-
tion which he had so unreservedly imparted
to me. I impressed on him that all this
creative energy of atom was merely a dis-
play of developments by the great motions
of the earth as they affect the excitable parts
of different solid bodies ; the results of
which are necessarily regular, and their
ultimate laws of re-action and combination
also regular, so as to produce that universal
harmony which surprizes beings who, in
eternal time, live and observe within only a
unit of time. Hence that terrestrial galva-
nism arising from the operations of the in-
ternal frictions and varied pressures called
heat ; hence those factious productions of
metallic matrices and crystalline forms
resulting from refined and subtle actions

which confer electrical and galvanic effects,
where diff erent substances are proximately
opposed ; hence magnetism itself tangentally
displayed as a resultant of terrestrial cur-
rents of electricity : hence the fluctuations
of the phenomena from obliquity of the
axis of rotation which, in regard to the axis
of the orbit, generates two variable direc-
tions of massive pressure ; hence, in fine,
the wisdom displayed by Mr. Crosse in
resorting to the modus oi^erandi of nature
in his attempts to imitate her most curi-
ous productions.

“ Observing that continual fresh arrivals
rendered it ineligible for me to prolong my
visit, I proceeded to Taunton, a distance of
six or seven miles, the nearest place at
which a stranger can meet with public
accommodation.” — Lancet, Oct. 1836.

PUBLIC MEETING AT THE TOWN
HALL.

Saturdnj/, lltti March, 1837,

The Venerable Archdeacon Dealtry wag
called to the chair.

On the opening of the ^proceedings the
chairman observed that it would have been
as well in the first instance to have submit-
ted the proposition for the establishment of
Mr. Brett’s Hospital to the District Charita-
ble Committee and to have solicited its sup-
port, which no doubt would have been granted
on the great utility of the Hospital being fully
proved to that committee. He was himself
ready to give it his most strenuous support.
Mr. Drummond observed that a committee
had been sitting for sometime past for the
purpose of establishing a fever hospital, for
which public contributions had been obtained
as well as the co-operation of the Government,
and he thought the proposition for establish,
ing another hospital premature and likely
to interfere with the one projected. He
had the sentiments of Lord Auckland on
the subject, which he would read to the
meeting. (Here Mr. Drummond read the
following letter from his Lordship.)

“ I will not head a subscription, as seems
to be desired, for a General Hospital, though

DISCUSSION AT THE TOWN HALL.

I am willing, by a small donation to the
establishment in the Chitpore Road, to
afford to Dr. Brett some assistance in his
commendable attempt to give medical and
surgical relief to the poorer classes of the
inhabitants of Calcutta.

I see nothing in his plan, beyond the
activity of his own personal exertions to
distinguish it from that of other institutions
established or projected for the same
purposes ; and until the information which I
hope shortly to see collected in regard to
them shall be fully before me, I would not
pledge my opinion further than I have al-
ready done upon the objects of this kind to
which support may be most advantageously
given.’*

Mr. Brett believed it was an acknow-
ledged principle of the Government not to
interfere with such establishments, but leave
them in the hands of the public. The object
was therefore to lay before the meeting
documents proving the utility of the hos-
pital, and to seek the public sanction.

The chairman desired the prospectus to
be read.

Mr. Corbyn rose and said that, when Mr.

’ Brett first instituted his hospital, he had
taken the same views of the subject
as those alluded to by Mr. Drummond,
that it would interfere with the plan of
the projected fever hospital ; but when he
visited the hospital, and saw the immense
extent of good done, and the popularity
it had attained among the native com-
munity, his sentiments were altogether
changed, nor did he hesitate to say
that it would be cruel to the afflicted
poor to shut the doors of such an in-
stitution where so many had obtained
relief; when he fMr. Corbyn) remem-
bered the slow pace with which the Fe-
ver Committee moved, he thought it would
be cruel to wait for any measures from
them. He hoped however, when that com-
mittee witnessed the great public bene-
fit derived from this hospital, the confidence
of the people in it, and the transcendant abi-
lities of Mr. Brett, they would be the
first to step forward to bring it within

679

their plan and give it their support. When
Mr. Corbyn considered that the only support -
ersof the hospital were two benevolent indivi-
duals, Goui’mohun Dsy and Mr. Manuk, whom
he had the happiness to see at the meeting,
he dreaded lest this valuable institution should
cease for want of contributions, and it was
therefore the imperative duty of those
present to use every exertion in their power
to obtain public comitenance and sup -
port.

Mr. Brett disclaimed all intention of
interfering with other institutions. There
was an immense field of good and much
had already been done. Would the public
now listen to the calls of the aifiicted
and come forward with its support. He
(Mr. Brett) considered that the most effec-
tual mode of proceeding was that of shew-
ing the' extent of benefit to be derived, by
actual experiment, as was demonstrated in
this instance, and then to call upon the
benevolent public for its support ?
would be delighted if the Fever Hos-
pital Committee would take up the institu -
tion ; all he wished was that, as the hospital
embraced all the objects "which the Fever
Hospital Committee had in view, and more ,
and as it was established on the only prin-
ciples which were calculated to insure the
confidence of the natives, that the Fever
Hospital Committee should call it their own
and adopt it. It was not Ms hospital but
the public’s. He totally disclaimed all
personal interest in the affair. Mr.
Brett was fully aware of the bene-
volent intentions of Lord Auckland, as con-
veyed by Dr. Drummond : he knew also that
the present meeting, and Dr. Drummond'
amongst the rest, were unanimous in one
object, viz. benevolence. He also was.
aware of the Archdeacon*s good intention,
in having the subject brought before the Dis-
trict Charitable Committee, but still he
sought this opportunity for obtaining the-
public sancfioii and support to his efforts .

Rev. Mr. Boaz observed it was lamentable
to witness the opposition with which genius
had to contend, but that it would always
ultimately gain its ascendency, and triumph.

680

USEFUL METHOD OF PREPARING CHARCOAL.

over all obstacles. He considered that the
offer which had been made by Dr. Brett of
his hospital to the Fever Hospital Com-
mittee would be one of the greatest boons
which had been conferred on that insti-
tution. Mr. Boaz had been struck very for-
cibly with two important points in the
success of this undertaking, viz. first the
site on which it was to be founded, and se-
condly securing the confidence of the peo-
ple ; both these important objects had been
obtained in Dr. Brett’s case. The only ob-
jection which had been placed before the
meeting to its establishment was its interfer-
ence with the projected fever hospital. This
objection should not in his opinion out-
weigh the benefit of the two important ob-
jects already attained ; besides, that institu-
tion had now been fifteen months before
the public without any practical good re-
sulting, nor was it so popular as could be
desired, owing to this remissness with
the^ native community, in comfirmation of
which assertion he would appeal to the
native gentleman present.

Gourmohun Dey nodded assent.

Mr. Jacob had visited Mr. Brett’s hospital :
bethought it had been established in the fittest
site possible for such an institution. He had
been in various parts of Calcutta and had
made a point of enquiring of the natives
their opinion of the institution, and the reply
invariably given was that it was a most
valuable institution. He thought it should
be established without delay, and that be-
cause it was promoting extensive good.

The following resolutions were then put
and unanimously adopted.

That this meeting highly approves of
the generous, disinterested, and successful

labours of Dr. Brett in his endeavomrs to
relieve the miseries of the indigent native
population of Calcutta, and in his efforts
to establish a native hospital.

2. That while this meeting is impressed
with thp importance of such an institution,
remembering that a similar one has been
some time in contemplation and may soon
be matured under the auspices of the Dis"
trict Charitable Society, it recommends that
the subject be brought under consideration
of that Society before any further steps be
taken for the permanent establishment of
Dr. Brett’s institution.

3. In the meanwhile, to prevent the pos-
sibility of the natives being deprived of the
advantages of the present institution, the
meeting recommends it as an object worthy
the confidence and support of the public,
that subscriptions and donations be solicited
to carry on its operation.

The thanks of the meeting were then
voted to the chairman, for his conduct in
the chair.

Subscriptions and donations will be cheer-
fully received by the Venerable the Archdea-
con, and Reverend T. Boaz, Union Chapel,
Durrumtollah, by Messrs. Corbyn, Jacob,
and, Brett, H. Manuk, Esq., and Baboo
Gourmohun Dey.

J. LANGSTAFF, ESQUIRE.

Isi Member, Medical Board.

It is said that Mr. LangstafF, in conse-
quence of recent indisposition, will proceed
forthwith to the isle of France and New
South Wales, whence, it is probable, he will
return to Europe,

PROGRESS OF SCIENCE,

AS APPLICABLE TO THE ARTS AND MANUFACTURES ; TO COMMERCE
AND TO AGRICULTURE.

IMPROVED MODES OF PREPAR-
ING CHARCOAL.

In consequence of the great waste of char-
coal, in the usual mode of preparation, and

the entire loss of the volatile matter, two
inodes have been contrived, in either of
which the quantity of charcoal obtained
maybe almost as large as in iron cylinders,
and the volatile matteis may be collected.

NEW MODE OF PREPARING CHARCOAL.

681

The 6rst of these is best suited to the hard
woods which, contain but l ittle resinous matter.
This opeiation is performed in a kiln of the
shape of a cylinder, or ratiiera truncated cone
whose larger base is uppermost. It may be
built of sods or tenacious earth above the
natural surface of the soil, but may be more
conveniently excavated to suci) a depth tliat
the earth thrown out may serve to form the
upper part of the enclosure. In the only in-
stance in which we have seen it employed in
this country, namely, at tire West Point Foun-
dry, tire excavation is lined with brick.

In order to admit air to the kiln, when
made by excavation, for the purpose of
maintaining the combustion, tnbes of earthen-
ware or cast iron are carried down fVom the
surface of the ground to the bottom of the
excavation : the-e lie behind the lining, and
are either passed through it near the bottom,
or enter small brick vaults, which communi-
cate wiih the interior of the kiln. 'I'he kiln
may be closed at top by a cover made of sheet
iron, tosupport which, when the lining is not
of orick, a ring of bribks must be placed
around the top of the excavation. The cover
must extend on all sides three or four inches
beyond the opening^of the kiln, in order to
have a sufficient support, lu this cover there
are seveial openings, one at the centre, the
others near the circurafeience. Through
each of these a short tube or flue of sheet iron
passes, and the several tubes are furnished
with stoppers of iron.

The size described by Dumas is ten feet.
(French) in diameter, and nine feet deep.
The central tube is nine inches in diameter.
The number of these at the circumference is
four, each four inches in diameter.

That used at the West Point Foundry is
twelve feet in diameter and nine feet deep.

In order to condense the volatile matter,
one opening is made in the lining near the lop
of the kiln, to which a tube of cast iron or
earthenware is applied. This tube communi-
cates with a small chamber built of biick,
about eighteen inches long, a foot in width,
and fifteen inche.s high, entering about the
middle of its height. Fiora the top of this
chamber proceeds a pipe of sheet iron, which,
after rising vertically four or five leet, assumes
a horizontal diiection for about fifteen feet
more ; at this distance there is no fear of
fire, and the rest of the pipe may be of wood.
The extension of the pipe communicates
with a condensing apparatus, on the principle
of Woolf, but which may be formed of com-
mon barrels.

In charging the kiln with wood, a post
whose height is equal to the depth of the
excavation is setup in the middle, and sup-
ported in its place by a heap of fragments of
charcoal. A number of the larger lous are
chosen and laid on the bottom of the kiln in
such a manner as to form rudiating flues, ter-
minating at the places when the air tubes pass
through the lining- Across these a horizontal
layer of logs is laid. The radiating logs must
neither touch the post or the lining of the
kiln 5 the secondary layers extend from the

one to the other. Layers are then placed in
succession in such a manner as to leave as
little empty space as possible, particu-
larly^ near the circumference until the kiln
is filled. The kiln having been charged,
the post is drawn out of the middle, the cover
set in its place, and coated to the depth of
not le.'^s than two inches with dry earth.

The stoppers being withdrawn from the
flues in the cover, lighted charcoal is poured
down through the middle tube ; this falls
through the space left by the post, to the
heap of charcoal by which it was steadied,
and sets it on fire. The central flue is then
tightly closed, in order that the draught
may be directed towards the outside of the
mass of wood. In order to make the joint of
the stopper tight, it is luted with plastic clay.
The other flues begin to discharge smoke,
which is surounded by flame. As soon as the
flame|ceases to have a blue colour and becomes
white and clouded, the flues have their stoppers
loosely applied to them, and the openings of
the descending air tubes are diminished. The
draught will thus be directed to the condens-
ing apparatus. But if the collection of the
acid be not intended, the tubes in the cover
are but partially closed. The combustion may
be regulated within the kiln by the air tubes
and those in the cover. Thus, too rapid an
action in any one part may be checked by com-
pletely closing the several air tubes and the
opposite flue ; and if it be too slow, these
must be opened as far as possible until the
action be restored.

^ For a kiln ten by nine, the operation occu-
pies from sixty to eighty hours, and is known to
be complete when the upper layer of wood ap-
pears to be incandescent ; when this has taken
place, the stoppers of all the openings except
that of the central flue are removed for a
short time, and a quantity of hydrogen will
be expelled, whch, if it does not injure the quan-
tity of charcoal, would rei>der it less saleable.
As soon as the peculiar flame of hydrogen
ceases, all the opening, both of the air tubes
and flues, must be closed by shutting their
stofjpers with clay, and covering them with
caps of sheet iron containing clay, d he di\y
earth is removed from the cover, and it is plas-
tered with earth mixed with water. The
charcoal thus shut up will take sixty to eighty
hours to cool. ® ^

A plan and section of this description of
kiln is represented in plate viii, figs. 1, 2 3
4, and 5. » » s

Fig. 1, and 2, being plan and section of one
formed in an excavation, and

Fig. 3, and 4, of one built above ground.
Fig. 5, cover of sheet iron applicable to
either. ^

A. Interior of kiln.

B. Wail, or lining of earth.

C. Chamber in which the tar may be con-
densed.

d. Pipe leading to the condenser for pyro-
lignous acids.

e, e, e. Air-vaults.

. />/» /• Openings by which the external air
IS admitted.

682

HANCOCK’S STEAM CARRIAGE.

At the Benuington furnace, a kiln of simi-
lar form was constructed of brick, above the
level of the ground, and covered by a perma-
nent dome of brick. In the wall a door was
left for the introduction of the wood, and this
was subsequently bricked U(). Vents were
formed by leaving bricks loose in the wall,
and when the process was complete, the fire
was extinguished by means of water. An
unexpected benefit was found to arise from
the latter operation ; for the coal, becoming
charged with aqueous vapour, was as fit for
immediate use, as that which had been pre-
pared for several months.

It is estimated that the product of kilns of
this kind in France, is about 25 per cent
more than in a coal-pit. "i he experiment at
the West Point Foundry was more advanta-
geous, the product having 50 per cent more
than was obtained in tbe usual method. In
France the main object w'as the pyrolignous
acid, which at West Point was neglected ;
and this difference in the object will account
for the difference in the results. The mode
of placing the wood was also different ;
the French using that which has been descri-
bed above, while at the West Point it was
placed vertically.

In the pine forests of Sweden, an appara-
tus better suited to the collection of the tur-
pentine that kind of wood furnishes, has been
invented by Schwartz. '1 his kiln is composed
of a vault, built of brick or silicious stone
laid in a mixture of clay and sand. Common
mortar must not be used, as it would not
only be effected by the heat, but would be
completely destroyed by the pyrolignous acid.
The vault is closed at each end by a vertical
wall of the same kind of masonry. The floor
of the kiln is of earth, and has the figure of
two planes slightly inclined, and meeting in a
gutter in the middle of the longer sides of the
vault. In each end wall are two fire places,
and in one of them are four openings for in-
troducing the wood and withdrawing the char-
coal. The smoke and vapour are carried off
by flues of cast iron at the level of the ground,
and proceeding from the middle of the larger
sides of the vault ; these rainate in channels
where the vapour is condensed, and which
convey the smoke to two vertical chimneys.
A section of this kiln is represented in
fig. 6.

The advantage of this arranament is, that
no air can enter the kiln without passing
through the fire-places which are kept full
of burning fuel ; and that the fuel w’hich is
best suited for this purpose (small branches
and twigs), is useless in making charcoal. In
placing the wood, the pieces are laid parallel
to the largest sides of the vault, and in such
manner as to leave as little space as possible
except in the neighbourhood of the flues, which
must be kept free for the escape of smoke
and vapour. Two days are sufficient to con-
vert the wood into charcoal, and the end of
the process is known by the appearance of the
blue flame of carburetted hydrogen at the
chimneys. The whole of the openings are
then closed, and luted with clay.

At the end of two days, two holes, left for
the purpose in the arch of the vault, but
which have during the process been carefully
closed, are opened, and water thrown in to
cool the charcoal ; these holes are then closed
again. At the end of three or four days more,
one of the doors in the end wall is opened,
and more water thrown in ; but the charcoal
will not be ready to be removed, until all the
external parts of the apparatus have become
as cold as the surrounding air.

This kind of furnace has been much used
in Europe, and the quantity of charcoal
obtained is one -third more than is obtained
from coal-pits. The turpentine and acetic
acid are also saved, which in other cases are
lost. There can be no doubt that it might
be introduced to advantage in those parts of
our country where iron is manufactured by
means of charcoal prepared from pine wood.

In using kilns of either description, it be-
comes a matter of calculation whether it be
cheaper to manufacture the charcoal in the
woods in the usual nanner, or to carry the
wood to the kiln. Thd weight of the charcoal
to be transported will be only seventeen parts
of that of the wood ; while the charcoal ob-
tained by the kilns will be certainly one-third
more than that procured from the pits. It
must therefore appear that the value of the
additional charcoal shall be at least equiva-
lent to the cost of transporting the wood to
the kiln. It is also to be remarked, that
charcoal prepared on the spot where it is to
be used is better than that which has here
been handled and carried over rough roads,
and that all waste is avoided.— MecAvmcs’
Magazine.

MR. HANCOCK’S STEAM-CARRIAGE
AUTOMATON,” AND STATEMENT
OF HIS LATE I'RAFFIC BETWEEN
THE BANK AND PADDINGTON.

On our frontpage* we present our readers
with an engraving of the “ Automaton,” the
last steam -carriage built by Mr. Hancock.
One or other of this gentleman’s carriage.^
have been travelling, without intermission,
since the 1 Ith of May last. I hat steam-loco-
motion on common roads is both practicable
and safe to the passengers and the public, he
has proved ; it remains for him to show(which
it will be seen by the following letter, contain-
ing a statement of his late performances, he
promises shortly to do), that his travelling has
been economical, so as to return a fair profit to
any capitalist who may embark his money in
a speculation of the kind.

Mr. Hancock is now the only engineer
witha steam-carriage on any road. Sir Charles
Dance, Colonel Maceroni. Dr. Church,
Messrs. Ogle, Summers, Squire, Russel,
Redmund, Hea.tou, Maudsley, Frazer, and
a host of others— where are they? Echo an-
swers— “ Where !” Strange to say, however ,
we see steam-carriage companies advertised, -
whose engineers have either never yet built a

♦ See plate viii, fig'. 7.

SUCCESS OF THE STEAM CARRIAGE.

683

(carriage, or whose carriages when built have
oever stirred out of the factory yard.

Sir, — Tuesday evening, the 20th inst.,
completed twenty weeks’ continued running
on the Stratford, Islington, and Paddington
roads, during this year, and I beg to hand
you as faithful an account as I can of the
performances of my carriages.

Since the last notice in your Magazine, a
new carriage, the “Automaton,” has been
brought upon the road, the only difference
between which and those preceding it is, that
the engines are of greater power (having
cylinders of 12 inches diameter, whilst those
of the others are of 9 inches) , and the carriage
altogether of larger dimensions than the
others, it having seats for 22, whilst they
are only calculated for 14 passengers. It is
an open carriage like the “ Infant and
although only calculated for the accommo-
dation of 22 passengers, it has carried 30 at
one time, and would then have surplus power
to draw an omnibus or other carriage con-
taining 18 more passengers, without any
material diminution of speed ; its general
rate of travelling is from 12 to 15 miles
per hour. On one occasion it performed
(when put upon the top of its speed, loaded
with 20 full-grown persons) a mile on the
Bowroad, at the rate of 21 miles per hour.

The first time the “ Automaton” was
brought upon the road (the latter end of
July) it conveyed a party to Romford, and
back, at the rate of 10 to 12 miles per hour,
without the least interruption or deviation in
its working, although it was the first, or as
I may calHt, the day of proving ; nor has it
required any repairs whatever to this time.

After this digression in describing the
“ Automaton,” I will return to the actual
work done on the public roads and streets of
the metropolis during the last twenty weeks,
or five months, in as concise a manner as
1 can : —

The miles run, about . ^ 4,200

Passengers carried 12,761

Trips— City to Islington, and back . 625

Do. .. Paddington do. .. 143

Do. .. Stratiord do. .. 44

Supposing Ihe carriage had always
been fulf, the passengers carried

would have been 20,420

Average time a carriage has run
each day - 6 hours, I75 minutes.

An exact account of the number of times
that the carriages have gone through the
City in their journeys has not been kept, but
I should suppose that it mast be more than
200. For the last five weeks a carriage has
been at the Bank twice a day, viz. between
the hours of 2 and 3 and 5 and 6 in the
afternoon.

It was on one of the morning trips from
Stratford to the Bank, through the City,
that the steamer became entangled with a
waggon at Aldgate ; and which, 1 am happy
to say. is the only accident worth recording.
The shafts of the waggon were swung by the
the contact against the projecting front of

a shop ; the damage done was trifling, and
occasioned by the wheels of the steam carriage
having got into the iron gutter, and out of
which it is not an easy thing to gain the fair
surface of the street with any ordinary car-
riage in so confined a situation as that part
of Aldgate in which the accident happened ;
and it should be observed, that this occurred
in making way for another carriage passing
at the time.

I will now give you an account of all other
accidents (which have all happened to the
damage of the steamers themselves) viz. the
chain pulley of the “ Enterprise” once broke
on the axletree ; the same occurred once to
the “ Infant,” which were permanently and
immediately replaced by castings from the
same pattern, with a greater thickness of
metal, and which have since stood well.

The severe test afforded by the state of the
City Road and onward to Paddington, caused
these failures ; for the pulleys had stood well
on other roads, for many miles.

Another accident was ahind-wdieel of the
“ Erin” coming off in the New Street, near
the Bank, on which occasion the carriage
sunk only about eight or nine inches, in con-
sequence of the frame-work of the machinery
taking the ground ; and so little was the
coach thrown out of the level, that the inside
passengers were surprised when informed
that the wheel was off. The concluding
accident was by the steerage chain of the
“ Infant” being too slight, and breaking at
Islington, when the carriage turning short
round, with one of the fore wheels against the
curb, the wheel was broken. This wheel was
an old one, of much slighter constructioa
than 1 now make them.

In the early part of the five months’ run-
ning, the close-bodied carriages. “ Erin”
and “ Enterprise” were about equally em-
ployed— in the latter part, and to the present
time, in consequence of the fine weather, the
open carriages *• Infant” and “ Automaton”
have been running.

I have occasionally examined the boilers
and engines of all the carriages, and found
that the engines have in most parts actually
improved, whilst the boilers and fire-places
have suffered a deterioration, less than could
have been expected, from the use they have
undergone.

It may be remarked, that both boilers and
machinery are suspended on well acting
springs, and which account for the state of
all the parts being so well preserved. Some
of the boilers have been in use for two or
three years.

There have been consumed in the before-
mentioned traffic, 55 chaldrons of coke,
which is equal to 79 miles per chaldron, or
about 24§d. per mile for fuel ; but this on
long.journeys would be much reduced by the
application of the moveable fire-place, patent-
ed by me about three years ago, as our
greatest expenditure of coke in these short
journeys is in lowering and again raising
the fire.

684

NEW SYSTEM OF GEOLOGY.

I cannot conclude without noticing with
gratitude the general civility and attention
which I have met with, and my pleasure in
discovering that the antipathies which ex-
isted in the earlier part of my career are
gradually subsiding, and that in fact, I never
now meet with incivility expecting with a
few carters or draymen, who consider the
introduction of steam- carriages as an in-
fringement upon the old-established use of
horse-flesh.

Years of practice have now put all doubts
of the economy, safety, and superiority of
steam travelling on common roads at rest,
when compared with horse travelling ; and I
have now in preparation calculations founded
upon actual practice, which, when published,
will prove that steam locomotion on common
roads is not unworthy of the attention of the
capitalist, though the reverse has been dis-
seminated rather widely of late by parties
who do not desire that this branch of improve-
ment should prosper against the interests of
themselves.

After twelve years of incessant labour in
steam-locomotion,

Your obedient servant,

Walter Hancock,

Stratford, Sept. 22. 1836.

Mechanics Magazine, Sept. 1836.

NEW SYSTEM OF GEOLOGY.

Sir, — I have read with much interest the
various articles upon the Electrical 1 heory
of the Universe,’’ and I am glad to find,
from Kinclaven’s last letter on the subject,
that no great danger is to be apprehended of
this earth or any of the other planets being
“ whirled into the body of the sun.’’ But,
Mr. Editor, there is another new system of
geology which is now making some noise,
the following account of which I copy from
the catalogue for the present year of the
Society for the Illustration and Encourage-
ment of Practical Science, Adelaide-street : —

“ No. 10. p. 46. — A Geological Globe,
presented by Sir John Byerley.

This globe, the invention of which is
due to M. Guesney, of Constance, in Nor-
mandy, is intended to show the changes on
the earth’s surface, produced by the preces-
sion of the equinoxes, whereby the pole of
the equator revolves round that of the eclip-
tic in 25,920 years (Delambre).

“ The fixed circle is the ecliptic, or that
line to which the sun would be vertical in the
course of a tropical year, were there no diur-
nal motion. The moveable circle represents
the equator, preserving the same angle with
the ecliptic by cutting it in different points
at every succeeding equinox ; by which means
the pole of the earth passes through 46^ 56'
of latitude in about 13.000 years; by this
means the Oural mountains become in the
latitude of Mexico and Kamschatka within
the tropics. The pole will pass over France

and Germany ; and then Edinburgh will be
due south of London. The author thus
accounts for the variation of the magnetic
needle, the discovery of tropical fossils in the
polar regions, the advance and retreat of the
sea, the relative height of mountains, earth-
quakes, volcanoes, &c.”

According to Mr. Mackintosh’s theory,
all the inhabitants of this earth on some
luckless day are to be roasted alive ; but,
according to the above theory, all the inha-
bitants of Europe , at least, are to be frozen
to death unless they remove their quarters.
Edinburgh is to be due south of London in
the space of 13,000 years! When this takes
place, England will not be troubled with
many Scotchmen— they may then blow up the
bridge of Berwick, for “ Sandy” will still
direct his course to the south (a favourite
Scotch point of the compass), and will arrive
at what is now the polar regions, but which
will then be a most delightful climate. But,
Mr. Editor, on this subject I should like to
have the opinions of some of your scientific
correspondents ; my present opinion of the
matter is, that it is all nonsense. — I/jid,

WRITINGS OF ROGER BACON.

The Academie des Sciences Morales et
Politiques was on Saturday informeil by M.
Cousin, that he had just discovered some
manuscripts which are important to scholas-
tic and philosophic history. They are
writings of Roger Bacon, the celebrated
philosopher of the 13th century. Roger
Bacon was an Englishman by birth, but
passed nearly the whole of his life in France.
He became a Franciscan friar, and lived a
long time in the convent of the Cordeliers,
to which he was confined by order of the
General of the Franciscans.. 'J his, notwith-
standing the silence of JMontfaucon and the
other bibliographs, induced M. Cousin to
believe that there must be manuscripts by
Roger Bacon still existing in France. He
began by making searches at Douai and St.
Omer, where there were formerly English
Colleges, 'i hese searches have been suc-
cessful. 'J'he only work of Roger Bacon hi-
therto known is his first letter to Pope Cle-
ment IV., which Bacon entitled Opus Maii/s.,
Clement IV., who protected Bacon, desired
that he would give him an exposition of the
state of science in the 13th century. Bacon,
receiving no answer to his first letter, ad-
dressed a new work to the same Pope, under
the title of Opus Minus. I'he second letter
also remainingunanswered. Bacon remodelled
his work, and addressed a third letter to the
Pope, which he called Opus Tertium. '1 he
Opus Majus -was published at Loudon in 1733.
England possesses a manuscript of the Opus
Minus, and it has hitherto been believed that
there was no other in existence; but M.
Cousin has discovered at Douai a manuscript
containing a considerable fragment of it.
This work, in his opinion, is of no great im-
portance. It is not, however, the same with
the Opus Tertium, which may be considered

A SOCIETY OF BOTANICAL AMATEURS.

685

as the la«t words of Roger Bacon ; a manu-
script of which has been discovered by M.
Cousin, and is the only copy to be found in
France. He has, besides, recently discover-
ed at Amiens another manuscript by Bacon,
the existence of which had never been sus-
pected. It contains questions on the physics
and metaphysics of Aristotle. These three
manuscripts, of which M. Cousin is preparing
a memorial, will throw a light upon the his-
tory of scholastic philosophy^ and inform
us whether or not Roger Bacon was really,
as has been asserted, the inventor of the
telescope, the microscope, and gunpow'der.
This is a question wdiich, for want of authen-
tic documents, it has hitherto been impossible
to solve. — French Paper.

PORCISLAIN COLOURS.

The pink colour which ornaments the Eng-
lish porcelain has been hitherto unknown in
France, and w-hen required in that country
was always bought here. M. Mallagutti, of
the manufactory of Sevres, has analysed this
colour till he is now able to compose it. In
the course of his experiments he discovered
another colour similar to crimson lake, which
is much more durable than any derived from
the animal kingdom, and which may be
advantageously employed in oil-painting.—
Mechanics' Magazine.

BOTANICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON.

A number of botanists, amateurs, &c.
have recently held several meetings at the
Crown and Anchor Tavern, Strand, for the
purpose of forming themselves into a So-
ciety, bearing the above title. One striking
feature of this Society is, that ladies will be
admitted members ; this we think highly
deserving of commendation, as many ladies
are not only excellent botanists, but they can
generally devote a considerable portion of
time daily to practical botany. Among the
leading objects the Society propose are the
following : — The advancement of botanical
science in general; the particular cultivation
of descriptive and systematic botany; the
formation of a library, herbarium, and mu-
seum; the reading of original papers, extracts,
and translations ; the exchange of specimens
with other societies or individual colections ;
and every other available means that may
promote the objects of the Society. It is
further intended that the Society shall consist
of the following classes of members ; viz.
resident,! corresponding, honorary, and life
members. We are glad to find, among: the
mighty mass of bricks and mortar, ladies and
gentlemen so ardently devoted to so healthy
and endearing a pursuit as botany. We shall be
happy to hear of their complete success. — I: id.

WIRE FOR MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.

— Admiring much the tones- ot the newly
invented musical instrvtmeat; the Seraphine,

I endeavoured to construct one, and have
succeeded in accomplishing the task ; but
find great disappointment in its not keeping
in tune. In making the tongues, or vibra-
tors, I have tried both brass and German
silver ; the latter producing the finest tones,
but subject to the before-named defect. If
any of your intelligent correspondents could
point out the best metal to articulate quick,
and stand in tune, and sufficiently flexible
as not to be liable to break with the pressure
of air during its vibration, and also where it
can be be purchased, he would much oblige
A Mechanic. August 30, 1836. — Ibid.

BALLOONING ADAPTED FOR INDIA

Sir, — I think that if, as has been lately-
stated, there are at different altitudes op-
posite currents of air always blowing in the
same direction, aerostation may, notkwith-
standing all that has been said about it,
prove a pleasant but sure method of travel-
ling to the Contiuent and back again. Now,
as is well known, directly any portion of the
atmosphere gets heated, it becomes rarefied,
and as such it is lighter than it was before,
and consequently it rises, and the cooler
air rushes into the space that it before oc-
cupied, and thus forms a wind. As the sun
may be considered always over the equator,
the air directly under it, or that in the mid-
dle of the torrid zone must become consider-
ably warmed, and ^consequently rise, and
there must be a coi’respondi'ng rush of
cooler air below from the north and south
to supply its place. That there is such, is
known in the form of the trade winds, and
the reason of their not being due north and
south is owing to the whirling of the earth ;
but the heated air becoming cooled as it
ascends, must in the upper regions form an
opposite blast to the trade winds ; and it
has been clearly seen that there is such, by
large masses of clouds being observed rapidly
moving at a great height in a contrary direc-
tion to the wind, at the surface of the earth.
A balloon taken to almost any part, within
thirty degrees of the equator, would quickly
ascertain at what height the change took
place, and ballooning might prove of utility-
out there, if it never does in this country.
Although the winds near the earth in the
temperate zones are not, from various local
circumstances, very steady, there is great
probability that there may be different
currents at some height, and it could be
easily ascertained by a few aerial trips made
by an experienced person onji purpose for that
intent.

With respect to guiding balloons by sails,
supposing that by placing them obliquely
you were enabled to obtain a little side way,
it would, 1 think, be too trifling, compared
with the length you would have gone in the
same time with the wind, to be of any prac-
tical advantage, and to compensate for the
greater size and expense of the balloon. It
is as unreasonable, in the words of Dr. Ar-

686

IMPORTANT TABLES IN CHEMISTRY.

nott, to suppose that an insect, driven along
at the rate of eight or ten miles an hour by a
river torrent, should have power to stop or
sail against the steam, as a man in a balloon
by means of wings or sails, could resist or

change a motion in the air generally exceed-
ing i fifty miles an hour.

I remain Sir,

Your obedient servant,
Vincent Brown.

THE

STUDY OF SCIENCE,

A FAMILIAR INTRODUCTION

TO THE

PRINCIPLES OF SCIENCE AND THE ARTS.

classes, namely, the non -metallic element®
and the metals ; to which are annexed the
names of those chemists by whom they were
discovered, or by whom their elementary
nature was first ascertained, and the date
of the discovery.

CHEMISTRY.

(Continued from page 355.)

The following table exhibits a list
of all the elementary or simple bodies
hitherto discovered, divided into these two

TABLE OF SIMPLE SUBSTANCES.

I. Non-metallic Elements. Date of

Discoverers. Discovery.

1 Oxygen Dr. Priestly, in England ; and Scheele, in Sweden 1774

2 Chlorine Scheele, in Sweden .. .. .. 1774

3 Iodine Courtois, in France . . .. .. .... 1811

4 Bromine .. .. Balard, in France .. .. .. 1826

5 Fluorine -f accurately investigated by Scheele ; but

* * * ' 1_ it has never been exhibited in a separate state

6 Hydrogen Cavendish, in England

7 Nitrogen .. .. Dr. D. Rutherford, in Scotland

8 Carbon

9 Boron .. .. Sir H. Davy, in England

10 Silicon Berzelius, in Sweden

11 Phosphorus.. .. Brandt, at Hamburgh

12 Sulphur

13 Selenium Berzelius, in Sweden

II. Metals.

15 ■ ■ ; : }

16 Lithium Oxide discovered by Arfvedson, in Sweden ..

17 Baryum .. ..1

18 Strontium .... V Sir H. Davy, in England .. ,,

19 Caleium . . . . J

20 Magnesium. . . . Bussy, in France

21 Aluminum.. .. Wohler, in Germany

22 Glucinum . , . . Oxide discovered by Vauquelin, in France . .

23 Yttrium Oxide discovered by Gadolin, in Sweden

24 Zirconium . . Berzelius, in Sweden

25 Thorium . . . . Berzelius

26 Cerium . . . . Mosander, in Sweden

27 Tellurium . . Klaproth, at Berlin . .

f Appears to have been known to Paracelsus, in the

28 Arsenic . . . . s century ; but first accurately examined by Geo. Brandt,

i in Sweden

29 Antimony..

30 Chromium

Known to Basil Valentine
Vauquelin, in France

j 16th I
irandt, ^

about

1766

1772

1807

1824

1669

1818

1807
1818

1808

1829

1828

1797

1794

1824

1804

1797

1733

1450

1797

SIMPLE SUBSTANCES IN CHEMISTRY EXPLAINED. 687

. . Sefstrom and Berzelius, in Sweden
. . Klaproth, at Berlin
r Scheele, in Sweden

• * I Reduced to the metallic state by Hielm
. . MM. D’ Elhuyarts, in Spain

f Oxide discovered by Hatchett, in England ;
. . Ekeberg, in Sweden
|_ Reduced by Berzelius
Vauquelin, in France . .

Known from time immemorial
Gahn, in Sweden
Bergman, in Sweden
Brandt, in Sweden
Henckel mentions its reduction in
Stromeyer in Germany . .

Known from time immemorial.

Do.

Do.

Mentioned by Geo. Agricola
Known from time immemorial.

Do.

.... Do.

Charles Wood, Assay-master in Jamaica . .

Dr. Wollaston, in England , .

. . The same

“ * ’ I Tenant, in England . .

. . 1830

.. 1789

.. 1778

.. .. 1782

.. 1781

and by 1 1801

1824
.. 1796

.. 1774

.. .. 1775

.. 1733

. 1721

.. 1817

about 1530

1741

1803

1804

1803

31 Vanadium . .

32 Uranium . .

33 Molybdenum

34 Tungsten ..

35 Columbium

36 Titanium ..

37 Iron

38 Manganese . . . .

39 Nickel

40 Cobalt . .

41 Zinc

42 Cadmium

43 Lead

44 Tin.

45 Copper

46 Bismuth . .

47 Mercury . ,

48 Silver

49 Gold

50 Platina

51 Palladium

52 Rhodium .,

53 Iridium

54 Osmium

As some of these elementary bodies
enter into the composition of a vast variety
of substances of common occurrence, and
as it is impossible intelligibly to describe
chemical phenomena without the frequent
mention of them, or allusion to their proper-
ties and modes of action, some short notices
of them may here be advantageously intro-
duced, previously to a review of the laws of
chemical affinity, and a more extensive de-
scription of the simple bodies in general, and
of the most important compounds arising
from their relative action upon each other.
We shall thus avoid the necessity of repeat-
ed explanations of the nature of these bodies
each time they are mentioned, or the still
greater inconvenience of referring to the
properties and effects of substances with
which the reader may be supposed to be
unacquainted.

Among the thirteen non-metallic ele-
ments there are some which at all com-
mon temperatures exist only in the gaseous
state, while the others at moderately low
temperatures are solids. The first and most
important of the elementary bodies is that
called Oxygen, from two Greek words,
denoting the power of producing acids, be-
cause it was formerly thought to be the uni-
versal acidifying principle, though it is now
known that there are many acids in which
oxygen is not contained. One of the grand
characteristic properties of this gaseous ele-
ment is that of being a most powerful sup-
porter of combustion, so that most inflam.

mable bodies burn in it rapidly and brilli-
antly. Its more peculiar properties will be
subsequently described ; and we shall only
add here that it unites with all other ele-
mentary substances (except possibly fluorine),
and with many of them in various propor-
tions.

Nitrogen of Azote, is also a gase-
ous body, the mixture of which with oxygen
in certain proportions constitutes atmosphe-
ric or common air. The name azote, de-
rived from the Greek, implies its being
improper for the purpose of respiration, as
animals confined in this gas soon die. It
is therefore owing to the oxygen contained
in atmospheric air that it is capable of sup-
porting animal life, for none of the higher
classes of animals can exist long in any
kind of air which does not contain oxygen.

The term Nitrogen has been applied
to the gas now under notice, in conse-
quence of its being found to be a constituent
part of nitric acid, or as it is vulgarly called,
aqua fortis, which is a chemical compound
containing a very large proportion of oxygen
united to the nitrogen. There are also
other compounds of oxygen with nitrogen,
among which may be mentioned that some-
times called nitrous oxide, and which,
though it contains more oxygen than
atmospheric air, may yet be breathed for a
time with safety ; but it produces very re-
markable effects when thus used, generally
occasioning a state of excitement somewhat
similar to that caused by drinking wine or

688

SIMPLE SUBSTANCES IN CHEMISTRY EXPLAINED.

spirits, and . hence it has been popularly
named intoxicating or laughing gas. Nitro-
gen enters largely into the composition of
most kinds of animal matter.

Hydrogen is likewise a gas, being that
which when combined with oxygen forms
water, as its name, which is derived from
the Greek, implies. It was, when first dis-
covered, called phlogiston, and inflammable
air. The former of these terms was attach-
ed to it in consequence of an erroneous opi-
nion, at one period generally adopted by
chemists, that all metals were composed of
various kindvS of calces or earths, each res-
pectively united to an inflammable principle
named phlogiston. Now as it was observed
that when any metal becomes dissolved in
a diluted acid as when iron or zinc are thus
treated with sulphuric acid and water, in-
flammable air was always given off during
the process, it was conjectui’ed that the air
in question was derived from the metal ;
though it is now known that, in the case
proposed, it arises from the decomposition
of the water with which the acid is diluted,
and that this sort of air never makes its ap-
pearance in the course of such metallic
solutions, unless water or some other body
containing hydrogen be present. This gas,
though highly inflammable when mixed with
oxygen, and some other simple and com-
pound gases, yet is incapable of supporting
combustion, for if a burning body, as a
lighted candle or match, be introduced into
it, the flame will be immediately extin-
guished.

Hydrogen enters into combination with
most other substances, producing many
remarkable compounds, among which may
be mentioned that formed by its union with
nitrogen ; the result of which is an alkaline
gas, formerly called volatile alkali, and now
ammonia. This compound, which at com-
mon temperatures exists only in the state of
gas, is rapidly absorbed by water or spirit
of wine, communicating to it a peculiar
pungent odour, with which most persons are
familiar, as belonging to spirit of hartshorn
and smelling salts.

Chlorine is the last of the simple bodies
existing in a gaseous state at common tem-
peratures ; but,while those already mention-
ed are not only transparent but colourless,
this gas exhibits a yellowish-green tint,
whence its name chlox’ine.* It was origin-
ally obtained, by Scheele, from the decom-
position of muriatic acid, or spirit of salt,
in which he found it combined with hydro -

* Chlore in French— from the Greek chloros
the green colour of sioung hertage.

gen, then called phlogiston ; and therefore
he gave to the newly-obtained gas the name
of dephlogisticated marine acid. It was
subsequently supposed to be a compound
of muriatic acid, and oxygen ; but Sir. H.
Davy ascertained its real nature, and gave
it its present name.

Chlorine unites with many other simple
and compound bodies, forming with several
of them acids ; and in other respects it ex-
hibits chemical properties analogous to
those of oxygen, being like that gas a
supporter of combustion. It is largely dis-
persed throughout nature, but always in a
state of combination, as in sea-water and
rock-salt, or that procured from brine
springs, in which it is united with the metal
sodium. This gas is by no means adapted
for respiration, and when mixed with much
atmospheric air it still proves highly irritat-
ing, provoking cough and defluxion from
the nostrils. As it combines rapidly with
many other gases, it has been found useful
to purify air loaded with infectious mias-
mata. It is on this account that the chlo-
ride of lime, in solution, is used to sprinkle
the floors and walls of rooms, and to purify
clothes and other articles, which have been
tainted by putrid or infectious vapoui's.
Chlorine has alsoa powerful effect in de-
stroying vegetable colours, and the chloride
of lime is therefore extensively used in the
process of bleaching linen cloth and other
substances.

The four preceding bodies, o.xygen, hy-
drogen, nitrogen, and chlorine, exist at
common temperatures and pressures only
as gas. There are other substances, as, for
instance, carbon (charcoal), and the more
rare bodies, called silicon and boron, which
are found only in the solid state ; and some,
like iron and most of the metals, though
usually solid, become liquefied at respec-
tively various temperatures ; and there is
still another class of bodies capable of ex-
isting under the three several forms of
aggregation. Among these last are sulphur,
phosphorus, and the substances called bro-
mine, iodine, and selenium, which are of less
frequent occurrence.

Carbon is a solid body, hitherto unde-
composed and therefore supposed to be
elementary, which enters largely into the
composition of most substances belonging
to the animal and vegetable kingdoms, and
which also forms the basis of many of the
combustible minerals, as bitumen, coal,
plumbago, and amber. In the form of
charcoal, procured by charring, or distilling
without the access of air, wood and some
other substances, carbon is obtained in a

MACKINTOSH’S ELECTRICAL THEORY OF THE UNIVERSE.

separate state, or merely intermixed with
small portions of earths or salts ; and it
exists in a state of the greatest purity in the
diamond ; for it has been ascertained, by
chemical investigation, that the diamond,
when ex[iosed to a very high temperature,
and especially if confined in oxygen gas, will
burn like charcoal, exhibiting the same
product ; that gem consisting entirely of
crystallized carbon.

{To he continued.)

ELECTRICAL THEORY OF THE
UNIVERSE.

By Mr. Thomas S. Mackintosh.

{Continued from page 475.)

It is found to be a direct consequence of
the law of electrical induction, that if a
small body weakly electrified be placed at a
distance from another and a larger body
more highly charged with the same species
of electricity, it will, as usual, be repelled ;
but there is a certain distance within which
if it he brought, attraction will taJce place
instead of repulsion. This happens in
consequence of the inductive influence pro-
ducing so great a change in the distribution
of the electricity as to give a preponder-
ance to the attractive forces of the adjacent
parts of the two bodies over the repulsive
forces that take place in the other parts,
and which would have alone acted if the
fluid had been immoveable. From this it
appears, that when the moon has approach-
ed within a certain limit, the repulsive
will be overcome by the attractive force,
and she will be precipitated upon the earth’s
surface. We cannot at present pretend to
determine this limit, or to speak with any
degree of certainty concerning the period
that may elapse before this catastrophe
takes place. If the principle of this theory
were sufficiently investigated to enable us
to deduce with precision the electrical states
of Jupiter and Saturn, we might perhaps
be able to draw conclusions from the respect-
ive distances of their satellites with regard
to this point ; but, in the present state of
our knowledge, we can offer no date that
could be at all relied upon. However, we
will give a table of all the known satellites
in the solar system, with their respective
distances from their primaries, as afford-
ing a reasonable ground of hope, even grant-
ing the truth of our theory, that such a
catastrophe will not take place for a very
considerable period of time.

(To he continued.)

690

THE FIGURE OF THE EARTH.

GEOLOGY,

FIGURE AND MAGNITUDE OF THE EARTH,

ITS MEAN DENSITY, SUPERFICIAL

CONFORMATION AND STRUCTURE.

{Continued from page 474.)

Befere we proceed to describe the pre-
sent state of the crust of the earth, and
investigate the probable causes of its origin
and structure, with the nature of the strata
or more irregular masses of which it is
composed, it will be requisite to notice those
facts concerning the general figure, dimen-
sions, and density of the terrestrial globe,
and of the contour of its surface, as a body
of land and water, for a knowledge of which
we are indebted to the researches of astro-
nomers and geographers.

That the figure of the earth is sphei'i-
cal, or rather spheroidal, though a matter of
dispute among ancient pJiilosophers,and still
disbelieved by the vulgar, is now admitted
as an incontestable truth by all well inform-
ed persons. The curved surface of the sea
when viewed from the shore, and the obser-
vation that the upper rigging of an approach-
ing ship becomes visible to a distant spec-
tator before the hull comes in sight, while
the hull first disappears when the vessel is
receding, prove that the object in question
must be moving in the circumference of a
g reat circle.

A similar conclusion may be drawn
from the changing aspect of the heavens to
an observer travelling fi*om north to south.
For though the stars and the constellations
they form will be found to maintain the
same relative positions with respect to those
around them, and the points on which the
celestial dome appears to revolve remain
unaltered, yet the angle which its axis of
revolution forms with the horizon continually
lessens; and thus any star, which at the
place whence it started, seemed to the ob-
server to have reached its greatest elevation
to the south of the point directly above his
head, now that he has altered his position,
will appear, when highest, on the north
of that point ; clearly indicating that his
path on the earth’s surface has not been a
right line, but a curve, of which the con-
vexity is turned towards the sky, correspond-
ing, in fact, more or less, with a meridian of
longitude. The appearance of the moon when
eclipsed, likewise furnishes demonstrative
proof of the spheroidal figure of the earth,
for lunar eclipses are caused by its circular
shadow intercepting the light of the sun from
the moon’s disk.

It has been found, however, both from
astronomical and geodesical observations,
that the earth is not a perfect sphere, but
that its figure is that of an oblate spheroid,
or such a solid as would be foniQed by the
revolution ^of a fluid mass in open space.
Huygens and Newton deduced the real figure
of the earth frota the doctrine of central for-
ces of bodies revolving in circles, and their
conclusions were subsequently verified by ac

tual measurements of degrees of the meridiau
in various latitudes. It appears, however,
that though the polar diameter of the earth
is certainly smaller than its equatorial diame-
ter, the exact difference between them has
not yet been accurately ascertained. It has
been estimated by some at 1 -305th part of
the equatorial axis, by others at 1-31 0th
part ; Wt Professor Wallace says : “ We may
assume, without sensible error, that the
equatorial axis is to the polar as 334 to 333 ;
the difference, therefore, of the semiaxes,
compared with the equatorial radius, will be
1 part in 334. The fraction of 1-334, that is,
the difference of the semiaxes divided by the
equatorial radius, is called the compression of
the earth at the poles. ”*

The determination of the figure of the
eai’th leads to conclusions respecting its
mean density, which also has within certain
limits been sufficiently ascertained. Sir
Isaac Newton, reasoning on the supposition
of uniform density in the earth, estimated
its compression at the poles as 1-230 of its
diameter. Now, since experiment has de-
monstrated that the compression is less,
amounting at most to 1-305, it may be con-
cluded from the observations of Clairault,
that if the earth is a spheroid of equilibra-
tion, it is denser in the interior than at its
surface; and from the experiments of Dr.
Maskelyne and Mr. H. Cavendish,* it has
been inferred that the mean density of the
earth is about five times that of water, and
therefore double that of the substances which
compose the crust of the earth, collectively
considered.

{To he continued.)

♦Murray’s Encyclopaedia ofGeograpliy,1834,
part ii. t». i. ch. 19, p. 128.

“ A.S the earth has a movement of rotation
about its axis, all its parts will l)e animated
with a certain degree of centrifugal force,
which must be more or less considerable as
the parts approach or are distant from the
axis. Under the equator will be the points
of greatest distance from the axis, and the
centrifugal force directly opposed to that of
weight or gravitation, ought to reduce the
latter there more than at any other place;
and at parts intermediate between the poles
and the equator, the diminution of weight
ought to become less sensible, in propertion
as they are nearer the poles. At either pole
the centrifugal force will vanish, and bodies
will have the same weight as if the earth
were at rest.

“ As gravity must be normal at the surface
of the sea, and as it is the resultant of terres-
trial attraction and centrifugal force, it will
be obvious that it must vary at different places;
and that if the earth was originally a fluid,
it could not, in consequence of its rotation,
preserve the form of a sphere, but that it
must assume that of a flattened spheroid,
which would be generated by the revolution
of an ellipsis round its smaller axis. This
also is demonstrated by experience, and that
the flattening at the poles renders the axis
l-310th less than the diameter at the equa-
tor.”— FranccBur Traite de Mecanique Etemen-
teire,l825, pp.287, 288. See Scientific Class Book
pt. i. Mechanics, "S os. 106, 107, and 114 to 123.

♦ See Scientific Class Book, pt, l,pp. 40, 41

[ 691 ]

THE

SPIRIT OF THE INDIAN PRESS,

OR

MONTHLY REGISTER OF USEFUL INVENTIONS,

AND

IMPROVEMENTS, DISCOVERIES,

AND NEW FACTS IN EVERY DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE.

The following is on the
HISTORY AND CENSUS OF CAL-
CUTTA,

by Captain Birch, from the Reformer.''^

“ In the year 1998, the English, who had
already established themselves in these
parts as merchants, and had obtained a
firmanixom. the Emperor of Delhi, to carry
on their commercial transactions, being an-
noyed by the intrigues of the Dutch, sent
their agent, Mr. Walsh, to Prince Azeem
Ooshan, one of the grandsons of the Empe-
ror Arungzebe, who was then at the head of
affairs in Bengal ; and solicited from him,
among other privileges, the grant of the
villages of Sutanutty, Govindpoor, and Co-
licotta. Kali Kurtd. After a delay of two
years in negociations the above villages
were purchased by the Company from the
zemindars to whom these places belonged.
These possessions extended about three
miles on the eastern side of the Bhagurutty
river, and about one mile inland. The
name Calcutta, some say, was derived from
the goddess Kaly, to whom a temple is
dedicated, the same which now stands at
Kaly-ghat. The English factory, which
had been fortified to resist the attacks of
the various rebels who disturbed the lower
provinces, received about this time the
appellation of Fort William, in honour of
the then reigning sovereign of England.
In consequence of the security afforded to
property within the Company’s possessions,
and facility for trade, several opulent natives
were soon induced to make Calcutta their
residence. This circumstance, however,
excited the jealousy of the Fouzdar of
Hooghly, who wanted to send his people
to administer justice to the natives, liv-
ing under the protection of the English
flag ; but he was prevented by the same
means as those which had obtained for the
English the oppression of these places, viz.
large bribes to the Prince Azeem Ooshan.

About the year 1718, that is ten years
after the purchase of the villages of Kali
Kurtdf &c. we find the new town in a flou-
rishing state. It was then inhabited by
several Portuguese, Armenian, Hindoo,

and Mogul merchants, who carried on their
commerce under the protection of the
English. The shipping in the port at this
period amounted to about ten thousand
tons. The English Authorities, however,
found it necessary to conciliate the Nawab
frequently, by presents, in order to carry
on their commerce without molestation at
the subordinate factories. The security
of property and freedom of trade allowed
within the English possessions, caused the
town to increase in prosperity.

Things continued in this state until Seraj-
ood-Dowlah, in 1756, took into his hands
the uncontrouled government of Bengal.
Among other acts of oppression, he demand-
ed from Rajbullub, the Deputy Governor
of Dacca, a large sum of money, and so
alarmed him, that he privately sent off his
family and property to Calcutta. The refu-
sal of the English to give up to the Nawab
Kishenbullub the son of Rajbullub, exceed-
ingly irritated Seraj-ood-Dowlah, and he
turned his wrath from every other quarter
against the English. One of his first acts
of aggression was the taking of the factory
at Cossimbazar by force, and imprisoning
the Englishmen he found there. He then
proceeded directly towards Calcutta. The
Hindoo and Mogul merchants residing at
Calcutta in vain endeavoured to assuage
the anger of the Nawab, who appeared
determined to attack Calcutta. At this
critical juncture, the English applied for
help to the Dutch and the French, who
both declined assistance, the latter adding
an insulting offer of protection to the Eng-
lish, if they would proceed to Chander-
nagore. On the 15th of June, 1756, the
fort was besieged by the Nawab ’s troops.
This building was situated on the banks
of the river : its length from east to west
was two hundred and ten yards, its breadth
on the south side was one hundred and
thirty yards, and on the north only one hun-
dred yards ; it had four bastions, mounting
each ten guns. The gate-way on the eastern
side projected and mounted five guns, and
along the river a line of heavy cannon was
mounted in embrasures of solid masonry.
But as this fort was entirely overlooked by

692

CENSUS OF CALCUTTA.

the buildings in the town, which fell into
the hands of the Nawab, resistance became
impossible. On the 18th of June the out-
posts were stormed by the besiegers, which
caused the native troops, hired by the Eng-
lish,amounting to 1,500 men, to desert.* The
besiegers in a few days obliged Mr. Drake,
the governor, to take refuge in a ship then
anchored in the river, leaving m the fort
190 Europeans, with Mr. Holwell, one
of the members of council at their head.
These also wanted to embark, but no ship
would come near the fort for fear of the
firing kept up by the Nawab’s .troops.
Notwithstanding every effort of the besieged,
the fort was taken by storm on the 20th of
June, whilst Mr. Holwell was treating with
the Nawab the terms of capitulation. The
English then surrendered their arms, and
the Nawab’s people desisted from bloodshed.
Having thus got possession of the fort,
the Nawab sent for Mr. Holwell, and, after
enquiring about the treasures which he
said the English had hidden there, dismissed
him with assurances of safety. On his
return to his companions, who were then
146 persons, he found them surrounded by
a strong guard. About 7 o’clock in the
evening of the 20th of June, these unfortu-
nate people were locked up in a room used
for the confinement of disorderly soldiers,
which was not above 20 feet square. The
time of the year which is well known for its
heat in this climate, and the smallness of
the room, caused 123 of these miserable
sufferers to expire in the same night. The
next morning only 23, among whom was
Mr. Holwell, were taken out, scarcely
able to stand. The spot, called the black
hole, where this room stood, is situated just
at the north-west corner of the Tank-square,
where at present a triangular patch of grass
may be seen. On this spot Mr. Holwell
afterwards causdS a monument to be erect-
ed, which has since been removed.

The Nawab, after a short stay, returned
to Moorshedabed, leaving Manick Chund,
the Fouzdar of Hooghly, in charge of Cal-
cutta, with a garrison of 3,000 men. Hol-
well and the other survivors from the black
hole were soon after released, and, joining
Mr. Drake and those who had taken shelter
in the ships, continued there until news
having reached Madras, an expedition was
proposed against the Nawab, ‘which, con-
ducted by Admiral Watson and Lord Clive,
retook Calcutta in January 1757, and
though the Nawab brought a large force
against them, he could not drive out the
English from their possessions. A treaty

* It is to be hoped the ruling powers will
learn hereby a lesson when Russian invasion
is threatened. --Edif. India Review,

was the consequence, and since that time to
the present, Calcutta has remained in the
undisturbed possession of the English, daily
increasing in importance, wealth, and pros-
perity.

The contrast, between the position of
Calcutta in 1756, as shewn by the forego-
ing accounts, and that which it at present
occupies as the capital of the most power-
ful country in Asia, is so striking, that it ^
cannot escape the eye of the most negli-
gent observer. There is no comparison
between its present condition and that in
which it was at the time to which the above
account relates. With the increase of the
British possessions the seat of their govern-
ment has continued to increase. The po-
pulation of a city, circumstanced as this
has been, would, no doubt, increase in pro-
portion. Now, we find, by a report of Mr.
Holwell to Mr. Drake, the Governor of Fort
William, that the Town of Calcutta was in
his time divided into four principal dis-
tricts, viz. Dee Calcutta, Govindpoor.Soota-
nutty, and Bazar Calcutta. These four
districts contained 5,472^ bigahs of ground,
on which the Company received ground
rent at three rupees per bigah, per annum,
some few places excepted as lakheraje or
rent-free lands. Besides the above lands,
there was also 3,050 bigahs possessed by
proprietors independent of the English ; but
situate within the bounds of the Company.
The number of houses in Calcutta at that
time, Mr. Holwell says, was 51,132, and
reckoning 8 inhabitants to each house,
which he considers a very moderate estimate,
he states the number of souls in Calcutta
at 4,09,056 as the constant inhabitants of
the town, without reckoning those that
came in and went out.

In the year 1800, according to the report
of the police committee, furnished to Lord
Mornington, the population was stated at
5,00,000; and in 1814, according to the cal-
culation of Chief Justice Sir Hyde East, it
amounted to 7,00,000. These calculations
are supposed by some to have included the
suburbs of Calcutta and Garden Reach.

But Mr. Holwell’s account, which assigns
to Calcutta about 4,09,056 inhabitants in
1752, bears out the calculations made in
1800 and 1814. There can be no doubt,
as we have stated above, that the popula-
tion of this city has been on the increase
since. Accordingly, at the present moment,
the number of souls in Calcutta ought to be
considerably more than at the time of Mr.
Holwell. But instead of it, we find by the
census of Captain Birch, that they amount
to 2,29,714 only about one-half the num-
bers stated by Mr. Holwell. Under these

CHESNEY ON STEAM NATIGATION.

693

circumstances we could have been inclined In 1821, five assessors were appointed, by
to doubt the correctness of Captain Birch’s whose calculations the population of Calcutta
census ; but, by the follov/ing statements, amounted to 1,79,917. But the magistrates
we find it apparently borne out : — in their report calculated as follows.

Upper-roomed houses .5,430 X 16 = 86,880"]

Lower ditto ditto 8,800 y 8 = 70,400 [ « oa -ra

Tiled huts 15,790-^4>C 5^= 21,714 f

Straw ditto 35,497-f.4X 5|^=51.558j

But making certain allowances ] Resident Inhabitants 2,0.5,600

their definite calculation was J Influx daily 1,00,000

In 1831, Captain Steel made it 1,87,081

These calculations do not agree with each
other, and they differ very widely from the
former calculations. But there are two cir-
cumstances which make us very doubtful
as to the accuracy of the data on which
Captain Birch’s calculations are based. The
one is that Captain Birch states the total
number of houses in Calcutta at 65,495,
and the total number of occupiers at 2,29,
714, which gives an average of a little above
3 souls for each house. Now, according to
Mr. H dwell, 8 souls per each is a mode-
rate estimate, and we know it, from personal
knowledge, that 5 souls per each house is
considered a scanty population in the in-
terior. There can be no doubt that in Cal-
cutta, particularly the Native parts, where
the rent is high and many more persons
congregated together than in the villages,
a higher average, viz. that of Mr. Holwell,
would be nearer the truth. Therefore, if
we reckon 8 souls per house, which is an
opinion we have heard hundreds express,
and take for granted that the number of
houses stated by Captain Brich is correct,
we would have the population, calculated on
these data, to amount to (65,495 X 8=)
5,23,260, which is a near approximation to
the calculations we have quoted above.

The other circumstance which inclines us
to doubt the accuracy of the calculations
made by Captain Birch is, that at the time
he sent out the Police peons to make the
enquiry, people had an impression on their
minds, that the Inland and Towmduties hav-
ing been abolished, it was intended to levy
some other tax instead, and that the enqui-
ries were being made in order to ascertain
the extent to which each house could be
taxed. This led the people to mention a
much fewer number of inmates than was
really the case, and this sort of false report
was given more in reprd to the females whom
they are always anxious to keep out of sight,
and who being generally in the purdah,
their exact number is much more difficult
to ascertain. Hence we believe the males
are stated by Captain Birch at. . 144,911

and the females at only, 84,803

2,29,714

On these grounds we very much doubt the
accuracy of the census given by Captain
Birch, and the others which approximate to
it. We should, however, like to see this
question settled on unquestionable data, so
far at least as such data are obtainable in a
work of this description.”

The following observations on STEAM
NAVIGATION, by Colonel Chesney, will
be read with interest.

“ The records kept at Bussora shew that
a regular overland communication was
maintained from 1792 until 1800 (at least)
by means of sailing vessels, leaving this
port the 1st of each month ; with a mail
in duplicate, to be dispatched at the same
time for London yhom Bussora, the one
via Aleppo to Constantinople, and the other
through Bagdad to the same city.

The usual time of the sea voyage was a
month and a half, during the monsoon
and about 24 days the rest of the year. The
Dromedaries reached Aleppo (from Bus-
sora) in 11 or 14 days; — 13 more are con-
sumed to Constantinople, and about 22 from
thence to London. — The communications
back and forward, seem to have been very
regular ; viz. in about 9 1 days in the mon-
soon, and 71 the other 8 months. — 4 vessels
were employed on this service.

The Antelope Brig of ... . 185 Tons.

The Fly Galliot of 29 only.

The Viper Cutter 90

And the Abel Schooner. ... 85

The mails were opened by the Arabs
occasionally in search of gold, but I have
only met one instance of a packet being
lost. — The whole expense was about 52,000
Rupees ; but the actual returns from the
letters are not stated : the postage how-
ever was 10 Rupees for ^ of Rupee weight
from hence to London.

If despatches were carried in former times
through the desert with such a degree of
safety, there is no reason why the route
might not be resumed just now, with better
vessels or, if possible, steamers. — The line

694

STEAM NAVIGATION— NOTICE TO CORRESPONDENTS.

is already established all the way every
month from Falmouth to Beirout ; and the
line of dromedaries now about to be put in
operation between the latter place and
Mohammerah, will soon decide the question
better than mere speculation ; but, to try
it fairly, there should be a steamer plying
between Bombay and Mohammerah ; for
which one vessel would suffice to go ; and
come alternate months. Supposing, there-
fore, that the Hugh Lindsay were to be
allotted to this service partially (if not ex-
clusively)— there is nothing more to he done
as far as letters are concerned ; and a mode-
rate postage would most likely pay every
expense.

But with reference to public feeling, and
convenience.', it is to be hoped that some-
thing more satisfactory will be attempted
when the new steamers reach India. — Three
steamers with the assistance of a sailing
vessel occasionally, and having two small
steamers on the Euphrates at the annual
cost of £ 500 each, would, considering the
shorter voyage to Mohammerah, enable the
Government to open the Red Sea as well,
by alternate monthly voyages during the
next 18 ; or, other times as might be suffi-
cient to demonstrate to the world, all the
advantages and disadvantages of each : be-
fore we establish one of them permanently,
or both at different seas ons, should this be
more suitable.

It appears to me that there are several
good reasons for opening both routes at the
same time.

1st. The three steamers cou Id not keep
up a monthly communication to Suez ; but,
by going the shorter voyage alternately to
the Gulph, they might keep up the 12
voyages for a time, say 9 voyages in each
direction.

2d. We are not quite sure that either
of the routes would be practicable at all
seasons, and a continued experiment can
alone decide this point, and at the same time
the relative speed, expense, &c.

3d. Plague is said to exist in Egypt and
Syria almost always at different times, there-
fore the one might be open whilst the other
is shut, either from this cause, or war, dis-
turbances, &c.

4th The .commercial and piratical rela-
tions of the Persian Gulf, and our interests
in Persia itself, require, at least, occasional
and regular communications, which would
be secured by the double line of the Red
Sea and Euphrates ; and if neither of them

should fully answer our expectations, there
will be the resource of experimenting on
two others ; the one being along the river
Tigris to Trebezonde, and from thence by
Sea to Constantinople, Malta, and Eng-
land ; whilst the other would be through
Persia to Trebezonde, and thence by the
Danube and the Rhine to England, which
may be said to be almost open already.

The grand object is to have some regular
communication or other, but in the present
progressive state of steam, we ought to be-
gin with the shortest and cheapest lines
possible, looking forward to more daring at-
tempts some 10 or 20 years hence, whence the
monsoons may not only be overcome, but
paying voyages made from Madras and Cal-
cutta to Suez, as well as round the Cape :
These objects cannot however be obtained
until vessels are constructed to carry fuel
at a cheaper rate, and for double the time
that has been accomplished as yet ; conse-
quently, we ought to be content for the pre-
sent, with what may be actually practica-
ble from Bombay either to Suez, or the
Persian Gulf ; as experience may decide
for, or against the latter.

But lest “ I should be further tedious to
you’ ’ I shall merely add that if the Euphra-
tes where only to contribute its mite to the
good cause, by being used at such times as^
the Red Sea may not be available from any
cause whatever, it would still deserve some
dispassionate consideration, as a mere
auxiliary ; especially, as great moral- and
commercial benefits may be the consequence
of renewing our former intercourse through
Arabia : and, after all, it would not be much
to boast of, that the subjects of a sailor
king, should be able (with the assistance
of steam) to do as much as those of Queen
Elizabeth did only with sailing vessels, —
that is making the Great River a high road
to India, where our present Sovereign has,
as he feels quite as much at stake, as her
Majesty had ; and if it had depended up-
on King William instead of Parliament,
both lines would have been in operation at
this instant. — Madras Herald.'^

TO CORRESPONDENTS.

The valuable communications from Mr.
Baddeley and Mr. Hodgson have been
received.

INDEX:

Achromatism
Powell,
Acid, carboni
the lungs
Acid, cyanilic
Acid, uric

of

the eye, by Baden
expiration ©f, from

chains of Southern India
Almanac, Bengal, notice of
Ammelide . . . , . ,

Am incline
Ammonia ferro-cyanodide of copper

ginc ^ ^ _

— . . . mercury.

magnesium

126

7

166

166

Arithmetical frames
A.rracan, topography of
Arracan, character of the hills in .
Arracan, population and extent of.
Arseniate, white, of iron
Arseniate, blue, of copper

146-

2 b
-197
208
299
1

Acid, manganic ‘ . . ....

■588

Arsenic . . . .

1

Aerial ship, the first, the Eagle . . .’.

25

Arsenic glance . . . . ....

1

Aerial locomotion .... ....

403

Arsenic, method of ascertaining the

Aeronautic observations ....

607

presence of . . . . ....

608

Aerostation .... ....

462

Arsenic, effects of, on vegetation. . . .

501

Afghanistan, Central Asia by way of

Arsenical pyrites . . . w .

1

India and . . ....

361

Artesian wells to actuate machinery

24'-

Afghanistan, great tribes of ....

373

Asiatic Researches, vol. xx., notice of

211

Air, absorption of, by water ....

586

Assam, plants from

569-

Air, composition of . . ....

587

Association^ British, proceedings of

Air violin, an . . . „ ....

138

the .. .... 211—483-

-485

Alcohol and its compounds ....

166

Associatien for the advancement of

Aldehyde .. .. ....

166

science, India .. ....

286

A.lgebraic equations, general solution

Astacidee, fossil .... ....

213

of . . . . . . ....

491

Astracan, inland navigation of ....

427

Allardyce, Captain, on the, mountain

Astronoraim cometicse synopsis ....

172

Anagyris fetida
Analysis, on the plan of Volta, of
gaseous mixtures
Anatomy and physiology
Anatomy, comparative
Andalusia, geology of
Andrews on changes in the blood
from bleeding " , . . , ....

Aneurism of the arteria innomiuata
Angustura bark, spurious, a genus

of strychnos , .

Animal and vegetable kingdoms . . .
Animal kingdom, principles of clas
sification in the

Animal matter, preservation of ...

"^ Animal power .... ...

Animals verteb rated . . ...

Apparatus., Kemp’s submarine ...
Apparatus for assaying silver
Arachnide uniting the genera gony
leptes and phalangium
Aranea avicularia, specimen of
Arches, construction of, without cen
tring

Architecture, insect . . ...

^Ardent spirits

Argentiferous ores, smelting of . . .

621

445

165

165

.94

94

94

:94

331

495

43

96

214

Astronomical observations 383 — 483 — 585
—■653

Astronomy . . . . ....

Auckland’s (Lord) scientific party 334-
—459—597—671

Aurora borealis, Herapath on ....

Azote, compounds of

Bacon, Roger, writings of ....

Baddeley’s description of a dipterous
fly, the larva of which produces a
kind of gall . . . . ....

description of a species of

350

■391

495

164

684

274

ichneumon
Balista, fin of the .
Ballooning

. . . 329

... 442

295-685-

8

Balloon, science in . . ....

484-

503

Barometer, description of a ....

92

Barometer, self-registering ....

231

289

Barometrical observations ....

333

12

Barometrical fluctuation

333

Beams, effect of impact upon ....

521

332

Bedstead, cylinder . , ....

466“

338

Bedsteads, improvements in, by

611

Cherry . , . , ....

338'-'

497

Bee -hive, Dewhurst’s . . ....

69

468

Beiemnite, genus . . . . ....

214

93

Benza’s (Dr.) paper on the Neilgherry

hills .... ....

621

391

Benzimide . . . , . , , ,

170

499

Benzoine .. .. ....

170

Benzoyle ....

170

297

Berzelius on a new force acting in

478

the formation of organic compounds

667

499

Bismuth, sulphuret of

334

131

Blood, changes in the, from bleeding

8

I^JDEX.

Blood, researches on the

Blood, arterial, colour of . , , .

Blowpipe, practice of the

Blowpipe, new form of . . ....

Boat of Indian rubber . . ....

Boat, sailing and rowing treble ....
Boat, Burden's, introduction of, into
France . . . . ....

Boats, traction of, in canals

Bodies, living, subject to continual
changes .... ....

Booth’s method of lighting coal-
mines .... .... ....

Boring — Fort William . . ....

Botanical Society of London ....
Botany of Cashmere and Himalaya . .
Brain, remedies for diseases of the . .
Bramley’s introductory lecture
Brande on floor-cloth manufacto!
Breakwater at Madras . . . ,

Brett’s hospital

Bromelia pinguis, a specimen of
Bude light ....

Burman empire, communication of,
with the British possessions
Burners, supply of gas for . .

Cab, new safety ....

Cabul, relics from
Cachar and Arracan . .

Calculating machine ....

, by Babbage .. 27

Calcutta, bistoi’y and census of
Calico-printing, patent for improve-
ments in . .

• , Thomson on 21 — 63 — 103-

—243

Calorimeter, Hare’s

Canal between Rajmahl and Culna . .
Canton and Macao, temperature
of . . .... ....

Caoutchouc, spirit distilled from. . . .

manufacture . . . , 227-

substance described ....

-,the uses to which applied . .

-for cbirurgical purposes ....

for insulation in voltaic batte-
ries . . . . ....

Capillary tubes in metals . . ....

Capillary attraction . , ....

Carbonate of lead and zinc

Carbonate of soda

Carbonic acid, solidification of ....
Carnivora, indication of a new genus
of the . . . . ....

Cart, excavating and self-loading ....
Cashmere, flora of . . ....

Catamaran .... ....

Cement, marble .... ....

Census of Calcutta . . ....

Cerium, examination of the salt of . .
Chameleon, new species of ....
Charcoal, optical properties of ....

, improved modes of prepar-

9

218

68

494

27

129

405

514

13

234

597

685

662

545

290

23
303
675
171

32

299

192

293

360

299

24
—32

691

239

-141

495

301

237

217

-344

228

229

230

469

342

454

1

365

386

580

395

622

101

464

691

123

391

275

Chemical facts .. .. .... 217

Chemistry . . .... 352 — 686

, application of optics to .... 238

reduced to mathematical prin-
ciples 537— 660

-, important facts in, by Exley 657

.392
693
618
506
1

220
166
365

Chemists, conflicting opinions among
Chesney on steam navigation ....
China, Russian influence in ....

Cholera ....

Chrome iron ore

Chromium, oxalate of ....

Chromium, oxide of, in crystals ....
Cinnamon trade . . ....

Cinnyris, a new species of, inha-
biting Nepal . ,

Clairant, theory of .. ....

Clay found in the bottom of caverns
Clelland, Me, the zealous geologist . .
Cloth, drawing on . . ....

'^■^Coal, rocks anterior to ....

Coal in the valley of theNerbuddah
Coins, silver and bronze, of the

Roman Republic

Coins in the clouds

Colours, accidental . . . . . .

-, porcelain

272

42

173

335

192

214

416

Combustion, spontaneous ....
Copper sheathing, preservation of. . . .
Corn in the spring crop ....

Corn, price of, in relation to the
function of vitality ....

Cotton, cultivation of .. .

-, preparation of, for the mar-

.. 127

.. 469

.. 20

.. 685

49—608
.. 294

ket

India

progress of cultivating, in

-, Sea island, perennial
culture of, in Persia

and

Central India , ....

in the Doab and Bundelcund

in Ava . . .... 263—

in Cachar and Dacca ....

on the Harrow hills ....

— — . — Wight on the cultivation of . .

crop, state of the

Courtallum, flora of, by Dr. Wight. .
Cramaux - . . • . •

Crosse’s extraordinary experiments

by voltaic power

Crosse, Mr. a visit to . . ....

Crystallization, phenomena of ....

Cutter, straw . . ....

Cyanamide • • • •

Cyanogen - . . • • •

Cylindrical tube, simultaneous vibra-
tion of a • • . .

Davy’s safety lamp ....

Deers, uses of the infra-orbital cavi-
ties in . . ....

Definite proportions ....

Depth of water in seas and rivers,

instrument for ascertaining ....

680 Discoveries in science, recent

481

548

204

205

206
207

261

262

-264

315

316
431
366
430

37

483

676

385

144

166

166

106

184

523

81

605

36

INDEX.

Ill

' •Disks, action of flashes upon rapidly

floating •••• 168

Draining and cultivating land .... 599

Drawing papers, straining of .... 462

Dykes in Mayo and Sligo .... 213

Dynamics, general method in . . 42 — 221
Dynamometer .... 611

Dysluite • • • • 37

Eaine . • • • • • • 36

Earth, figure and magnitude of the. . 690

Earthquakes and volcanic eruptions 93

, prodigious force of. . . . 130

Edolian and ceblepyrine subfamilies
of the laniidse of Nepal .... 324

Electric light . . .... 109

currents .... 399 — 456

V Electrical phenomenon .... 172

relations of certain metals. . . . 220

theory of the universe 222 — 355

—474—689

shock from a sheet of paper. . 293

■ experiment . . .... 400

conductibility of small masses. . 456

Electricity, atmospheric . . . . 6—456

, Harris on .. .... 16

, Faraday’s experimental re-
searches in . . . . 18 — 220

, experiments on the velocity of 41

,passage of, along a platinum wire219

by contact . . .... 454

from deoxidation . . . . '

, peroxide of lead an excellent

conductor of . . ....

, magnetism by common. . . .

Electrolyzation, intensity necessary
for . . ....

Electro-magnet, Dr. O’Shaugbnessy’s
experiments on the employment of
the, as a moving power ....

Electro-magnet, cause of the remark-
able difference between the attrac-
tions of a permanent, and an, on
soft iron at a distance ....

Electro-magnetic moving power ....

forces, application

of, to manufacturing purposes. . . .

power, application

of, to mechanics . . . . ....

Electro -magnetism, McGauley on

, Ritchie and Ste-

velly’s remarks on

Electrometer, modified ....

Electro-pulsations and electro-mo-

mentum . . 389

Electro -vegetation 475

Elephants in A.byssinia .... 238

Embia, characters of, by Westwood 391

Embossing on wood .. 138-610

Entomology of the Mauritius .... 593

Equatorial depression .... 333

Eudiometer, Hare’s . . .... 494

Exley on the reduction of chemis-
try to mathematical principles .... 537

Fabrics, elastic, method of v,reaving.. 132

454

457

39

433

470

137

105

337

531

536

218

Faraday on electricity .... 18 — 220

Fedia, species of .... 389

Ferns, British, Don’s remarks on. . . . 388

Fibrine, action of saline solutions on. . 86

Finance, British .... 547

Fii'e-engine, metallic .... 28

Fishei*y, pearl .... 299

Fishes, fossil .... 214 — 277

Flax, home-grown .... 610

Floor-cloth manufactory, Brandeon. . 23

Flour-making machine, Hebert’s — 467 — 606
Flour-making an employment for the
poor . . , . 597

Flowering of a West Indian plant in

the open air .... 238

Flowers of oerithera, luminous appear-
ance on the .... 173

Fly, dipterous, the larva of which
produces a kind of gall .... 274

Fly, house, guard against 297

Footmarks of unknown birds and ani-
mals in new red sandstone .... 333

'Mi’orbes on the compressibility of water 295
Force, permanent, of a horse .... 613

Fox on the electrical relations of certain
metals ..., 220

Free School examination .... 149

Fusion of refractory substances .... 494

Gadolinite, chemical analysis of .... 123

Gahnite .... 2

Galbraith’s astronomical observations 383

—449—585—653

Galls found on a species of oak .... 389
Galvanism, Fox’s experiments in. . .. 483

Galvanism, terresrtial 678

Gamboge, on the tree which produ-
ces . . . . .... 630

Gas, cooking by .... 32

for burners, and for stopping

the same .... 192

Gases, specific heat of .... 218

■MSastric juice .... 170

Gauley, Me, on electro-magnetic mov-
ing power .... 137

Geological revolution .... 6

character of the mountain

ridge between Sylhet and Assam . . 300

Geology and geography 212

• of Kemaon . . 151 — 199 — 247 •

of Spain .... 214

, of the country b etween Ma-
dras and the Neilgherry hills. . 256 — 305

, recent researches in .... 276

, .. 348— 471— 690

, opinions of celebrated philo-
sophers concerning .... 472

— , opinions of the latest cultiva-
tors of .... 473

of the Neilgherry and Koon-

dah hills . . .... 622

of Southern India .. .. 628

, new system of 684

Glasgow, present state of .... 503

— , church accommodation at, , » . 503

IIS D EX.

2V'

Glasgow, Roman Catholics in ... 50.i

, trade in .... 50.3

■ , revenue, expenditure, debt,

customs, steam vessels, and stage
coaches in .... 504

, intercourse with, populations,

mortality bills, probability of human
life which partakes of a manufactur-
ing and commercial population .... 505

— — — , cholera at, cotton trade and
power looms in .... 506

, timber trade, iron works, che-
mical works, coals, &c. in .... 507

— — — — , post office markets, public
executions, shops, pawn-brokers.. . . 508

, theatre, newspapers, educa-
tion .... 509

Glass plate .... 128

, manufacture and use of solu-
ble .... 345

Glauber’s salt, manufacture of .... 444

Globe, state of the, at its formation.. 3
Gmelin and Tiedemann’s researches

on the blood .... 9

Gold, native chemical composition of.. 2
Gold from different localities .... 2

Gold, silver, and platiiia, extensibility
of • .... 233

Granite .... 5

Grasshopper, specimen of a .... 172

Gravel, a mass of shelly, in Wexford. 214
Greenland, South, geography of . . . . 213

Gypsum in agriculture .... 44

■ , action of, on vegetables .... 331

Hair salt, examination of .... 122 — 175

Haltica nemorum, specimens of .... 499

Hancock’s steam carriage .... 682

Hand water-engine .... 138

Harris on electricity .... 16

Head on Russian invasion, . 371 — 425 — 573

—641

Heat, terrestrial .... 3

, Powell on the action of .... 47

, animal .... 88

, specific, of bodies in relation to

their atomic weights .... 120

, reflected, measured .... 237

and light .... 274

, and cold, experiments on .... 382

Heathcoat’s steam-plough . . 396 — 598
Hebert’s flour- maker .... 467 — 606

Hematine, crystallized .... 220

Himalaya,magnificent scenery of ... . 200

Hodgson on a new species of cynniris
inhabiting Nepal .... 272

on some new species of the

edolian and ceblepyrine sub-families
of the laniidss of Nepal .... 324

on some new species of the

more typical laniidse of Nepal .... 445

on a new genus of insessores 650

Hosackia, genus, observations on,.. 390

Human body loses its weight, experi-
ments in which the .... 281

Hydraulic blast- wheel ....

197'^

Hydrostatic engine, new ....

Hygrometer, wet bulb, theory of ... .

520

Ichneumon, a species of, inliabiting the

interior of the gall ....

329

Ichthyology, Li^nard on ....

593

India, natural and artificial produc-

tions of ....

549

, botany of . . ....

663

surveys in . . . . . . ■

674

Indian Press, spirit of the. . 298 — 360—

-415

— 479—618— 691

Indica, flora, Roxburgh’s ....

h77

Indices, refractive, of several sub-

stances ....

529

Indigo, experiments on .... 190—

-240

, culture ef ....

377

in Tirhoot ....

377

in Oude ....

Z11

, manufacture of ....

377

, cultivation of ....

377

Indus river ....

299

steam navigation company 301—

-364

Infusoria, Dr. Ehrenberg’s collec-

tions of ....

458

Ink distributer, self-operating ....

145

, Indian ....

192

Insects collected by Capt King ....

390

, senses of ....

615

architecture ....

478

Insessores, Hodgson on a new genus

of . . . . ....

650

Invention's, recent , . ....

674

1 odides of gold ....

219

Journal, Madras, of literature and

science ....

210

Ireland, geological map of .... 212-

-213

Iridium ....

2

, native ....

2

Iron, corrosion of, by sea-water ....

215

, hot air blast applied to the ma-

nufacture of ....

218

ore, sparry ....

5

ornaments, Berlin, ....

400^

trade, British ....

403

Isinglass ....

332

Isle of France, cursorv notes on the..

211

267—320-374

Judge and jury, advice to ....

393

Koondah mountains, geology of ... .

622

Laidlow, Mr. extraordinarv treatment

of

155

Lake, salt water, of Calcutta ....

361

Lamps, phenomena presented in ... .

217

■ , new ....

468

Langstaff, J. Esq,. .. .... 680

Laniidse, edolian and ceblepyrine sub-
families of the, of Nepal .... 324

* , typical, of Nepal .... 445

Lantern, new ship’s signal .... 468

Laterite found in various parts of In-
dia . . . . .... 258

and its varieties .... 259

— of volcanic origin .... 260

V

Laterite, uses of . . 2(50

Lavas . . . . .... 5

Lead, carbonate of . . .... 1

pipes, corrosion of .... 219

■ , safety of, protected by

tin ; .. .... 341

Lens, polarizing structure of the .... 530

Leuciscus, or dace family of fish .... 97

Level, relative, of land and sea .... 487

plan

for fixing the . . .... 488

Levelling, efiectual mode of .... 23(5

]-iife- apparatus, travelling .... 99

Light, the Newtonian and undulatory
theories of . . .... 45

, Powell on the dispersion of .. 173

, filtration and cooling of ... . 237

phosphoric, emitted by flowers 238

and heat .. .... 274

, new, of the age .... 401

■ , polarized . . .... 493

Light-house illumination, practical

improvement in . . .... 238

Light-houses, metallic .... 344

Likenesses of distinguished indivi-
duals . . . . .... 597

Lime, eifects of, as applied to difierent
soils . . . . .... 545

Limestone, carboniferous .... 497

Litharge, native . . .... 1

Loadstone, the most powerful .... 384

Locomotion, cheap .. .... 401-'

■ , aerial . . .... 403-'

Locomotive, carriages, theory of ... . 512-

power, new .... (50 7’''

London, improvements in .... 401

Longitude at sea . , .... 344

Loti, American . . 390

Lunar theory, empirical 490

Lungs, carbonic acid gas from the. ... 7

Lycium of Royle . . .... 96-'

Machine for draining land .... 603

: , for planting corn and cot-
ton .. .. .... 608

Madras, geological features of .... 256

Magnesia, carbonate of, Daubeny on

.... 217

Magnet, effect of melted iron on ... . 216

• , powerful natural .... 384

Magnetical observations at Nerts-

chinsk . . . . .... 93

Magnetic influence produced by the
electrical machine. . . .... 93

forces applied to manufactur-
ing purposes .. 105

characters of the metals .. 386

pole, position of the south 590

Magnetism, terrestrial .... 6 — 221

of tlie earth .... 93

• , heat, and electricity .... 518

, earth’'s, distribution of the 519

Magnetizing needles, effect of light

in . . . . 455

j new method of .... 457

::x.

Magneto- electric induction .... 340

Magneto-electrical machines, construc-
tion of. . . . .... 469

Maldives, survey of the .... 299

Malt, Thomson on .... 98 — 142 — 244

, _ .. 499

Mammalia, preservation of .... 409

, spinning, preparing, and

mounting .. .. .... 410

^ “ — of the Norfolk crag .... 496

of the Mauritius .... 593

Manganese, sesqui-sulphate of .... 87

black oxide of, for manufac-
turing purposes . . .... 336

Manganic. and hypermanganic acids,

and salts of these acids .... 588

Mangel wurtzel, sugar from .... 499

Manufacture of pens 24--'’

Mariners, important to .... 620

Masupial animals, generation of ... . 43

Matter, organic .... 6

Mechanic, practical .... 611

Mechanical arts .... 58

Mechanic’s pocket guide .... 391

Mechanism, ingenious piece of .... 400

Medals, anew method of engraving 497
Medical college .... 291

Meeting, public, at the Town hall .. 678

Melamine .... 164

, nitrate of .... 165

, oxalate of .... 165

, acetate of .... 165

^ phosphate of .... 165

Merchantieis, de, auctore Thoma, &c. 390

Meteoric stones .... 36

Meteorology and tides .... 221

Microscope, hydro-oxygen .... 462

Military Orphan School .... 150

Milk, mode of preserving, for long
voyages ....24 — 394

Mineralogical specimens from New
South Vvales .... 598

Mineralogy, geology, and mineral ana-
lysis, by Dr. Thomson .... ] 73

Mineral waters .... 36

Mines, report on accidents in .... 181

w^orked by the aid of the safety

lamp 183

Mining 301 '

Mitra, specimens of .... 592

Mollusca of the Mauritius .... 594

Moon inhabited .... 138-

Mortality, law of, for British India 253-321
Moth silk .... 187

Motion, laws of, of floating bodies . . 105

Mountains, principal, comparative
view of .... 245

Mulberry, indigenous, about Poona. , 563

tree, DeVerinne, ou .... 564

Museum buildings, British 463

Mustard plant of the Scripture .... 389

Nagpore, population of .... 300

Naphthalase, chloro .... 387

, hydro-chlorate of chloro 387

INDEX.

Naphthaiase, bromo ....

388

Physiology (Tiedemann’s) of man

10

-, nitro ....

388

—54—85—118

Naphthalese, chloro ....

.387

Pinus, five new genera of , .

388

, perchloro ....

387

501

^ hydro-chlorate of chloro

387

Pipe clay in washing

399-

, bromo ....

388

Plagionite

1

, bromide of chloro ....

388

Planet, changes in the physical con-

Naphthaline and its compounds ....

386

dition of our

278

, chloride of ....

387

Plants, changes of the inferior orders

Naphthalose, chloro ....

387

of . . 97-

-170

Naticidm form a distinct family from

•, spontaneous ....

.332

the neritidae ....

97

■ of Bombay, catalogue of

.380

Nature, external, Kidd on ....

414

-448—583—652

Needle, variation of the, at Pekin
Neilgherry hills, geology of ....

Nerbuddah, navigation of the
Nervous system, pathology of the ..
Nickel, sulphuret of ....

, bin-arseniet of ....

Nightingale, Mr. ....

Nitrification

Nitrogen gas evolved from fresh

springs ' . . . .

Notation, uniform system of ....

Nux vomica bark, notice of ....

Oerstedite ....

Oils, vegetable ....

Oil from flies ....

Opium, analysis of ....

, consumption of, in China

Optical images, mathematical re-
searches on

properties of charcoal

machine

Optics, application of, to chemistry
Organic compounds, Berzelius on
Ornithology of the Mauritius

93

621

416

502

334

334

620

6

1/2

522

287

334

294
462

91

607

173

275

295
238
667
593

new British and European

from Assam

Platina, gold, and silver, extensibility

of ....

Platinum

and tin, compounds of . .

Ploughs , steam .. 138-

Pneumatic railway 59-

Poisons, acrid, mode of action of ..

arsenical

Poisson on light and heat ....

Polarized rays, Biot’s experiments with
Polybasite ....

Polypi, tubular and cellular
Potash and soda, method of deter-
mining the proportions of, when
mixed together

Potatoe beer ....

Power for propelling cars, boats, &c.

, new, by means of the galvanic

“ battery, to supersede steam ....

-, steam, applicable to the cul-

389

569

233

2

217

-396

-101

524

538

274

608

43

tivation of land
, Ericsson’s

169

404

398-

401

463

instrument for

Osmium ....

2

communicating

604

Overland route, expenses of

362

, animal ....

611

Paddle-wheels, efficiency of

42

, horse ....

613

Painted binding ....

137

Printing, calico.. 21 — 63 — 103 — 141-

-243

Palseontology, Ehrenberg’s new dis-

press, portable ....

29

covery in ....

458

apparatus, patent rotary. . . .

399

Paper prepared from turf ....

219

Prospects for the people of India ....

177

Papyrus from Syracuse ....

127

Pump, patent, Wood and Quantrille’s

66

Parallax, or declination, variations of

489

hydro-pneumatic . . ....

67

Paris, improvements and embellish-

, improved suction ....

144

ments in ....

463

Pyroligneous acid , . ....

51

Partridge fight, curious account of a 640
Paste, preserving .... 468

Patents, law of, required for India. . 393

Pearl fishery, .... 299

Pens, steel, manufacture of, and the
quill trade .... 401

People, voluntary instruction of . . . . 238

Peroxide of iron, separation of ... . 219

Perpetual motion .... 65

Persia, dissensions in .... 373

Perspective made easy 139 — 193 — 241 — 406
Phoenician history .... 196

Physical structure of Ireland .. 212

sciences, age for .... 525

Physics, Reid on the extension of
the study df / . . 108

, purification of ....

,a newfluid prepared from

Pyroxilic spirit and its compounds. . . .

Quadrant, the . . ....

Quadrupeds, stuffing . . ....

Quarterly journal of the Medical and
Physical Society . . ....

— meeting of the Medical Re-
tiring Fund . . ....

Railroad system in America ....

, Saugor . . ....

Railroads . . . . ....

in the United States ....

Railway transit, quick and cheap
mode of

53

219

89

215

400

615

291

292
130
482
.301
404

109-

INDKX.

Kailway bars, Woodhouse’s angular.. 110

■ phenomenon .. .... 145

transit . . 233

system 400

• , French theory and English

.. 459

an

46-
.. 177

7

. . . . 33

77—111

practice .. .... 401

Railways, benefits of .... 610"'

Kanken’s (Dr.) invention of discover-
ing shoals or obstructions in the
way of steam vessels
Relic, a learned disquisition oi
ancient

Resources of India
Respiration, Thomson on
Reviews : —

Journal of the Asiatic Society
A Tibetan medical work
Journal of a tour through the island
of Rambree ..115—160—208—270
McClelland’s vrork on the geology of
Kemaon 151 — 199 — 24 7

Works relating to the culture of
cotton 204—260—314

Madras journal of literature and
science .. •••• 210 — 621

Asiatic Researches, vol. xx 211

Cursory notes on the isle of France 211
—267—320—374
Transactions of the Asiatic So-
ciety . . 253—322

Law' of mortality . • • • • • 253

Notes on the geology of the country
between Madras and the Neilgherry
hills, by Dr. Benza . . 256—305

On the geological position and asso-
ciation of the laterite, by R.

Cole, Esq. .. 256

Bell’s external commerce of Bengal 265
—317

Notes on Persia, Tartary, and Afgha-
nistan 308 — 371 — 425 — 57.3 — 641
Tea plant, in Assam ; memorandum
of an excursion to the tea hills ;

Journal of the Asiatic Society . .

Works on the cultivation of sugar
—421—553—633
M^orks on the culture and manufac-
ture of indigo

Rich’s narrative of a residence in
Koordistan . . 428 — 575-

Transactions of the Medical and
Physical Society

Works on the manufacture of
silk . . . . • • • •

Geology of the Neilgherry and
Koondah moim tains, by Dr.

Benza . .

On the mountain chains of
Southern India, by Captain Al-

lardyce . .

On the tree which produces the
gamboge of commerce, by Dr.

Wight

311

367

371

-636

440

558

621

628

630

Rhizophorse, family of the .... 440

Rich, Mr. extraordinary acquire-
ments of .. .... 429'

Road betw'een Bombay and Calcutta 480
Roads and public works in India 594 — 671

, in Bengal and Cachar .... 619

■ Rock salt, cr5'-sta]s of . . .... 486

Rocks, decomposition of 5

, veins of . . .... 5

, McClelland’s tabular ' arrange-
ment of .. .. 201—252

' Rocks anterior to coal and posterior

to the primary strata .... 214

■ , slata, of Devonshire .... 538

, Sedgwdck and Murchison on 539

Rocky strata, variation of temperature
in .... 237

Rohunna bark, or'swietenia febrifuga 287
Rope-rnaking machniery .... 465

Route of the Russians to India .... 372

between Rajmahl and Calcutta 480

Royal Institution .... 23 — 45

Royle, Mr. .... 292"

Royal’s flora of Cashmere .... 662

Rudge on the south magnetic pole. . 590

Russian invasion 371 — 425 — 573 — 641
Russian influence in China .... 618

Safety lamp, Ettrick’s improvement of
Davy’s .... 215

^ Martin’s .... 292

Safety method of lighting coal-mines 234
Saline springs .... 36

Salts, constitution of certain .... 216

Salt of Samar .... 567

— , analysis of .... 567

Sand and clay found in the bottom of
caverns .... 173

Sausage meat, machine for cutting,
and stuffing sausages .... 297

Scavenger power .... 233

Science, practical, gallery of .... 235

Secular inequalities .... 220

Senses of insects .... 615

Sewalik hills, organic remains in the 479

Shaughnessy’s, Dr. O’, experiments 391

Sheathing, gum elastic, for vessels
and buildings .... 145

Shoe-making machine, horse .... 144

Silica, production of .... 285.

Silk, French, proof of .... 109

, insects producing .... 186

, production of, at Kamptee. . . . 558

, raw ,... 560

, an improved machine for wind-
ing .... 561

, cultivation of, in Western India 563

of Assam . 565 — 643

, establishment for reeling .... 566

, the process of dyeing .... 645

-worms, breed of .... 647

, epidemics among the 648

discovered on the pipul

tree . . . . . 649

tree

INDEX.

Silk, mooga and eria, cloths made
from . . . . ....

Silver, description of aji apparatvis for
assaying ....

•, gold, and platina ....

Silurian and cambrian formations. . . ..
Slate manufacture, ornamental ....

top for wash-hand stands ....

Smith, Dr. ....

Snow, inflammable ....

Society, Ashmolean, of Oxford r2()-
V Soda and potash, proportions of, when
mixed together, ....

Soda, phosphate and pyrophosphate of
Solanere and verbascinte in reference
to Indian species ....

Soldiery, native, deaths among the. .
Sougragne, water of ....

Soultz ....

'*^South cooler than the north ....

Spectra, prismatic ....

'^Spelling, literal

Sphynx ligustri, nervous system of. .
Spirit, pyroxilic
Spirits, ardent

Spontaneous combustion 49-

Stars, fixed . . . . 352-

Statistics and geography of India . .

"N Steam, substitute for ....

, water a substitute for

ploughs 138-

vessels, plan for propelling

by a current of air

vei-sus water ....

, navigation of the Atlantic

by

.company, Calcutta

, prospects of

communication with India 420-

fiat, meteorological register kept

on board the Experiment

coach, Dr. Church’s ....

boat novelty ....

engine, pendulum

, new rotative, of increased

power ....

, improvements in the

carriage automaton , ....

navigation . . ....

Sternbergite ....

Stick, a walking ....

Stoves, Dr. Arnott’s new
Strength, human

Strychnos, spurious angustura bark of
the genus . . , . , ,

Sugar, cultivation of .... 362-

, imported in England ....

from Endian corn ....

from beet root . . ...

— from urine . . .: .

', manufacture of ....

, consumption of,in Europe 423-

— , household manufacture of . .

619

93

233

276

397

398
291

36
-171

169

494

95

255

37
37

238

50

402

41

215

499

-608

-486

481

109

134

-396

64
463

179

225

418

-551

443

604

610

65

106

109

682

694

1

404

608

611

289

-633

368

138

238

382

159

-424

468

— , maise . . ..610

trade . . . . 42.3

Sugar-cane, cviltivation of, in India. . 369

, preparing land for the

cultivation of , . .... 370 — 635

, raw, improvements in

clarifying
: ,niode of planting and trans-
planting . . . . . .

history of the . . . .

in India . . . .

-{development of the vari-
ous parts of the . . . . . .

>, cultivation of the, on en-

lightened principles
, influence of soil and cli-

mate on the . . ....

— ^ Batavian . . ....

knowledge of the Chinese

405

415

422

481

554

555

556

557

634

637

452

219

37

216

in cultivating the

Sulimania, description of the city of
Sulphuric acid, Thomson on the for-
mation of . . ....

— in prussic acid

Sulphurous waters
"Symbols, chemical
Syphon tubes, long, easy method of
filling .. 343

Tartar tribes, account of the . . 309

Taxidermist, the 407 — 615

Tea forests in Assam 301 — 311

Telegraphic system, invention of a
new

Telescope, twenty-five feet zenith . .
Temperance societies in India ....

' Temperature of the ground at various
depths

of Canton and Macao . .

Temperature in rocky strata, varia-

tion of

, inferior, of the earth ....

-and time measurer ....

Tertiary., formation in Yorkshire . .
Tetanus, abstract of a work on
Tetraphylline
Thermometers

Themometer exhibited by Babbage. .
Tides and meteorology • • . •

, rising and falling of, applica-
ble to the propelling of machinery

, observations of, by Lubbock

, new theory of

608

221

148

126

237

237

491

610

214

502

330

128

537

211

401

486

609

9

118

Tibdemann and Gmelin’s researches
on the blood • • • •

Tiedemann’s physiology 10 — 54 — 85
Timber, preservation of, from decay 144-359
Tin plate, or tinned iron, protec-
tion of, from corrosion in sea-
water • •

and platinunm, compounds of 217

Tobacco, Virginian and Irish, values

of .. , 219

Tomlinson on accidental colours. ... -0

INDEX.

Topography of Arracaa 146 — 197

Torpedo, Davy's observations on . , 41

Tracking or towing boats, machinery
for .... 188

Transactions, philosophical 16 — 39

of the Linnean Society

of London .... 95 — 284

— of the Agricultural and

Horticultural Society .. 156

Trees, large, transplanting .... 298

Triphylline .... 330

Tropseolum pentaphyllum of Lamarck 96
Tunnels, ventilation of .... 181

Universe, of the .. 411

■ , electrical theory of the 222

—355—474—689

Uric acid .... 166

Ursitaxus inauritus .... 580

Wapour-engine, Howard’s . . 32

•Ventilation, Reid’s system of . , 609

Verbascinse . . 95

Violin, air . . 138

Visit to BIr. Crosse . . .... 676

Volta, modifications of the pile of . . 550

Voltaic battery .... 40

, constant .... 286

Voltaic power, improvements in the 483
Warmer, carriage, new . . 404

Wasp, natural history of the .... 127

Wasp’s nest made in a hollow in a
sugar loaf .. 172

IX

Waters, acidulous
Water a substitute for steam
Water-engine, a hand
Water, compressibility of

, currents in

-, bath, composition of

37

134

138

295

468

494-

Waves, laws of the motion of, excit-
ed in water • ....

Weaving elastic fabrics, method of
Wells, bored

Wheat, acceleration of the growth of
Wheels, paddle 42 — 469

Wight, Dr. on the gamboge of com-
merce . .

Winds, curvilinear direction of ....

Wind, effects of, on the height and
velocity of the wave ....

Wolfrom, analysis of
Wood-polishing
Wood, embossing on
Works, public, in India
Worm which had apparently destroyed
a grasshopper

Worms, intestinal . . . ,

Yew trees, longevity of the
Yttria, examination of the salt of
Zinc, carbonate of

, preservation of tin plate by 104 — 216

Zoological Society, Transactions of
tile .... 592— 669

Zoology of North America . . 542

Zoophytes .... 43

527

132

236

500

630

237

528

125

397

138—610
597

172

593w.

543

123

1

1^^7 0 7